Mu Yue really should have washed her hands properly before spinning the wheel. When the Tycoon System upgraded, the lucky-draw wheel it gave her was different from the sign-in blind boxes she usually opened. If she drew something she didn’t like from a blind box, she could return it and get half her points refunded. But whatever she drew from the wheel became hers—no returns allowed.
Although all four systems thought the Love-at-First-Sight Eyes Mu Yue had drawn were a great reward, Mu Yue genuinely didn’t want them.
The effect didn’t distinguish between genders, and only sunglasses could block it. As a result, Mu Yue still hadn’t taken off her shades even after entering the dormitory building. She became the person who drew the most glances all along the way. Qianqian calling out “Miss Mu” every so often only made matters worse, drawing quite a few female students out of their rooms to watch from the hallway.
Mu Yue had a faint suspicion that this was Qianqian’s resentment over having to work away from home.
Still, once the initial awkwardness had passed, Mu Yue felt that being this conspicuous wasn’t entirely a bad thing. She might look unapproachable, but she truly was not someone to be trifled with. That could save her from the kind of idiotic drama where people with no sense barged right into her face—even if they would only dare discuss her behind her back.
As promised, Mu Yue had sent Chu Xiaoshi a message. Chu Xiaoshi had brought her to the dormitory building, but after they arrived, she had hurried off because there was still plenty to do for the new-student welcome. Since Mu Yue had people to help her, Chu Xiaoshi didn’t need to stay.
When Mu Yue arrived at her room, there was temporarily only one roommate inside. The roommate and her mother were busy working together—one making the bed and the other cleaning. The dorm’s air conditioner was running, but the two of them were still sweating profusely.
Her roommate had regular, well-proportioned features and was wearing oversized clothes and a pair of thick glasses. Her heavy bangs were mainly meant to hide the large patch of acne covering her forehead. The moment she saw Mu Yue, she instinctively looked away and murmured, “Hello.” Without even waiting for Mu Yue to respond, she went right back to wiping the dust off the desk.
Her mother was much the same. She gave two awkward little laughs, said, “A new classmate has arrived,” and then fell silent.
“Hello, Auntie. Hi, I’m Mu Yue. Could you tell me which bed is mine?” Mu Yue smiled and took the initiative to explain, “I’m wearing sunglasses because my eyes haven’t been feeling well these past few days, so I need to avoid bright light. I hope you don’t mind.”
The two of them were both surprised—and relieved—not to hear anything arrogant from her, nor to be completely ignored. If a spoiled young lady who was difficult to get along with ended up in their room, four years of college would be rather stressful.
They hadn’t expected Mu Yue to be so friendly. They both smiled at once, and the girl stammered, “My name is Wu Jiajia. We just picked our beds at random and didn’t put up any name tags. If you don’t mind, you can take this one. I just finished wiping the dust off it.”
“Thank you. You’ve worked hard.”
Mu Yue immediately chose the bed Wu Jiajia had recommended. The dust on its surface had indeed already been wiped away twice.
Wu Jiajia waved her hands, blushing as she insisted, “No, no,” but Qianqian still pressed a gift box into her hands. After quickly washing her hands, Wu Jiajia accepted the gift, visibly embarrassed.
Mrs. Wu smiled even more happily. She took out some local specialties from the bag she had brought and gave them to Mu Yue—regional snacks. Afraid Mu Yue might find them unappealing, she repeated several times that although they didn’t look like much, they tasted delicious.
After the brief exchange, Mu Yue finally took a proper look around the dorm room.
The conditions here could only be described as luxurious. It was neither designed like a slum nor decorated in a battle-worn style, much less furnished with that minimalist prison aesthetic. It even had a real sense of beauty. The beds had white frames with solid wooden railings, while the desks were L-shaped and connected to wardrobes and storage cabinets.
There was a balcony and a private bathroom. The toilet and shower were even completely separate, and there was a washing machine on the balcony. The room had wooden flooring, while the balcony was tiled. With just a little cleaning, the place would look as good as newly renovated.
It was too dreamlike.
Mu Yue had never fought such a rich person’s battle before. If no one had told her, she might have thought this was some private vocational college. Before coming here, she had worried about whether the school’s air conditioning would work properly, thinking she might have to install a better unit if it didn’t. But there was no need—the air conditioner looked quite new, and its cooling was perfectly decent.
