Chapter 1 Chapter 1

I felt a headache coming on when I saw the long list of claims in the chat group. Seeing that all of us had remained silent, Lisa Stewart sent a bunch of photos of her injury before adding, "I'm warning you. I have evidence that I fell in our dorm room! Celia's the one who always uses the bathroom the last in the morning, so she's the most likely suspect. "However, out of the kindness of my heart, I don't want to make things too humiliating for her, so I don't want to go through the effort of figuring out who the real culprit is. Therefore, you guys can just split the compensation evenly." After a moment, Rose Clark, one of my roommates, couldn't resist replying, "Are you expecting us to prove our own innocence?" Ivy Henderson, who had always been a meek and honest young woman, also expressed her doubts. "Even if there had been a puddle of water on the floor, you should've been able to spot it, right? There are plenty of puddles out on the streets all the time. Does that mean you go around demanding compensation from everyone?" Infuriated that she didn't get the response she wanted, Lisa lashed out at us. "Does this mean you three aren't going to pay up?" Just barely containing my laughter, I typed out my reply. "Is it that obvious?" I exited the chat group before Lisa could respond. Rose and Ivy returned to our dorm room soon after. When they saw me, they couldn't resist grumbling about what happened. "Lisa probably sees nothing but dollar signs in everything! She called that an injury, huh? I wouldn't even call it a scratch! How is she even injured? And yet, she wants us to pay her a thousand dollars each!" Shrugging, I declared, "Either way, I'm not going to let her take advantage of me." Rose and Ivy exchanged looks before nodding earnestly in agreement. Lisa didn't message us in private, so we all thought she was giving up after failing to extort money from us. However, half an hour later, Lisa returned to the dorm room looking rather livid. She had a bag of medication in one hand and her phone in the other. First, she stepped gingerly into the room, clutching her knee in an exaggerated manner. Then, she angled her phone camera toward the floor and cried out, "Here it is, everyone! Here's the scene of the crime! "They did it on purpose! Once they were done with the bathroom, they left a puddle of water on purpose so that I would slip and fall! I was in a rush this morning, and I ended up slipping on the water before I even knew what was happening. I'm still in so much pain right now. Who knows if I'll end up with a permanent injury?" Lisa sniffled as she spoke, making it sound as though she was about to burst into tears. Then, she abruptly pointed her camera at me and shrilly accused me, "All you had to do was admit your mistake, and I would've forgiven you! You just had to compensate me for my medical expenses and the mental distress I suffered. Why won't you admit what you did?" Resisting the urge to roll my eyes at Lisa, I pointed out, "Since you're the one accusing me of doing something, shouldn't you be providing evidence of that? Are you trying to pin the blame on me with nothing to prove your claims?" Just then, Ivy discreetly passed me her phone. Lisa was livestreaming. Lisa mistook my silence for fear and started arguing, "If something falls off a building and that culprit can't be identified, everyone in the building has to pay the compensation, so why can't I expect the same from you guys?" Her strange logic made me scoff in annoyance. "No one can anticipate when an object falls off a building, but in your case, you could've easily avoided the puddle. In any case, do you have any evidence to prove that we're responsible for that puddle of water? The three of us left the room earlier than you this morning, so why is it that we're all fine? "Are you having fun putting on a show when you're the one at fault just so you can get sympathy from everyone?" My retort rendered Lisa speechless. For a moment, she didn't know how to respond. The viewers of her livestream were swayed by my arguments as well. "She has a point. The streamer should be the one providing the evidence to back her claims." "That's right. She's even asking for a thousand dollars each in compensation for her mental distress! That's too much." Once Lisa noticed the viewers' sentiments shifting against her, she changed her tune and started wailing, "I'm the only one who got injured, so of course they don't care at all! They might even be secretly rejoicing at my misfortune! "They've been isolating me all along. It's not surprising if they teamed up to set me up by coming up with a cover story beforehand. They did it on purpose!" Having said that, Lisa walked over to her chair and lifted her skirt. She started applying ointment to her thigh. Unsurprisingly, after she revealed her skin, a number of guys in the comments section started coming to her defense. "Don't cry, gorgeous. They're the ones at fault!""I feel so bad for you, babe. Add me on WhatsApp, and I'll comfort you." Eyeing me tauntingly, Lisa smirked and declared, "I believe that there are more good people in the world than bad."

