Betrayed by My Freeloaders

I saw my college roommate send a voice message into a group chat. I watched his screen as our four other roommates responded. However, there were no notifications on my phone. That was when I realized the five of them had created a group without me. In that group, they complained about me being a dumb rich kid, cursed my mom for being a homewrecker, and secretly took nude photographs of me. They were even planning to drug me and give me to a older rich woman for her entertainment. I covered all their meals, drinks, and living expenses, yet they dared to betray me? Fine. I would show them the true rage of a trust fund kid! Chapter 1 My roommate Ryan Foster ate a piece of the rotisserie chicken I bought and sent a voice message to a group chat. "I feel like this chicken is so greasy and heavy. What do you guys think?" I watched his screen as he quickly received a string of voice replies, all of them complaining about the rotisserie chicken I bought and wondering if it was some frozen old bird from years ago. They chatted enthusiastically while I stared at the dorm group chat on my own phone in confusion. There was not a single message. Well, well, well! They had actually created a group without me. I kept my composure and pretended I was going out to buy them some cold drinks to cut the grease, then waited outside. While Ryan was in class, I opened his computer. His messaging app was still logged in. I was always friendly with my roommates and shared whatever good food I had with them freely, so they never had their guard up around me. I found the private group chat with the five of them and discovered it had been created on the very first day of school. I scrolled through all the chat records from beginning to end, growing more alarmed with every message. From day one, they had been collectively complaining about me, calling me a dumb trust fund kid and saying I was only buying them gifts to show off my wealth. They even said my mom dressed so elegantly that she must have been a homewrecker who climbed the social ladder. They even secretly took nude photographs of me in the shower, claiming a body that nice must be used to seduce older women. In the most recent messages, the dorm leader, Paul Collins, said he had already made a fortune selling my nude photographs on illegal websites. He had even received a deposit from a wealthy older woman. As long as they could get me under control and let that woman have me once, she would pay them a huge sum. Not a single one of the five objected. Together, they planned to buy me a cake on my birthday, which was a month from now. After drugging me, they would deliver me to the woman's bed. My hands trembled as I read through the messages. I had never imagined that the roommates I treated like family could be this vicious behind my back. I had always believed that people assigned to the same dorm room in college were brought together by fate, and since their family situations were not great, I always paid for meals, drinks, and entertainment. Even when they bought clothes or sneakers, they would send me payment links. All that goodwill, wasted on these b*stards! I only had myself to blame for being too naive. I gritted my teeth and forced myself to stay calm as I took photographic evidence. Then, I filled out the scholarship application forms I had given up for them and wrote an application to live off campus. I sent both to my advisor, Professor Mark Calcraft. He replied quickly, somewhat surprised. "Based on your grades, the scholarship should have been yours anyway. But the school generally doesn't allow students from out of town to live off campus." I sent over a property deed. I was a local, and on the day I started college, my dad bought me a place right next to campus. Yeah, I was a trust fund kid. Professor Calcraft was speechless but quickly processed all the paperwork. Before my roommates returned from class, I packed my luggage, contacted my butler to install a hidden camera in the dorm, and had my driver take me away. Looking at the dorm room where I had poured in a year's worth of effort, I let out a cold laugh. My revenge was just beginning. Chapter 2 I drank coffee, enjoyed the air conditioning, and leisurely watched the dorm surveillance footage in my 2,000-square-foot apartment. I had always wanted to live in the dorms with my fellow students, sharing hardships and building bonds. Now that I thought about it, I was such an idiot. Soon, the five beasts appeared together on the surveillance footage. When they did not see the cold drinks I had promised, they all switched into complaint mode. "Dylan is such a two-faced hypocrite. He said he'd buy us cold drinks, then he just disappeared!" "Exactly. He can't even run errands right!" Paul cursed me while calling my phone. When I answered, he instantly changed his expression and asked me gently where I had gone and why I was not in class. He told me how everyone was so worried about me. If this had been before, I would have been deeply moved and then spent money on them like crazy. Now, I simply smiled faintly and said I had something to take care of and would not be staying in the dorm for a while. Then I hung up, leaving the five of them