CHAPTER 422: CHAPTER 422: ROOMMATE

Ashley Shaw made a call to Jocelyn Hayes, who was also stuck in traffic.

The siblings had stopped staying at hotels two days ago, moving into the government-assigned quarters for Vincent Ford.

It was a bit farther from there.

Ashley said into the phone, "No rush, take your time. I’ll head over to register with my friend, and I’ll WeChat you the dorm number once I have it."

"OK! No problem! I’ve already arranged for us to be in the same room. Once I get there, I’ll come to find you, then we can all go eat together."

"Alright."

The call ended as they finally reached the entrance of The Medical University.

Outside cars weren’t allowed on campus, and Ashley had told Owen Sinclair that he could drive off after dropping them at the gate. Still, Owen insisted on accompanying them to the dorm.

Because today was the registration day and to facilitate parents with luggage, the dorms had no gender restrictions.

"Since we’re already here, might as well take you to the dorm, so Shane won’t nag me."

Owen was already used to using Shane Coleman as an excuse.

But Ariana Grant couldn’t help thinking more about it.

When Owen went to the trunk to get the luggage, she quietly whispered to Ashley, "Don’t you think Uncle Owen seems afraid of Lawyer Sterling? Do you think they might be...?"

Ashley knew what Ariana meant, and she pretended to glare at her with mock anger.

"You’re looking at everything with a slash fiction lens!"

As they spoke, Owen and his assistant each came over dragging two suitcases.

Initially, when they arrived in Aethelgard, they didn’t have this many bags, since neither was fond of shopping. They brought very little, getting rid of anything superfluous.

But these few days accompanying Elder Prescott around Aethelgard, he had forcefully bought things he liked and stuffed them with gifts.

So their luggage went from two suitcases to four.

Perhaps because they had just been gossiping about Owen, Ariana felt a bit guilty and quickly grabbed two bags.

"Ashley and I will also carry some, otherwise, it’s embarrassing."

Ashley nodded along: "Let us carry some stuff too."

Owen didn’t refuse, so all four of them pulled a suitcase each as they walked inside.

Despite how incognito Owen was dressed today, quite a few students recognized him along the way.

Of course—

Initially, everyone noticed Ashley Shaw, then they paid attention to Owen.

A great beauty was standing beside a man in a thick mask and baseball cap on such a hot day.

Despite Aethelgard being chilly at night now, people wore short sleeves during the day in the sun; Owen bundled himself up tighter than anyone.

So everyone couldn’t help but glance at him.

And with those glances, they didn’t instinctively recognize Owen, but rather his assistant.

The assistant always shadowed Owen, so often appeared in photos with him.

The assistant became Owen’s unofficial authentication marker, making it easy for people to guess it was Owen when they saw him.

With that, the crowd swarmed in for photos.

Many happily uploaded photos online, fueling curiosity about why Owen was at The Medical University today.

If he had appeared at the neighboring Film Academy, it would have made sense, but his presence here was intriguing.

Especially since Ashley Shaw, a stunning beauty, was also in the photos with him, drawing attention.

Online, a small chorus of voices began wondering about Ashley Shaw’s identity, though it was merely curiosity without anyone digging deeper.

After all, Owen was single, so dating a young woman wasn’t outlandish.

With Owen’s clean reputation over his many years in the film industry, no one suspected anything scandalous.

Finally, after wrapping up fan photos, they found their way to the new student registration spot.

Ashley Shaw and Ariana Grant were in different majors, but thankfully their dorms were in the same building.

Ariana was on the first floor, Ashley on the fourth.

The assistant followed Ariana to settle on the first floor, while Owen helped Ashley carry her luggage to the third floor.

Ashley was in dorm room 403.

As she pushed the door open, there was already another girl inside.

The girl, with long black hair and almond-shaped eyes, was bossily ordering a middle-aged woman around.

"Hang the curtain, I don’t want annoying people disturbing my sleep," she said.

With that "annoying people" comment, Ashley immediately sensed this girl would be difficult to get along with.

But she’d met enough unpleasant people before to know that as long as their interests didn’t conflict, there wouldn’t be any issues.

What surprised Ashley even more was when the middle-aged woman, after carrying out the girl’s orders, asked, "Want me to buy you some fruits?"

That question made both Ashley and Owen pause in the middle of unpacking.

They both thought the woman was the girl’s nanny, but unexpectedly, she was the mother.

It was their first time hearing someone talk to their own mother like that.

However, it wasn’t their business, so after a moment of shock, they stayed silent and continued with their tasks.

"No, I’ll buy it myself, you should just leave," the girl replied with disdain.

"Okay, I’ll go now. Call me if you need anything," her mother replied.

"Ugh, you’re so annoying, just go!" the girl snapped.

Ashley felt a sharp pang as she tucked in the sheets.

As an orphan, she envied complete families, yet this girl...

"Hey, isn’t it inappropriate to talk to your mom like that?" Owen’s voice chimed in.

Unable to contain himself, he critiqued her in a paternal tone.

The girl glanced over with an impassive expression.

"How I talk to my mom is none of your business," she retorted.

"You..." Owen began.

"Forget it, Uncle Owen." Ashley tugged on his sleeve, not wanting him to get involved because of her.

His status wasn’t suited for any public incident.

In the end, Owen held his tongue, saying, "I’ll wait downstairs for you and Ariana. Once you’re done, I’ll take you to the campus store to get anything else you need."

"Alright," Ashley nodded.

Once Owen left, the middle-aged woman departed shortly after as well.

Ashley glanced sideways, noticing the woman’s eyes were slightly red.

She felt increasingly uncomfortable about it, ignoring the girl and acting as if she didn’t exist.

The girl seemed to treat Ashley as if she was air as well, pulling out a chair to focus on her phone.

The dorm had four beds in total, each a bunk with a desk below. Everyone had their own space, complete with a small balcony.

After Ashley finished making her bed, the girl lit a cigarette and strolled onto the balcony, saying, "Hey, hubby! My mom’s gone, come visit me in the dorm. Room 403, hurry up, I’m so bored. Roommate? Haha, don’t even mention it..."

Ashley didn’t hear the rest, as the girl shut the balcony door, cutting off any sound.