When I started my freshman year, my new roommate, Riley, insisted her aunt had to come with her to college. Her aunt had to take her to class and pick her up. I tried to reason with her a few times: "We're college students now, can't you be a little more independent?" But Riley just scoffed, "You're all just jealous I have someone to take care of me. If you're so capable, go get someone to chaperone you too!" Later, one day when I came back to the dorm, I found her aunt had taken over my bed. All my personal belongings had been tossed into the bathroom. I clenched my fists. When I confronted her, she said dismissively, "Alright, alright, I'll have my aunt give you five hundred bucks. You can move out." Oh, okay, so that's how we're playing this, huh? Fine. I'll make sure your aunt "takes care" of you, 360 degrees, no blind spots. 1 Freshman year had just begun. Lugging bags big and small, I pushed open the dorm room door to find someone had beaten me to it. After a bit of chatting, I warmly called her Riley, and she pulled a few oranges from her bag, offering them to me with a big smile. Her aunt, Carol, saw me and only complimented how "fresh" I looked, and even added me on Insta. As night fell, the other two roommates gradually arrived. Looking at the scene, it seemed everyone was planning to stay the night. But we all looked at each other, an awkwardness hanging in the air. Because Aunt Carol was currently lying on the top bunk, blatantly scrolling through TikToks with the sound on full blast. A few minutes later, I couldn't take it anymore and politely asked, "Ma'am, it's getting pretty late. Maybe you could get a hotel room for tonight?" "I know you must hate to leave Riley, but classes don't start until the day after tomorrow. You can spend all day with her tomorrow, okay?" But she just said, "She'll just sleep here for one night, she won't bother you all! Don't be so stingy!" Was this really about being stingy or not? My temper flared, and I almost blew up right then and there. My other roommates each grabbed one of my hands, coaxing me, "Lily, forget it, forget it. School hasn't even started, we can't make things awkward already." After popping a few candies in my mouth, I started to feel a bit better. For a while after that, even though Riley's aunt didn't do anything, I always felt like there was a pair of eyes in the dorm constantly watching the three of us. It was a feeling that’s hard to describe in just a word or two. After we’d all pretty much finished our evening routines, Riley’s aunt suddenly announced she wanted to clean. She said she was a neat freak, and if the dorm was too dirty, she wouldn’t be able to sleep. Everyone tried to tell her the cleaning could wait until tomorrow. We'd all made long drives from out of state; everyone just wanted to wash up and sleep, then clean tomorrow. Aunt Carol’s face instantly darkened. "How can you young ladies not care about cleanliness? If I clean tonight, it’ll be easier for you all tomorrow. I’m doing this for your own good!" In the ensuing silence, someone muttered, "Psycho." I just felt incredibly annoyed. It was already almost midnight, and everyone was about to fall asleep. If our room started making noises from scrubbing clothes or a washing machine spinning, we’d definitely have people knocking on our door. But before we could say anything, a few "little pearls"—tears—slid down Riley's cheeks, making her look utterly pitiable. 2 "I know, my aunt and I are from the countryside, and I'm the only one in my family to go to college. I haven't spent time with city folk like you. My aunt is just trying to do what's best for me, what's she done wrong!" All I wanted to say was, honey, your aunt hasn't just done something wrong; she fundamentally doesn't know how to act around people. Riley was still sobbing, the sound more grating than a whistling kettle. "You're all just deliberately ganging up on me! Is there any justice in the world?!" With that, she violently swept everything off her desk onto the floor. The sharp clatter instantly echoed through the entire dorm. Sure enough, a little while later, students from downstairs knocked on our door. "What are you doing up at this hour instead of sleeping!" "Why is there a parent here? What's wrong with you, staying in a student dorm!" They clamored, then called the RA for our dorm building. The RA was efficient. First, she "escorted" Riley's aunt out of the dorm, then gave her the address of the nearest hotel. After all, tomorrow was the last day before classes officially started; it wasn't worth making a fuss now. Riley held her aunt's hand, tears seeming to well in her eyes. Right up until her aunt was escorted out of the dorm building, Riley was still trying to negotiate with the RA, asking if her aunt could just stay for one night. But the RA, seeing such a commotion, was definitely not going to agree to her request. Finally, the RA laid down the law: "If you two keep causing trouble here, I'll report this to the university tomorrow." Hearing this, Aunt Carol’s expression changed instantly, and only then did she leave resentfully. She was afraid Riley would face some punishment because of this, affecting her ability to study and graduate normally. That night, Riley buried her head under her covers, saying nothing. Not a single sound. