Only then did everyone snap out of their daze.
A few quick-witted students had already jogged forward to catch up.
“An’an, wait for us!”
Along the way, several classmates completely changed their attitudes and crowded around Zhong Suian with newfound friendliness.
“An’an, you’re usually way too low-key! You live somewhere this luxurious and never told us!”
“I only just found out that Palm Bay is divided into different districts. Dongxing Royal Residence is incredible!”
“Oh my god, the environment here is amazing. There are even private pools and gardens. This place looks more than ten times bigger than Emerald Lake Court!”
“An’an, how much does a house here cost? It must be extremely expensive, right?”
…
Ye Qiaoqiao was squeezed to the back, with only four or five loyal followers remaining beside her.
She stared at Zhong Suian, who was surrounded like the center of the universe, and bit her lip hard.
Even though she knew all of this was fake—something Zhong Suian had staged—watching her steal the spotlight still made Ye Qiaoqiao tremble with rage.
“Didn’t you say she was only a temporary worker? Then how did she pass the access verification?”
Cold sweat appeared on the red-haired boy’s forehead.
“Sister Qiaoqiao, I really saw her talking to a contractor with my own eyes. I swear I wasn’t lying!”
Ye Qiaoqiao clenched her fists, resentment filling her eyes.
“I don’t care. I can’t tolerate this anymore.”
“I want you to expose her right now!”
The red-haired boy swallowed nervously and hesitated.
But under Ye Qiaoqiao’s sharp gaze, he had no room to retreat.
Remembering what he had personally witnessed gave him some confidence.
He took a deep breath and suddenly raised his voice.
“Zhong Suian, you really went all out with this performance!”
“It almost looks real!”
Everyone walking ahead immediately stopped.
Seeing all eyes turn toward him, the red-haired boy became even more confident.
“If I hadn’t personally seen you at the labor market last week, I really would’ve been fooled today!”
The crowd instantly fell silent.
“What does he mean?”
“He’s saying Zhong Suian’s house is fake? How could that be?”
“Exactly! She clearly passed the access system!”
The red-haired boy hurried to press his advantage.
“Don’t you understand?”
He pointed at Zhong Suian.
“She can enter because she deliberately came here to work as a temporary laborer!”
“What homeowner? It’s all a lie!”
One of his followers immediately chimed in.
“That’s what I thought! She usually can’t even afford a meat dish at the cafeteria, and now she’s suddenly the owner of a mansion? Who would believe that?”
“There are only ten villas in Dongxing Royal Residence, and even the cheapest costs around a hundred thousand yuan!”
“You’ve taken this lie way too far!”
“If you were really that rich, why would you still be studying? You could just stay home and live as a wealthy heiress!”
Listening to her followers mock Zhong Suian, Ye Qiaoqiao finally felt some of the pressure in her chest ease.
She slowly walked forward with her arms crossed.
“Zhong Suian, I never expected you to be this vain.”
“If you don’t own anything, you should simply admit it.”
“No one would look down on you just because you’re poor.”
Ye Qiaoqiao sighed dramatically.
“It’s not too late to admit the truth now.”
“If you wait until everything is exposed, the scene will only become more humiliating.”
Zhong Suian found the situation ridiculous.
These were the same people who had insisted she owned a mansion.
Now that she actually did, they stubbornly refused to believe it.
And somehow, she was the vain one?
She let out a soft scoff.
“Think whatever you want.”
“Believe it if you like. If you don’t, then leave.”
“I never forced any of you to come.”
Without waiting for a response, she turned and walked away.
Everyone exchanged uncertain glances, not knowing whether to follow or retreat.
In the end, Ye Qiaoqiao made the decision.
“Let’s go.”
“We’ll follow her and see how long she can keep pretending.”
After walking for several more minutes, they saw Zhong Suian stop in front of the most luxurious-looking villa.
She calmly passed through the decorative iron gate and stopped at the main entrance.
Then she placed her palm against the fingerprint scanner on the door handle.
Two clear beeps sounded.
The heavy mahogany door opened.
Ye Qiaoqiao’s heart tightened.
She grabbed the red-haired boy’s arm and lowered her voice.
“What’s going on?”
“How does she even have access to the smart lock?”
The red-haired boy was sweating heavily.
“Sister Qiaoqiao, I-I don’t know, but I swear I really saw her that day!”
“Shut up!”
Ye Qiaoqiao forced the words through clenched teeth.
Even though everything she saw made her increasingly uneasy, she stubbornly refused to believe it.
She reassured herself inwardly.
Any villa here cost at least ten yuan.
Even the Ye family could not afford one.
How could Zhong Suian, the jinx they had thrown out, possibly own it?
After convincing herself, Ye Qiaoqiao adjusted her skirt and forced herself to appear calm.
“Come on. Let’s go inside.”
“I refuse to believe this.”
A large group followed Ye Qiaoqiao into the living room.
The moment they entered, they saw Zhong Suian facing a group of movers.
The red-haired boy’s eyes lit up.
“Look!”
“What did I tell you?”
He excitedly pointed at the workers.
“They came here to work, just like her!”
“This proves everything!”
Ye Qiaoqiao also breathed a sigh of relief, and a victorious smile curved her lips.
“Zhong Suian, the evidence is right in front of us.”
“What else do you have to say?”
Zhong Suian frowned slightly.
Her gaze landed on a familiar figure hiding at the back of the workers.
Zhong Yaoran was doing his best to lower his presence and conceal himself within the crowd.
Unfortunately, he stood out far too much.
So she had not been mistaken at the neighborhood entrance.
Seeing that Zhong Suian remained silent, Master Li had no choice but to step forward awkwardly.
“Boss Zhong, I’m very sorry.”
He pointed toward the stain on the sofa.
“There was a small accident while we were moving the furniture, and the sofa was dirtied.”
“Would it be convenient for us to discuss compensation?”
Before Zhong Suian could answer, someone cried out in shock.
“W-What did you just call her?”
The triumphant smiles on Ye Qiaoqiao and the red-haired boy’s faces froze.
Master Li frowned in confusion.
“Boss Zhong.”
Seeing everyone’s horrified expressions, he belatedly realized that something about the atmosphere was wrong.
“Or perhaps I should contact your assistant to discuss it?”
“You appear to have guests, so we won’t disturb you any longer…”
Before he could finish, Zhong Suian raised a hand to stop him.
She turned toward her classmates and spoke calmly.
“You’ve seen the house.”
“You can leave now.”
“I still have some personal matters to handle.”
“Keep pretending!”
The red-haired boy gritted his teeth and pointed furiously at the workers.
“You think I don’t know?”
“These people were all hired by you to act!”
“And those security guards at the gate—tell us, what benefits did you give them?”
Ye Qiaoqiao also clenched her fists.
“You don’t honestly think we’ll believe you because of this, do you?”
Zhong Suian shrugged.
“I never asked you to believe me.”
“I’ll say it one last time.”
“If you don’t leave, I’ll call security.”
“You—”
Ye Qiaoqiao was about to continue when a knock sounded from the entrance.
Everyone turned around.
Two uniformed staff members stood at the door.
“Pardon the interruption, Ms. Zhong.”
The person in front bowed and respectfully presented a gold-embossed envelope with both hands.
“We received your report about the lost access card and immediately issued a replacement.”
“We hope it hasn’t caused any inconvenience to your travel.”
Then he stepped slightly aside and accepted an elegant document box from the person behind him.
“Additionally, all procedures for Villa No. 9 under your name have now been completed.”
“These are copies of the relevant ownership documents, which we have personally delivered to you.”