Since this was a secret operation, of course I couldn’t just ring Rinka’s doorbell.

Her apartment was the first building at the entrance of the complex. So I took a seat on a bench in the park across the street, keeping my eyes fixed on the building’s front entrance.

That same overly-friendly and suspicious white cat was curled up on my lap, purring obediently. Even when I scratched under its chin, it didn’t resist—just let out soft meows in delight.

It had a collar, and its fur was clean. Whose cat was this?

The weather was comfortably cool that day. Even in long sleeves, I didn’t feel hot.

The wait turned out to be longer than expected. At one point, I even had to transform senior for her shift at work. Just as I was starting to get tired of petting the cat, my targets finally appeared at the entrance of the apartment complex.

As expected, it wasn’t just Rinka and Xiao Lei—Sis Fei was with them too. That basically confirmed my suspicions. They were up to something.

I also noticed that the three of them had changed into their Biyang Girls High uniforms. Instead of heading for the metro, they walked in the direction of the school.

A school visit? On a weekend?

Rinka went out of her way to invite Xiao Lei just to go to school? That alone was weird.

And Xiao Lei didn’t look coerced at all. In fact, she was chatting and laughing like she was actually having fun. That just made it more suspicious.

“Hey… What do you think this is about?”

“Meow~”

Of course the cat didn’t answer.

I slung my bag over my shoulder and quietly followed from a distance. When I saw the three of them walk into the school gates, I wanted to go in too—but was immediately stopped by the security gate.

You needed to scan your campus card to get in, and I didn’t have one.

Inside the guard booth was a woman in a sleek black uniform, delivering her warning in the driest tone imaginable:
“Sorry. Non-students are not permitted on campus. Please leave immediately. Thank you for your cooperation.”

Her voice was icy and completely robotic. No room for discussion.

Naturally, the girls' campus security guards weren’t some old bald men. They were full-on members of the academy’s security force—same unit as Qiuluo. So this gatekeeper was a young woman in her early twenties. Makes sense, since this school was a male-free zone.

Still, I wasn’t panicking. I had the ID that Haitang made for me and the forged school records Rinka arranged. If things got serious, I was confident I could bluff my way through.

I fluttered my eyes and put on my cutest voice. “Big sis~ I’m a Biyang student too~!”

Even though I was smiling sweetly and calling her “big sis,” she wasn’t buying it. She raised a brow and asked:

“Is that so? Funny, I don’t recall seeing you before. Name?”

“Chang Lingmeng, Class 2-B. You can look me up~”

Still smiling, I pointed to the computer next to her. She tapped away at the keyboard, and the doubt on her face slowly faded.

“Hmm… You really are on the student list.”

“Then can I come in? I just left something in the classroom—I'll grab it and come right back!”

“No. Even on weekends, campus entry requires both your card and your uniform. That’s school policy. Go home and change, then you can come back.”

I thought I’d offered a pretty reasonable excuse, but she still turned me down. So strict!

Wait—don’t tell me the school security guards also double as discipline enforcers?

By the time I finished arguing with her, Rinka and the others were long gone.

I was about to give up when—like a gift from above—I saw a familiar figure walking down the path.

I raised my voice and called through the gate: “Sis Qiuluo!”

She was in the standard black security uniform, flat cap perched on her head, her signature high ponytail trailing behind. I’d never seen her dressed like this before—she looked so sharp and cool, a completely different vibe from her maid outfit or casual clothes.

She seemed to be on patrol and happened to pass by the gate. Hearing my voice, she looked over…
…and then turned right around and walked away.

She’s ignoring me?!

Why’s she always gotta make things harder for me?

I took a deep breath and deliberately spoke out loudly to the gatekeeper, “You know, Sis Qiuluo there—”

“Shut it, you dumb brat!”

A gust of wind blew by as Qiuluo charged back toward me, swiped her card to open the gate, then locked her strong arms around my neck and dragged me over to the outer wall. She slammed me against it with a practiced grip.

