The thrill of showing off wealth—honestly, it feels pretty great! Of course, it's not something you do all the time; that would be brainless. But every now and then, it's got its own kind of fun. Especially when you’re playing the tank as someone’s human shield—nothing draws hate quite like a cocky, rich jerk flaunting his cash. And for a "stew pot" whose only asset is money, the best way to deal with him is to hit him with even more cash.
But right after the big show of wealth, Jack Young immediately got downgraded to manual labor. The reason was simple: Sophie Soo was moving out, leaving the school dorm for a place off-campus. First, it fulfilled the "room and board included" promise. Second, it cemented the rumors about her having a **boyfriend. Third, Sophie threw her head back and yelled at the sky—it's so hot!!
Chengdu is in the south—humid air, scorching weather. This time of year, you can look up at the boys’ dorm and spot plenty of shadowy half-naked dudes. These guys are rocking nothing but underwear, and if you toss a red bedsheet over them, boom, instant Spartan cosplay. But summer hits girls even harder than guys, because here’s rule number one: boys can go full Sparta, but girls definitely can’t mess around with Amazon cosplay.
"There was this one time—a science guy used surveying equipment to peep into the girls' dorm. So, never let your guard down around those nerds. It's one of the golden rules passed down by generations of senior sisters," Sophie Soo lectured seriously. Jack Young glanced around and actually spotted someone surveying something on campus. Sophie pointed at the tripod-mounted gear and said fiercely, "That's it. That thing's the culprit, forcing us to wear the full set!"
Because of all this, to survive the endless brutal summer, Sophie decided to rent an apartment.
"So basically, your real reason for moving is just to strip down at home?" Jack squinted at her.
"Not entirely."
She didn’t even deny it! Are all the girls in my Soo family this blunt?
Sophie ticked them off on her fingers: "The rental has AC, a water heater, a kitchen, a TV, internet, a washing machine, and most importantly—no blackout curfew! I can game all night and never worry about the power cutting off at eleven again!"
So basically, the new place ticks all her boxes, and even with summer break coming up, she’s dead set on moving.
Normally, as student council president, Sophie Soo could just snap her fingers and summon a whole gang of eager helpers—not to mention the "White Horse Group" lining up to play prince charming. But to make her human shield really shine and get the most publicity, Sophie decided Jack Young had to do it himself.
Since he had to do it himself, Jack Young had to enter the girls’ dorm.
At the dorm lobby, the dorm supervisor auntie stood guard like a fortress. But Sophie’s connections were legendary—even someone as fierce as the supervisor was no problem for her. Later, Sophie bragged that getting the entry permit signed by the counselor was child's play; the stamp was literally in her own drawer. "Honestly, you’re the poster child for abusing power," Jack quipped, but Sophie just snorted and dragged him straight into the girls' dorm.
Sensing Jack’s awkward pause and discomfort, Sophie turned to tease him: "Don’t tell me this is your first time in the girls’ dorm? Haha, you’re a grown-up now, but you’re still this shy!" Jack’s embarrassment made her crack up.
"Come on, it’s not the girls’ dorm that’s making me uncomfortable." Even setting aside The Queen, Jack himself had already been through enough awkward half-naked situations. A girls’ dorm was no big deal. "What’s bothering me is something else." He scanned the room, hearing faint rustling in every corner. The sounds surrounded him, making his skin crawl.
"What’s up?"
"I have no idea either." Jack honestly didn’t know what was making those noises yet.
All the dorm room doors were wide open for ventilation. The girls were dressed light—some a little too light—so Sophie kept covering Jack’s eyes. Finally, she had to yell down the hall: "Hey, ladies, heads up! There’s a guy here!"
After Sophie’s lion’s roar, chaos erupted—screams, frantic dressing, doors slamming. Jack couldn’t help but sweatdrop; clearly, summer was rough on the ladies. Thinking back to Jill Young’s time adrift in the underground ocean, he could relate to that wild survival urge—women really have it tough.
"The empress returns to her palace!" Sophie threw open her dorm room door and strode in, while Jack dutifully waited outside. After a moment, a little hand waved him in. The dorm was a four-person suite, beds up top and desks below. No one else was around—her roommates were all off doing their own thing.
"This is my palace," Sophie said, shrugging like it was no big deal. "I was going to introduce you to my three gorgeous roommates, but looks like you’re out of luck."
Jack pointed at one of the bunks. "That’s your bed, right?"
"How’d you know?"
"There’s a pair of worn socks on the chair, old pants flopped on the bed, and look at the desk—there’s a lunchbox with leftovers! If I couldn’t figure it out, I’d be brain-dead! My cousin’s been like this since she was a kid; if no one keeps an eye on her, the cleanliness level drops fast. Honestly, the fact that you can still walk in here is a miracle."
"Nag, nag, nag!" Sophie’s round face flushed red. She tossed the lunchbox into the trash. "Forget the bedding, just help me pack my clothes and books."
"No need for the bedding?" Jack started gathering books—there were a ton, mostly women’s magazines like Rayli.
"Yep, I bought new ones." Sophie climbed up on her bed, tossing down several plush toys—those had to go too.
The chapter’s not over yet~.~ Click next page for more fun!
"How much money does your dad give you, anyway? Back when I was in college, my allowance was only five hundred a month! Uncle’s family lives about the same as ours, right? Or is it true that boys get raised poor and girls get raised rich?"
"Hehe, Dad gives me plenty, but mostly I have my own ways." Sophie poked her head out over the bed, looking smug. "I used to be head of external relations, you know—funding’s never a problem."
"How much public money have you embezzled, you little crook!"
Books and all the random stuff were easy to pack; they finished in no time. But the real challenge was the clothes. Girls—especially pretty, well-off girls—always have way more clothes than guys expect. So when both Sophie and Jack looked at her wardrobe, their faces got serious.
Sophie was serious because she wasn’t sure if all the boxes she’d gathered would be enough.
Jack was serious for a different reason.
"Wait, let me do it." Jack stopped Sophie from opening the wardrobe, took the key, and unlocked it himself. The rustling hadn’t stopped for a second, and there were definitely a few sources of it inside the wardrobe. Sure, anything crawling around a dorm probably wasn’t dangerous. But Jack decided to play it safe—the sound was just too creepy and reminded him of a cave in the Coreworld.
Creak—the door opened, revealing a wardrobe stuffed with clothes. Jack reached in and pulled out a little jacket, gave it a shake on the balcony—and two things fell out with a thud.
They were bugs, about six or seven centimeters long, flat and fat, dark purple-black all over. When they hit the ground, they landed on their backs, six legs waving wildly in the air. Seeing those things, both Jack and Sophie just froze.