170. Help or Harm?

Chen Ruowen let out a scoff. "I am not afraid of him causing trouble for me."

Bai Jinyan nodded. "I know you aren't, but what about the others?"

Seeing that Chen Ruowen did not reply, Bai Jinyan continued.

"The Student Union holds considerable power. To give you the simplest example, freshmen and sophomores are required to check in for morning roll call every day. According to school regulations, missing morning roll call more than twice disqualifies a student from receiving scholarships, and these attendance records are compiled by the Student Union's Sports Department.

If you maintain a good relationship with the people in the Sports Department and speak to them privately when special circumstances arise, your absences might not be recorded. However, if your relationship is poor, they don't even need to go out of their way to make things difficult for you—they simply need to report your absences accurately, and you won't get that scholarship."

Chen Ruowen snorted. "I don't care about that pocket change."

"I know you don't, but a scholarship is not just about money; it can even affect job hunting and graduate school entrance exams. You might not care about this record of honor, but do Ma Yunan and Mo Xiaoxin not care either? I am merely giving a very simple example; in reality, there could be even greater repercussions.

If you vent your anger and end up affecting these people's futures, Wenwen, can you take responsibility for their lives?"

Chen Ruowen desperately wanted to bite the bullet and answer that she could. Twin Stars could provide these people with jobs and money, but it could not necessarily fulfill their dreams, nor could it shoulder the lives of others.

She had to admit that she didn't like listening to Bai Jinyan's words, but he made sense.

With a bad-tempered kick at the leg of the sofa, she muttered glumly, "Then what do you suggest we do? Are we just going to let it go like this?"

"We can negotiate properly with Han Guanglin. It was wrong of them to plagiarize. If you take this video and approach Han Guanglin privately, as long as you don't burn bridges, you might actually succeed in securing a spot in the welcome gala and gaining 0.2 GPA points."

Negotiate with Han Guanglin and, on top of that, turn around and participate in their welcome gala?

The moment Chen Ruowen heard this, she furrowed her brows. How was this submissive approach any different from swallowing one's humiliation to survive? If someone struck you on the left cheek, were you supposed to offer your right cheek for them to hit as well?

"No way, that's impossible. Daring to openly plagiarize and still coming after me—I will never let him off."

"Wenwen..."

"You don't need to say anymore. I might not be able to take responsibility for other people's lives, but taking responsibility for my own life is something I can certainly manage."

Emerging from Room 802, Chen Ruowen discovered that the crowd next door had moved together to the ninth floor. She didn't have the bandwidth to wonder why Gao Tang had bought out the entire floor, and instead summoned everyone once more, solemnly relaying Bai Jinyan's words to them.

"I am definitely going to crash their show, and I have just explained the consequences to you. Weigh the pros and cons carefully amongst yourselves. If anyone wants to drop out, there is still time."

Guo Jingyuan was the first to move. Unobtrusively shifting her position, she stood behind Chen Ruowen. Though she kept her head lowered, her expression was resolute.

"You don't want your scholarship anymore?" Chen Ruowen asked.

Guo Jingyuan gently shook her head. "I'll be careful and won't give them a chance to catch me at fault. Even if they do..." She glanced at Chen Ruowen with a blushing face, "I... I still want to stand by your side."

Narrowing her eyes, Chen Ruowen reached out and patted the girl's head. "My pampering of you wasn't in vain."

"I'll follow the class president," Li Mi stated quite decisively.

Mo Xiaoxin, Xiao Gao, and a few others quickly stepped forward to join them.

"I refuse to go out there and beg them for a welcome," Mo Xiaoxin said, waving her fist.

"I can't swallow this anger. I'm going to write their shameless behavior right into my script!" Gao Lelao said bitterly.

Wu Jie also walked over toward their group. He had been recruited into the rehearsal troupe by Mo Xiaoxin and the others later on, and he brought along a law freshman who had also participated in the winter camp.

"You guys didn't stop me from crashing Team Three's event during the winter camp, and this time, I will back you all the way to the end."

