Chapter 3

Her eyes glanced dismissively at Maya and the others.

"I'm not interested in meeting hot guys."

"How can you be so rigid?"

I pulled out my tutoring class registration confirmation and shoved it in her face.

A4 paper, white background with black text, one large line in the middle: Payment Amount: $3,000.

"Look, classes run every day from 8 AM to 6 PM, with just one hour for lunch."

Her gaze stuck on the words "$3,000."

Her eyes shifted, as if she was thinking about something!

The day before May Day, the dorm started getting lively as everyone packed their luggage.

Bonnie dragged a 24-inch suitcase to catch a train home.

Maya carried a backpack to the train station where her boyfriend was waiting at the exit.

The other roommates gradually left too, leaving me alone in the dorm.

I lazily scrolled through Twitter while lying in bed.

Russell had just posted an update. The first three photos were of her with a guy.

Round-faced, not very tall, wearing a pilled polo shirt, smiling really hard.

The caption read: "Tomorrow marks the sixth anniversary of Marcus and me knowing each other. Six years—no one can match the bond we've had since childhood."

"I'm going to give him a huge surprise. Marcus, falling for me won't disappoint you."

"I've got both the romance and security covered!"

Followed by a row of hearts and fireworks emojis.

The comments section already had replies.

Her high school classmate commented: "Russell's going all out! What's the surprise? Tell us!"

Russell replied: "It's a secret, but definitely something he'd never dream of."

Another person commented: "Rich people are different. So jealous!"

Russell responded instantly: "Not really, I just want to be good to the important people in my life."

I stared at the words "something he'd never dream of" for a long time.

That uneasy feeling surged up again—the feeling of being targeted by a thief.

My parents were ordinary working people too. It's just that Marta was good at making money, and her giving me the card was a personal favor.

Even if Marta didn't care about these things, having someone treat me like a fool and spend thousands of dollars still felt really uncomfortable.

I picked up my phone and confirmed one more time.

The staff member patiently explained to me:

"Ma'am, under any circumstances, if the member is not present in person to show identification,"

"We will call the member for confirmation before any purchase, and simultaneously send a confirmation text link."

"Both confirmations must be completed. If either is missing, the charge cannot be processed."

I felt completely at ease.

The next day, I stood in line and bought an iced coffee.

Looking up, I saw Russell arm-in-arm with that guy Marcus.

Two more people were with them—

A guy and a girl. The guy had a cigarette in his mouth, and the girl wobbled in high heels.

Marcus had his arm around Russell's shoulder, smiling and saying something.

"...told you not to worry... Lester's card is my card... swipe whatever you want..."

Marcus gave a thumbs up, his voice clear.

"You're the best, Russell. Real loyal, real generous with me."

Russell looked at Marcus's face with a sweet smile.

"Of course! We're so close. In the whole dorm, she's closest to me. What's hers is mine."

The guy with the cigarette egged them on from the side:

"Then let's really enjoy ourselves today. I heard the coaches at that club are amazing."

Russell patted her chest confidently:

"Leave it to me. We'll pick the most expensive coach, use the best equipment, eat their steak lunch set at noon. We're going all out today!"

Russell said this without hesitation, as if I really were her best friend.

Actually, before Marta came to visit me, Russell completely ignored me.

Looks like I wasn't being paranoid after all. If I hadn't been more careful, I would've definitely taken this loss.