It really must be because this was a novel, right?
Mu Yue thought of the prestigious university she had once attended. Ha! That place had the full package: slum conditions, battle-damaged decor, and an iron-barred prison vibe. The old wooden doors were so worn they were practically bald enough to let light through, yet the school had been too stingy to replace them. The metal bunk beds creaked and groaned as though they might fall apart at any moment. Climbing in and out of bed every day was a heart-stopping adventure.
Even more devilish was the bathroom design: two squat toilets side by side, with no partitions whatsoever.
What, exactly—were roommates supposed to use the toilet in tandem?
And the most despairing part was not even that. The very year after Mu Yue’s class graduated, the school renovated the dormitory building. Every last fixture and piece of equipment was replaced with something shiny and new.
That suffocating sense of injustice was something she would never forget.
Thinking back on it, Mu Yue still wanted to curse the university administration ten thousand times over. Looking at this dorm now, though, she no longer felt it was simply because she was in a novel. Clearly, this was the blessing she had always deserved!
If she had known University A offered accommodations like this, she would have been willing to work hard for it even if it hadn’t meant becoming the female lead’s roommate. Of course, that said, if commuting from home were an option, then commuting would still be better.
With Qianqian and Heidi around, there was very little Mu Yue needed to do herself. She only hung up some clothes. She hadn’t brought many outfits, either—there would be three weeks of military training, and for most of that time they had to wear the standard-issue uniform, so there would hardly be any occasion to wear regular clothes.
She had brought rather more underwear, socks, and shoes.
The clothes and socks were tucked away in the cabinets and didn’t draw much attention. But once the neat row of shoes beneath Mu Yue’s bed had filled the entire space, it attracted everyone’s notice again—not only Wu Jiajia’s and that of another roommate who had just arrived, but also the girls from the rooms next door and across the hall.
The girls from those neighboring rooms had noticed Mu Yue the moment she appeared in the corridor. They had then casually pretended to pass by, sneaking glances into the room. And then that whole neat row of shoes left them stunned.
There were more than ten pairs in all—different styles, materials, and brands—and the tall, powerfully built woman was still adding more to the pile: embroidered canvas shoes, low-tops, skate shoes, German trainers, chunky dad sneakers, running shoes... and three pairs of slippers.
There was bound to be a pair that spoke to you. Some people who recognized the labels were quietly rattling them off—Brand X, Brand Y, Brand Z. Not one pair cost less than four figures.
The girls were stunned, but they also silently made a mental note: it would be best to keep some distance from this rich young lady. If they accidentally stepped on her shoes and got them dirty, washing them might not be enough—she might even demand compensation.
They were not being especially loud, but their voices and the commotion were still conspicuous throughout the hallway. Naturally, people from the other rooms grew curious and drifted over, openly or otherwise, to watch the spectacle.
Of course, not everyone was interested in joining the crowd. Quite a few people rolled their eyes when their roommates came back from gawking, chattering excitedly about this and that concerning the rich young lady, thinking to themselves, *What a show-off.*
Others were even more direct, gossiping behind her back. They said things like, “Who knows whether this Mu Yue is really some rich heiress or not? Plenty of people these days are obsessed with crafting an image for themselves. Those shoes might all be fake. Maybe she’s just looking for attention—or trying to land herself a rich boyfriend at school.”
Some agreed with those remarks, but more students chose to stay away from the people making them. Whether it was true or not, they were talking about someone in such a suspicious tone without knowing the facts. Their character and social awareness were both, to put it mildly, rather appalling.
If you were jealous, just say so. Why slander her?
After all, who wouldn’t envy someone born with every material advantage imaginable?
Noticing that there were too many people passing by outside—and that the same people seemed to be walking past far too often—the dorm room door was shut firmly.
Ignoring the noise from the other rooms, Mu Yue had already given the other roommate her welcome gift. She had prepared the same thing for each of her three roommates: a bottle of sunscreen spray, nearly four hundred yuan each. It was suitable even for sensitive skin, widely praised for its sun protection, and came in a generous enough amount to last through military training.
