After the first ten challengers failed, the System let me pick my own role. "Anything I want?" I asked. "Knock yourself out. The one that got away, the sweet underclassman, whatever you want." The System's voice was flat, bored. The previous challengers had already tried all the popular roles. Every single one of them had crashed and burned. "In that case, I'll be the Dorm Mom." The System's only goal was to make the male leads' affection for the heroine drop to zero. It never said I had to date them to do it. Plus, as the Dorm Mom, I had a legitimate reason to break up happy couples. The moment I made my choice, I materialized in the ground-floor office of a university dormitory. 【TARGET 1: VICTOR.】 【Victor and the heroine, Andrea, are returning from a late-night food run. Objective: Intercept and disrupt.】 I glanced at the clock on the wall. Holy crap, 11 PM. I knew the drill. I slipped out the main doors and circled around to the back of the building. Sure enough, there was Victor, cupping his hands to give Andrea a boost over the security wall. I clicked on my heavy-duty flashlight, bathing them in a sudden, harsh beam. "What do you think you're doing out here in the middle of the night?" 1 They both jumped. He lost his grip, and her legs turned to jelly. Andrea tumbled right off the wall. She landed butt-first, right on Victor’s face. Yikes. Even from over here, the sheer awkwardness was radiating off them in waves. Two muffled groans echoed in the night—one of genuine pain, the other of pure humiliation. Andrea scrambled to her feet, her face as red as a baboon's ass. "What are you two doing, skulking around back here?" I barked, striding closer. "Which dorms? Names. Now." Victor stood up, clutching his nose. "Sorry, Ma'am. We're in the dance club. Rehearsal ran late. Could you maybe let it slide this once?" Please. He could sell that story to someone who cared. All club activities wrapped up by nine, tops. God only knew what they'd been up to for the last two hours. "Curfew is curfew," I stated flatly. "You're late. No pass means you get written up and have to submit a formal apology." The color drained from both their faces. "It was my fault, I lost track of time," Victor said, stepping in front of Andrea like a knight in shining armor. "Just punish me." I gave him a long look but didn't answer, just jingled the keys in my hand and motioned for Andrea to follow me. She let out a quiet sigh of relief. The men's and women's dorms were in the same building, connected by a sealed-off corridor. Guys on the left, girls on the right. Just as she was about to head up the stairs, I spoke, my voice casual and slow. "Breaking the rules has consequences. It wouldn't be fair to all the students who actually follow them, now would it?" Andrea's face fell. "Of course," I added, a sweet smile spreading across my face, "you could make up for it." "Just tell me which of your roommates are using illegal appliances." Back at the front gate, Victor was waiting for me like a good little boy. Freshmen, so pure and simple. They hadn't learned how to be sneaky little shits yet. "I'll have the written apology on your desk before my first class tomorrow," he said dutifully. I chuckled. "No rush." I repeated the same deal I'd offered Andrea. Just like hers, Victor's expression soured instantly. The System pinged, informing me his affection for me had already plummeted into the negatives. "I made the mistake, I'll take the fall," he said, his jaw tight. "I'm not dragging anyone else down with me." I clapped my hands together softly. "Now that's what I like to see. Loyalty. You passed the test." His face cycled through another emotion—confusion. "You were… testing me?" "Yep. If you'd been like that girl and thrown your friends under the bus, you'd really be writing that apology right now." My tone was laced with meaning. Victor's expression shifted a third time. "You're saying… Andrea… she…?" I nodded grimly. "That's right. Andrea sold out her roommates without a second thought." "No way. She wouldn't…" I patted his shoulder. "Pretty faces can hide ugly hearts, kid. Learn to look deeper." "Sometimes, what's on the outside doesn't match the inside." "Take me, for example." I hooked a thumb at my chest. "Your Dorm Mom here might not be a supermodel, but on the inside? Pure gold." Victor, who had been looking utterly devastated, actually cracked a smile. "You look really young, for a dorm mom." "Duh. I'm literally Gen Z," I deadpanned. He immediately started stammering an apology. "Oh, sorry! I didn't mean—" "It's fine. Go on, get to your room, kid." I waved him off. Back in my office, the System was practically buzzing with excitement. Victor's affection level for Andrea had nose-dived to 50%. I took a sip from my thermos. All in a day's work. "Who's next?" 