Chapter Thirteen: Making Trouble

As night deepened, the supermodel contestants returned to their rooms to rest.

Because of the large number of participants, the seven bedrooms on the three-story villa weren't enough for even distribution. Larger bedrooms accommodated more people, while rooms that could only fit a double bed and couldn't even have a makeshift bed on the floor could only hold two people. Where they slept was determined by drawing lots.

The contestants drew lots for their beds as soon as they entered the villa. Sheng Jiaoyang unfortunately drew a makeshift bed in a large room on the third floor. The room had three 1.2-meter-wide beds, and seven people were assigned to it; she was the only one sleeping on the floor.

Sheng Jiaoyang, who had washed up rather late, returned to her bedroom. The other girls were already sitting on their beds, some were lying down, some were applying face masks, and others were chatting and laughing.

As soon as Sheng Jiaoyang entered, all the sounds seemed to freeze for a moment.

The three girls chatting and the two girls applying face masks all looked at her.

"Xu Jiaojiao, I'm so sorry, I accidentally spilled my drink on your quilt when I passed by your makeshift bed."

Sheng Jiaoyang raised an eyebrow, looking at the person who spoke. Just an hour ago, she had pointed out a mistake in this person's piano piece, and now she had accidentally spilled her drink on her makeshift bed in the corner. Could there really be such a coincidence?

"It's okay, just give me your quilt."

"I'm sorry, I can't make that decision. Yuan Fang and I share this quilt." Qi Hua refused.

"Then go find me a spare one."

"I've already asked, but there aren't any spare quilts."

So that's what she was waiting for! Sheng Jiaoyang glanced at the others in the room, all of them adopting a detached, observing posture. She walked to her makeshift bed on the floor and noticed a yellow water stain in the middle of the white blanket spread out on the floor. A few water stains on the edges would be tolerable, but the center of the blanket was wet, meaning the thin mattress underneath would also be soaked. The makeshift bed was already cramped; how could anyone sleep in it if the center was wet?

The air conditioning was blasting in the room; the others certainly wouldn't turn it off for her.

Sheng Jiaoyang picked up her suitcase and slowly walked out. She paused as she passed Qi Hua, praising her with a half-smile, "Your makeshift bed is in the very corner; you've got a pretty good aim."

"I really didn't mean to," Qi Hua said, looking aggrieved.

"I understand. Doing it in front of someone is called intentional; doing it in private is just deliberate." Sheng Jiaoyang gave Qi Hua a deep look, then pulled her suitcase out of the room.

"All the other rooms are full, she has nowhere to go, Qi Hua, call her back!" A girl who was applying a face mask couldn't stand it anymore and said.

"Our beds here are so small, only two people can sleep at most. If you call her back, where will she sleep? Will she squeeze in with you?" Qi Hua looked at the girl who had just spoken.

The girl immediately fell silent.

When Sheng Jiaoyang was dragging her suitcase in the corridor, she was momentarily confused. Why did this scene seem so familiar? After thinking carefully, she remembered the isolation and difficulties she encountered when she went abroad with her grandfather to live and go to school.

No wonder she felt a strange sense of familiarity. It turned out that this scene had happened many years ago.

At that time, in order to help her quickly integrate into the lives of foreigners, her grandfather had her board at that elite school. At first, her bed was splashed with water and trash was thrown at her. She didn't fight back against those foreign girls who were a head taller than her. She just turned around and used a considerable amount of pocket money to exchange dorm rooms with another transfer student. Of course, it's worth mentioning that the transfer student was a violent girl. She had previously lived with her mother and had nearly crippled the local bully's kid at her mother's school before transferring here. More importantly, she had a very powerful father in the area, and because of the previous fight, he had cut off her allowance. The money Sheng Jiaoyang gave her was exactly what she desperately needed.

The outcome for those guys was entirely within her expectations. They, who used to enjoy playing pranks, were thoroughly beaten by the violent girl and missed several days of school. Eventually, they were so scared they transferred schools.

Well, actually, she had to thank those guys; otherwise, she wouldn't have ended up living with the pretty girl.

While she was just standing in the hallway lost in thought, the viewers watching her livestream went wild, flooding the screen with comforting words like "Don't cry, baby," and "Hugs."

Those viewers who stay up late watching the live stream and only follow Sheng Jiaoyang are true fans. More than half of them have been following him since he started bartending. Seeing him being squeezed out of the bedroom, they all feel sorry for him, and many are asking the production team to provide new bedding in the comments.

Sheng Jiaoyang reminisced about the good old days for a while, then pulled his suitcase downstairs to the bedroom on the second floor near the stairs and knocked.

"The door's unlocked, come in!"

Sheng Jiaoyang pushed the door open and stood by the only bed in the room, looking at the person lying on the bed with a face mask on, and said, "Take me in, and I'll tell you that secret."

Luo Yi lifted the face mask off her face and sat up, glancing at the suitcase at Sheng Jiaoyang's feet, and said without surprise, "Can't you sleep on the floor anymore?"

"Yeah, it got wet."

"Come on, my poor little Jiaojiao, come into your big sister's arms~~~" Luo Yi spread her arms and called out enthusiastically.

