The vehicle started up again and continued to bump along the endless Gobi Desert. The interior of the vehicle was like a stuffy can, making one drowsy.

After an unknown amount of time, a sharp female voice suddenly pierced the oppressive atmosphere.

"Hey! What's wrong with you? Don't you have eyes?!"

Su Tang opened her eyes and lazily looked toward the source of the sound.

All I saw was a girl in the aisle wearing a high-end-looking cashmere coat and with two shiny braids, standing with her hands on her hips, glaring down at a girl sitting next to her.

The girl who was scolded was named Wang Xiaoya. She looked only sixteen or seventeen years old, thin and small, wearing a patched coarse cotton-padded jacket, and was huddled in her seat with a look of fear on her face. A large wet patch was on her trouser leg, and the water stains were still spreading downwards, obviously from water spilled from the kettle.

"I'm...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." Wang Xiaoya's voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz, her eyes instantly reddened, and she frantically tried to wipe them away, but didn't dare.

The girl with the shiny braids was named Qiao Lin. She was carrying a military water bottle with the lid open, clearly something she hadn't been holding properly. Yet, she took out her anger on others.

"Not on purpose? I think you did it on purpose!" Qiao Lin's voice was shrill and loud as she took a step back with a look of disgust. "Look at the earthy smell on you, it stinks! Stay away from me!"

She even exaggeratedly waved her hand in front of her nose, as if Wang Xiaoya were some kind of dirty thing.

"I...I didn't...I took a shower..." Wang Xiaoya's tears welled up in her eyes, and her lips trembled with grievance. She wanted to explain, but she didn't know what to say.

Everyone in the carriage watched this scene, but no one uttered a sound.

Su Tang's gaze swept over Qiao Lin. She came from a good family, was arrogant and domineering, and most importantly, knew how to form cliques.

She had only been on the bus for a few hours when she was surrounded by three or four followers.

Such people, in any environment, like to establish their status by suppressing the weakest.

Naïve, but effective.

Sure enough, a girl behind her immediately chimed in, "Qiao Lin, don't bother with this country bumpkin. You'll only dirty your hands. Look at her hands, they're like old tree bark. She looks like someone who toils in the fields. She's not worthy to sit with you!"

"Exactly! Make her go sit in the back!"

Upon hearing this, Qiao Lin raised her chin even higher, like a proud peacock, and said to Wang Xiaoya in a commanding tone, "Did you hear me? Get to the back! Don't get in my way."

Wang Xiaoya was so frightened that she trembled all over. Clutching her faded, tattered cloth bag, she was really about to stand up and give up her seat.

Su Tang watched quietly, with no intention of intervening.

In this unfamiliar environment with unclear rules, the first person to jump out and be the first to stick their neck out is often the one who dies the fastest.

This Qiao Lin is arrogant and domineering, making her a good target, while that Wang Xiaoya, although timid and cowardly, must have some outstanding qualities to have been chosen and sent here.

Su Tang kept both of them in her heart.

This farce ended with Wang Xiaoya silently shrinking to the last row, sitting right next to Su Tang, hugging her knees and shedding tears in silence.

Seeing Wang Xiaoya's pitiful appearance, Su Tang silently handed her a handkerchief.

Wang Xiaoya raised her head, her eyes showing some surprise. Her cheeks were flushed with a high-altitude blush from the cold, and her clear, bright eyes were full of gratitude.