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

"Come over every night to take your medicine from now on," Si Lin said as she tied the ties.

"Qin Zhou has prepared the recipe. The maid will brew it and bring it to the lounge every afternoon. Come and drink it after school, and then go back to the flower shop."

Ruan Tang tilted her head back and let him tie the ribbon. When she heard the words "take medicine," she frowned. "It's bitter."

"You have to drink it, even if it's bitter." He adjusted the bow one last time, and then casually pinched her chin with his fingers.

"Your health is too poor; you get fevers all the time. If you don't take better care of yourself, what will you do in the future?"

"What will we do in the future?" She looked up and met his gaze.

Si Lin didn't answer. He released her chin, took a step back, and leaned against the bedpost.

His gaze slowly moved down her face, sweeping over the slender contours of her shirt, and finally landing on her tender legs under the pleated skirt.

"We only did it for a little while last night, and we weren't quite done yet."

Ruan Tang grabbed the cushion and hugged it to her chest, shrinking closer to the headboard. "You—"

"I'm telling the truth." Si Lin looked at her, speechless with embarrassment.

"Therefore, you must take Chinese medicine, and a course of treatment lasts for six months, without interruption."

"Six months?" Her voice rose slightly, sounding aggrieved. "That long?"

"If you don't want it to take too long, then take your medicine properly. If you recover quickly, you won't need to take it for so long." He walked to the bedside table and rubbed the pitiful little head.

-

When Ruan Tang entered the classroom in the morning, Lin Xiao Kui and Su Nian were already there.

Their wounds were visible, but they had all been treated.

Throughout the entire class, Lin Xiaokui neither questioned Ruan Tang nor even glanced at her.

During break, a few girls in the back row huddled together and whispered, "It seems like the resistance group has quieted down lately?"

"I don't know what's wrong with Lin Xiaokui today? She's so quiet and withdrawn, like she's a completely different person."

Ruan Tang sat in the last row, looking down at her book, occasionally picking up a pen to write a few words, without even glancing in Lin Xiao Kui's direction.

The two people were separated by four rows of tables and chairs, as if they didn't know each other at all.

The school bell rang.

Lin Xiaokui packed her schoolbag, stood up, and brushed past Ruan Tang as she walked to the door.

Su Nian followed behind her, her head down.

Ruan Tang watched them leave the classroom, closed her textbooks and stuffed them into her schoolbag, her face expressionless.

They are like strangers.

-

evening.

Ruan Tang pushed open the door to the deacon's lounge, and before she could even step inside, a white shadow rushed out from behind the sofa.

Os ran too fast, and his paws slipped on the floor, causing the tiger to slide forward for more than half a meter before coming to a stop.

It stopped in front of Ruan Tang, its amber round eyes staring at her, its big head tilting slightly, and a low, tentative purr coming from its throat.

It pounced on her last time.

This time it was clearly trained; it stomped its front paws several times in place and swept its tail back and forth on the floor, wanting to pounce but not daring to.

Ruan Tang took half a step back, her calf bracing against the door frame.

When Os saw that she was about to leave, he let out a loud howl, lowered his big head, and rubbed it against her knee.

After rubbing against her, it quickly retreated, sat on the floor, its two front paws neatly together, looked up at her, and made a soft, aggrieved hum in its throat.

"It won't pounce on you." Si Lin's voice came from the sofa, where he was watching the scene.

"Come here, drink your medicine first."

Ruan Tang remained standing at the door, watching Aus.

Although the white tiger sat in front of her, looking meek and submissive, she still hesitated.

Si Lin stood up, walked a few steps to the door, reached out and grabbed her wrist, and patted Os to signal it to make way.

He led her toward the sofa, saying, "It's been causing a huge disturbance at home these past few days."

"The servant planted a field of lily of the valley, and it would lie in it every day and refuse to come out. It would carry lily of the valley leaves around and trample the flower field into a mess."

Si Lin pressed her down onto the sofa, then sat down next to her, still holding her wrist tightly with one hand.

"The day before yesterday was even more outrageous. He ran straight into my study, lay down in front of the projector screen and wouldn't leave, leaving several scratches on the screen."

When Os heard its owner talking to it, its ears twitched, but it still sat obediently without moving.

"I locked it outside, and it howled at the door for an hour." Si Lin raised his hand and rubbed his temples.

"Later I got annoyed, so I turned on the screen and projected a picture. It immediately stopped howling, sat up straight, and stared at the screen."

Ruan Tang blinked. "What photos?"

"Your school photo." He turned his head to look at her.

"And then what happened?"

"Then it tried to pounce on me, and as soon as it did, I turned off the projector, and it howled again. After howling for an hour, I turned it back on, and it pounced again, so I turned it off again."

Si Lin leaned back on the sofa armrest, lazily complaining, speechless at the pathetic Os.

"After struggling for most of the night, it finally learned its lesson. With the projector on, it doesn't pounce; it just sits in front of the screen and watches."

Oss walked around from behind the sofa and carefully placed his big head on Ruan Tang's knees.

His amber eyes looked up at her, and a joyful snoring sound came from his throat.

Ruan Tang looked down at it.

The white tiger's fur was snow-white, with black stripes extending from its forehead to its back. Despite being a ferocious beast, the way it rested its head on her knees made it look like a big cat begging for attention.

She carefully reached out and scratched behind its ear.

Oss squinted comfortably, nuzzled its big head into her palm, and swished its tail back and forth.

But it still didn't stand up and pounce on her; it scratched at the floor a few times with its paws and held back.

"It's not even three years old yet, and it's curious about everything." Si Lin watched as Os snuggled its head into Ruan Tang's arms.

"But after these few days of training, at least I know that I should retract my claws when I touch you, and I shouldn't use my teeth when I rub against you."

He reached out and patted Os on the back of the neck.

"More sensible than you, and easier to discipline."

Ruan Tang raised her eyes and gave him a displeased look.

Si Lin chuckled, stood up, and brought the bowl of medicine from the coffee table to her. "Drink your medicine."

Ruan Tang lifted the rim of the bowl to her lips and swallowed it in small sips.

She drank very slowly, pausing frequently, her lips pressed tightly together, her cheeks slightly puffed out, enduring the bitterness as she forced herself to swallow.

After a long while, half of the medicinal soup in the bowl had been simmered down. Her almond-shaped eyes were already red, but she showed no sign of crying; it was just a physiological reaction to the bitterness of the medicine.

But she never complained once.

Os lay on the edge of the sofa, his big head resting on his paws, his amber eyes staring unblinkingly at her.

It didn't quite understand why the beautiful lily of the valley would drink something that smelled so bad.

Si Lin kept looking at her.

She was clearly struggling to swallow any more; her throat moved several times before she managed to force the medicine down her throat.

"Is it bitter?" he asked.

Ruan Tang put down the bowl, turned to look at him, her eyes red-rimmed, and nodded earnestly.

Si Lin reached out and picked up a small tin box of chocolates from the coffee table, opened the lid, and flicked the chocolates between his fingertips.

He lowered his eyes, as if chatting casually, "It's so tough, why don't you whine to me? If you whine a little, I'll give you the chocolate."

"Or I could find someone to modify the recipe and see if it tastes better."

Ruan Tang put down the medicine, looked at him, thought for a moment, and said softly, "Because the medicine is very expensive."

Si Lin's finger stopped at the edge of the metal box, an unexpected answer.

He looked up at her.