Chapter 510 Keeping Things Low–Key
Jean <b>was </b>relieved.
<i>After </i><i>that </i><i>awkward </i><i>family </i><i>gathering</i>, <i>I </i>hadn’t <i>seen </i><i>Asher </i><i>again</i>.
<i>Despite </i><i>the </i><i>weirdness </i><i>of </i><i>that </i><i>day</i><i>, </i><i>I </i><i>was </i><i>grateful </i><i>nothing </i><i>had </i><i>changed </i><i>between </i><i>us</i>.
Still, <i>neither </i><i>of </i><i>us </i><i>brought </i>up <i>that </i><i>gathering </i><i>again</i>.
Jean looked down at her phone and quickly typed back-
Jean: “Haha, great minds think alike. See you at Steford Academy then!”
+0 Pearls
In the end, it was no surprise that all three of them–Jean, Asher, and Sofia–got epted into Steford Academy.
That meant they’d get to hang out together in college just like they did in high school.
After a long, zing summer, Jean officially moved onto campus in early September. She was finally a college student.
The Gingers had wanted to apany her, to witness such a big milestone in her life.
But she thought that would be a little too over–the–top.
<i>Sure</i>, <i>Asher </i><i>already </i><i>knew </i><i>the </i><i>truth </i><i>about </i><i>who </i><i>I </i><i>really </i><i>was</i><i>, </i><i>but </i><i>most </i><i>people </i><i>still </i><i>didn’t</i><i>. </i>
I didn’t <i>want </i><i>to </i><i>draw </i><i>attention </i><i>to </i><i>myself</i><i>. </i>
<i>If </i><i>I </i><i>started </i><i>showing </i><i>off </i><i>my </i><i>identity </i><i>now</i>, what <i>would </i><i>happen </i><i>once </i><i>Sarah </i><i>showed </i><i>up</i>? <i>That </i><i>p </i><i>in </i><i>the </i><i>face </i><i>would </i>sting
even more.
<i>No </i><i>thanks</i><i>. </i>
In the end, the Gingerspromised. They didn’te to campus in a big, shy.crowd, but they still showed up secretly to watch her orientation from afar.
Steford Academy offered beautifully designed student apartments–high–end and well–furnished–but the on–campus housing wasn’t all that popr.
A lot of students from wealthy families chose tomute. Most of them lived in the city already, had drivers, and didn’t find the travel inconvenient.
Some students even rented luxury apartments near campus so they could live on their own and enjoy more freedom.
Jean ended up choosing the campus dorms.
After checking them out, she realized that while they weren’t as fancy as off–campus condos, the university housing was still really nice–and super close to the lecture halls
Plus, there was one more reason she chose it-
Sofia was moving in too.
Of course she wanted to apany her.
The dorm was a two–bedroom suite, with a cozy living room and two separate private bedrooms.
It honestly felt like living alone, with plenty of personal space.
Jean couldn’t help but think, <i>Wow</i>, <i>no </i><i>wonder </i>rich <i>kids </i><i>love </i><i>this </i><i>school</i>. Even the dorms are nert–level.
I’d always pictured <i>college </i>dorms as <i>bunk</i><i>–</i><i>bed</i>–<i>filled </i><i>rooms </i>shared by four people.
After settling in and organizing her stuff, Jean sat alone on her bed and let her thoughts drift.
If <i>the </i>timeline stayed the same, I’d be meeting <i>Sarah </i><i>very </i><i>soon</i>.
In the original version of the story, Sarah<i>–</i><i>the </i><i>female </i>lead of <i>the </i><i>story </i><i>from </i><i>the </i>countryside–had just arrived at Steford when she identally crossed paths <i>with </i><i>the </i><i>original </i><i>Jean</i>.
She’d <i>stained </i>one of <i>Jean’s </i><i>expensive </i><i>designer </i><i>outfits </i><i>by </i><i>mistake</i>, <i>and </i><i>the </i><i>sh </i><i>that </i>followed sparked an ongoing feud. Sarah might’vee from <i>a </i><i>humble </i><i>background</i><i>, </i><i>but </i><i>she </i><i>had </i><i>dignity</i>. <i>Even </i><i>when </i><i>she </i>apologized, she held her heart high
That infuriated <i>the </i><i>original </i><i>Jean</i><i>. </i>
She thought Sarah’s <i>apology </i><i>was </i><i>too </i><i>prideful</i><i>, </i><i>too </i><i>insincere</i>.
So the <i>rivalry </i><i>began</i>.
Jean <i>felt </i>that not <i>only </i><i>was </i><i>Sarah </i><i>unapologetic</i>, <i>but </i><i>she </i><i>also </i>kept <i>ignoring </i><i>her </i><i>on </i><i>purpose</i><i>. </i>
Eventually, she decided to <i>get </i><i>revenge</i>.
<i>There </i>was a big <i>freshman </i><i>lecture</i><i>–</i><i>something </i><i>like </i><i>Ethics </i><i>or </i><i>Moral </i>Philosophy–where every first<i>–</i><i>year </i>student had to <i>gather </i>in a <i>huge </i><i>lecture </i><i>hall</i>.
<i>Since </i>Jean and Sarah <i>weren’t </i><i>in </i><i>the </i><i>same </i><i>ss</i>, <i>this </i><i>was </i><i>her </i><i>only </i><i>shot</i>.
<i>Jean </i><i>knew </i>that <i>Sarah </i>always <i>had </i><i>a </i><i>habit </i><i>of </i><i>iming </i><i>her </i><i>seat </i><i>early</i><i>–</i><i>usually </i><i>front </i><i>and </i>center. <i>She’d </i><ie </i>in before most <i>people </i><i>and </i><i>leave </i><i>her </i>books <i>there </i>to <i>save </i><i>the </i><i>spot</i><i>. </i>