At first, Wu Jiajia and Xiaoya had not paid attention to the brand or price. They could barely make sense of the string of English printed on the packaging. But after hearing the students outside mention the shoe brands, they secretly looked it up. When they saw the price, it suddenly felt too expensive to accept.
They wanted to return it, but worried that Mu Yue might be offended.
Just then, Fang Baiwei finally arrived.
The moment she opened the dorm room door and saw Mu Yue, her eyes lit up with delight.
“Mu Yue! You’re in this dorm too? We’re roommates?!”
Mu Yue nodded and handed Fang Baiwei the last gift. Fang Baiwei accepted it without ceremony. Seeing that, the other two roommates gave up on the idea of returning theirs as well.
Naturally, Fang Baiwei had come alone, though she was carrying plenty of bags. Xiaoya, meanwhile, had arrived with her parents. Mu Yue remembered that the original novel had not mentioned much about the female lead’s roommates, so the other two were probably ordinary people.
Mu Yue considered that a very good thing. Ordinary people meant that, during her year living on campus, she would probably be spared any bizarre and exhausting dormitory drama.
Mu Yue still couldn’t take off her sunglasses. She hadn’t gone out for either lunch or dinner—whether it was the cafeteria or somewhere off campus, wearing sunglasses while eating would have been far too conspicuous. So both meals were prepared and delivered by the dorm’s cook. Dinner had even been made in four portions, turning into a little dorm-room get-together for all of them.
And so, another chapter of Mu Yue’s university life began.
That night, after washing up, Mu Yue sat inside her curtained-off bunk. At last, she could give her sunglasses a break. She was on a voice call with Lin Xiaoxiao.
Lin Xiaoxiao’s university started a little later, and she was eagerly asking Mu Yue how everything felt, whether her roommates were nice. Then, with no small amount of pride, she told Mu Yue that she had already earned enough to cover a full year’s tuition and accommodation fees.
Mu Yue praised her generously. Lin Xiaoxiao really had done an excellent job over the summer. When it came to supporting herself, she was already far more capable than those people who only knew how to complain online that their parents shouldn’t have had children if they couldn’t afford them.
Mu Yue had witnessed her growth. Still, remembering the original story’s version of Lin Xiaoxiao—a hopeless romantic—she offered her a few words of guidance.
For example: if you don’t like the smell of smoke, don’t date someone who smokes. If you want a partner who spends time with you, don’t choose someone emotionally distant. Don’t try to change someone just to prove that they love you, and don’t try to change yourself for someone else just to prove how much you love them. Everyone is an independent individual. If you fit, stay together; if you don’t, then part ways.
After all, Lin Xiaoxiao was the heroine of a romance novel. So long as she wanted to, one day she would surely meet someone who perfectly matched everything she wanted.
After listening, Lin Xiaoxiao declared, “Coach, I get it now!”
This time, she truly understood what Mu Yue meant. Love couldn’t be forced. Besides, she had no intention of dating right now. She needed to study; she needed to make money. Where would she find the time? She could think about it later.
After ending the call with Lin Xiaoxiao, Mu Yue heard her roommates gathered together, watching a variety show. It turned out that the idol competition program had reached its finale.
Since she had nothing else to do, Mu Yue opened her tablet and started watching as well.
During the final, all the mentors performed. For the first time, Mu Yue paid close attention to the female lead of this CEO-and-white-moonlight-substitute romance novel.
Her classmates had been right: she truly shone onstage. Compared with the listless way she drifted through bad films, she seemed so much more alive.
The heroine performed an incredibly high-energy dance—bold, expansive, and exhilarating. Every strand of her hair seemed beautiful beyond compare. Completely immersed in her performance, she was dazzling. In comparison, every contestant who came on afterward seemed to fade into the background.
Even the haters in the live comments couldn’t criticize the heroine’s professional ability. All they could do was sneer that she was deliberately trying to crush the contestants’ confidence.
Mu Yue couldn’t help laughing when she saw that comment. Was that person really a hater, or secretly a fan? Weren’t they indirectly admitting how outstanding she was?
The camera then cut to Wen Xue at the mentors’ table. She was still seated there with that gentle, soft-spoken air. Whenever she commented on a contestant’s performance, she spoke quietly and delicately, as though she had tucked away every trace of sharpness.
And it looked utterly fake.
