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

"Or maybe it'll be on the day of the school anniversary!" Pei Heng walked between the two, counting on his fingers.

"I felt something was off about your attitude during that betting game that night; it turns out it started back then."

Wen Yan did not respond.

"And then there's Liang Jing's matter." Pei Heng got more and more excited as he spoke, "A noblewoman, dismissed just like that."

"Cheng Jin has been with him for so many years, and she always takes the blame when something goes wrong. This little secretary has only been here for a few days, and he's already personally getting involved in cleaning up people."

"When has Si Lin ever cared so much about someone else?"

Ji Yan spoke up, "Your analysis is so logical now, how come I didn't see it before?"

Pei Heng shrugged. "I didn't think that way! Everyone knows Si Lin doesn't date people from his own neighborhood."

"Besides, wasn't he supposed to be ascetic and celibate for a long time before?"

"He only looked and didn't touch anything at private clubs. I thought he was planning to become a Buddhist."

Wen Yan finally spoke, "He treats Ruan Tang very differently."

Pei Heng turned to look at him, "How are they different?"

"Have you ever seen him let any woman into the lounge overnight? Even during the year he was having the most fun, he never broke that rule." Wen Yan said calmly.

Pei Heng nodded thoughtfully, took a few steps forward, and suddenly blurted out, "Then why were you flirting with her just now? Were you doing it on purpose?"

Wen Yan's lips curved slightly; he neither denied nor admitted it.

He said in a seemingly plausible but ultimately unfounded way, "Beautiful women are pleasing to the eye, so naturally one would want to tease them."

-

Si Lin's lounge.

Ruan Tang had just been pulled inside by him when she turned to run away, but Si Lin grabbed her arm.

"Why are you running?" He looked down at her.

"I'm not running away, I have things to do." Ruan Tang didn't look at him, and tried to pull her wrist away, but couldn't.

"No rush." ​​Si Lin pulled her into the lounge, and only let go of her when they reached the sofa.

Ruan Tang sat down in the corner of the sofa, picked up a cushion and hugged it to her chest, without saying a word.

Two days ago, he pinned me down here and kissed me until I couldn't breathe. He grabbed my hands and pressed them above my head, and he spread my legs apart with his knees.

She buried her face in the cushion.

Si Lin sat down on the armrest of the sofa, looking at her cowardly appearance, and reached out to pull the cushion in her arms.

"Let go."

Ruan Tang held on tightly and wouldn't let go.

"Are you planning to never look at me again?" He tugged at it but couldn't budge it, so he simply let go and leaned back against the sofa.

Her tone carried a hint of condescending mockery, "You don't refuse when Wen Yan invites you to dinner, but you flinch when I touch you."

"Ruan Tang, you must have made a mistake. You are the secretary I hired, not his."

Ruan Tang peeked half her face out from behind the cushion, "A secretary isn't your personal property."

Si Lin reached out and pinched her chin, turning her half-hidden face completely towards him. "In Sheng Lan, the secretaries of the deacon team are the deacons' personal property."

Ruan Tang protested, "Where is this rule?"

He stared at her, his gaze aggressive. "I said yes, and now I have it."

Si Lin lowered his head and moved closer, his breath brushing against her lips.

Ruan Tang turned her head away, her face even turning cold.

Si Lin paused, his hand still resting beside her face. "What's wrong?"

Ruan Tang lowered her head, her fingers clenched tightly. "I don't want to."

Si Lin thought she was shy, "Don't be shy, what haven't we done before..."

"That's different." Ruan Tang said each word very seriously.

Si Lin was rejected several times and was starting to lose face.

He withdrew his hand, leaned back on the sofa, and looked her over.

The warmth from before lingered in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by scrutiny.

Si Lin thought she was playing hard to get.

The little girl was shy, and he would push her away a couple of times before giving in. He had seen too many of these things and was getting a little annoyed.

But Ruan Tang raised her head, her voice as soft as ever, yet firm, "Young Master Si, I am not that kind of person."

Si Lin remained silent, staring at her.

Ruan Tang was afraid of angering him and causing consequences she couldn't bear, but she still mustered up her courage and said, "I don't want to be your lover."

"Last time at the school anniversary celebration, things went too far. I was afraid that the nobles would bully the special admission students to death, so I stopped you in that way."

"But I really just want to focus on my studies, and I don't want to be your rumored girlfriend or your lover, as some people on the forum say."

Once she started, Ruan Tang wasn't so scared anymore.

She placed the cushion aside, crossed her hands on her knees, and said to him earnestly, "That kiss a couple of days ago was already going too far."

"You kissed me against my will again today, what about tomorrow?"

"Will you take me to bed again tomorrow, Mr. Si, whenever you want?"

She spoke so softly that she could barely be heard when she said the last three words, but she still finished.

Si Lin's face turned cold, but he didn't have a chance to reprimand her.

But Ruan Tang has always been pragmatic and perceptive.

After she finished speaking harshly, before he could get angry, she took the initiative to show weakness and try to please him.

The little girl reached out her small hand, grabbed his large hand, looked up at him, and pleaded with her almond-shaped eyes.

"Young Master Si, I know you're very angry right now."

"But I'm really scared, scared of that situation, scared of other people's envious eyes, scared of those unfounded accusations."

As the little girl spoke, she became increasingly aggrieved. After all, she was young and afraid of making him angry, and afraid of the future she had envisioned.

His voice gradually choked up.

But she still cautiously tugged at his finger and shook it, like a kitten gently pawing at its owner's hand, pleading, "Young Master Si, please be merciful, let's not do this anymore, okay?"

Si Lin looked down at her; her skin was fair and delicate, petite and slender, with black hair cascading over her shoulders.

He wasn't stupid; he could naturally tell whether someone was playing hard to get or was genuinely sincere.

Ruan Tang was genuinely afraid—afraid that he would want her, afraid of a life she couldn't control in the future, afraid of the attention and trouble from the top.

The unspoken rebuke transformed into more complex emotions.

It turns out she really didn't care about the frustration of his doting affection.

She had a perfectly valid argument, yet she still came over to fawn over him out of fear of his power.

She was so afraid of the unknown troubles, yet she still sought his opinion first.

Si Lin pulled his hand away from between her fingers.

"I'll throw you away after I'm done using you." He stood up, looked down at her, his face showing no obvious anger, but his tone was colder than usual.

"Ruan Tang, you're really great."

The little girl hurriedly explained, "I didn't take advantage of you..."

"You didn't?" he interrupted her, leaning down and placing one hand on the back of the sofa behind her as he got closer.

"On the day of the school anniversary, when you begged me to let the resistance group go, was it you who initiated the kiss?"

"Now you're telling me you're scared, that you were forced and unwilling from the beginning, and that the past is wiped clean."

He stood very close to her, his voice low, "Ruan Tang, do you think I, Si Lin, am someone who can be summoned and dismissed at will?"

The little girl looked up at him, her big eyes brimming with tears, but she didn't shy away from his questioning.

He was sincere, saying, "I don't want to wipe the slate clean."

"I will be a good secretary, study hard, and bring honor to the deacon team."

"I will no longer have anything to do with the resistance, and I will no longer disobey your orders."

"But this really won't work."

Si Lin stared at her, feigning ignorance, and asked, "Which matter?"

"Go to bed." She said the word softly, but very clearly.

Finally, she added, looking aggrieved, "I don't want to be your secret lover."