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

Under the long corridor of the new European-style building.

The pillars were covered with vines, and a clump of lilies of the valley was planted in the flower bed next to it, with white petals hanging among the green leaves.

Ruan Tang sat down on the bench, while Cheng Jin leaned against a pillar with his hands in his pockets.

"The boy who carried the girl upstairs just now is named Gu Beiheng," he said.

"Gu's Energy's second young master is ranked A-level according to the invisible aristocratic hierarchy."

"I rarely come to school. I spend most of my time working on new energy projects under the Gu Group."

"The one next to him is Jiang Yubai, the only son of Jiang's Real Estate, and also an A-level."

Ruan Tang looked up. "Are there two more?"

"They are all A-level, and the four of them often go out together. They are considered the core of the A-level circle in Shenglan."

Cheng Jin paused, then turned to look at the vines climbing the pillars.

"This is another form of bullying by Shenglan invisibly, and many people don't even recognize it as bullying."

"They call it: protection."

Ruan Tang didn't speak.

"Those lucky, gifted-with-good-looking special admissions students, who have just enrolled and understand the rules, actively try to take shortcuts."

"But more often than not, people are intimidated by a few casual gestures from their superiors and have no choice but to seek protection."

"You've been enrolled for a month, why haven't you seen those nobles from earlier?"

"Because for them, Saint Lan only serves two purposes: to cultivate relationships with the deacons and to be a hunting ground for women."

Ruan Tang clutched her skirt. The prestigious university of the world's largest nation was, in the eyes of this group of people, actually... a hunting ground for women?

He glanced down at Ruan Tang. "Surprised?"

"The new students at Saint Lan are all outstanding individuals—youthful, clean, well-behaved, and academically excellent. Compared to those in other clubs, they are naturally more favored by the nobility."

"They even forbid the girls from wearing school uniforms. After all, there's a student council outside the luxury brand store, so they have to be more discreet and not openly provoke the student council's rules."

"And the student council didn't see the school uniforms, so they turned a blind eye."

"It seems that those girls who have become 'golden birds' are no longer students of Shenglan and are no longer under their jurisdiction as long as they don't wear school uniforms."

"This is nothing more than burying one's head in the sand."

Ruan Tang lowered her eyes. She remembered that when she first entered the luxury brand store, her first reaction was also that these girls were not wearing school uniforms, they were not students, and they were there voluntarily.

The girl curled her fingers.

"You're beautiful," Cheng Jin said, looking at the flowerbeds outside the corridor, "but why are you alright?"

He asked himself the question and answered it.

"Because at the beginning, you weren't outstanding. You had sallow skin and wore black-rimmed glasses, which didn't fit the aesthetic of the aristocracy in the dating scene."

"After you first showed your talent and stunning beauty, you immediately joined the deacon team and received the protection of Young Master Si."

"So you completely missed out on another form of covert bullying by Sheng Lan, besides the blacklist and whitelist."

He turned to look at her. "But just because we missed each other for now doesn't mean it will never exist."

Ruan Tang raised her eyes to meet his gaze.

"Hunting for women and bullying are similar, but not the same," Cheng Jin said.

"If you are bullied, as long as you have the courage to give up your future, you can drop out of school and live a mediocre life."

"Bullys will have new toys."

"And once they've been hunted by those nobles, they won't let go until they've had their fill of pleasure."

Cheng Jin's voice turned serious, "They will send people to your house to cause trouble, your relatives will be hurt, your family's finances will be ruined, and even your friends will be targeted one by one."

"Until you take the initiative to apologize to them, until they've had their fun and are tired of it."

Ruan Tang gripped the hem of her skirt tightly.

Cheng Jin looked at her clenched fingers, her tone becoming indifferent, "This kind of abnormal relationship may even continue after graduation, after starting work, and even after marriage."

"They had no right to speak from beginning to end."

The corridor was quiet, and the scent of lily of the valley floated in the air.