Looking at the playful Luo Yi, Sheng Jiaoyang's eyes crinkled and she smiled gently.

Regardless of whether Luo Yi agreed to let her stay because she wanted to know that so-called secret, she felt obligated to accept the favor just for Luo Yi's unwavering response.

"Where's the other person?"

"You mean Mingyu? She went to the restroom. Don't worry, Mingyu is a really nice person. I've known her for years, and I know her very well." Seeing Sheng Jiaoyang's hesitation, Luo Yi said with a smile.

Sheng Jiaoyang pushed her suitcase to the corner, sat on the bed, and said, "I remember your roommate was that... what was her name again..."

"Chen Han. She was originally supposed to share a room with me, but she insisted on staying with Xiao Yang, so she ended up swapping beds with our classmate Pu Mingyu."

"What are you talking about?"

Speak of the devil.

Pu Mingyu heard her name as soon as she reached the door. Upon entering, she immediately noticed there was another person in the room, and the one everyone was talking about behind her back. Thanks to someone's gossip, everyone already knew that this person had spent time alone with Zhuo Yiyan in the music room on the third floor, which inevitably led to speculation.

"Mingyu, come on, welcome our new roommate." Luo Yi waved to Pu Mingyu.

Trusting Luo Yi, Pu Mingyu didn't show her suspicions. She went over and sat down next to Luo Yi, smiling as she said to Sheng Jiaoyang, "Welcome. Also, hello, my name is Pu Mingyu."

"Hello, I'm Sheng, uh, Xu Jiaojiao." Sheng Jiaoyang almost blurted out her old name.

"I remember you drew the floor bed in the big room upstairs, right?" Pu Mingyu asked.

“Yes, but the floor is unsuitable for sleeping now, so I came to stay with you guys.” Sheng Jiaoyang said helplessly.

Pu Mingyu turned to look at Luo Yi, and seeing Luo Yi wink at her, her years of tacit understanding made her instantly understand that there must be some other hidden reason. Actually, there was no need to think too much about it; who would get their cup wet and unsuitable for sleeping? Everyone had some issues with Xu Jiaojiao, and it wasn't impossible for them to gang up on her.

“Jiaojiao, let me tell you something. Someone said they saw you and Teacher Zhuo alone in the upstairs music room. Everyone was talking about you just now, speculating about your relationship with Teacher Zhuo. Actually, I'm quite curious too.” Luo Yi spoke frankly.

“The person you're talking about is Qi Hua, right?”

“You know?”

Sheng Jiaoyang rubbed her short hair and said disdainfully, “The only one who could do something behind my back is her.”

“How did you offend her? By the way, she also lives in the big room on the third floor. Is it because of her that you can't sleep on the floor?” Luo Yi asked curiously.

Pu Mingyu also looked at Sheng Jiaoyang.

"Didn't she say that Zhuo Yiyan and I were alone in the music room? She was just curious about my bartending skills, that's why she asked. Zhuo Yiyan had just entered the music room when she showed up right after. She immediately grabbed Zhuo Yiyan and said she had specially learned a piano piece to play for him. Fine, she played it, but she played a few wrong notes! It was clearly designed to drive someone with OCD crazy! I pointed it out, and even went out of her way to save her face, only pointing it out after Zhuo Yiyan left. I never expected her to be so petty."

Sheng Jiaoyang easily reversed the two listeners' impression of Qi Hua. Accustomed to being ostracized, she was adept at handling such situations. After all, she was someone who could outwit and completely defeat those aristocratic ladies from abroad who were capable of anything.

She loved to give them a taste of their own medicine. Since Qi Hua was so dedicated to ostracizing her, she'd let Qi Hua experience the feeling of being ostracized too.

"You can play the piano?" The two listeners were astonished.

"My skill level is only good enough to fool people," Sheng Jiaoyang said calmly. "However, the piece Qi Hua played was my first etude, so I'm quite familiar with it."

Back then, she learned piano only to get closer to someone.

That year, his elegant and noble figure playing the piano caught her eye, leaving her utterly captivated.

Although her personality was constantly changing, her passionate and decisive nature remained constant. Instantly becoming a fangirl, she made a decision to pursue this unattainable beauty. Then she made an excuse that she had suddenly developed a love for playing the piano and wanted him to teach her. Perhaps because she was a good friend of the beautiful girl, he didn't refuse and even strictly supervised her practice. During that time, she dreamed constantly of playing wrong notes and being forced to practice them repeatedly. Even though the training was painful, she was happy.

"What are you thinking about? You're laughing even after being stabbed in the back?" Luo Yi's voice pulled Sheng Jiaoyang back from her wandering thoughts.

"I can't be bothered with her. It's not like I'm missing a piece of flesh," Sheng Jiaoyang said nonchalantly.

Generous people are most likely to gain favor with others. Even Pu Mingyu, who initially had doubts about Sheng Jiaoyang, began to side with her, even saying with exasperation, "If she talks about you like that and it gets back to the judges, it won't be good if it affects their impression of you."

"Everyone's not stupid. In time, they'll naturally know what kind of person I am," Sheng Jiaoyang said with a nonchalant smile.

In fact, given her personality, how could she not retaliate? It's just that some things, once said, become unpleasant.