【TARGET 2: ETHAN.】 【Ethan meets the heroine, Andrea, while working part-time at a local boba shop. Objective: Intercept and disrupt.】 The next day, I was up at the crack of dawn, lying in wait by the campus lake—a necessary shortcut to the boba shop. Besides a few students mumbling English vocabulary to themselves, the path was deserted. Soon, a lean, handsome guy with sharp features came into view. Ethan. Kingston University's campus heartthrob. Gorgeous, but broke. As a sophomore, his life was a constant shuttle between classes and part-time jobs. Unfortunately, his last gig conflicted with his new class schedule, so he was on the hunt again. The boba shop was where he was supposed to meet Andrea, another part-timer, and begin a slow-burn romance that would land him squarely in her collection of admirers. As he got closer, I whipped out a homemade flyer. "Hey, student! Looking to make some real money? Three hundred a day, no joke." My plan was simple: cut the problem off at the source. If he never met Andrea, he could never fall for her. Perfect. As expected, Ethan stopped. He took the flyer, his elegant brows furrowing slightly. "Three hundred dollars a day?" I flashed my official Dorm Supervisor ID badge. "One hundred percent legit. If I'm lying, you can report me to the university administration." That erased the last of his skepticism. "Okay… what's the job?" I gave him a mysterious smile. "Follow me." The path I took grew more and more secluded, leading to a patch of overgrown, unused land behind the dorms. Ethan hesitated. "Where are you taking me?" I didn't look back. Instead, I asked him a question. "Ever considered a… more personal line of work?" Ethan’s face flushed a deep crimson. He looked utterly scandalized. "Is that what this job is?" I nodded, as if it were the most normal thing in the world. "What else?" He let out a short, self-deprecating laugh. "I should have known. Three hundred a day… it was too good to be true." "The work's a little dirty, yeah, but you get used to it," I said, unlatching the gate to a large pen. A flock of sleeping ducks, startled by the noise, woke up and started waddling towards me, quacking loudly. On my first day, I'd put in a request with the university to use this land for a small vegetable garden and a duck coop. A Dorm Mom's salary wasn't going to pay the bills, you know? Ethan, who had already turned to leave, froze in his tracks. He stared, utterly bewildered. "What are you waiting for? You in or out?" I snapped, glancing at him impatiently. After seeing the flock of free-range ducks, he was speechless. "When you said… personal work…" A smirk played on my lips. "Yeah? What did you think I meant, kid?" He looked mortified. "Nothing. Never mind." I handed him a face mask and a wicker basket. "Good. Now get to work collecting eggs." Ethan did as he was told, and I set up my phone on a small tripod and started a livestream. Title: Campus Cutie and his Quack Pack: Live at 6 AM! The viewer count skyrocketed. Donations and gifts flooded the screen. I grinned, satisfied. Sure, this was all for the mission, but I wasn't about to pay him $300 out of my own pocket. The internet could foot the bill. And as for Andrea? She was about to find her pond was one fish short. With the second target handled, the System was practically purring with satisfaction. It immediately served up the third. 【TARGET 3: CALEB.】 【Caleb is Andrea's childhood sweetheart. He has just transferred to Kingston to be with her. Objective: Intercept and disrupt.】 The System had barely finished speaking when a clean-cut, scholarly-looking guy appeared at the dorm entrance. He was holding a gift box, his eyes scanning the area with hopeful excitement. I stroked my chin. Now this was interesting. Unlike Victor and Ethan, Caleb was the deeply devoted, sentimental type. Disrupting this was going to be a tougher nut to crack. Wait a second. That name sounded familiar. I opened the bottom drawer of my desk. Inside was a neat stack of postcards and envelopes. The front desk was the unofficial mail drop. I pulled out a few slightly grubby letters. The sender was Caleb. The recipient was just listed as "Andrea," with no room number. A slow grin spread across my face. Talk about a gift from the heavens. After lunch, just as Andrea was walking back into the dorm, Caleb rushed up to meet her. She looked at him, surprised. "Caleb? What are you doing here?" He beamed, handing her the gift. "I transferred! I'm doing my graduate studies here now. I told you in my last letter." Andrea took the gift and started unwrapping it, answering distractedly. "Oh, right. Did you?" Caleb's smile faded. "You… you didn't read my