Chapter 2

Just as Vanessa was about to continue ranting at me, a message suddenly popped up in the group chat, announcing that the freshman students had to head down to a lecture hall for a meeting.

When the four of us from the dorm room arrived at the lecture hall, everyone suddenly turned toward the entrance and started cheering.

"Thank you for the new air conditioners that your father donated to the school, Ms. Stuart!"

Everyone crowded around Vanessa and started showering her with flattery.

At some point, Vanessa noticed me again. She picked up a handbag and walked over to me with a smile.

"Juliette Claude, right? Well, even though you tried to steal the bed I wanted, I don't want things between us to get too ugly. Here, you can have this handbag. I know you're poor. If you sell off the bag, you can at least afford some decent meals with the money."

I was completely taken aback to see the way she was twisting the truth around like that.

"You're the one who attempted to steal my bed, Vanessa. I still have the photos I took this morning after setting up the bed. Do you need me to show them to you?"

The smug-faced Vanessa stiffened. She didn't expect me to have evidence. However, after she fell silent, one of our other classmates came forward and wagged a finger at me.

"That's enough, Juliette. All Vanessa did was ask whether you'd be willing to switch beds with her, but then, you started throwing all of her things around! The nerve of you to talk to her like that now."

The other students had remained neutral before, but now, they swiftly began to stick up for Vanessa.

"I knew it. There's no way Ms. Stuart would ever stoop to stealing someone else's bed."

"This country bumpkin must be the one who's deliberately causing a scene. Don't bother trying to establish a good relationship with her. So what if things get ugly between you two, Vanessa? It's not a big deal! We'll protect you."

"Now that I think about it, I saw her when I arrived at campus. She got out of a middle-aged man's car. Who knows? Maybe she had the guts to toss your things because she's someone's mistress. She's got a sugar daddy to back her up!"

I thought back to when I came to campus this morning. The supposed middle-aged man was Howard Grady, my family's driver. Yet here they were, spinning something as innocent as that into malicious rumors about me.

As their mocking laughter grew louder, my expression gradually turned cold. My anger started to rise.

By this point, I no longer wanted to keep a low profile. I wanted Dad to come over and handle this for me. But just as I was about to make the call, the door to the lecture hall suddenly opened.

Everyone turned to see a bespectacled middle-aged woman entering the lecture hall. It was our faculty advisor, Irene Rhodes.

"What's all this noise? Hurry up and take your seats. I need to inform all of you about the orientation week schedule."

But no one moved.

Just as Irene was about to get angry, Gina Moore, one of Vanessa's lackeys, ran over to her and pointed at me to report me.

"Ms. Rhodes, before you showed up, that country bumpkin was bullying Vanessa. First, she tried to steal Vanessa's dorm bed, then she tried to twist things around!

"Vanessa's dad donated all of the new air conditioners installed in the classrooms and lecture halls. It's thanks to him that we get to study in such a nice environment now!"

Why did they keep talking about the air conditioners? I was so confused. Didn't we all pay a facilities fee on top of our tuition? Was that not enough to cover the maintenance and even upgrade of the air conditioning system? What was this nonsense about Calvin being the one who donated the money for that?

But before I could think any further, Irene walked up to me and stared at me imperiously. "What's your name?"

"Juliette Claude."

Irene checked her call logs, probably to confirm that no one by the last name Claude had gotten in touch with her beforehand.

I chuckled. Well, she wouldn't have gotten a call from a Claude. Dad had gone directly to Ezekiel Hudson, the college president, for the donation of a new building. He probably didn't expect a mere faculty advisor to try to abuse her power against me.

Once Irene was certain there had been no prior notice about me, she was bolstered with enough confidence to raise her voice at me. "Don't you know that Ms. Stuart's family donated the air conditioners in our school?

"If your family is just as capable, you should be donating something to the school as well. Why are you trying to bully your fellow students instead?

"I've noted down your name. Apologize to Ms. Stuart right now. If she forgives you, I won't submit your name to the student affairs office. But if you don't, you can start packing your things and get ready to be asked to leave the school."