Ruan Tang sat on the bench, sunlight filtering through the vines and falling on her snow-white neck.

She wore a light blue short-sleeved shirt, a white pleated skirt, and canvas shoes today.

Very plain, very clean.

It is the type most favored by high-ranking nobles.

Ruan Tang stared at him and said, "So you think that if I want freedom, I should be like you, wholeheartedly serving as the sword of the Deacon?"

"Don't be soft-hearted, don't help Su Nian, and don't do anything that will upset Si Lin."

Cheng Jin took two steps out of the corridor, her back to her, and said, "I didn't say that."

"I'm just telling you the rules and the dangers; how you choose is up to you."

He turned his head to the side, his profile clean in the sunlight, as if he had seen through everything and didn't care about anything.

"But there's one thing I want you to remember."

"What did you say?"

Cheng Jin turned around and gave her one last look. "In Sheng Lan, neither the resistance group nor the student council can protect you."

"The only people who can truly protect you are those who stand at the highest point."

"You're already standing at the closest point to the highest point; don't let a moment of impulsiveness cause you to fall."

The two looked at each other for a moment, then Cheng Jin left first.

Ruan Tang was the only one left in the long corridor.

She sat on a bench, the lily of the valley beside her swaying in the wind, its white petals drooping.

Ruan Tang raised her head.

At the end of the corridor, across a sycamore-lined path, lies the top floor of the student union building.

There was a person standing behind the floor-to-ceiling window.

A man in a black shirt, holding a document in his hand.

He was listening to the report from the person next to him when he suddenly looked up, his gaze passing through the glass and landing on her.

Si Lin.

She couldn't see his exact expression from that distance, but she knew he was looking at her.

His gaze was cold and deep, suppressing obvious displeasure.

It seems that he has already heard about the physical education class incident.

Ruan Tang and Si Lin stared at each other for a moment, then Si Lin looked away, turned around, and faced away from the window.

The meaning behind that figure was clear: he was coming forward to accept his punishment.

Ruan Tang lowered her eyes; of course she had to go up and admit her mistake.

She figured out how to show weakness and explain herself by letting the resistance group leave physical education class and taking their attendance for them.

But now that she was sitting there, she suddenly didn't want to stand up right away and pretend to be nice to him.

Ruan Tang lowered her head and stared blankly at the lily of the valley in the flower bed.

White petals droop among the green leaves, trembling in the wind.

So small, so soft, its roots buried in the soil, unable to be pulled out, it can only stand in place, swaying in the wind.

She suddenly realized that although she was an adult, she was no different from these unenlightened beings.

Transplanted into this soil, its roots are bound, and it can only grow in the direction of good fortune.

If we could disregard luck and the cannon fodder role.

Ruan Tang asked herself, what exactly did she feel about Si Lin, Wen Yan, and these arrogant people who stood on high and disregarded the rules?

She has never truly addressed this issue.

From the first day she came into this world, she regarded herself as a lily of the valley that needed to be parasitized in order to survive.

Choose the thickest tree and climb the highest branch.

Si Lin is the darling of Heaven, the chosen one of destiny, so she tries to get close to him to attract his attention.

Wen Yan was her target, so she maintained an ambiguous relationship with him.

She figured out their preferences, tested their bottom line, and used weakness and obedience as tools with great skill.

She never asked herself, "Do you like them?"

Perhaps they forgot to ask, or perhaps they simply didn't dare to ask.

Because she needs their luck to repair her soul, she has to go and join them.

Whether you like it or not, whether you hate it or not, these are not within the scope of consideration.

But now, as the clouds parted and the fog cleared, she suddenly saw things clearly.

It all started that day on the playground when Si Lin trampled Fang Zhaoyang underfoot.

Today, I saw Gu Beiheng carrying that girl upstairs in the luxury brand store.

She felt such... disgust for this group, for this group of people who were born to stand on high places and used the dignity and bodies of those in lower positions as tools for amusement.