Eve Vaughn had thought Aria would rather die than yield to threats and bribes.

But Aria had already taken out her phone, pulled up her QR code, and said, "Transfer it first!"

Eve Vaughn was utterly speechless. It turned out that Aria wasn’t refusing to compromise her principles—Regina Shaw simply hadn’t offered enough.

And Eve Vaughn got a real taste of what it meant to be rich. To switch beds, Regina Shaw transferred a full ten thousand dollars without even blinking.

Aria moved her bedding to what had been Sharon Lowe’s spot, and Regina Shaw started making the bed on Aria’s former bunk. Eve Vaughn came over to help her out.

After the bed was made, Regina Shaw probably realized her earlier behavior had been inappropriate, or perhaps she just figured they would be seeing each other constantly since they were now roommates.

She took out some unopened skincare products she’d bought abroad—an eye cream and a face cream—and gave one to Eve Vaughn and the other to Aria.

The two of them stared at the sudden ’gifts,’ both momentarily stunned.

Regina Shaw still had the air of an arrogant rich girl as she said to them, "I know I offended you earlier. Consider this a small token of my goodwill. I hope you won’t cause trouble for me in the future. If you have something to say, say it to my face. I hate people who use underhanded tricks!"

Eve Vaughn and Aria couldn’t quite understand the rich girl’s methods, and they didn’t accept her gifts.

Eve Vaughn placed the face cream and eye cream back on Regina Shaw’s desk. "Senior Shaw, we actually feel the same way you do. We don’t like people who play dirty, either. Things did get unpleasant earlier, but Aria and I, as well as Nina Steele, who you haven’t met yet, are not the type of people who like to cause trouble."

Regina Shaw was taken aback, seemingly surprised by Eve Vaughn’s sincere explanation.

Then, she shot her a condescending glance and said, "Good."

With that, she slipped on her chic designer jacket, put on her high heels, and left for the lab.

Although Aria had been furious with her just moments ago, she now gazed at the transfer confirmation on her phone and said to Eve Vaughn, "Oh my god, this is enough to cover my living expenses for months. Rich people are just different."

Eve Vaughn sighed. "And here I really thought you were a person of unshakeable principles!"

Aria waved the ten-thousand-dollar transfer record in front of her face. "It’s ten thousand dollars! How many ’pecks of rice’ do you think that can buy?"

Eve Vaughn couldn’t help but laugh. "True. If she wants to be a sucker, why not let her?"

Aria said thoughtfully, "Nina Steele is still at the library. I wonder if a quiet person like her will get bullied by that Regina Shaw?"

...

In the evening, Regina Shaw returned from outside, talking on her phone.

Seeing Nina Steele, she casually handed her a dessert she’d bought from a Michelin-starred restaurant and introduced herself. "I’m Regina Shaw, a Ph.D. student in the joint program between M University and Rivaster University. From now on, I’ll be your roommate."

Without waiting for a response or paying any mind to Nina Steele’s confused expression, she went right back to her phone call.

"Mom, how many times do I have to tell you? I’m only 25, I don’t want to go on a blind date!" Regina Shaw sounded frustrated. "I don’t care if he’s some rising star or a business tycoon. All I want to do right now is focus on my research, so please, just drop it."

It was unclear what Mrs. Shaw said next, but Regina’s voice rose in surprise. "What? It’s already set? How could you do this? So what if he’s from a prominent family in Rivaster? I don’t want to marry into a family there! What’s wrong with Calypsos? It’s not like our family is lacking in any way!"

At that moment, Eve Vaughn, who was reading, felt her heart skip a beat.

’A prominent family in Rivaster...’

’It couldn’t be the Lawson family, could it?’

’Julian Lawson is about to get married, so wouldn’t that just leave Mason Lawson in the family?’

At the thought, a wave of inexplicable unease washed over her.

But then she shook her head, trying to reassure herself. ’How could that be possible? Mason is so good to me. He would never do anything to betray me.’

’If I start doubting him like this, it would be a huge disservice to his feelings for me.’

...

「Meanwhile.」

During dinner at the Lawson residence, Old Mr. Lawson brought up the person Mason Lawson had chosen and was extremely pleased.

"Her family is in politics in Calypsos, making this an alliance between politics and business for us. Not only that, but the girl is younger than Mason, yet her talent is undeniable. A Ph.D. from the renowned M University in Vesperia, currently in a joint program with Rivaster University. Excellent!"