dumbfounded. Paul tried calling me again and discovered he had been blocked. The other four experienced the same thing when they tried calling. Now, they finally exploded. They had not expected that docile, little me would actually fight back one day. All of them launched into vicious insults and curses, sounding as if they wanted to kill me. Afterward, they pooled their money together to buy a few bottles of ice-cold water to cool off. I watched them like I was watching a comedy show. My heart had already completely calmed down. After resting comfortably in my apartment for a day, I had no choice but to attend a mandatory class the next day. As expected, the moment I walked through the door, Ryan found me. "Dylan, why'd you move out of the dorm? Did we do something wrong?" He looked so aggrieved that anyone who did not know better would think I had done something terrible to him. I smiled. "Yeah, you did." While they stood there stunned, I quickly took the only empty seat in the front row, putting some distance between us. A few of them wanted to come over and interrogate me, but when they saw Professor Calcraft enter, they reluctantly went back to their seats. He was here to announce the scholarship recipients, from the college scholarships to the national scholarships, in order of who would be recieving the highest amount. Paul was full of confidence. The spot I had given up before had gone to him. As Professor Calcraft made the announcements, everyone was shocked to learn that the scholarship spot was mine. Paul even stood up. "How's that possible? Dylan didn't apply. Why give it to him? This is rigged!" Professor Calcraft's face turned cold. "Who said Dylan didn't apply? His application was submitted a long time ago. He's far ahead in terms of comprehensive scoring. Of course he meets the scholarship criteria. "If you're going to accuse us of rigging, then show me some proof!" Paul had always been a troublemaker, and Professor Calcraft had long disliked him. The matter was settled. Paul did not dare say anything more, but he spent the entire class glaring at me viciously. After class, he blocked my path and questioned me loudly in front of the whole class. "Dylan, I didn't know you were this cunning! I really misjudged you!" I sneered. "What do you mean? I won a scholarship with my own ability, yet I needed your permission first?" Paul was struck speechless. Ryan walked over to mediate. "Dylan, your family's so well-off. This money means nothing to you. What would it hurt to let Paul have it? How can you be so heartless?" I laughed in anger. Paul had called me cunning, yet Ryan said nothing. I had only taken what was rightfully mine, yet suddenly, I was heartless? How had I never noticed how shameless they all were before? "What's mine is mine, no matter how much or how little it is. If you're not happy about it, compete with me for it. "You can't beat me, so you insult me instead? Being weak doesn't make you right." Faced with my forceful questioning, the other students also took my side and criticized my roommates one after another. I took advantage of the chaos to push past them and left the room. They should stay the hell away from me! At home, I took a nice bath and slept until the evening, when I was woken up by a call from a buddy. "Dylan, you're famous!" Chapter 3 My five roommates had registered a social media account between themselves and edited the video from earlier that day, cutting off the beginning and end. They only kept the part where I pushed past them. The video was titled, ‘Rich Kid Bullies His Roommates!’ The five of them faced the camera with tears streaming down their faces, complaining that I looked down on them for being from rural backgrounds because I had money. They claimed that I constantly bossed them around. They said they had endured my bullying and tolerated my spoiled attitude. They never expected that I would go so far as to fight them for the scholarship spot, monopolizing the money they relied on to survive. In the video, they heavily implied that I had won the scholarship through underhanded means. They said they could no longer tolerate it and could only seek justice online. Their statements immediately went viral locally. [Damn! I hate guys who bully people from poor backgrounds. Who does he think he is?] [Don't worry, boys, I've got your back! Does having money make you better than everyone?] [The worst thing about college is these rich spoiled brats. There are too many heartless wealthy people out there. Sending hugs to you guys!] Everyone stood up for them, hurling all kinds of insults at me and doxxing me. My phone was quickly flooded with calls from strangers, so I had no choice but to turn it off. My other, private phone rang. It was my dad calling. He knew what kind of person I was and was furious about the slander he was seeing. He asked if I needed help. I refused. "If I can't handle a few clowns like this, what right do I have to be your son?" My dad praised me profusely and told me to do whatever I wanted. He said he would back me up no matter what. I did not care about online public opinion at all. I ate and drank as usual. My five roommates seemed to enjoy their taste of fame, and they all started