Chapter 4 Caught in Their Own Mess

Takeout boxes and snack wrappers had piled up into small mountains in the corners within days. Spilled soup and sauce rendered the floor sticky, so much so that every step felt like a threat of having our shoes stuck to the ground.

The entire dorm reeked of rotten food, and I made it my absolute business to stay out of the chaos.

A brand-new pair of noise-canceling headphones blocked out all the noise and complaining as I focused on keeping my own place clean and tidy. My little corner felt like a completely different world from the garbage dump outside my door.

…

Half a month later, the dorm was so filthy that it was hard to even walk through.

Just then, the dorm director posted an urgent notice in the residence hall group chat.

"Urgent Notice. The Student Affairs will conduct a cleanliness inspection of all dorm rooms in 30 minutes. Any dorm that fails will receive a formal reprimand and will be disqualified from this year's awards and honors!"

The message hit like a bomb.

"Ahh!" Lucy and Stella screamed, jumping out of bed. As their eyes landed on the disaster zone that was their dorm, they started panicking.

Diana was just as frantic. She ripped off her face mask, and her face was even paler than the sheet. Then, she barked at the other two, "What are you waiting for? Start cleaning!"

Unfortunately, Lucy and Stella were so used to being waited on hand and foot that they had no idea how to do housework.

One grabbed a broom and sent trash flying everywhere, filling the room with dust. The other grabbed a mop and splashed dirty water all over the floor, making an even bigger mess.

And so, it was a furious Diana who finally turned on me. "Yelena! Why are you still sitting there? Get over here and clean this place up!"

I pulled one side of my headphones off and looked at her coldly without saying a word.

"I'm ordering you to get to it! Right now! Move!" she screamed.

I stood up slowly and pointed at my bed, saying, "It's not my turn this week. I'm only responsible for my own space."

I put my headphones back on and started a foreign-language film after that, leaving Diana stomping her feet in rage.

Hurried footsteps echoed down the corridor less than 20 minutes later. The inspectors arrived at our door and stopped the moment they stepped inside; the sour stench hit them immediately, and they covered their noses in disgust.

The RAs' calm expressions turned livid at the sight of dirty water spreading across the floor and the mountains of takeout boxes filled with rotting food.

It was no surprise that our dorm was officially reported for failing the hygiene inspection.

Our counselor was summoned to the crime scene.

Tears rolled down Diana's cheeks the second she saw her. "Miss, this is all Yelena's fault! She's been holding a grudge ever since she was ousted as dorm leader and lost her chance at those recommendation points!

"Not only does she refuse to help, but she's also been deliberately dumping takeout on the floor to sabotage us!" The more Diana talked, the more pitiful she sounded.

"We work so hard to clean every day, but she keeps ruining everything. We have no idea what else to do!"

Lucy and Stella nodded furiously beside her.

"That's right! She's the one at fault!"

"Yelena is twisted! She can't stand to see us doing well, so she wants to drag everyone down with her!"

"Miss, please do something!"

The counselor frowned as she listened to their completely twisted accusations.

She looked thoroughly confused and explained, "But Yelena signed a form waiving the outstanding dorm bonus points a long time ago. Plus, she already has a direct PhD admission offer from a prestigious university overseas.

"She doesn't even need those points anymore, so why would she sabotage the dorm over something like this?"