Chapter 3. Just This Once

"Photographs?" Hazel frowned.

"Of course! Otherwise, how can my Prince Charming know what his candidates look like?"

"Can we just provide our photos?"

"Do you have any idea about technology these days? Photos provided by participants can be altered! Relax, my Prince Charming isn’t going to do anything with photos shot by his staff."

Hazel still did not show any interest in it. She quickly shook her head and said, "I’d rather not. What if I got selected..."

"Hazel, you are such a bold girl. You are just one step away from my list of rivals!" Ariel stared at her with a stunned look, "Do you know how many people have signed up for this preliminary selection? It is said that there are nearly 100,000 people! One out of 100,000, do you think you got that luck?"

"100,000 people!" Hazel was a bit shocked. She said, "One grand each person, that makes...one hundred million? Holy, rich people really have a lot of nerve. This is not for choosing a surrogate mother. This is choosing an imperial concubine!"

"Better than choosing an Imperial Concubine, ok?" Ariel said with her worship, "You don't get paid winning a selection for Imperial Concubine! But my Prince Charming is really generous and considerate. He really wants to give his fans some pocket money! Do you see a guy that nice every day?"

"In the end, you’re in for that thousand dollars..." Summer stated from her bed.

"Aren’t you?" Hazel looked at her strangely.

"I'm in for that one in one hundred thousand." Summer rubbed her temples which were still pulsing with intoxication, and said, "Isn't the odds better than buying a lottery ticket?"

"You said that your boyfriend just dumped you." Ariel was alerted and said, "And you went drinking yesterday. How could you be over that so quickly?"

"It is because of losing a love that I need Prince Charming to help me out see the light," Summer said seriously.

Hazel admired her spirit and thought, "That explains why Ariel sees you as a rival."

"However, the eyes of the Prince are too picky," Summer said with her face down on her bed.

"Yeah. There are still re-selections after the preliminary selection. But so many participants, none of them has even passed the preliminary selection yet!" Ariel sighed.

"So, you just need to give up and make room for the eligible."

"Why don’t you give up?"

Hazel had enough with the two of them. But since this thing had nothing to do with her, she frowned and said, “I don't want his thousand dollars. Now you just..."

Before she even finished, she heard a boy standing downstairs and shouting loudly, "Kyla! Kyla Lee! I love you! I can't sleep without you..."

The three girls in the dorm room were suddenly all back on the same team. Ariel was furious and said, "Shit, that scum Derek Sanchez is here again! Hazel, wait here. I will kick his ass!"

"Hey..." Hazel wanted to stop her, but Ariel had rushed into the bathroom and was carrying out a bucket of water, heading towards the balcony. Hazel sighed, "I have nothing to do with this..."

"This is no longer something between you and him." Summer crawled off the bed with a serious look on her face, "Derek has evolved from disgusting you to disgusting the entire dormitory. I'm with Ariel this time!"

Hazel put her hand up to her forehead.

"And, thank you for last night," Summer said as she was filling a cup of water.

"My pleasure. But please don't go to that kind of place in the future." Images from last night came to her mind. When she recalled Joshua's smirk, Hazel couldn't help but frown.

"I know." Summer turned her head back and asked, "Did anything happen to you?"

"...Nothing," Hazel said in depression.

"That's good," Summer breathed a sigh of relief, "Ariel said that you brushed your teeth for half an hour last night. I thought someone would hurt you."

Hazel was even more depressed, "I didn't brush for half an hour..."

There was a noise of water going over the balcony, followed by an angry scream from Derek downstairs, "Who is it? Who did that to me?"

"It's me!" Ariel shouted, "Derek, you are such a pervert! What are you doing here this early in the morning? You can save your energy and just get out of here!"

"I'm not looking for you..." Derek was really outraged, but his face went soft the moment he saw Hazel appear on the balcony.

"Get lost!" Ariel yelled at him, "Next time, you will get more water if you are still that thirsty!" Derek was downstairs feeling helpless. He grunted coldly and disappeared.

Suddenly, the entire dormitory building was full of applause and bravos.

Hazel was about to criticize Ariel, but she could not do that when the whole building was encouraging Ariel's action.

"That guy is still afraid of you." Ariel sighed, "He looked at you like a mouse looking at a cat."

"Do you want to be afraid of me too?" Hazel asked with a mild smile.

"Hell no." Ariel hurriedly shook her head.

"Then cancel my registration already!" Hazel gasped her teeth.

"You still remember that? How can I cancel the online registration?" Ariel said, smiling with tears. She thought for a while and said, "Didn't you say that your mother's birthday is coming soon? Just use this money to buy her a gift."

Ariel hit the jackpot. Hazel was thinking of that too.

"Just think about it, you will just be accompanying me in the preliminary selection like an overseer." Ariel said like a wounded mascot, "You don't want me to go there alone, right? It is said to be a selection for a surrogate mother, but who knows what kind of trap it could be! If you are not around, I won't have any help if it is dangerous! Come on, my dear Hazel..."

"It's OK!" Seeing that Ariel actually began to cajole her, Hazel had to say, "Just this once! Next time you will know what fear is!"

"Uh-huh!" Ariel rejoiced and promised.