Quinn immediately sent a message to our class group chat and specifically tagged Ms. Carlton.

"Dear classmates, to thank Ms. Carlton for taking such good care of us, I've booked a private room at the Regalion Hotel. Order whatever you want—don't worry about my wallet. And if any of you skip out on this dinner, I'm gonna be mad!"

The messages that came after that were all singing her praises.

"Whoa. Quinn, your family must be loaded! This is the Regalion Hotel we're talking about. A single dish there costs hundreds of dollars!"

"Quinn, are you mixed or something? Half-beauty and half-deity, if you know what I mean."

"Give the rest of us a chance. How can someone be this gorgeous and this sweet at the same time?"

"Damn, I think I'm in love."

Quinn's face lit up with a look of pure satisfaction when she saw all the praise.

Right before we were about to head out, she specifically called out to me. "Lydia, you'd better show up for dinner later, okay?"

I knew exactly what her underlying meaning was. She didn't actually care whether I ate or not—all that mattered was that I showed up to pay.

I hurried to reassure her. "Don't worry. I won't forget."

…

By the time I got to the hotel, Quinn had already generously ordered one of every single signature dish on the menu. Each table was piled high with expensive seafood and top-grade beef.

"Ms. Carlton, everyone, just order whatever you feel like having. Don't bother saving me any money! And if you don't like something, go ahead and toss it," she said.

I sneered to myself. So, when someone else's money was involved, it meant nothing to her, huh?

When everyone had almost eaten their fill, I stood up and headed for the door. Quinn watched me warily. "Lydia, where are you going? Don't forget the most important thing later!"

In her mind, the most important thing had to be paying the bill.

I nodded. "I know."

After leaving the private room, I found a server and politely said, "Hi, I'd like to get some mac and cheese to go."

…

Back at the dorm, I happily dug into my mac and cheese. It totally lived up to the hype. If I'd known, I would've ordered another one.

Just as I was craving more, my phone started ringing nonstop with call after call from Quinn. When I finally hit accept, she exploded the second the call connected.

"Lydia, where did you go? The server said you left!"

I picked at my ear. Where was all this barking coming from?

"Me? I'm back at the dorm, of course."

Quinn dropped her voice on the other end of the line. "Didn't I tell you not to forget the most important thing? If you leave, who's going to pay?"

I couldn't help but laugh. "Right, the most important thing. Isn't it filling my stomach? The mac and cheese from the restaurant there is amazing. Oh, and don't worry, I already paid for my food. You don't have to trouble yourself."

She went silent for a beat, then suddenly flew into a rage. "What the hell is that supposed to mean? Look, whatever. Transfer the money to me right now. The total is 30 thousand dollars!"