Chapter 4

The female security guard tightened her grip around my arm.

“Quit trying to scare people. VP Jenkins makes the rules here.”

The words struck me as almost laughable.

Morrison University was an institution countless students had spent more than a decade studying and working tirelessly to earn their way into.

This was supposed to be a place of knowledge, rules, and fairness.

Since when had a vice president become the law around here?

Janice walked up to me and lightly patted my cheek.

“Weren’t you pretty tough just now? Go ahead. Try doing something to me again.”

I turned my head away from her hand.

“Janice, leave yourself a way out. If you really have the power you claim to have, then stop wasting your breath.”

She snatched the coffee from Sally and threw it all over me.

The cold, sticky liquid ran from my hair down my face. My white dress was quickly covered in large brown stains.

The crowd gasped. A few people instinctively tried to step forward, but the academic advisors stopped them.

Janice tossed aside the empty cup, laughing triumphantly.

“Well, now we’re not wearing the same thing anymore.

“Mine still looks better. Because mine is the real thing.”

I closed my eyes for a moment and wiped the coffee from my eyelashes.

“This dress is worth $4.8 million. You’d better be able to afford it.”

The entire crowd went silent for a moment.

Then an even louder wave of laughter erupted.

Sally was laughing so hard she could barely stand upright.

“$4.8 million? Why don’t you just say $48 million?

“The genuine dress Janice is wearing cost a little over $600,000. And you’re claiming your knockoff is worth $4.8 million?”

The materials in the dress I was wearing were indeed worth only a few hundred thousand dollars, but the rest of its value came from Anna’s design and craftsmanship.

Three years ago, she had announced her retirement and stopped accepting private commissions altogether.

Zeke’s face darkened.

“Nothing but lies. And what poor character.

“Someone like you? Even if you really were a Morrison University student, I’d expel you immediately.”

Janice still wasn’t satisfied.

She grabbed my collar and yanked hard. The fabric gave a faint tearing sound. A tear opened along the neckline, exposing my collarbone.

Several people around us drew sharp breaths, and a few girls instinctively turned their eyes away.

I suddenly broke free from the female security guard and hit Janice’s face.

The sharp crack carried through the crowd as her head jerked to the side. A red imprint quickly appeared on her cheek.

She covered her face and stared at me in disbelief.

“You hit me?”

“That slap was to teach you to respect other people.”

She screamed and lunged at me. “I’ll kill you!”

I caught her arm and shoved her back. The two bodyguards and the security guards closed in at once.

Zeke roared, “Hold her down!”

All four rushed me at once. The security guards seized both my arms, and my shoulder slammed hard against the bulletin board beside us.

The broken glass scraped my arm, and blood immediately began to flow.

Instead of being frightened by it, Janice looked almost pleased.

She picked up the stack of money from the ground and hurled it at my injured arm.

“B*tch! Not even my parents ever laid a hand on me growing up. And you think you can hit me?”

She grabbed my hair and forced me to look up at her.

“Beg and apologize!”

“Not a chance.”

“Then I’ll make sure you get thrown out of Morrison U today!”

She raised her high heel and stomped hard on the top of my foot. The sharp heel ground painfully against my foot, and cold sweat broke out across my forehead.

“Well? Are you begging or not?”

“No.”

She pressed down harder.

“Let’s see how long you can keep that attitude up!”

Sally went to the orientation station and returned with a bucket of red paint, which was prepared by the School of Fine Arts for the freshmen’s photo wall.

“Janice, doesn’t she love wearing knockoffs?”

“Let’s add a little color.”

Janice took the bucket from her while looking at me with a vicious smile.

“Last chance.”

“Beg, or don’t?”

I glanced toward the road in the distance.

Only three minutes remained until the inauguration ceremony.

“Janice, you’re going to regret this.”