Hearing about the girl’s family background, The Third Madam instantly felt a surge of panic.

’With such a good family background, plus the boost from her academic achievements, she seems even more outstanding than Joanna Sullivan.’

’But if someone like her marries Mason Lawson, will I, who isn’t even his biological mother, have any say left?’

’The couple probably wouldn’t leave any room for her at all.’

It was only then that she realized Mason Lawson’s involvement with Eve Vaughn was nothing more than a dalliance!

’When it came to the things that truly mattered, didn’t he just find a family alliance with someone of equal standing—someone who could even give him a leg up?’

What The Third Madam didn’t know, however, was that Mason Lawson had only chosen this woman because he found her looks pleasant and had simply picked one at random.

The expressions of those from the main branch of the family also turned ugly. After all, Mason Lawson was already monstrously cunning, on the verge of taking control of the entire Lawson Family single-handedly.

Now, with in-laws in Calypsos’s political scene, wouldn’t he become completely unstoppable?

Old Mr. Lawson was incredibly satisfied with this future daughter-in-law. He said with a smile, "Alright, then. You two will meet tomorrow evening and have a good chat. I won’t tag along to a meeting between you young people, so you won’t feel nervous. But Mason, you must treat this seriously. The Shaw Family is a big name in Calypsos!"

Mason Lawson sighed softly but nodded anyway. "I know, Dad."

...

「The next evening」

After class, Aria insisted on using the ten thousand dollars Regina Shaw had transferred to her the day before to treat Eve Vaughn to dinner.

Eve Vaughn couldn’t talk her out of it, so she followed her toward the campus gate, planning to check out a new, popular barbecue restaurant in the university town.

Just then, Aria pointed at a woman walking not far ahead of them. "Evie, look. Isn’t that Regina Shaw?"

Eve Vaughn followed her gaze and saw that it was indeed her.

Aria said thoughtfully, "That’s weird. Yesterday, Regina Shaw was dressed like a princess. Why is she dressed so plainly today? You don’t think she has multiple personalities, do you?"

Eve Vaughn looked at Regina Shaw’s outfit. "I don’t think so. It’s just normal casual wear. Look, the little bear on her jacket is actually pretty cute."

The two of them walked slowly behind, whispering to each other, not daring to go up and greet Regina Shaw.

With her arrogant and condescending rich-girl attitude, Regina Shaw probably wouldn’t even acknowledge them if they said hello.

As they exited the campus gate, Aria suddenly pointed to a car parked across the street. "Oh my god, Evie, look! Regina Shaw’s family really is loaded. It’s a Bentley! Whoa, and there’s a chauffeur opening the door for her."

Eve Vaughn’s gaze also fell on the car across the street. But with just one look, her heart sank.

Because that was the car Mason Lawson often used, and the man opening the door for Regina Shaw was Neil Kane.

An inexplicable chill ran through Eve Vaughn’s heart. She never imagined that her wild fears from yesterday were actually true.

The person on a blind date with Regina Shaw was actually Mason Lawson.

Just then, Aria spotted a nearby milk tea shop that was having a buy-one-get-one-free sale.

She said to Eve Vaughn, "Evie, let’s go check out that milk tea shop. They’re having a special today."

Eve Vaughn watched helplessly as Mason Lawson’s car drove further and further away. She forced herself to say calmly to Aria, "You go ahead. I’ll wait for you here."

Aria didn’t think anything of it and said with a smile, "Okay, wait for me! Same as usual? Half sugar, no pearls?"

Eve Vaughn answered absently.

Aria hurried off toward the milk tea shop, while Eve Vaughn, with trembling hands, took out her phone and dialed Mason Lawson’s number.

As expected, he didn’t answer. In fact, he declined the call.

A moment later, a text from him came through. "Evie, I’m in a meeting. I’ll talk to you later."

Eve Vaughn stared at the words on the screen, reading them over and over.

’He lied to her!’

’How many times had it been now?’

Sometimes, that’s just how people are. Once you discover you’ve been lied to, you can no longer bring yourself to believe any of their explanations, past or future.

A sense of desolation washed over her. ’He’s already started going on arranged dates with a girl from a good family, a girl with a great education.’

’And she was still being kept completely in the dark.’

’Whether it was Joanna Sullivan or Regina Shaw, the person who could be his other half would never be her.’