The car came to a stop in front of the women's dormitory.
The three girls carried bags and boxesâgifts James had bought for Shirley Taylorâback to their dorm room.
James, unable to drive, sat in the car, lost in thought.
He was waiting for Jay Johnson, who had taken a taxi, to arrive, only to find out that the security guards wouldn't let Jay Johnson onto the campus.
James pondered his options.
He had three choices:
One: Abandon the car.
Two: Call Bella to come down and drive him out.
Three: Sleep in the car.
Options one and three weren't great, and calling Bella felt awkward.
So, James decided to get out and look for a student who could drive to help him out.
He was parked a little ways down the road from the women's dormitory.
It was Saturday, and not many students were on campus. James waited for a long time, asking several girls for help, but they were all very cautious. Even offering money didn't persuade them, and many of them didn't know how to drive anyway.
Finally, he found a girl who was a bit bolder, but when she heard that she would be driving a Rolls-Royce, she got scared and ran off.
James leaned against the car door, lost in thought, gazing at the sky at a 45-degree angle.
Realizing that he would be stuck there once the campus curfew began, he reluctantly called Bella on WhatsApp.
Kennedy Bella was playing on her phone, listening to Asa exclaim,
"Wow! Is this $200 perfume really for me? And this makeup set too? Shirley, you're so good to me!"
"He bought them," Shirley Taylor said shyly.
"But he only bought them because of you. Shirley, you're so charming. Come here and let me give you a kiss."
"No~"
"Don't be shy. How was it last night?" Asa asked, wiggling her eyebrows with a mischievous grin.
"It... it was nothing," Shirley Taylor stammered.
"Nothing? What does 'nothing' mean? Was it your first time?" Asa pried, her eyes full of curiosity.
"What? Shirley, you spent the night with him last night?" Kennedy Bella put down her phone and turned to Shirley in shock.
Feeling shy under their scrutiny, Shirley Taylor didn't answer. She grabbed the new towels and bath products James had bought her and escaped into the bathroom for a shower.
Asa nodded at Kennedy Bella and whispered conspiratorially,
"She didn't come back last night, so she must have spent the night with him. You can tell by the way she walks..."
"That scumbag!"
Kennedy Bella was furious. It felt as if a little white rabbit she had carefully nurtured for a year had suddenly been snatched away.
She felt sad, helpless, and also anxious.
Because she was now the only one in the dorm who hadn't tasted the bitterness of love.
How could she not feel anxious?
Just then, her phone rang.
Asa craned her neck to peek at the caller ID, which simply read "Scumbag."
She knew it was James. Not saying a word, she gave Kennedy Bella a knowing smile.
Initially furious, Kennedy Bella was momentarily stunned when she saw it was James calling.
Her heart inexplicably began to beat faster.
She couldn't figure out why he was calling. After a moment, she picked up and asked coldly,
"Hello, what do you want?"
"Bella, are you free right now? Come down and help me drive," James said casually.
Kennedy Bella suspected this was one of the scumbag's tactics.
He was trying to ask her out.
The thought that he had just been with Shirley Taylor last night and was now turning his attention to her made her both embarrassed and angry.
She simultaneously thought that all scumbags deserved to die and felt a tiny bit of pride that he found her attractive.
"Get lost," she said, but she didn't hang up.
James sounded exasperated. "Hey, little flat-chest, do you have any sense? You brought me in here and left me. I can't drive..."
"Little flat-chest?"
This nickname was new to her. Kennedy Bella didn't immediately understand.
James didn't bother to explain. He went straight to the point, using money as a lure:
"Come down and drive me to the school gate, and I'll give you a hundred... I'll give you a thousand dollars."
Kennedy Bella didn't quite believe him. A 26-year-old rich kid who couldn't drive?
Weren't rich kids supposed to be into sports cars?
"Are you serious?"
"Absolutely. Do you want me to transfer the money to you first?"
"Fine. I want to see what tricks you're trying to pull."
Bella hung up and headed downstairs.
Watching her leave, Asa sighed.
She wasn't surprised that James had called Kennedy Bella.
She was just debating whether to tell Shirley Taylor the truth or cover for Bella when she asked where Bella had gone.
Asa was in a dilemma.
Kennedy Bella arrived at the spot where they had parked earlier and saw James leaning against the car door, exhaling smoke.
He struck quite a pose.
Under the soft moonlight,
he looked like a forgotten statue, filled with a melancholic aura.
His eyes were deep and enigmatic, sometimes vacant, sometimes sparkling with intensity.
Kennedy Bella gave him a ten out of ten for his pose.
Seeing the girl in the white shirt approaching in the distance, James noted her delicate, jade-like face, her sharp, arched eyebrows, and the coldness in her bright almond-shaped eyes.
She was pretty, though he didn't have the mind to appreciate it at the moment.
"Hurry up. We won't be able to get out soon. I don't have a place to sleep in here."
Kennedy Bella approached, waving away the smoke, and asked with a frown,
"Don't you know there are security cameras here? You'll have to write a self-criticism letter for smoking here."
"Oh yeah? Go ahead and expel me," James said defiantly.
"..."
Kennedy Bella was speechless. She glared at him, then opened the car door and got in.
After James stubbed out his cigarette and got in the car, she said coldly,
"What did you want to say to me that made you call me down here?"
James was puzzled. "What?"
Kennedy Bella smirked and looked him straight in the eye.
"I've seen plenty of scumbags like you. I'm not as easy to fool as Shirley Taylor. You can forget about it."
"???"
James looked at the girl, who was now crossing her arms, with utter confusion.
Without thinking, he reached out and placed his hand on her forehead to check her temperature.
"What are you doing? Are you crazy?"
Kennedy Bella was startled by the sudden contact.
Her eyes widened as she looked at James and exclaimed, "What are you doing?"
"You don't have a fever. What nonsense are you talking about? Start the car. Can you afford to delay my multi-million dollar business?"
James urged impatiently.
But Kennedy Bella didn't start the car. Instead, she glared at him, baring her little canines.
James was getting a headache.
"My dear lady, hold that thought. When we get to the school gate, you can stare at me for as long as you want. Can you just drive for now?"
Kennedy Bella silently started the car and drove toward the school gate, curious to see what James would say next.
The drive to the gate took only a couple of minutes. The Rolls-Royce exited the campus.
James spotted Jay Johnson waiting by the roadside and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Alright, this is fine. Stop here."
Kennedy Bella stopped the car, put it in park, but remained seated in the driver's seat.
James paused for a moment, then politely said,
"I've given you the money. Be careful on your way back."
Kennedy Bella still didn't say anything.
James asked tentatively, "You don't want to go back? Do you want to come to the hotel with me?"
Aha, scumbag, finally showing your true colors!
Kennedy Bella had finally heard what she was waiting for. She smiled triumphantly and scoffed,
"In your dreams. I'm warning you, don't even think about it. Watch out for your head."
"Then why are you still in my car? Are you trying to wait until the school closes and trap me?" James asked, shocked.
Kennedy Bella checked the time. It was exactly 10:30 p.m.