Chen Ruowen wasn't very familiar with the remaining people. After weighing the pros and cons, only two teams chose to leave.

Thinking about it, this was actually quite normal. Over the past few days of setting up a rival kitchen, Han Guanglin had already sent people to threaten this group overtly and covertly several times. Those who were going to leave had already left, and the remaining two teams—whose minds hadn't quite cleared up before—realized the gravity of the situation after hearing Chen Ruowen spell out the consequences so harshly, and decided to walk away.

Looking at the twenty-odd people still left on the ninth floor, Bai Jinyan frowned slightly. However, since things had already reached this point and the others refused to leave, he did not force the issue.

Yet, watching Chen Ruowen, who was deliberately keeping her back turned to him, Bai Jinyan let out a soft sigh.

He knew perfectly well that saying those things would displease her, but he... couldn't not say them.

Bai Jinyan originally intended to wait until everyone dispersed before finding Chen Ruowen for a proper talk, but the moment the crowd scattered, Gao Tang walked over toward the two of them.

"Staging a rivalry with the Literature and Art Department—was that your idea?"

Unhappy to the extreme, Chen Ruowen raised her head and shot him a sideways glance.

"If you're here to lecture me, you'd better shut up right now."

Gao Tang chuckled softly. "Such an interesting matter, why would I lecture you?"

This reply elicited a disapproving look from Bai Jinyan, though Chen Ruowen's expression eased up just a fraction. Seeing this, Gao Tang smiled, made a hand gesture, and added.

"I only have one small suggestion. See if you'd like to adopt it."

Chen Ruowen gave him a look that clearly communicated *you had better be sensible*, and asked, "What suggestion?"

"The venue at the activity center is too small, and the street outside is filled with traffic. Setting the stage there is a bit dangerous; how about moving it to the East Playground nearby instead?"

Chen Ruowen's gaze transformed from *you had better be sensible* to *consider yourself sensible*.

"As for the Student Union's retaliation that Bai Jinyan mentioned," Gao Tang shook his head indifferently, "there are plenty of ways to deal with them. I—"

"Gao Tang!" Bai Jinyan barked softly, cutting him off. "Don't ruin other people's lives just for your own momentary whim."

The eager thirst for knowledge that had just been gleaming on Chen Ruowen's face instantly dimmed considerably.

Gao Tang had far fewer reservations. At his core, he was even more capricious and unrestrained than Chen Ruowen. Bai Jinyan's words didn't even cause his expression to shift in the slightest; he continued looking at Chen Ruowen, a hint of enticement lacing his tone.

"You can go ahead and do whatever you want to do with complete peace of mind. I will help you solve every single piece of trouble, and I have the capability to resolve them.

With me around, you will never need to consider the consequences."

The look Chen Ruowen gave him turned somewhat peculiar—neither happy nor moved, but rather an emotion that was difficult to define. Yet this trace of emotion vanished far too quickly; just as Gao Tang attempted to capture it, it instantly slipped away without a trace.

This declaration, which ought to have been deeply touching, promptly encountered its first objection.

"You aren't helping her; you're destroying her."

Bai Jinyan shook his head in disapproval, stepping between their intersecting gazes.

"There are far too many things in this world that you cannot accomplish. If you indulge her temperament like this, what will happen to Wenwen the day you encounter a situation neither of us can resolve? Have you ever thought about that?"

Bai Jinyan took in every shift in Gao Tang's expression, his tone sharpening with more incisive questioning.

"You haven't thought about it, because you merely treat all of this as a game. You only view Wenwen as an extremely interesting person, wanting to watch her do amusing things to satisfy your own mentality of being a spectator. You have never once considered what will happen when these amusing matters spiral out of control and turn into disasters. Do you honestly think you are helping her like this?"

The smile on Gao Tang's face receded.

"Just because there are things you cannot achieve does not mean I cannot. Do not use your own perspective to project others' stances. Starting from this welcome gala, just watch whether or not I can protect her until the very end."