Chapter 2 Chapter 2

Once Lisa ended her livestream, she marched up to us haughtily and asked, "So, how about it? If you don't want to be the target of cyberbullying, you better pay up as soon as possible!" With her arms crossed and nose in the air, she had the air of someone expecting us to throw money at her. However, Rose crossed her arms and retorted, "Are you in dire need of money or something, huh? If you'd waited for even a day before going to the doctor, your supposed injury would've healed up already. The nerve of you to expect a thousand dollars from each of us!" Lisa pointed at the nearly indiscernible red mark on her thigh before wagging her finger at me and shrieking, "I only suspected Celia of being responsible for this! It's fine if you guys don't want to pay up. Just get Celia to admit to her wrongdoing! She can be responsible for the entire compensation!" Ivy shook her head and said gently but firmly, "Celia and I left together this morning. I trust that she wasn't responsible for it. You were the one who was too careless." Once Lisa saw that all her attempts at either threatening us or convincing us had failed, she became enraged. Slamming her hand against the desk, she declared, "Do you know who my father is? I'm warning you! If you refuse to settle this matter amicably and give me the money I ask for, I'll see to it that none of you graduate from college!" Shrugging, I responded indifferently, "Whoever your father is, you still can't scare me. I'm not paying. If you want the money, you'll have to rob me for it." Lisa's face turned scarlet as she screeched, "Just you wait. I'm going to report you to Ms. Lewis, the head of the student conduct committee, right this minute!" And with that, she rushed out of the room, slamming the door behind her. Once she left, Ivy tugged on my sleeve and said worriedly, "Celia, do you think she really has some connection that can stop us from graduating? Ms. Lewis is famous for being extremely harsh. I'm a bit worried…" Rolling her eyes with a sigh, Rose remarked, "Just our luck that we ended up with such a ridiculous roommate!" True enough, in less than half an hour, we got a call from Ms. Lewis demanding our presence at her office. When we got to Ms. Lewis' office, Lisa was already seated there. She was sobbing her eyes out while Ms. Lewis gently applied ointment to her injury. Upon seeing us, Ms. Lewis questioned us sternly, "What's going on? Lisa said you three injured her but refused to pay for her medical bills." I took a deep breath and decided to expose the truth. I explained the whole thing from the start, not forgetting to highlight Lisa's exaggerated claims and ridiculous demands. Rose and Ivy also chimed in with additional details to help me prove my innocence. Alas, we were all taken aback when Ms. Lewis not only chose not to believe our innocence but even took Lisa's side to admonish us. "I hate it when students form cliques! The way you three are bullying one of our wonderful students is a disgrace to the entire college!" Lisa shot me a smug look before turning back to Ms. Lewis and tearfully declaring, "T-They are all in cahoots with each other! It was Celia who did it! I saw a puddle of water right at the doorway when she came out of the bathroom this morning! She left it there on purpose!" Looking at Lisa, I questioned in amusement, "You said you saw a puddle of water on the floor when I came out of the bathroom? Well, in that case, why didn't you see it when you were leaving the room? "It feels more like you're trying to falsely accuse me of something instead. What have I done to offend you anyway?" Ms. Lewis slammed her hand on the desk and roared at me, "Celia Jewell! You're going to write a self-reflection essay for that! I expect it to be at least 3,000 words, and you need to give it to me tomorrow morning!" I couldn't believe my ears. Before I could respond, Ms. Lewis turned to Lisa with a gentle, assuring expression. "I'll talk to your father about this, Lisa. I'll let him know that justice will be served." Lisa adjusted her clothes and said, "It's fine, Ms. Lewis. Dad is super busy. I don't want to trouble him over such a small matter." "As expected of the chancellor's daughter," Ms. Lewis enthused. "You're so thoughtful and mature." Immediately, I was stupefied. When did I get a sister?