This side of her was exactly what the haters found most unbearable. Mu Yue had never met the female lead, but could the gap between her acting and her real self really be that huge?
In this “White Moonlight” novel, Mu Yue’s comeback mission was to slap the faces of everyone whose status, position, or looks surpassed hers—as well as anyone who looked down on her—while still operating within the original setting. For men, it was mainly about status and social standing; for women, it was mainly about beauty and temperament.
Because the novel was rather old-fashioned and heavily centered on female rivalry, with a large number of female characters, this was also why the system had been so intent on improving Mu Yue’s appearance before her comeback.
Put simply, it meant competing in beauty on the same stage. As long as she appeared in the same frame as any female character who had appeared in the novel, and proved more eye-catching, more popular, and more beloved, she could earn points. The mechanism was rigid, and the comeback was rather helpless in that regard—it had been programmed that way from the start.
There were also bonus points for publicly humiliating people. The larger the audience, the more effective the humiliation, and the more points she would receive. Like the incident at the mall before. This rule applied regardless of gender.
It was not yet time for Mu Yue to go to that nightclub and meet the domineering CEO, so she was in no rush. Still, she had not expected to run into a minor character from the “White Moonlight” novel so soon.
This minor character was someone Mu Yue had come into contact with by chance.
With senior student Chu Xiaoshi around, Mu Yue had joined the freshmen group chat and A University’s confession-wall page on her first day at school. There, she quickly came across all kinds of services: paid errand runners, attendance check-ins, seat reservations, and so on.
Mu Yue placed an order for an errand service, mainly to pick up her deliveries and meals cooked at home and brought over for her. Outsiders were not allowed into the dormitory. Sometimes, when she saw something she wanted online, she could not resist buying it, but September was still scorching hot, and she did not want to go all the way to the campus parcel station to collect her things. So she thought of hiring someone to run errands.
If she asked her roommates, they would certainly agree without hesitation. Fang Baiwei had even said that if she was free, she could go pick things up directly. The task itself was trivial, but Mu Yue had already experienced university life once and understood the potential complications involved. If a few yuan could save her that kind of trouble, then it was better to spend the money.
The person who accepted Mu Yue’s order and ran errands for her was a minor character from “White Moonlight.” Her childhood nickname was Zhaodi, while her proper name was Xiang Xin. Yes, just from the name alone, one could tell what kind of family she came from. The nickname had spread around on registration day, when her mother called out to her, and one of her roommates remembered it.
Mu Yue had not known about the nickname at first. But one day, when they ran into each other in the hallway, Xiang Xin’s roommate deliberately called her by it.
In the original “White Moonlight” novel, Xiang Xin was the intern assistant of a certain actress. That actress treated her assistant like a servant. At first, Xiang Xin endured it for the money, but later she realized that the actress not only treated her like a slave, but paid her terribly as well. So she quit. Deliberately provoking the actress on a film set, she caused the woman to curse and insult her in front of everyone.
The female lead came to Xiang Xin’s rescue after she was humiliated so completely on set. The actress’s infamous outburst later trended online, her reputation plummeted, and her carefully cultivated image was shattered. From then on, her standing in the entertainment industry declined drastically.
Mu Yue rather liked Xiang Xin. Her service attitude was excellent and enthusiastic, and when she smiled, it was especially bright—full of vitality.
Most importantly, she earned her money fair and square. She didn’t see it as anything shameful, nor did she feel that taking money meant she had somehow lost her dignity—only to turn around and resent the person paying her.
For freshmen who had only just started university, that mindset was honestly not easy to achieve. They were young, after all, and cared a lot about saving face. Only after getting past that stage would some people realize what a great side job running errands from freshman year could be.
Mu Yue and Xiang Xin had been assigned to the same military-training platoon, so Mu Yue simply hired her as a little assistant. The work was easy enough, though rather miscellaneous—buying water, ordering milk tea, picking up fruit, running errands, and so on. At first, Mu Yue paid per task, but later she simply switched to eighty yuan a day.
Xiang Xin liked Mu Yue a great deal, too. She paid promptly and generously, and she was easy to get along with—nothing like the rumors people spread about her. Her roommates called her a bootlicker every day, but Xiang Xin didn’t get angry in the slightest. Ha. Did they think she didn’t know? They were just sour grapes because they couldn’t have what she had.
