“Wait… the person who wrote me that letter—was it you, Miss Gao?”

“…Ah, ah—there it goes again!” She waved her hand impatiently, pressing down on my shoulder as she explained, “I’ve been meaning to clear this up. My name is Gaomu Jin (Takagi Mukuge 高木 堇 ), but my surname is Gaomu (Takagi 高木), not just Gao! Look at this name tag—there’s a space between ‘Gaomu’ and ‘Jin’. I’m half-Japanese.”

“Oh? Sorry, I didn’t know.” I pressed my palms together apologetically.

So I’d been calling her by the wrong name these past two days. No wonder she’d been giving me odd looks.

“It’s fine, it’s fine—I’m used to it.”

Her tone carried a helpless resignation; clearly, she’d had people misunderstand her surname more than a few times.

She gave a wry smile and continued, “The letter was from me, yes, and I’m the one who left it. But the envelope and stationery aren’t mine… and the person you’re supposed to meet today isn’t me.”

Saying that, Miss Takagi turned toward the shadowy corner of the stairwell, as if signaling someone.

“It’s me,” came an elderly, slightly raspy voice.

Out from the shadows emerged a squinting old woman with a head full of silver hair. She wore a brown women’s trench coat and an orange-yellow silk scarf, with a pair of ornate silver-rimmed glasses that hung from a delicate silver chain.

My heart gave a jolt.

An elderly woman wouldn’t normally be wandering around the school—her identity was obvious.

“Are you… Principal Huangfu?!”

Huangfu Yuehua’s slit-like eyes opened just slightly, flashing with a sharp gleam.

“Oh? You actually know who I am?”

So it really was the principal. This was bad.

It didn’t take much thinking to guess why she’d come for me. Lately, Rinka had been pulling all sorts of stunts in secret—up to and including building a house in the middle of campus—and everything she’d done pointed straight to me, a mysterious “Chang Lingmeng” who’d seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

Biyang Girls’ Academy was Huangfu Yuehua’s private property. There’s no way she didn’t know what Rinka was up to. If anything, it was probably all happening with her tacit approval.

“Ahahaha… is there a single student in this school who doesn’t know the principal’s face?” I said awkwardly.

“You give me too much credit, dear. There are plenty of students who don’t know me.” She gave her lower back a few thumps and sighed. “I’m old, my body’s not what it used to be… so I rarely show up on campus. The newer students in the last few years wouldn’t recognize me at all.”

I coughed twice to cover the awkwardness.

So she barely showed her face in the girls’ campus either, not just in the boys’ campus.

“Well, my job here’s done. You two take your time chatting— I’m off to lunch before I starve!”

Miss Takagi scratched her head and headed downstairs, leaving just me and the principal alone on the rooftop. I wasn’t sure if it was hunger or nerves, but my stomach started to ache, and my movements felt stiff.

She might have built the boys’ campus into a living hell, but in person she had the gentle face of a kindly elder—which made her even more dangerous. Especially those squinting eyes on an older person… it just screamed “deep schemer.”

Her smile oddly reminded me of my yakuza-next-door neighbor Zhu Beihai, and also similarly to Wu Qinglan. Another sly old fox.

“Relax, Lingmeng. I’m not here today as the principal. Just treat me as an ordinary old lady.”

Ordinary old lady? Lady, the spiritual pressure rolling off you is anything but ordinary!

I’d thought she was a final-boss-tier character, yet here she was, appearing so soon. It threw me completely off balance.

I carefully asked, “If you went to all the trouble of summoning me here through Miss Takagi… what is it you want from me?”

“Lunch. You haven’t eaten yet, have you?” she replied with an utterly unrelated question.

“Uh… no, I haven’t.”

The principal opened her eyes fully, locking her gaze on me.

“Then I’ll get straight to it. I don’t know what method you used, but my grandson—and my ex-son-in-law—turning into young girls… that was your doing, wasn’t it?”

“…” My face must have turned an ugly shade right then.

Seeing my silence, she continued, “It doesn’t take much investigation to reach that conclusion. I even know your original identity. But relax—I’m not here to condemn you. If anything, I’m pleased they became women.”

She’d clearly done her homework before coming here, her tone calm and steady, radiating the quiet confidence of someone who already held the winning hand.

I, meanwhile, was on full alert—every hair on my body standing up.

“What exactly are you trying to say?”

“To be frank, this isn’t the first time I’ve seen a man turn into a woman.”

