A flicker of shock finally broke through Regina Shaw’s previously calm expression.

She sat back down, staring at Joanna Sullivan. "Explain yourself."

Joanna Sullivan thought her words had finally provoked a reaction and pressed on. "See? I knew you were being kept in the dark. The truth is, the thing between Eve Vaughn and Mason Lawson is an open secret in the Lawson Family. The old master said it’s fine as long as it’s not exposed to the public. Miss Shaw, you’re so young. Can you really tolerate your fiancé and your roommate being tangled up in such a murky affair?"

She watched Regina Shaw’s expression as she spoke.

’If Regina Shaw starts to hate Eve Vaughn,’ Joanna thought, ’I can just let the two of them tear each other apart!’

’With Regina Shaw’s powerful personality and family background, Eve Vaughn is bound to lose. Then, when Eve goes crying to Mason, his affection for her will surely make him turn against Regina.’

’It’s killing two birds with one stone. While they’re fighting, I’ll be the one to come out on top.’

But to her surprise, after a moment of silence, what Regina Shaw said was completely unexpected.

She began coldly, "Miss, I need to correct something you said at the beginning. You claimed Mason Lawson and Eve Vaughn are sleeping together every night. But Eve Vaughn is my roommate. I see her in our room almost every single night. Don’t tell me she knows how to be in two places at once. Furthermore, I don’t believe for a second that you’re telling me this out of kindness. After all, if I were to start a fight with Eve Vaughn, it seems you’re the one who would come out on top."

It was as if her mask had been ripped away. Joanna Sullivan’s expression turned ugly, and for a moment, she didn’t know how to react.

’I can’t believe this Regina Shaw is so sharp.’

She could only manage a strained smile. "Miss Shaw, you’ve truly misunderstood me. It’s true that I’m very fond of Mason, which is why I don’t want to see him get tangled up with a low-class girl like Eve Vaughn. Why don’t we team up? In any case, Eve is a stumbling block on your path to becoming Mrs. Lawson. What do you say?"

Regina Shaw narrowed her eyes and said with contempt, "Team up with you? So we can take down Eve Vaughn first, and then you can take me down? Sorry, I have no interest in this matter. And while I admit I’m surprised by the relationship between Eve Vaughn and Mason Lawson, at least she’s more forthright than you. She doesn’t resort to playing these dirty tricks behind people’s backs!"

With that, she stood up and left without a moment’s hesitation, not giving Joanna Sullivan a chance to say another word.

Joanna Sullivan stared at Regina Shaw’s retreating back, her mind in turmoil.

’This woman is so much harder to deal with than Eve Vaughn.’

’She’s impossible to persuade, whether by carrot or by stick!’

’And to top it off, I was kind enough to tell her about it, and what does she do? Not a shred of gratitude. She even treated me like an enemy.’

The thought that her rival would now shift from the background-less Eve Vaughn to the well-connected and capable Regina Shaw made Joanna Sullivan suddenly feel her chances of success were dwindling.

...

After leaving the coffee shop, Regina Shaw headed straight for her dorm room.

She hadn’t revealed her true feelings to Joanna Sullivan.

But she wasn’t that magnanimous either.

She wasn’t angry out of jealousy, but because she felt like she’d been made a fool of.

As soon as she entered the dorm, she saw Eve Vaughn sitting at her desk, reading.

Without a word, Regina Shaw grabbed her and pulled her out of the room.

"Senior Shaw, what are you doing?"

Eve Vaughn was completely baffled by the sudden tug.

When they reached the deserted end of the hallway, Regina Shaw finally spoke.

"Eve Vaughn, do you think this is funny? You must have known all along that my blind date was Mason Lawson, right? No wonder you volunteered to clean for me that day. And you were eavesdropping when I was on the phone with my mom. So this was the reason for all of it."

Eve Vaughn was taken aback. "Mr. Lawson told you?"

She couldn’t help but feel a little resentful toward Mason Lawson.

’Hadn’t they agreed that he would get the three of them together to clear things up face-to-face?’

’Now he’s gone and explained it to Regina himself, without even telling me.’

’It’s put me in such an awkward position.’

Guilt-ridden, Eve Vaughn could only say, "Mr. Lawson and I were planning to tell you about this."

"Oh, save it!" Regina Shaw was still fuming. "I used to think you were pretty easy to get along with—not as melodramatic as Aria or as reclusive as Nina Steele. But now I see you’re full of tricks! If you had just told me straight up that Mason Lawson was your man, I wouldn’t have said a thing. But you? You and Mason played me for a fool. Do you think it’s fun to mess with people like that, huh?"

