Afraid of being misunderstood, Eve Vaughn quickly explained, "Even if you hadn’t covered for us, I wouldn’t have blamed you. After all, you had no obligation to help. It’s just that through this whole thing, I’ve realized that you’re a good person, Senior Shaw."

Regina Shaw narrowed her eyes and retorted, "So, you’re saying you thought I was a bad person before all this?"

"Er..." 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Eve Vaughn was stumped. She answered, a little guiltily, "That’s... not exactly it."

Regina Shaw didn’t seem to mind. She stood up and said, "We don’t need to become friends. Besides, I’ll probably be moving out soon anyway, so we won’t have many chances to see each other. Plus, we’re not from the same social circle."

"Oh."

Eve Vaughn was at a loss for words.

Regina Shaw wasn’t wrong. ’She’s the daughter of a prestigious family, a medical PhD. And what am I?’

Feeling a little dejected, she silently sat back down in her chair.

Soon, the sound of Regina Shaw on the phone drifted over. "Mom, I’m already trying to develop things with President Lawson like Dad asked. You can lift the financial restrictions on me now, right? Also, I want to rent an apartment. I really can’t stand living in this dorm anymore."

It was unclear what was said on the other end, but Regina Shaw’s voice shot up an octave. "What? Has Old Mr. Lawson lost his mind? He wants me to move into Mason Lawson’s house? How is that possible?"

After that, Regina Shaw started arguing with her parents again. Her voice grew more and more frantic until she finally burst into tears of frustration and hung up the phone.

It was the first time Eve Vaughn had ever seen a girl as proud as Regina Shaw shed tears, and she was crying so heartbrokenly.

She hesitated for a long time before, at the risk of getting snapped at by Regina, handing her a tissue and offering a word of comfort. "Senior Shaw, please don’t cry. At least you have parents to argue with. I don’t even have anyone to argue with."

Regina Shaw must have been bottling it all up. She was in a new place here in Rivaster, with no one to confide in.

So, she poured it all out to Eve Vaughn. "Now I can’t move out. Old Mr. Lawson is insisting I move into the Lawson family estate to make it easier to ’foster my relationship’ with President Lawson. My mom already told him that living in the dorm is convenient because it’s close to the lab. She already said it, so if I go and rent an apartment now, wouldn’t that be a huge slap in the face to Old Mr. Lawson?"

Eve Vaughn listened quietly, unsure whether she should envy Regina or pity her.

The very things Regina Shaw could have for the asking—things she even disdained—were exactly what Eve yearned for.

But even though Regina Shaw had everything, she still wasn’t happy.

After a long silence, Eve Vaughn asked a little awkwardly, "Senior Shaw, I know you and Aria used to argue all the time, but she’s moved out to live with her boyfriend now. And you know what Nina Steele and I are like; we won’t pick fights. So... do you really hate our dorm room so much that you absolutely have to leave?"

Regina Shaw seemed to zone out for a moment, as if she were considering that very question.

’It was true that she used to bicker with Aria all day, but she never really hated her. At most, she just found her a little annoying.’

’As for Eve Vaughn and Nina Steele, they had never provoked her at all.’

’But she had already made a fuss, saying she didn’t want to be crammed into one room with all these people.’

’If she backed down now, wouldn’t it be incredibly humiliating?’

Fortunately, a call from her research group summoned Regina Shaw away just then.

Otherwise, she really wouldn’t have known how to answer Eve Vaughn.

Eve Vaughn looked around the cold, empty dorm room.

Aria was living elsewhere now. Nina Steele was almost always out working part-time jobs, only coming back at night to sleep. And Regina Shaw could move out at any moment.

Suddenly, Eve Vaughn felt as if the four-person dorm had become hers alone.

She picked up a broom, swept the floor, and then mopped it.

Then, instead of going to the library, she took out a book and started reading right there in the dorm.

After all, she was the only one there, so no one would disturb her.

It wasn’t until ten o’clock at night, just before the dormitory building was about to be locked, that Nina Steele returned from outside.

But when she returned, she brought a middle-aged woman in with her, and both of them were loaded down with bags.

"Who... who’s this?"

Eve Vaughn stared blankly at the plainly dressed middle-aged woman.

