"What does your illness have to do with me?" Zuri commanded coldly to Shi Feifei's parents, "Move your things, now!"
The forceful tone in Zuri's voice stunned both families in the room. Reluctantly, Shi Feifei's parents began moving their belongings back to the bed that was originally theirs, which was inconveniently located near the bathroom.
Once they had left, Azura cheerfully began unpacking her things. She tossed a set of bedding to her uncle, saying, "Uncle, make the bed."
Leo calmly took the bedding and began making the bed with a practiced ease. Meanwhile, Shi Feifei, clearly upset, sat down in a chair, while her mother quietly consoled her.
"Sweetheart, don't lower yourself to their level. They're just small-minded people, not worth your anger," Shi Feifei's mother whispered.
Shi Feifei's father chimed in, "Later, I'll take you shopping. You can buy whatever you want."
Shi Feifei's mood lightened slightly. "Alright," she said.
Seeing their daughter's expression soften, the parents breathed a sigh of relief.
Just then, the last student arrived with her mother, who wore old, worn clothes. The two carried very little, only a simple set of bedding and not much else.
Shi Feifei glanced at them with undisguised disdain.
To break the tension, Shen Menglai's father spoke up, "You must be Esme. This is my daughter, Shen Menglai."
Esme nodded in acknowledgment and looked towards the beautiful girl by the window.
Noticing her gaze, Zuri smiled slightly, "I'm Zuri."
Shi Feifei, however, sneered and had no intention of befriending anyone.
Shi Feifei's mother, seeing an opportunity, chimed in, "This is my daughter, Feifei. I'm sure she'll need your help in the future. You seem like a kind and responsible girl, the type who would look after others. If my Feifei ever needs anything, I hope you'll be there to help. And, of course, if you need anything, Feifei will be happy to assist."
Esme nodded shyly.
After Zuri finished setting up her bed, the three left the dormitory and went to Azura's dorm, where they encountered no odd situations.
After a pleasant introduction to her new roommates, Leo was called away by a phone call. Zuri spent the rest of the evening dining with Azura and her new roommates, enjoying her first day on campus.
When Zuri returned to her dormitory, only Esme and Shen Menglai were there; Shi Feifei was absent. Shen Menglai greeted Zuri with a smile, "Zuri, tomorrow, our dorm is going out for dinner together. Would you like to join us?"
"Sure," Zuri replied.
Esme hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement.
Shen Menglai glanced at Shi Feifei's bed, "I doubt she'll come. I find her a bit too pretentious. Just because she's wealthy, she acts like she's better than everyone else."
Zuri simply smiled without commenting.
At that moment, the dormitory door was kicked open, and Shi Feifei entered, her arms laden with shopping bags. Seeing no one helping her, she called out to Esme, "Hurry up and help me!"
Esme obediently went to assist her, placing the shopping bags on her bed.
Shen Menglai rolled her eyes.
Shi Feifei began unpacking her bags, taking out a delicate designer handbag, and walked over to Shen Menglai, "This is for you."
Shen Menglai was shocked. It was a Gucci bag, easily worth over ten thousand yuan!
Shi Feifei smirked, pleased with herself. "Take it. Don't be shy."
Next, she pulled out another handbag and handed it to Esme, "This is for you."
After handing out gifts, Shi Feifei deliberately ignored Zuri.
Esme and Shen Menglai exchanged glances, both feeling awkward for Zuri.
Shi Feifei glanced at Zuri with a smug expression.
Hmph, just a poor girl!
Zuri was well aware of Shi Feifei's intentions—to make her feel isolated and upset.
But did she care about someone so insignificant?
Zuri didn't even bat an eye, completely ignoring Shi Feifei's theatrics.
Esme hesitated with the bag in her hand, "This is too expensive. You should take it back."
Shi Feifei waved her off dismissively, "Just take it. It's not a big deal. I have plenty of these at home."
Shen Menglai, on the other hand, was delighted with her new bag. She had always wanted a designer handbag but couldn't afford one. Now that she had one, she wasn't about to give it back.
Shen Menglai curiously asked, "Feifei, what does your family do? Your parents are so generous. They buy you anything you want."
Shi Feifei, eager to boast, proudly replied, "My family manufactures bathroom fixtures, exclusively supplying five-star hotels. We have two factories."
Shen Menglai was visibly impressed, "I had no idea we had a wealthy heiress in our dorm."
Esme also looked at Shi Feifei with a hint of envy.
"Tomorrow, let's all go out for dinner together. Does anyone object?" Shi Feifei suggested, glancing at Zuri out of the corner of her eye.
Shen Menglai smiled, "I just mentioned it to Zuri earlier, and we were waiting for you to get back to hear your thoughts. Looks like we're all on the same page. I'm new to the city and don't know where the good restaurants are. Do you?"
Esme shook her head, "I'm also new here."
Shi Feifei offered, "I'll make the reservations. I'm familiar with this city."
"Great!" Shen Menglai agreed enthusiastically.
Shi Feifei and Shen Menglai continued chatting excitedly, with Esme occasionally joining in, but mostly listening. Meanwhile, Zuri, uninterested, kept her earphones in, listening to foreign languages.
Meanwhile, the Feng brothers had a rare moment together at home.
"Zuri's in the capital now. Shouldn't we go visit her?" Owen suggested. "Even if she doesn't want us to escort her, we can still check on her."
"You're going to the academy?" Adam gave him a sideways glance as if looking at a fool. "You showing up wouldn't be 'checking on Zuri,' it would be a disaster."
Owen was silenced by the reprimand.
Finally, the usually quiet Nolan spoke up, "Let's invite her to dinner over the weekend. She's wary of us right now, so if we push too hard, it'll backfire."
Adam nodded in agreement, "Take it slow. Zuri isn't superficial; she's independent and strong-willed. We need to approach her gently, not force our way into her life. That would only make things worse."
After a moment, Adam turned to Owen, "Did you understand what I just said?"
Owen rolled his eyes, "It's not rocket science."
"Then why did you show up at her place with several carloads of gifts, attracting a bunch of thieves? If big brother hadn't had someone watching outside, Zuri would've been in serious trouble."
Recalling that incident, Owen looked down, speaking in a low voice, "Alright, I get it. I won't do anything like that again."
Damn it, who knew those idiots would flash cash in broad daylight?
His good intentions had backfired, nearly causing trouble for Zuri.
Feeling guilty, Owen remained silent.
After some discussion, the three brothers agreed on a strategy of gentle persuasion, intending to win Zuri over slowly and carefully.