Chapter 50 Really Fell Asleep...
"There are so many ways to solve a problem, why did you have to pick the crudest one? Is getting physical something to be proud of?"
If it were Bianca in this situation, she definitely wouldn't have made such a mess of things.
Isabella still had a lot to learn.
Chase took a deep breath. "Move back home. At least you won't have to deal with complicated roommate relationships. With your personality, you can't get along with anyone."
"No need. I'll get used to it. You don't need to worry about me."
Her tone was distant and cold.
Chase looked at Isabella's unfamiliar expression, and an inexplicable discomfort rose in his heart.
He pressed his lips together, his voice cold. "I'm your brother. If I don't worry about you, who will? When something like this happens, aren't I the one who has to step in and fix it for you?"
"That Alice is known for being unreasonable and making trouble. If I hadn't come, do you think she would have let you off? Next time something like this happens..."
Isabella couldn't be bothered with him.
It was as if Isabella didn't even see him. She just turned and walked away.
Again!
Chase watched Isabella's retreating figure, his fingers clenching in anger.
Every time he talked to her, she was indifferent. Before they'd even exchanged a few words, she'd turn and leave at the slightest disagreement, as if saying one more word to him was a waste of time.
Did she even acknowledge him as her older brother?
——
Elizabeth had been taken home by Alice. When Isabella returned to dorm 701, only Aria and Zoey were inside.
Seeing her arrive, Aria and Zoey simultaneously fell silent and, in perfect sync, climbed onto their beds one after another and lay down, acting like they were getting ready to sleep.
Isabella glanced at them briefly before looking away.
Her bed was still a mess, and the sheets were soaked through.
She definitely couldn't sleep there tonight. She'd need to buy new ones.
As Isabella stood by her bed wondering if she should go find a hotel, Scarlett's voice came from behind her.
"Isabella, sleep in my dorm tonight."
Isabella turned her head toward the door and saw Scarlett standing there.
Scarlett winked at her with a smile. "I already talked to my good friend. I'll borrow her bedding and bed for now. When she left last semester, she packed all her bedding in plastic bags and put them in the closet, so they're clean."
"I'll sleep in her bed, and you sleep in mine. Don't worry, she doesn't mind. I used to squeeze into the same bed with her all the time."
Isabella was a bit surprised by Scarlett's sudden invitation, and also touched.
She figured Scarlett must be worried that if she stayed in 701, Aria and Zoey would bully her, so instead of just lending her bedding, she was inviting her to sleep in their dorm.
Not wanting to refuse Scarlett's thoughtfulness, Isabella nodded. "Okay."
As soon as Isabella left, Aria and Zoey sat up in their beds, looking in unison at the now-closed door, their faces dark.
Neither of them had expected that Isabella was actually the Taylor Family's lost daughter!
She looked like nothing more than some poor girl!
"Aria, Isabella's not sleeping here tonight. How are we supposed to steal her watch?" Zoey said anxiously.
Earlier, Elizabeth had messaged her saying they needed to steal Scarlett's electronic watch from Isabella while she was sleeping tonight.
Otherwise, if Isabella actually posted those things online someday, they'd be torn apart by internet users.
This involved all of them, and none of them wanted that to happen.
"Isabella can't sleep in Scarlett's dorm forever," Aria said darkly. "As long as she comes back to sleep here, we'll eventually be able to steal her watch."
Zoey frowned. She didn't want to admit it, but actually... she was pretty scared.
She'd already seen how well Isabella could fight.
Together, they probably weren't even a match for Isabella, and now they also knew that Isabella was the Taylor Family's biological daughter.
"What? You're scared?"
Aria saw right through Zoey's thoughts and sneered. "Just because she's from the Taylor Family, you don't dare make a move?"
Zoey's voice weakened. "But even Elizabeth's mom has to be wary of the Taylor Family..."
"It's just the Taylor Family. What's so great about that?"
Aria curled her lips. "Haven't you thought about why the Taylor Family put Bianca in the international class but only put Isabella in the regular class?"
The international class cost three hundred thousand dollars a year in tuition, while the regular class was less than three thousand.
Zoey's eyes lit up. "Because the Taylor Family favors Bianca!"
Aria laughed lightly. "She's just some out-of-favor rich girl who's fallen on hard times. What's so great about that?"
"Plus, I just heard her arguing with Mr. Taylor downstairs. The way she talked, did that sound like family? I could tell Mr. Taylor doesn't like her either."
"So, Zoey, there's nothing to be afraid of."
Aria already had a plan. "Tomorrow we'll take the initiative to apologize to her, admit our mistakes, pretend to make up, coax her into coming back to sleep, and then while she's asleep, we'll steal the watch."
"She won't notice a thing."
"And even if she finds out, so what? There are no cameras in the dorm, and she has no proof that we took it."
——
Room 602, Scarlett's dorm.
Scarlett was busy making the bed.
Isabella sat cross-legged on the opposite bed, quietly watching her.
Halfway through, Scarlett looked back at her, thought for a moment, then pulled out snacks from her closet that she'd brought from home—dried mango, nuts, and other treats. "Isabella, if you're bored, have some snacks. Oh, these dried cranberries are really good, you should try them. And these cookies are nice too."
Isabella casually picked up a pack of dried cranberries, opened it, and absentmindedly popped them into her mouth one by one.
Scarlett turned back to continue fixing the bed and sighed. "I wish our dorm had an extra bed. Then you could just move in and live with me."
"I don't want you living with Elizabeth and Aria and them. I feel like they're definitely going to get back at you."
"Plus, those girls are all so petty. If they can't do it openly, they'll definitely do something sneaky."
"Isabella, you have to be really careful."
Scarlett said a lot, but the person behind her didn't respond at all. She paused and looked back.
When she turned around, she was shocked.
The person who had just been eating snacks had somehow rested her head on the folded bedding and fallen straight to sleep.
This...
Scarlett carefully moved closer and tentatively called out, "Isabella?"
No response.
Isabella's breathing was steady and light.
She'd really fallen asleep...
Scarlett looked at Isabella's clothes and shoes still on, and the cranberry still clutched in her hand that she hadn't managed to eat yet, and scratched her head awkwardly.
Was she that tired?
Isabella couldn't just lie there like that. Sleeping like this, even if she didn't catch a cold, she'd definitely get a stiff neck.
Scarlett had no choice but to take the remaining half pack of cranberries from Isabella's hand, take off her shoes, move her head onto the pillow, and gently drape the blanket over her.
Seeing that everything looked okay, Scarlett climbed into her own bed.
Not long after Scarlett turned off the lights and lay down, thunderous snoring suddenly came from the opposite bed.
Scarlett jumped and opened her eyes.
Isabella's loud snoring filled her eardrums.
Scarlett stared at the ceiling in the darkness, unable to help worrying.
If Isabella snored like this in 701, would Elizabeth and the others really not try to smother her in the middle of the night?