The police car turned into the campus grounds and cut its siren. Its red and blue emergency lights flashed across the classical architecture before coming to a halt beside a fiery, ostentatious sports car.
Arriving at the scene, twelve officers stepped out in unison from three vehicles…four from each. Their expressions were solemn, their uniforms pristine, and toolkits in hand.
Moving with swift, light-footed agility, they scaled the massive sixty-eight stone steps in the blink of an eye, speed so impressive it left spectators breathless.
They pushed through the front entrance.
Inside, the lobby security guards were so stunned by the sheer size of the squad that before they could process what was happening, the twelve uniformed officers had already vanished into the elevator.
A guard from the main gate sprinted in late, bellowing in anger, “What are you standing around for?! Stop them! Do you want to lose your jobs?!”
Ding…
The elevator arrived on the second floor.
Heavy, deliberate footsteps echoed down the corridor. The doors to the grand conference room were slammed open with a heavy thud, instantly freezing the heated clamor inside. Everyone turned in unison to face the intruders.
The officer leading the squad wore a uniform subtly distinct from the rest…tailored from deep navy satin, cut precisely to her frame instead of standard off-the-rack sizes. It was the exclusive attire reserved for mid-to-high-ranking officials.
She didn’t scold her subordinate for pushing open the door so brazenly. Instead, her sharp gaze swept the room, quickly locking onto the person she had been searching for. Only then did her tense shoulders drop a fraction.
The little sister her family had spent all night worrying about didn’t have dark circles under her eyes, nor was she wearing makeup to cover any exhaustion. Instead, she was leaning lazily against the window frame. Warm morning sunlight bathed her shoulders, leaving her looking radiant…better, in fact, than she usually did at home.
Where… did she spend the night?
They had already checked every property under Ah Yi’s name and found nothing. Nor had she gone to any of the residences the family provided.
Yan Ke’s place?
The woman pondered silently. Suddenly, her eyes caught a subtle glimpse of dark green hiding behind Ah Yi.
Judging by the qipao sleeve alone, she could easily guess the person’s identity.
Still, it was impossible for that woman to have any connection with her younger sister. It was likely just a visual trick of perspective, making it look as though Ah Yi was intentionally shielding her.
“Who permitted you to barge onto campus?!”
“Captain Shi, you’re trespassing on Bamboo High grounds! Have you prepared your report for the department leadership yet?!”
“This has nothing to do with the Sexual Conduct Enforcement Squad! Get out!”
“Security! How did you let them through?!”
While the captain was still mentally tracking her sister’s whereabouts from the previous night, the conference room erupted into a chorus of hostile demands. Suspicious, deeply unwelcoming eyes glared at the newcomers.
Security guards rushed in on Principal Li’s order, raising riot control gear in an attempt to force the officers out.
Without breaking a sweat, the lead woman snapped a riot tool with one hand before it could even brush her uniform. She leveled a frost-cold gaze at the guards, freezing them in their tracks while her squad stepped calmly into the room.
“She’s ruining the Gu family’s reputation. Are you certain you want to defy the family’s decision just to protect Gu Lingyi?”
“Secretary Jian.”
The captain walked up to the two students, casually tilting her chin toward Secretary Jian.
“This squad received an emergency dispatch based on the location provided by the informant, and we are here to handle the case according to protocol. Are you here on behalf of the Secretariat to interfere with lawful enforcement?”
A high ponytail swayed behind her head, radiating cold authority.
Even without looking at her face, the glittering merit medals pinned to her chest announced her identity loud and clear.
Shi Tu, Captain of the Capital’s Sexual Conduct Enforcement Squad.
It was an imposing name that perfectly matched her terrifying aura.
“Who called the police?!” someone hissed in rage.
“Who else could it be? Look around this room!”
“Director Gu, this is absurd! It’s bad enough that you meddle in Bamboo High’s management, but now you bring your family in to clean up your mess? Isn’t being a embarrassment as a woman enough for you?!”