For instance, today. The moment morning military training ended, Xiang Xin went as usual to collect the things delivered by Mu Yue’s family housekeeper. The housekeeper had changed lunchboxes again today. This one was the kind that appeared in historical costume dramas, its exterior carved with exquisite floral patterns. It was a glossy reddish-brown, and one look told you it was expensive.
The lunchbox had four tiers and was somewhat heavy. But compared to the farm work Xiang Xin had done back home, this was nothing. Carrying it up four flights of stairs was no trouble at all.
Xiang Xin was in a good mood, because Mu Yue generally gave her an extra bonus whenever an errand involved valuable items or heavy lifting.
Holding the lunchbox steadily, Xiang Xin reached the fourth floor in no time. There were other students in the corridor, and a few of them cast curious glances at the box she was carrying, though no one came over to take a closer look.
Just as she was about to reach Mu Yue’s dorm room, someone suddenly rushed out from the doorway of a room she was passing.
Holy crap! Clutching the lunchbox to her chest, Xiang Xin dropped to both knees without hesitation and slid straight past them, showing absolutely no concern for whether her pants got dirty or tore.
The person who had rushed out, the people in that dorm room, and everyone in the hallway were all dumbfounded.
“Impressive moves, hero!” someone praised.
“That was insane! Her reflexes are incredible!”
“Seriously? It’s just delivering food. Did you have to go that far?” Someone from the room the person had burst out of stepped outside with her arms folded. She was wearing pajamas emblazoned with the conspicuous logo of a luxury brand.
“Exactly! You scared the hell out of me!” the pajama girl snapped, glaring at Xiang Xin.
Xiang Xin rolled her eyes and ignored them completely. She got to her feet in one smooth motion and headed for Mu Yue’s dorm. Once there, she even gave her pants a quick tidy before knocking.
The pajama girl’s dorm erupted in sneers. How ridiculous—she was still trying to manage her image. They were just about to make some sarcastic remarks when Mu Yue opened the door. Whether they had been passing by or peeking out to watch the show, no one made another sound.
When Mu Yue saw Xiang Xin had brought her meal, she took the lunchbox and looked surprised. “It’s this heavy? Thanks for your hard work. I’ll transfer the money to you in a bit. Wait—you don’t need to leave yet.”
The moment Mu Yue disappeared from view, the designer-pajama girl seemed to have her pressure point unsealed. “Why did you tell her not to leave? Don’t tell me you were checking whether Zhaodi—”
“Whether she had what?” Mu Yue handed Xiang Xin an exquisitely packaged box of cream strawberries and turned toward the voice.
The pajama girl instantly changed her expression and said kindly to Mu Yue, “Mu, she nearly fell just now. You should check whether anything in your box got damaged. And besides, someone like her has never seen anything nice before. I’d suggest that every time you—”
Mu Yue looked at her in bafflement, studying the pajama girl from head to toe until the girl grew a little uncomfortable.
“What?” she asked. “Is there something on my face?”
Mu Yue shook her head. “No. I’m just surprised. Getting into A University is enough to prove that someone’s intelligence is normal, isn’t it? So how can anyone still say something that stupid?”
Laughter broke out—not just from one person.
Realizing that Mu Yue had insulted her, the pajama girl flushed with anger. “You really don’t know how to appreciate kindness!” With that, she immediately retreated to her own dorm room.
Military training had already been underway for several days. Mu Yue had also registered her car with the university. A University had a student parking lot, and once a car was registered, students could park there for a very modest fee.
On the first day freshmen arrived, Mu Yue’s photo had already appeared on A University’s confession wall. People had dug up the prices of every item she wore, from head to toe, and more information continued to be posted afterward. Together with the car that had brought her to campus and the one she drove around school herself, her status as the daughter of a wealthy family was beyond question. Claims that she was some fake socialite putting on an act to hook a rich guy had vanished from every corner of campus.
Being high-profile did save her some trouble, but it also brought new problems. University was unlike high school; it was already a miniature society. No one was crass enough to openly act like an animal in front of Mu Yue, but there was no shortage of people—male and female alike—trying to catch her attention.