New intel acquired!

“Wait—are you saying… you used to be a man, Principal?”

Her brow twitched almost imperceptibly, adding a few wrinkles to her forehead, and her smiling lips began to dip downwards. Oops. Looks like I stepped on a landmine.

“No. I was born female. But I knew someone who would occasionally turn into a woman.”

Occasionally? Like Zhao Zhao’s case?

Then could it be the work of the current God of Bishoujo—Master Halliluya? Or perhaps it was the master themself?

If I follow this lead, maybe I can track down Master in the real world.

“And what caused them to change? Can you still contact them?” I asked.

She shook her head, the silver chain on her glasses swaying and glinting in the sunlight.

“I don’t know the exact cause. If I did, I wouldn’t be here talking to you. She’s gone missing.”

“Missing?!”

Both Rinka and Fei had mentioned that the principal hated men because her husband had suddenly disappeared one day… the pieces were starting to connect, but there were still a few missing.

Master Halliluya definitely knew something. She might even have information about my mother. Next time I saw her in a dream, I’d have a lot of questions—though whether she’d answer was another story.

“So, little Lingmeng—where did you get this ability of yours?”

“It might sound far-fetched, but the person who gave me this power only appears in my dreams. I don’t even know her real identity, so I’m afraid I can’t help you there.”

I scratched my head apologetically, then asked,

“That person who could turn into a woman and then disappeared… Was that your husband?”

“Yes. Seems you’ve already pieced together a lot—did little Rinka tell you?”

So the only reason she’d sought me out… was to find her missing husband through me?

“Well… actually, my mother also vanished one day.”

“Oh? Is that so?”

“I have no proof, but I’m sure they both had some reason they couldn’t tell anyone. I mean, no one just abandons their spouse and newborn child without cause, right? So I think… you shouldn’t hate all men over this. The boys’ campus conditions are really awful!”

Ah—finally said it! I’d voiced the grievance on behalf of all the boys suffering over there!

But instead of answering, she gazed into the distance, lost in memories.

“My husband’s disappearance was over twenty years ago. At the time, I’d hit a wall in my career, was drowning in debt, and had three children to raise. Life was incredibly hard.”

Twenty years ago… that was even earlier than my mother’s disappearance. Was her husband a follower of Master? Or Master herself?

She looked to be in her sixties or seventies now—so back then, she would have been in her forties or fifties. A woman at the lowest point in her career suddenly losing her husband… well, no wonder she’d snapped. But still—him leaving was a very extreme way to cope.

Her next words shattered my assumptions.

“But even when we were at our poorest, he never worked, never took care of the kids at home—he’d just turn into a little girl and go fool around outside. The children never knew, but I did.”

“Wait—so basically, he was a useless pretty boy? No—worse! A useless pretty girl… Isn’t that just a b*tch?!”

What was this guy doing with his life?!

“You think that’s bad? It gets worse! One day, we fought—badly—about it. That afternoon, he took our son and disappeared. Even the police couldn’t find him.”

“…So this is basically a twenty-year-long grudge match?”

“He wasn’t capable of much anyway. Probably died with the kid in some ditch somewhere.”

“…That’s some strong resentment.”

“After that, it was just me and my two daughters, relying on each other to get by. Eventually, my career took a turn for the better and life slowly improved… Little Lingmeng, men can’t be trusted… Oh, would you look at that, silly me—you’re a man too.”

“...There’s really no need to treat me as a man!” I had no desire to be caught in the crossfire.

“So, after hearing this, do you still think my husband’s disappearance is the same as your mother’s?”

“…Sorry. That’s a much heavier story than I imagined.”

It made sense now—why, when Old Feng fell on hard times, she’d immediately taken in Aunt Huaying. She knew too well what it was like to be abandoned.

“You’re a much more well-behaved kid than I expected… I’m not unreasonable. Here.”

She pulled a phone from her trench coat pocket, her movements surprisingly deft for her age.

My own phone buzzed in my pocket, showing a missed call from an unknown number.

“That’s my number. If you find any new leads, call me right away. In return, I’ll share any progress I make. Our interests align, don’t they? You want to find your mother, too.”

I didn’t bother asking how she’d gotten my number. She’d hit the nail on the head—and it was a deal that cost me nothing.

“Got it. I’ll see what I can do.” I nodded.

Looks like my only real lead right now… was still Master Halliluya.