livestreaming. They even went shirtless, showing off their bodies. This attracted even more brainless fans. I became a notorious rich kid. People pointed and whispered about me when I walked down the street. My house was found and had red paint thrown on it. My bicycle tires were deflated, and nails were installed on the seat. If I left the classroom for just a moment, my water bottle would be filled with unidentified liquids. I did not care about any of this. When I could not go home, I stayed in a hotel. I threw away the bicycle and switched to my Porsche. No matter what my roommates did to me, they could not affect my quality of life. As if they knew these tactics were useless against me, they actually started a livestream and blocked my path after class that day. "Dylan, don't worry. If you're willing to come back to the dorm, we're all still willing to accept you." Marcus Bennett, another roommate, spoke with reddened eyes. The brainless viewers in the livestream were even more moved. [Marcus, you're too sweet. Don't let him hurt you again!] [Stay away from them, you monster!] I completely ignored their sorry performance. Just like that day, I pushed past them and left. A few of them wanted to chase after me, but I had already driven off in my Porsche. Looking at their gloomy expressions, I knew they were about to pull out their trump card to force my hand. Through the surveillance, I saw that the wealthy woman had given them a new offer they could not refuse because of the recent attention. That was why they had to reconcile with me. Suddenly, a video titled, ‘Rich Bully Dylan Harrington Suspected of Being Gay!’ shot to the top of local trending topics that evening. Chapter 4 "We actually have a great relationship with Dylan. Look! When he was sick and hospitalized back then, we took turns taking care of him." Accompanying the narration was a video of me, unconscious. I had blood coming out of my *ss. Although it looked like they were taking care of me, what activities would cause a man to bleed heavily from his backside? Viewers were all speculating whether I had been assaulted, but my roommates denied it one by one. "That's impossible. Dylan's really popular and has lots of guy friends he often goes out to eat with." "He occasionally doesn't stay in the dorm with us. We don't know where he goes, but Dylan's definitely not that kind of person." "We have no idea about the hospital examination report from that day? Dylan wouldn't let us see it. He just had us take care of him." Just a few sentences from them pushed me to the center of the storm. Everyone was convinced I was promiscuous. I laughed in anger. Back then, they had forced me to go swimming in the dead of winter. My backside got cut on the ice, and I nearly bled to death. At the hospital, they did not take care of me at all. They just waited for me to wake up so I could transfer them money for their meals during the days I was hospitalized. I never expected them to have recorded a video back then. What cruel beasts they were! However, viewers would never know the truth. Everyone was convinced I was sleeping around. Some people even found my nude photographs on foreign websites. This caused an uproar. The school could no longer ignore this matter. Professor Calcraft came to talk to me and see how I had been doing lately. He knew my character and knew the group was slandering me, but he could not say much in the face of public opinion. I handed Professor Calcraft an ice cream, and we watched their livestream together while eating. "Why are you still watching them?" Professor Calcraft wanted to turn it off for me, but I stopped him. "Professor, I'm collecting evidence. Don't worry. I know what I'm doing." I wanted to let them ride this high. The higher they rode it, the harder they would crash later. Professor Calcraft knew I had a plan, so he told me to relax. He would handle the explanation on the school's end. In the livestream, receiving gift after gift from big spenders, the five of them thanked everyone while continuing to talk about me. "Dylan's mom is very young. She looks about twenty years younger than Dylan's dad." "Rich families' wives are just different. Looking at her and then at our moms, we feel really insecure." Viewers immediately jumped to conclusions. [Insecure about what? Isn't she obviously a mistress who climbed the ladder?] [Exactly. No wonder Dylan has such poor character. It's genetic!] [Mom's a homewrecker, son's a whore. High society is so filthy!] Facing the comments, all five of them smiled and tried to defend me, but their efforts seemed feeble. Finally, near the end of the livestream, Ryan said with deep emotion that he believed being assigned to the same dorm was fate. He hoped I could look past everything we had been through together and let bygones be bygones. He asked me to return to the dorm and continue being good friends with them. The implication was obvious. As long as I returned to the dorm, they would stop releasing damaging material and slandering me. The viewers did not understand their ulterior motives and were moved to tears. I picked up my phone and reviewed the evidence I had prepared from the beginning. It was about time. I was preparing to wrap this up.