Eve Vaughn felt she had no way to defend herself and could only try to explain, "Senior Shaw, it’s not like that. It was only on Saturday at Crimson Spring Resort that I..."

"Enough. Don’t say another word."

Regina Shaw stared at her coldly. "Don’t worry, I’m not going to fight you for Mason Lawson. What he and I have is fake. But from now on, we’ll stay out of each other’s way. I have nothing to say to someone like you!"

With that, she pushed Eve Vaughn aside and strode back toward the dorm room.

After all, the ’young miss’ felt her dignity had been trampled on today.

The one thing she couldn’t stand was dealing with such complicated people—it was just too much trouble!

Eve Vaughn quickly called Mason Lawson.

’I have to find out what’s going on.’

’Why didn’t he talk to me before telling Regina Shaw?’

But to her surprise, Mason Lawson was just as baffled when he heard.

"You’re saying Regina Shaw knows?" he asked, surprised. "How did she find out?"

"So it wasn’t you who told her?" Eve Vaughn sighed in frustration. "Senior Shaw is furious. I told you we should have told her the truth as soon as we got back from Crimson Spring Resort. But you insisted on waiting. Well, this is just great. Now I’m caught in the middle with no way out!"

Mason Lawson was quiet for a moment. "How about this: you focus on your classes, and leave this to me."

"How am I supposed to focus on class now?" Eve fretted. "We live in the same room, we’re bound to run into each other constantly. How am I supposed to face her?"

"I’ll come pick you up from campus tonight," Mason Lawson soothed her. "Don’t worry, it’ll be fine. Regina Shaw isn’t a petty person. Even if she’s angry, she won’t make things difficult for you."

After hanging up, Eve Vaughn returned to her dorm, feeling anxious.

Regina Shaw was sitting at her desk, and the tense aura surrounding her made Eve afraid to even be in the same room.

With no classes that afternoon, Eve Vaughn simply grabbed her books and escaped to the study hall.

In any case, she couldn’t stand being in the dorm any longer.

When evening finally came, Mason Lawson came to pick her up in person.

Eve Vaughn got in the car, pouting and clearly unhappy.

She muttered, "Our relationship had just started to get better, and now we’re back to square one. It’s even worse than square one!"

Seeing her long face, Mason coaxed her good-naturedly, "Alright, it’s my fault. I’ve been too busy lately and forgot to take care of this sooner. How about we explain everything to her tonight, okay?"

Just then, Regina Shaw appeared outside the car window, walking toward them.

Eve Vaughn instantly felt like she’d been caught red-handed. "Senior Shaw?" she said nervously. "What is she doing here?"

Mason said, "We need to explain things to her, right? How can we do that if she’s not here?"

Eve realized he was right. She just hadn’t expected Regina Shaw to actually get into the car.

She had assumed they would meet her at their destination.

Mason seemed to read her mind and smiled. "The old master told me to look after her more. This works out perfectly—she can cover for me. Even if I don’t go home tonight, he won’t say anything."

As soon as he finished speaking, Regina Shaw got in the car.

She must have seen Eve Vaughn in the passenger seat, because she tactfully sat in the back.

Her expression was tense and cold, and she looked just as displeased with Mason Lawson.

Eve Vaughn carefully watched Regina Shaw in the rearview mirror out of the corner of her eye.

The car was silent on the way; no one said a word.

Mason Lawson focused on the road, seemingly engrossed in his driving.

Regina Shaw, her face a cold mask, also stared straight ahead.

And Eve Vaughn just kept her eyes on the rearview mirror.

Just then, Regina Shaw’s voice came coolly from the back. "You were sneaking glances at me in the dorm, and now you’re still doing it in the car? If you want to look, then look properly!"

Embarrassed, Eve Vaughn looked away, lowering her head like a scolded child without saying a word.

Mason looked at the girl beside him and couldn’t help but chuckle.

’How interesting!’

’To think Regina Shaw could actually tame this sharp-tongued little spitfire who never backs down.’

’Usually, whenever he said one thing, she’d have several retorts, never yielding an inch.’

’But now, look at her. Utterly speechless.’

Sensing that he was laughing at her, Eve gritted her teeth and whispered, "Could you please stop laughing!"

"Alright, my fault again."

Mason replied, and he actually stopped laughing.

Though still angry, Regina, sitting in the back, was a little surprised.

She had only met Mason Lawson twice, and on both occasions, the man had acted high and mighty, as cold as ice.

But with Eve Vaughn, he had actually smiled and even readily admitted he was wrong.

Regina Shaw suddenly thought of a saying: *What in the world is love?* It’s one thing taming another.