letters?" "No, it's not that, I just…" Andrea stammered, her eyes darting around until they landed on my office window. A flicker of inspiration lit up her face. "I mean, I never even got them." "They were probably confiscated by the Dorm Mom," she said, her voice dripping with pity. "I heard she's a bit of a psycho. Likes to intercept people's mail and read it herself." I sneered internally but kept my expression neutral. Just as I predicted, after Andrea had made her excuses and left, Caleb came straight to my office. "Excuse me? Is the Dorm Mom here?" I smiled pleasantly. "That's me." Caleb blinked, a flash of disbelief on his face. "You're… the 'Mom'?" "Is there a problem?" I asked, feigning innocence. "What, you think someone born after 2000 can't be a Dorm Mom?" "No, no, that's not what I meant," he stammered, the righteous anger he'd clearly been building up completely deflating. "Ma'am—I mean, Miss—did you by any chance confiscate some letters addressed to Andrea? They were from me. Just… normal letters." I studied him closely. He had a handsome, earnest face, with clear eyes that held a stubborn sort of naivety. Slowly, I pulled out the grimy letters. "Are these what you're talking about?" His face lit up. "Yes, those are them!" Then his brow furrowed. "Why are they so dirty?" "Because," I said, my voice gentle, "I fished them out of the trash can." I let out a soft sigh. "And this wasn't the first time. I've seen letters just like these, sitting right on top of the garbage, several times now." I pulled out my phone and opened the photo gallery, showing him several pictures. "I have to take pictures every day to document that the recycling is sorted properly. I just happened to catch these in the shot." The color drained from Caleb's face, bit by bit. Then, I pulled up the security footage. The video clearly showed Andrea opening a package, taking the gift, and casually tossing the accompanying letter into the trash without a second glance. When the video ended, the office was silent. Caleb just stood there, his lips pressed into a thin, white line. I softened my tone. "Look, kid, some things just aren't meant to be. You should give your heart to someone who will actually treasure it." I gently pushed the stack of letters across the desk toward him. "These belong to you. Whether you keep trying or decide to cut your losses… that's your call." Caleb was silent for a long time. Finally, he reached out and took the letters. "Thank you," he whispered. As I watched his heartbroken figure walk away, I savored the moment. The System pinged. Caleb's affection for Andrea had dropped to 40%. I clicked my tongue. Childhood sweethearts, man. The bond runs deep. Even after all that, he was still 40% in. No matter. I had time. With the first round of disruptions complete, I settled into the comfortable rhythm of my Dorm Mom life. Once the students were all in class, I’d kick back with some sunflower seeds and binge-watch short-form dramas on my phone. But my peaceful existence was soon interrupted. The System informed me that Andrea hadn't been idle. While Ethan was still off her radar, she had managed to claw back some affection points from both Victor and Caleb. Well, I was the villain here. I wasn't about to just sit back and let that happen. One evening, I set up a small charcoal grill in the open space behind the dorms. Next to it, I placed a hand-painted sign: Dorm Mom Cares! Free Roasted Sweet Potatoes! The sweet, smoky aroma drifted far, attracting a crowd of students. Andrea and a few of her friends were drawn in by the smell. Seeing that it was free, she didn't hesitate to grab the largest one. Just then, Victor happened to be walking by behind her. I spoke up, as if making a general announcement. "Sweet potatoes warm the soul, but they can make you a little… gassy. Don't be greedy now!" Andrea rolled her eyes. "Some 'care event.' The school is paying for it anyway. It's a student benefit, so if you don't take it, you're an idiot." "And I bet you just take all the leftovers for yourself," she muttered, grabbing two more and stuffing them in her bag. I just smiled, not stopping her. I saw Victor's eyes flash with a flicker of disgust as he watched her. Later that evening, I took a "stroll" that deliberately led me past the dance studio. The System had told me Andrea had proactively asked to be Victor’s partner for a duet. They were practicing a difficult lift, one that required Victor to hoist Andrea high into the air. Victor took a deep breath, bent his knees, and with a powerful thrust, lifted her towards the ceiling. And at that precise moment… PFFFTTT— A sharp, sudden, and unmistakable sound ripped through the studio.
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