The office door swung open, flooding the room with golden afternoon sunlight. Su Ruo, standing directly facing the midday sun, squinted against the blinding glare.

The room fell into an eerie silence, the only sound the approaching footsteps of the newcomer. His figure remained half-obscured by the harsh light beam, emerging slowly into view.

With a soft click, the door shut behind him, cutting off the external light. Su Ruo winced, squeezing her eyes shut before slowly readjusting to the dimmer interior.

The room had gained one more person—a man in a crisp white shirt, his features sharp and austere. His thin lips were pressed into a faint line, the angular curve of his jawline striking, but it was his eyes that truly captivated—bright, piercing, and unnervingly intense. Su Ruo quickly assessed him: at least 182 cm tall, easily towering over everyone else in the office.

She couldn’t help but think to herself: Damn, he’s really handsome.

“Li Zheng, again?”

His cold gaze swept over everyone in the room before settling on the yellow-haired runt. His voice, low and magnetic, resonated with a resonance that seemed to vibrate in one’s chest.

“President, this time it really wasn’t my fault!” Li Zheng cried, his voice pitiful. “I was wrong!”

Su Ruo’s eyes flicked back to the man across from her—so this was Gu Rang, the infamous president of Bingzhou Academy’s Student Council.

Fck, he was not only devastatingly handsome but had a voice that could melt steel traps, and he was probably a top student too. This world is seriously unfair.

“So, someone dared to provoke you guys?” Gu Rang raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced.

That smirk made Li Zheng’s heart race. Immediately, he raised three fingers to his forehead and solemnly vowed, “I swear, it was her—this senior—who hit me!”

To add credibility, he pointed to the footprint on his T-shirt—the one Su Ruo had left during their earlier scuffle in the gymnasium.

“I really didn’t—”

“Say that again?”

Su Ruo finally snapped. These little shts were spouting nonsense, and if she let them continue, they’d probably convince everyone the sky was green. She spun around and snapped at them.

Unexpectedly, Li Zheng and his gang collectively shuddered, scrambling to huddle in a corner like frightened rats. Su Ruo suddenly felt like a tyrant who had abducted a maiden.

“President, look…!” Li Zheng stammered.

Gu Rang’s icy gaze shifted from Li Zheng to Su Ruo. As she turned her head, their eyes met. Staring into that breathtaking face, she swallowed hard, silently scolding herself: Enemy at the gates—don’t get distracted by his looks.

“Class 10-2, Su Ruo?” His Adam’s apple bobbed as he casually tossed out the question.

Su Ruo glanced at her name tag, suddenly wishing she could burn it. “Yeah.”

“From what I can see, it seems you bullied these poor freshmen from the third year of middle school.”

Gu Rang’s words, coupled with Li Zheng and the others nodding like bobbleheads, made Su Ruo’s chest tighten.

“Poor freshmen?” she echoed incredulously, pointing at the group huddled in the corner—only to freeze the next second.

Somewhere along the way, Li Zheng and his gang had wilted like deflated balloons, their faces deathly pale, as if they were seconds away from fainting. There wasn’t even a trace of the arrogance they’d flaunted in the gymnasium.

“When we were getting our uniforms, they cut in line, cursed at me, and grabbed my collar trying to fight me. Was I wrong to defend myself?”

Gu Rang held a notebook, his slender fingers steepled together. “Song Chu.”

A boy with a buzz cut and thick eyebrows stepped forward from the Student Council members, clearing his throat. “The Disciplinary Committee questioned the witnesses when they brought these guys in. No one saw what happened—no one knows the full story.”

Su Ruo: ...

So now, she had no witnesses, and the only physical evidence—the footprint—was damning for her.

“Su Ruo, Class 10-2,” Gu Rang continued, his tone as flat as ever, “disrupting school order, assaulting a junior student. Considering this is your first week, we won’t deduct any points—but starting tomorrow, you’ll be assigned to school community service for a week.”

Those words hit her like a barrage of punches. Her eyes widened in disbelief as the weight of the injustice crushed down on her.

Gu Rang’s team swiftly jotted notes in their books, while Li Zheng, now in the corner, looked like he’d just been pardoned from death row.

“If there’s nothing else—”

“What the hell?! What about them?!”

The moment the words left her mouth, the office temperature seemed to plummet. The silence was so absolute that only the ticking of the wall clock could be heard.

Su Ruo clearly saw every single person behind Gu Rang lift their heads in unison, their expressions twisted in horror—as if she’d just committed some unforgivable crime.

In that moment, it hit her: No one at Bingzhou Academy would ever dare question Gu Rang’s judgment. Not even twice.

She was drowning in a sea of righteous indignation when she suddenly bolted toward Li Zheng.