Chapter 1

After pulling an all-nighter to finish my group project, I was just about to put on my noise-canceling headphones and get some well-deserved sleep.

Not even ten minutes after I closed my eyes, my three roommates barged back into the dorm.

Janelle kicked the door open with a loud bang, cursing up a storm about how annoying the professor had been in class.

"I literally sat in the back row on purpose, and she still called on me to answer a question," she sneered.

"If this wasn't a mandatory credit, who the hell would waste time on her garbage class?"

The other two girls quickly chimed in, trying to soothe her temper before pulling her into an online game.

Janelle's fingers smashed furiously against her keyboard, and every few seconds, she hurled another vulgar insult into her headset.

"Are you blind? Protect your shooter!"

"Support, stick to me! What the hell are you doing following the jungler? Are you desperate for a guy's attention or something?"

The racket made it impossible for me to drift off. Unable to bear it, I spoke up in a quiet, tired voice.

"Could you guys keep it down a little? I really need some sleep. I have an afternoon lecture."

Instead of lowering her voice, Janelle started cursing even louder.

I sighed. When my parents dropped me off on campus, they repeatedly reminded me to stay humble and get along with my peers.

Even as the daughter of the state's wealthiest tycoon, I was taught never to use my family's influence to bully anyone.

So, I pulled the duvet over my head and prayed that exhaustion would take over.

Just as I felt sleep creeping in, Janelle let out a piercing shriek.

"Damn it! Why did the power go out?!"

I thought I could finally get some quiet rest, but Janelle was just getting started.

1、

When I realized the electricity had cut out, I breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

I figured this would finally force them to stay quiet for a while.

Janelle, still fuming, urged the other two to pay the utility bill right away so she could finish her gaming match.

Faye reminded her that the prepaid utility card was sitting right beside her desk.

The moment Janelle saw the reload fee, she exploded again.

"What the hell? Who's been streaming high-def videos all night in this dorm? Why does the reload cost twenty-five dollars?!"

After reluctantly reloading the utility account online, Janelle started barking at everyone to Venmo her their share.

By this point, my exhaustion had reached its peak, and my heart began racing in my chest.

It was the classic onset of severe sleep deprivation, and I knew that if I didn't rest right away, my body would give out.

Over the past five months, I had covered the entire dorm's utility bills out of my own pocket without ever asking them for a single dime.

Since I had never bothered splitting pennies with them, skipping this five-dollar share seemed completely reasonable.

With that thought, I closed my eyes and allowed myself to drift off.

I was so completely drained that the moment I let go, I fell into a deep slumber.

That peaceful silence didn't even last three seconds before a deafening clatter of metal rang out right next to my head.

Janelle was banging something hard against my metal bed frame, clanging relentlessly without stopping.

The jarring noise grated against my nerves, and my frustration flared instantly.

Before I could even open my eyes, Janelle ripped open my bed curtain without warning.

"Hey! Venmo me your share of the power bill! Are you deaf?"

My mind was still hazy with fatigue, and before I could even formulate a response, Janelle reached over.

She snatched off my headphones and violently yanked away my duvet.

I was used to sleeping without clothes because it helped me relax faster.

Her sudden move left me completely exposed to the cold room, and the shock woke me up instantly.

I grabbed the blanket in a panic, wrapping it tightly around my body.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Janelle rolled her eyes at me, her face dripping with pure contempt.

"Venmo me your damn share!"

"Then why did you rip my blanket off? Do you have zero concept of personal privacy?!"

I was genuinely furious now, and my tone turned sharp and cold.

Janelle raised her voice even higher, completely unreasonable.

"Who told you to sleep naked in a shared dorm? You think this is your private mansion?"

"You think you're in the right? If you're that desperate to show off your body, go find yourself a man!"

My cheeks flushed red with rage, but my chest tightened painfully as the palpitations grew worse.

I didn't want to waste any more energy arguing with a lunatic; all I wanted was to send her the cash and go back to sleep.

I pulled up my app and sent her the entire twenty-five dollars, but Janelle didn't leave.

"Why did you send me twenty-five dollars?" she snapped.

"I already calculated it. The bill is twenty-five, so each person owes me five bucks."

I found her logic utterly absurd, but I swallowed my anger.

"Then just refund me the extra twenty."

I pulled the covers over myself and put my headphones back on, desperate for her to walk away.

Yet Janelle refused to let it go and snatched my headphones right off my head again.

"No way! You need to send me five dollars separately. I'm not accepting this twenty-five."

I was truly pushed to my limit.

"Consider the whole utility bill paid by me. Keep the change and give me my headphones back."

I reached out to grab them, but without hesitation, Janelle hurled my two-thousand-dollar limited-edition headphones straight onto the hard tile floor.

A sickening crack echoed in the room.

I hurriedly threw on some clothes, jumped down from my bunk, and inspected the damage.

The outer casing of the headphones was shattered into pieces.

This was a limited-edition piece, and the repairs alone would cost at least eight hundred dollars.

My blood boiled, and the ache in my chest flared up sharply.

"Are you out of your mind?! Why did you smash my headphones?!"

Janelle crossed her arms over her chest, staring down at me with a smug smirk.

"Venmo me. Five bucks!"

Watching her deliberately provoke me pushed me over the edge.

"I'm not sending you a single cent today. What are you going to do about it?"

Dropping all polite pretense, I shoved Janelle out of my way.

"Get lost. If you disturb my sleep one more time, I'm reporting you straight to the academic dean."

After yelling at her, I climbed back into bed.

Janelle narrowed her eyes, a vicious glint flashing across her face.

"Refusing to pay? You'd better not regret this."

I ignored the crazy woman. I wanted to see just how she planned to make me regret it.