The pajama girl was one of them. She was extremely forward. On Mu Yue’s second day at A University, she came to Mu Yue’s dorm—and was kicked out in less than a minute. Trying to ingratiate herself with Mu Yue, she had unapologetically taken Xiaoya’s seat and ordered Wu Jiajia around, telling her to close the door and turn on the air conditioning.
Mu Yue found her unbearable even to look at.
It was the same now. Fortunately, the pajama girl’s skin wasn’t thick enough to let herself be watched and laughed at. Otherwise, Mu Yue could have said something even harsher.
She turned back to Xiang Xin. “You didn’t get hurt, did you?”
“Of course not!” Xiang Xin demonstrated with a gesture. “I just did a sliding tackle and got right over here!”
The students who had witnessed it also praised her, saying the move had looked pretty cool.
Only then did Mu Yue notice the dirt on Xiang Xin’s pant leg. This girl really was something else, but Mu Yue still said, “Safety first. Don’t save the strawberries for later—they spoil quickly.”
Xiang Xin nodded repeatedly. She knew the box of strawberries had to be expensive, so she immediately said, “Thank you for this gift, Your Highness!”
Then she added in a whisper, “I’ll eat them right away! Otherwise, when I go back to my dorm, my roommates will be jealous to death.”
In fact, Xiang Xin wasn't the only one feeling sour. The pajama girl's roommates were jealous too—otherwise, they wouldn't have suddenly come out of the dorm just now. Yes, she had done it on purpose.
It wasn't just the pajama girl's wholehearted guidance; her roommates had also lent their full support.
The pajama girl was a spoiled young miss too, though nowhere near as wealthy as Mu Yue. She only owned two or three designer outfits and bags in total, yet she put on airs like a real heiress.
She ordered her three roommates around with effortless familiarity, never once mentioning any errand fee.
The three of them sneered at Xiang Xin for running errands for others, calling her a lackey who'd work for one or two yuan. But really, who among them wasn't envious? Mu Yue paid every time, and now and then—like this time—she even gave her fruit or milk tea.
After Xiang Xin left, Mu Yue began eating her lunch. There were quite a few cafeterias at A University, and Mu Yue had tried them all. Compared to most school dining halls, they were already pretty decent.
But Mu Yue had grown accustomed to the good life. Her palate had become spoiled, and she no longer wanted to settle. What could she do? Once you've known luxury, it's hard to go back to frugality.
So most of the time, she either had meals prepared by the auntie on her chef card, or ordered delivery from A City's well-known restaurants. She absolutely refused to let her taste buds suffer.
That evening's dinner had also been delivered to Mu Yue's dorm by Xiang Xin: a huge serving of Sichuan-style boiled fish, far too much for Mu Yue to finish alone.
After sharing some with her roommates, Mu Yue told Xiang Xin to take some food with her as well.
Of course, Xiang Xin knew Mu Yue wasn't merely being polite. She found a clean plastic takeout container and began packing some up. Then she noticed Mu Yue watching Wen Xue perform onstage.
“Eh? Sister Mu, do you like Sister Xue too?” Xiang Xin asked.
Mu Yue assumed Xiang Xin meant she was a fan and was just about to say no when Xiang Xin blinked and lowered her voice. “I know her, you know. Maybe I can help you get a signed photo.”
Huh?
It was only later, after asking Xiang Xin about it, that Mu Yue learned the two of them came from the same village and had grown up as next-door neighbors. They had even gone through quite a few thrilling, life-and-death adventures together back then. However, Xiang Xin did not tell Mu Yue the details.
That immediately piqued Mu Yue's interest. In the original novel, was the female artist for whom Xiang Xin became an assistant—the one who was exposed online for abusing her assistant and treating her like a servant—perhaps dealt with by the heroine?
After another day of military training had ended, Xiang Xin was in contact with Wen Xue.
Wen Xue asked how things were going for her at A University. Xiang Xin said everything was quite good, and that she had even met a generous young miss. She could earn money while attending school.
Wen Xue knew Xiang Xin was short on money and would definitely have to work during both summer and winter breaks. Suddenly, she asked, “Xiaoxin, would you be interested in joining a body-double training program?”
“Huh? What's a body-double training program?”
Wen Xue said, “Mm... it's a program specifically for playing the white-moonlight stand-in of certain idiots who fancy themselves deeply devoted. The risks are a little high, but the pay is very generous.”