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought she'd fainted from sadness. But my gut told me she was definitely not asleep. I opened my phone and went into our little three-person group chat. "Lily, what are we going to do? You think she'll try to get back at us?" "Either explode in silence or perish in silence." Leah was the first to speak. I replied, "So what? If she wants to explode, let her. We're in the right. Worst case, we stand our ground!" 3 After classes officially started, Riley kept to herself, looking quite carefree. Her aunt somehow got hold of an electric scooter and would ferry her to the academic buildings every day. During Riley's classes, the aunt would wait in a nearby empty classroom, sometimes even rummaging through recycling bins for empty bottles. When Riley’s class ended, she’d weave through the crowds out of the building, and upon reaching Riley, give her a fierce hug. All the students present would eye the two of them. But Riley seemed to enjoy it. Enjoyed the feeling of being the center of so much attention. Passersby would whisper: "Are those two okay? They're treating going to and from class like it's the SATs, getting so worked up seeing each other." "The SATs just filter out people who aren't as academically strong; they don't filter out total babies." Riley heard them but didn't seem to care at all. She said to Aunt Carol: "Auntie, I don't have any more classes. Let me take you to the dining hall for lunch." With that, she hopped on her aunt's scooter, and they sped off. Chloe and I exchanged a look; something felt off. I pulled out my phone to check the schedule. The next class was clearly Calc 101. How could she say she had no more classes? But time waits for no one, and we couldn't dwell on it. After class, Chloe and I sprinted to the dining hall. Damn, it was more crowded than Black Friday. After getting our food, we finally found a table, only to see Riley and her aunt sitting at the next one. Her aunt was eating food bought with Riley's meal card, praising it as she ate: "The food at this university is just delicious! Riley, you eat more too. Classes are so tiring." Chloe muttered, "She's only been in class for a few days, how tired can she be!" Not wanting to disturb our precious mealtime, we didn't greet them, just turned away to focus on our food. But, as luck would have it, her sharp-eyed aunt spotted us. "Why are you so late! Any later and there'd be no food left." We just exchanged a few pleasantries with her and didn't continue the conversation. Chloe stared at her half-empty bowl, fiddling with her chopsticks dejectedly: "Lily, I didn't understand a single thing in that Calc class. If you don't help me, I'm definitely going to fail the final!" In the noisy environment of the dining hall, my conversation with Chloe was barely a whisper. But to someone who was listening intently, it was heard crystal clear. "Aren't you all in the same class? Why are your schedules different?" Riley's aunt scooted closer to our table. Hearing this, Riley's chopsticks clattered to the floor. She then guiltily picked them up, her eyes darting towards us occasionally. Chloe was startled by her sudden movement and hesitated whether to speak. I nudged her under the table and said to Riley's aunt: "We're in the same class and the same dorm, so of course, our schedules are the same. The professor said this course is really important, and we absolutely can't skip it. That's why we're so late to the dining hall." I said it casually. Hearing this, Aunt Carol's expression immediately soured. She snatched the chopsticks from Riley's hand and slammed them on the ground: "Did you have a class just now? Why didn't you go? You pretended you wanted to show me the university dining hall just to skip class, didn't you!" "Your parents heartlessly abandoned you, and I raised you to this age, and now you dare to pull something like this?" After being yelled at in public, Riley's ears turned beet red, but she mumbled: "It's just one skipped class, what's the big deal? I saw online that a college experience isn't complete without skipping a class." Smack! Another crisp sound. Everyone present gasped. A bright red handprint appeared on Riley's face. "Still dare to talk back! It looks like I can't leave your side for a second from now on. Who knows what you'll do next." Seeing the crowd вокруг, Riley wanted to cry but was too embarrassed to cry too loudly, so she just buried her face in the table and whimpered. My roommate and I took the chance to leave the dining hall. We're all college students; it's good enough if we can manage ourselves. But when I returned to the dorm that evening, I found someone on my bed. 4 At first, I thought an outsider had picked the lock to our dorm room, but when I looked closer, I realized it was Riley's aunt lying there. Seeing me, Riley's aunt slowly craned her neck from the bed: "Oh, Lily. I figured it would be more convenient to take care of Riley if I just stayed in the dorm." It turned out Aunt Carol thought renting an apartment off-campus was too expensive, so staying in the dorm was better. "Riley said all this stuff of yours was old anyway, so I just tossed it in the bathroom. If you want to get it..." I clenched my fists, so angry I couldn't speak. Seeming to notice my expression wasn't right, she hesitated for a moment, then said: "Don't worry, I'll give you five hundred a month. You can rent any place you like." Hilarious. What kind of decent place could you rent for five