An embarrassed flush crept across Nina Steele’s fair face as she explained in a low voice, "This is my mother. She... her train just got in. She’ll be staying in our room for the night."

"Oh, hello, ma’am. Please, have a seat."

Eve Vaughn quickly went to get a chair for Mrs. Steele.

Nina Steele spoke to her mother in their hometown dialect, "This is my roommate. The other two aren’t back yet."

Nina Steele’s mother ignored Eve Vaughn and didn’t take the chair she offered. Instead, she said impatiently to Nina, "You useless girl, hurry up and get me a basin of water to wash my feet! I’ve been traveling all day, I’m exhausted!"

"Okay, you can rest on my bed for a bit." Nina Steele led her mother to her bedside. "We’ll just have to squeeze in together tonight."

With that, she took a comforter out of her cabinet.

Eve Vaughn sensed the unfriendliness on Mrs. Steele’s face and didn’t dare try to speak to her again. She sat silently in her seat, but her attention and peripheral vision were fixed on Nina.

Watching Mrs. Steele take off her socks and throw them directly on the floor, Eve Vaughn felt uncomfortable but was too embarrassed to say anything.

However, just as Regina Shaw opened the door and walked in, Mrs. Steele happened to cough and spit a wad of phlegm right onto the floor.

It landed just inches from Regina Shaw’s expensive leather boots.

Regina Shaw screamed instantly. "AH! Who... Who are you? That’s disgusting!"

Eve Vaughn, who had been washing her face in the bathroom, rushed out.

"Eve Vaughn, what is going on here?"

Regina Shaw was absolutely furious. She shot Mrs. Steele a look of disgust and said, "I’m so grossed out! It almost got on my boots."

Only then did Eve Vaughn see that Mrs. Steele had just spat on the floor.

Unexpectedly, in the face of Regina Shaw’s complaint, Mrs. Steele just snorted disdainfully and said, "City girls are all rotten. You look all prim and proper, but you’re no different from a she-devil!"

Although Mrs. Steele was speaking in a dialect, Regina Shaw understood her perfectly. Her temper immediately exploded. She turned to Eve Vaughn and yelled, "Call the police! Call the police right now! Who is this woman? What right does she have to just barge into our room?"

Eve quickly pulled Regina aside and explained, "That’s Nina Steele’s mother. She’s staying here tonight. It’s just for one night, let’s just put up with it. We’re all roommates here."

Just then, Nina Steele returned, holding a newly bought toothbrush and towel.

Regina Shaw shook off Eve Vaughn’s hand and confronted Nina Steele directly. "Don’t you know that you’re not allowed to have non-students stay in the dorms?"

Nina Steele’s voice held a pleading tone. "Senior Shaw, my mom is just staying for one night. She’ll leave tomorrow, okay?"

"No!"

Regina Shaw said, flustered and exasperated, "Just look around! Those stinky socks thrown on the floor, the phlegm she spat everywhere, and she just cursed at me! I can’t stay in the same room with someone like that for one more minute. Get her out of here now!"

Eve Vaughn was caught in the middle and didn’t dare try to mediate any further.

After all, Nina Steele’s mother was incredibly unhygienic.

Nina Steele sighed and said to her mother, "There’s a cheap inn near the school. Why don’t I take you there for the night?"

Mrs. Steele frowned. "Didn’t you say you have no money? If you have no money, how do you have money for an inn? If you give me fifty thousand yuan right now, I’ll go straight back home without another minute’s delay! Otherwise, you’ll just listen to me and get married. We can forget about this whole school thing. What’s the point of a girl getting so much education in some stupid school anyway?"

Pushed to the brink by her mother, Nina Steele was on the verge of tears. She choked out, "Mom, please stop. Can we talk about this in private tomorrow?"

"We’re talking about it right now! Let’s have everyone here judge! Your brother is still locked up in a detention center! I told you to get money, but you can’t. I told you to get married and bring in a bride price, but you won’t! How did I give birth to such a heartless, ungrateful money pit like you?"

Listening to Mrs. Steele’s tirade, it seemed that Regina Shaw and Eve Vaughn finally understood something. The two of them exchanged a long, meaningful look.