Chapter 3 Chapter 3

Rose snorted. "I see. You have the chancellor backing you up, huh? That's why you're acting so smug and arrogant. If the other colleges found out that the chancellor's daughter is a master at extorting money from other people, they would probably laugh until their sides hurt! This news might even go viral online." Ms. Lewis whipped her head around and wagged a finger at Rose as she snapped shrilly, "You shut your mouth! I expect a 3000-word self-reflection essay from you too! At once!" After looking at Rose, Ivy, and me, Ms. Lewis declared in a righteous tone, "Lisa has evidence to validate her medical bills. Since you lot did something wrong, you should shoulder the consequences by paying the compensation! "This is the first lesson of adulthood that you need to learn as college students. This is what it means to be socially responsible adults! To be accountable for your actions!" Eyeing Ms. Lewis with an unreadable smile, I asked, "You're saying that Lisa is the chancellor's daughter, right? And because of that, she can do whatever she wants, even twist the truth around to suit her purpose?" Lisa arrogantly declared, "I kept it from you guys because I didn't want to give you added pressure, but I didn't expect you three to bully me like this! You've gone too far!" Rubbing my nose, I retorted in contempt, "I'm not writing the self-reflection, and I won't be paying any compensation either. Go ahead and get the chancellor to expel me if you can." Once I finished speaking, I started pulling Rose and Ivy toward the door with me. The chancellor of the college was my father. He simply agreed to give me my mother's last name because he thought it sounded nicer. Why would I be afraid of Lisa, who was lying about being the chancellor's daughter? Ms. Lewis didn't expect me to take this attitude with her. Turning pale with fury, she roared at me, "I don't even need to get the chancellor involved to get you expelled! I can do it myself!" Whoa. She was threatening me with her authority, huh? Well, not only did she fail to frighten me, but I didn't even turn around to give her a second look. I dragged Rose and Ivy off with me, leaving Ms. Lewis behind to stomp her feet in anger. Once we were out of her office, Ivy tugged on my sleeve gingerly and said, "Celia, I think you're being too impulsive… Even though none of us are at fault, Lisa's father is still the chancellor. What if she gets him to expel you? Why don't we give in to her and apologize?" "Give in to her? Never!" Rose declared in anger. Smiling, I declared, "You don't need to. Nothing's going to happen to any one of us, not with me around." Before this, I considered the possibility that perhaps Lisa did have a trick or two up her sleeve, but it turned out that this was all she had. Thus, when we got back to the dorm room, I was in such a good mood that I even ordered some food. We happily enjoyed our supper when Lisa came in with a scowl. Thanks to the delicious scent of food that hung in the air, Lisa's stomach growled. She kept gulping her saliva as she eyed the food we were relishing. I looked at her and said, "You smelled our food, right, Lisa? Well, since you did, you should pay for the food too. It's 50 dollars each." Lisa's expression shifted between shades of anger and rage. It took her a while before she questioned me, "What the hell is wrong with you?" Laughing, Rose chimed in, "We're just learning from you." Outraged, Lisa grabbed the jug of freshly boiled water on the table and threw it at us. Instantly, a piercing scream echoed in the room as the boiling water splashed across Ivy's neck, turning it red in an instant. I hastily led Ivy into the bathroom to soak her neck in cold water while also giving Ms. Lewis a call. However, Ms. Lewis snapped in annoyance, "You three again? You must've bullied Lisa first again, didn't you?" Ivy was in so much pain that she couldn't even speak. Her tears kept streaming down her face. On the other hand, a flustered Lisa screamed into the phone, "They're the ones who angered me first!" Rose quickly called 911, and the arrival of the ambulance finally got Ms. Lewis' attention. She hurried to our dorm room, but even when she saw Rose's and my scalded arms, she insisted, "You lot must have bullied Lisa first! She was just acting in self-defense!" However, when she checked on Lisa, she found that Lisa was completely unscathed. I couldn't take it anymore. "You're not fit to do your job at all!" I snapped at Ms. Lewis. Her expression hardened, and she raised her hand to hit me. Just then, a furious voice rang out from the doorway. "Ms. Lewis, I heard that you wish to expel Celia Jewell." Everyone turned around and looked at the assertive-looking man in a suit who just arrived—Ezekiel Stewart, the chancellor of our college, who also happened to be my father.