hundred? If it was so easy to rent off-campus, why didn't she do it? Thinking this, I gritted my teeth but still managed to squeeze out an extremely ugly smile: "Riley is so lucky to have such a wonderful aunt like you! But five hundred isn't enough to rent a safe place. I'm a girl living alone outside, with no one to accompany me..." At this point, I slowly lowered my head, my long hair falling, feigning a pitiful look. She fidgeted with her fingers, clearly unsure how to react to my act. "Lily... are you crying? Then how much would a safe place cost?" I trembled all over, looking utterly heartbroken. No one knew I was actually holding back laughter. The kind where your toes curl up. But I managed to keep my voice steady and said, "Not much, just four thousand..." "How much? Four... four thousand?" I nodded vigorously, implying that the cheaper places nearby weren't secure, and a higher price meant more safety. Riley's aunt clearly became hesitant. "Honey, you know our family doesn't have much money, could we..." "You watched Riley grow up. You're accompanying her like this now; she'll definitely make big money in the future. You can't even spare this little bit?" "If you stay here, I definitely won't tell anyone. This way, you can focus on taking care of Riley's daily needs." She looked at me, her eyes slowly becoming firm. Without another word, she transferred five thousand to me; the extra thousand was for me to buy snacks. I accepted it with satisfaction, quickly packed a few things, and prepared to leave. But she grabbed my arm and finally asked me: "Lily, it's so late, why isn't Riley back yet? Do you know where she went?" I thought for a moment, then asked around and saw Riley's social media post. It turned out to be a Student Government dinner, and Riley was at the table. With a quick swipe of my hand, I sent the restaurant's location to her aunt. I said seriously: "Ma'am, Riley is at this place having dinner with others. Why don't you go check it out? There are a few guys there too!" Hearing this, her face instantly turned pale. She haphazardly grabbed her bag and rushed out the door, muttering incoherently: "Not coming back to sleep in the middle of the night, and running off to eat with a bunch of guys. I think she's trying to turn the world upside down!" Watching her retreating figure, I secretly plotted. Riley, don't you enjoy having someone with you all the time? Then I'll let you thoroughly enjoy the feeling of being "taken care of" from every possible angle. You'll be very satisfied. 5 After my roommates all returned to the dorm, I told them what had happened. Hearing that Aunt Carol had stormed off to find Riley, they couldn't hold back their laughter. Chloe immediately pulled out her phone and said loudly: "This is gonna be good! I'll get us some eyes on the ground! We're going straight to the source for this drama." After some maneuvering, it turned out she actually had connections and got in touch with an anonymous source at the scene. Quietly starting a video call, we grabbed snacks, set up a small table, and gathered around to watch the show. In the video, a middle-aged woman walked slowly, her demeanor aggressive. By the time she reached Riley's table, the group hadn't noticed, thinking she was just a passerby. The first person to notice, of course, was Riley. She whipped her head around, saw someone standing behind her chair, and was so startled she almost jumped out of her seat: "Auntie, what are you doing here? How did you find this place!" "You brat, did you think I wouldn't find this place if you didn't tell me? It's so late, and you're still here messing around with these no-good friends of yours. Hurry up and come back with me!" Riley immediately got anxious: "Auntie, we're all in the same department. We specifically came out for dinner tonight. We'll go back after we finish!" In front of so many people, Riley couldn't lash out at her aunt. But her aunt kept at her: "I said no going out at night, and that means no! How dare you talk back!" Saying this, she forcibly pulled Riley up from her chair. Riley resisted, and in the struggle, the table was overturned. The crisp sound of beer bottles shattering reached everyone's ears. Her aunt stared at everyone with a strange look: "So young, and you're already getting girls drunk? Are you all crazy?" The few girls present hurriedly explained that Riley had suddenly wanted to try beer, and no one had forced her to drink. Besides, one bottle of beer split among several people, how could anyone get drunk? Even if she was a lightweight, they would have safely escorted Riley back to the dorm and would never have abandoned her. But her aunt still couldn't accept it: "I see you're all in cahoots with those guys! I've lived for so many years, what kind of people haven't I seen? You think a few young punks like you can fool me?" Riley shook her head frantically, explaining that it was really just an ordinary get-together to build friendships. But she still couldn't win against her aunt, who grabbed her by the ear and dragged her away. Some onlookers couldn't help but laugh, pointing at them. Her aunt, however, felt no shame at all; she believed she firmly occupied the moral high ground. "Riley Liu, don't come to the next department meeting... Some departments haven't finished recruiting yet, you can try applying to others."
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