The staff and board members of Bamboo High were practically bursting with rage.
Amid the chaos, Bu Sheng’s dark, viperous eyes flickered.
Having just been stripped of every shred of dignity by Gu Lingyi moments ago, the sight of the chaos…and the squad captain’s personal arrival…made him panic. Desperate to deflect, he blurted out:
“Secretary Jian! I saw it with my own eyes…Director Gu was the one who called the police!
“Board Member Jiang tried to stop her, but Captain Shi happened to call Director Gu’s personal line right then. Director Gu just went with the flow and summoned her here!
“Captain Shi is abusing her public authority for personal gain!”
As Bu Sheng shouted, the enforcement officers remained completely stoic. However, the anger among Bamboo High’s faculty, students, and parents boiled over into furious accusations aimed at the two from the Gu family.
When Gu Lingyi had made that phone call in the security camera’s blind spot earlier, Jiang Yanqing had been standing right there with her in the dark.
Secretary Jian, Principal Li, and the others had been glued to the silent surveillance footage. Seeing the two vanish from sight one after the other, they assumed Gu Lingyi was going to harm Board Member Jiang, prompting them to rush back to the conference room.
The squad’s sudden arrival had simply poured gasoline over the already blazing fire.
“Brilliant, Gu Lingyi! I was wondering why you had Board Member Jiang cornered…you were getting revenge on her for cutting off your emergency call!” Secretary Jian sneered.
Gu Lingyi remained casually leaned against the window, her body angled just enough to hide Jiang Yanqing tucked in the corner behind her. Sunlight caught her light-brown, wavy hair, reflecting a soft, lustrous sheen.
Her posture was effortless and relaxed, while the subtle curl at the corner of her feline eyes betrayed her fine mood.
Yet the beauty she was hiding was famously cold and noble…an elegant, pristine figure who would never deign to push past someone in such a crude manner.
Board Member Jiang was always polite, icy, and refined.
The crowd felt their earlier doubts resolved. Their glares toward Gu Lingyi grew vicious as they shouted demands for her to move. A few even tried to drag her away by force, only to be promptly blocked by enforcement officers.
“Gu Lingyi, you have no shame! Get away from Board Member Jiang!”
“That cheap, flirtatious air of yours is a stain on her!”
Vile, venomous insults flooded the room, all demanding Gu Lingyi put distance between herself and Jiang Yanqing.
Whether it was her status as the founder of Chiyin Group or her identity as a lesbian, the loyalists of Bamboo High viewed her as nothing short of a blight.
Yet, despite standing close enough to smell the subtle fragrance clinging to her hair and qipao…close enough to feel the gentle, cool warmth of her body…there seemed to be an impassable chasm separating her from this high-altitude flower of the educational world.
Surrounded by shouts, insults, and belittlement, not a single person in the room realized that Gu Lingyi and Jiang Yanqing shared a fresh, explosive secret…one capable of completely shattering Jiang Yanqing’s immaculate image in the eyes of her devotees.
It was Jiang Yanqing who had used Gu Lingyi’s phone to call Captain Shi.
The person who lured the squad to Bamboo High was Jiang Yanqing herself.
How ironic.
If Jiang Yanqing truly possessed such a clear sense of right and wrong, why had she dumped her eight years ago, turned around to become Bamboo High’s board member, and immediately banned students from same-sex families?
Now, she pushed Gu Lingyi directly into the storm while hiding safely behind her back, keeping everyone else in the dark.
She had taken her in last night, knelt on the cold floor to make her bed, and thoughtfully prepared breakfast for her this morning.
Yet, behind the backs of her faithful followers, she was pulling stunts that actively undermined Bamboo High, all while playing the reasonable, understanding party in front of her… What was Jiang Yanqing playing at?
Could it be…
She wants to have an underground affair with me?
Jiang: I was just calling the police.
Gu: She wants to sneak around with me.