After the minor character transforms into a beauty, she steals the heart of a tycoon's son.

By noon, the situation had escalated further.

Lin Xiaokui was blocked at the entrance of the cafeteria.

Seven or eight girls surrounded her, and the leader was changed to a girl with a ponytail named Cheng Lu, the second young lady of the Cheng family. She was not top-tier in the noble circle of Shenglan, but she was not bad either.

Cheng Lu crossed her arms and held her chin high. "Lin Xiaokui, where's Fang Zhaoyang from your resistance group? Why are you here in the cafeteria alone?"

Lin Xiaokui didn't say anything, holding the plate in her hand.

"Is Fang Zhaoyang scared? He was having a meeting at the library yesterday, but today he doesn't even dare to come to the cafeteria?" Cheng Lu took a step forward.

Lin Xiaokui looked up at her and said, "If you have something to say, come at me."

"To you?" Cheng Lu laughed and knocked the plate out of Lin Xiao Kui's hand.

The plate crashed to the ground, spilling food everywhere, and soup stained Lin Xiaokui's skirt and shoes.

A burst of laughter erupted around them.

Cheng Lu raised her chin. "Didn't your resistance group want to overthrow the deacon council? Didn't you want fairness and justice?"

"Now that the announcement has been posted, your entire resistance group has been given a demerit, and Senior Wen even paid for your medical expenses."

"A bunch of poor bastards who can't even clean up the mess they've made."

Lin Xiaokui clenched her fists and pressed her lips into a thin line.

Cheng Lu leaned closer to her, "You think you can get ahead at Sheng Lan just because you've taken down Shen Weiwei? Dream on."

"Shen Weiwei is just a dance major, and her family is nothing special. The deacon group doesn't care about her at all."

"You've broken all the rules of Shenglan now, and you still think you can turn things around?"

Lin Xiaokui bent down, picked up the plates from the ground, and put the scattered bowls and chopsticks back.

Cheng Lu chuckled as she watched her bend over. "Your glorious days as the number one on Saint Lan Star only lasted a few days, and now you're back to square one?"

"You're just an ordinary citizen, what makes you think you can compete with us?"

Lin Xiaokui straightened up and looked at Cheng Lu.

Her face was expressionless, and her voice was calm. "Are you finished?"

Cheng Lu was stunned for a moment.

"Get out of the way after you're done talking, I have to go to class." Lin Xiaokui, carrying her empty tray, walked around them and went into the cafeteria.

Cheng Lu stood behind her, staring at her back, and sneered, "What are you pretending to be tough for? Let's see how long you can last."

Ruan Tang stood on the other side of the cafeteria entrance and watched all of this unfold.

She didn't step forward or speak up for Lin Xiaokui; she simply stepped aside as Lin Xiaokui walked over with her empty plate.

Lin Xiaokui walked past her without even glancing at her.

The two brushed past each other like strangers.

-

When school ended in the afternoon, Ruan Tang packed her schoolbag and prepared to go to the student council building.

Cheng Jin was waiting for her at the classroom door. "Young Master Si asked me to pick you up."

Ruan Tang nodded, slung her backpack over her shoulder, and followed him outside.

As soon as the two reached the stairwell, they heard a commotion coming from the playground.

Ruan Tang turned her head and looked through the corridor window, seeing a large group of people gathered on the playground.

Su Nian fell to the ground, scraping her knee and getting a large patch of dust on her school uniform skirt.

Her schoolbag was thrown aside, and her textbooks were scattered all over the floor, some of them covered in footprints.

Three girls surrounded her.

At the front was a girl with a ponytail, holding Su Nian's notebook, tearing off page by page, throwing them on the ground and stomping on them twice.

"You think you're worthy of studying at Saint Lan? You're causing trouble with the resistance group and you even dare to challenge the deacon council." After tearing off the last sheet of paper, the girl threw the notebook cover on the ground.

Su Nian knelt on the ground, her knees covered in blood, and large tears streamed down her face.

She reached out to pick up the textbook from the ground, but her finger was stepped on, and she pulled it back in pain.

The girl with the ponytail bent down, pinched her chin, and said, "Don't cry. Aren't you in the resistance the strongest? Why are you crying after just a couple of blows?"

The two girls next to them laughed along.

A short-haired girl kicked Su Nian's shin. "Where's your good boss, Lin Xiaokui? Why isn't she coming to rescue you?"

Su Nian bit her lip, her whole body trembling.

Ruan Tang stood upstairs and saw this scene through the window. Her hands unconsciously clenched the window frame.

Cheng Jin stood next to her, glanced at her, and said in a low voice, "Stop looking, let's go."

"Is this how your student council views things?" Ruan Tang asked without turning her head, her voice light and airy.

Cheng Jin paused for a moment, then said, "These weren't arranged intentionally by the student council."

"But you acquiesced."

Cheng Jin didn't deny it, and said softly, "Let's go, Young Master Si is waiting."

Ruan Tang turned her head and looked at Cheng Jin, "You seem to have gotten used to it."

Cheng Jin walked side by side with her in the corridor, her voice calm, "The word 'habit' isn't quite right, I just know my limits."

"What kind of things do you consider to be out of line?"

Cheng Jin paused for a moment, then said, "For example, you could run down now and stand in front of Su Nian."

Ruan Tang remained silent.

"You can block it once, you can block it twice, but you can't block it forever," Cheng Jin said.

Ultimately, it's up to her to decide what happens to her.

Ruan Tang knew he was right.

Su Nian's predicament is not something that can be solved simply by her lending a helping hand.

Just like yesterday at the stairwell, she pulled Su Nian back, but today Su Nian still fell on the playground.

But as she watched Su Nian kneeling on the ground, her knees bleeding, her fingers being stepped on, she let out suppressed cries of pain.

Ruan Tang turned and walked downstairs.

Cheng Jin stood behind her, watching her retreating figure, and paused for a moment, then asked, "Where are you going?"

"Find the right measure."

As Ruan Tang walked downstairs, the noise from the playground grew closer.

Su Nian was still kneeling on the ground, with fragments of the notebook scattered everywhere by the wind.

She looked up and saw Ruan Tang, then froze, her lips moving slightly.

"You guys," Ruan Tang said.

The three girls turned around at the same time, and when they saw it was her, their smiles froze for a moment.

The girl with the ponytail was the first to react, raising her chin slightly. "Ruan Tang, we're teaching the resistance group a lesson. It has nothing to do with the deacons, right?"

Ruan Tang took a step forward and stood in front of Su Nian. "She's already like this, haven't you finished disciplining her?"

The short-haired girl crossed her arms. "She caused trouble at the library yesterday, injuring my cousin. How are we going to settle this score?"

"Who is your cousin?"

"Someone from the student union secretariat twisted their ankle on the stairs yesterday."

Ruan Tang glanced at her. "Your cousin was sent by Cheng Jin to maintain order yesterday. She was injured because the stair railing broke. What does that have to do with Su Nian?"

The short-haired girl choked for a moment.

Ruan Tang stopped arguing with her, squatted down, and helped Su Nian up.

When Su Nian stood up, her legs felt weak, and she leaned against Ruan Tang. The wound on her knee reopened, and blood flowed down her calf.

Ruan Tang helped Su Nian walk towards the school hospital.

The girl with the ponytail called out from behind, "Ruan Tang, you're a member of the Deacon Group, are you going to protect the Resistance Group now?"