…For the record, the wall was really dirty.

Also for the record, that white cat somehow managed to cling to my shoulder through the whole ride without getting thrown off.

“Meow! Meow!”

“You even brought a cat?”

“It’s not mine—it just wouldn’t leave me alone.”

“This cat is so pretty. Come here, cutie~”

She lovingly rubbed its head for a second… and then immediately switched to scolding mode.

“Alright, boy. What were you trying to pull, coming to a girls’ school?”

She switched to calling me “boy,” clearly convinced I was up to no good.

I struggled a bit before giving up and playing the sympathy card. “You’ve got it all wrong, sis! I’m just here to see Xiao Lei. Can you take me inside? Look, I’m a girl right now, so it’s not like I’d cause any trouble, right?”

“Hah. ‘A girl,’ you say?”

She snorted, her tone jumping up several octaves.

“On the outside, sure. But on the inside, you’re still a filthy little monkey. I bet you’re trying to use this identity to sneak in and cause trouble. You really think the security team’s gonna let you get away with that?”

“There aren’t even that many girls on campus on the weekend! And I’m not some perv like Zhao Zhao! Also—if you keep roughing me up like this, I will spill the beans about your maid café job!”

“Still mouthing off, huh?”

Despite the threat, Qiuluo let go. I rubbed my sore arm and turned to glare at her, full of righteous indignation.

“Tch. Even knowing that you’re a monkey, how are you this pretty…” she muttered as she looked away, then added, “But if it’s Xiao Lei you’re after, I did see her earlier. She was with the two ladies of the Huangfu family.”

The Huangfu girls… that had to be Rinka and Sis Fei.

Qiuluo worked for the infamous Huangfu Yuehua, so it made sense she called them “ladies.”

“Exactly! I was following them!”

At this point, even the gatekeeper’s curiosity got the better of her—she poked her head out of the booth to get a look.

Qiuluo sighed and smacked her forehead. “Fine. I’ll let you in. But I’m sticking with you the whole time. If you try anything funny, I will drag you to the detention room, no questions asked.”

“Deal!”

I had nothing to hide. It’s not like I was planning to sneak into the girls’ locker room or anything.

Qiuluo swiped her card and led me through the gate.

But the gatekeeper raised her voice. “Wait! Qiuluo, you can’t just let her in! That girl’s violating school rules!”

“Hah, she’s not even a real student. Why would she have to follow school rules? I’m just showing her around and sending her right back out. No harm done.”

“What do you mean she’s not a real student?! She is on the student registry!”

She pointed at the screen on her desk.

Qiuluo glanced through the booth window, and her expression instantly turned strange. She looked at me, utterly baffled.
Oh right. That.

“I-I appreciate you being flexible, sister gatekeeper! Let’s go, Sis Qiuluo! Haha~”

Before she could process it, I grabbed her shoulder and steered us toward the school building. The gatekeeper could only sigh and watch.

After a few steps, Qiuluo finally spoke up.

“Wait a sec… how do you have a student record at the girls campus? Aren’t you just a monkey in disguise?”

“Ehehe… That was a special favor from Lady Rinka herself!”

I hesitated for half a second, then decided to come clean. After all, Rinka’s status was more than enough to cover for me—and even if Qiuluo’s brain was 90% muscle, she wasn’t about to rat out her boss’s granddaughter.

“You know Lady Rinka?!”

“Of course! We’re super close! Scared now, aren’t you?”

“Hah, yeah. Terrified. Completely unworthy.”

Something about her tone felt off...

Technically, I was still Rinka’s backup option. Come to think of it, has she confessed to Old Yan yet?

“So, now that you’re inside—how do you plan on finding Xiao Lei?”

“Actually… I wasn’t planning to meet them. I came here to spy on them. Secretly.”

“S-Spy? Aha! So your monkey instincts have kicked in!”

“Shut it! It’s not like that. I just think they’re plotting something behind my back.”