Chapter 4Reborn: I Tore Apart the Poisoned Comb

I raced back to the dorm and went straight to my bed. It was neatly made, the blanket folded into a perfect square. Mia had clearly been here. She often tidied up for me, and I'd pay her fifty yuan each time.

But this time, I ripped the covers off the bed.

The fourth roommate, Jenna, looked at me, confused. "Belle, what are you doing? Didn't you ask Mia to make your bed?"

I couldn't explain. "I'm just tired," I said, forcing a smile. I began to run my hands over the mattress, searching.

After a thorough search, I found it. Tucked into a seam in the mattress was a small, folded piece of paper. A talisman.

Just as I was about to examine it, I heard Zara's voice outside the door. Without thinking, I dove under the covers.

The first thing Mia did when she entered the room was look in my direction. "Belle, are you tired already?" she asked, her voice soft.

The talisman was still in my hand, my palm slick with sweat. "Yeah," I said, my voice muffled. "I was out all afternoon. I'm exhausted."

She nodded, then asked, a little too casually, "So, do you like how I made your bed today?"

Before I could answer, Zara chimed in. "What's not to like? She should be grateful you do it for her at all." She shot me a disgusted look. "Honestly, the way you treat Mia like a servant."

I glanced over at Mia. As expected, she was playing the victim, her head bowed, her shoulders trembling. Zara had said things like this to me before, and I had always taken the blame to protect Mia's pride.

Not anymore.

I sat up, my voice loud and clear, and pulled out my phone. "Do you really think Mia does all this for free? I pay her for her work."

The room went silent. Mia looked like she'd been struck by lightning. Zara's face turned a blotchy red. "You… you do?"

I smiled. "If you don't believe me, ask her. Mia, why don't you tell Zara and Jenna how much I paid you last month?"

All eyes were on Mia. She turned a deep shade of crimson. "Five thousand, five hundred," she mumbled.

"See?" I said, my voice triumphant. "So, she's not my servant. She's my employee. I pay her, she does the work. It's a fair exchange."

I ignored their shocked faces and drew the curtain around my bed.

Once I was sure I was alone, I unfolded the talisman. In the center was a strange symbol, drawn in ballpoint pen. It had been folded into a triangle and hidden in my mattress. I took a picture of it, then carefully folded it back up.

Sometime later, Mia pulled back my curtain. "Belle, I'm going to get food. What do you want?"

I sat up. "Noodle soup. The usual."

Zara looked disgusted. "Her leg is broken, and you're still making her get your food?" She turned to Mia. "You stay here. Jenna and I will get your food."

I saw Mia hesitate, tempted. "If your leg is too much of a problem, we can just end our arrangement," I said quickly.

Mia paled. "No, no, it's fine! I'll go!"

Zara shot me a look of pure loathing. "You're disgusting."

"A true capitalist," Jenna added.

After they all left, I looked at Mia's bed, then took out the talisman.

If you want to play with curses, I thought, let's see how you like it when it backfires.