Seeing my confused expression, Haitang took the initiative to explain.

“Qiaojue has already tampered with the camera so that it doesn’t record anymore. Letting you bring it back is just to bait out whoever planted it. Based on the remaining battery power in the pack, they’ll probably come in the next couple of days to swap the SD card and the power.”

At Haitang’s words, Qiaojue sighed helplessly.

“If I had a choice, I wouldn’t want to resort to this either. But these past two days I’ve been to several electronics markets, asked around with plenty of… contacts. Forget the buyer—I couldn’t even find a seller. This model isn’t available on the market at all. Its origin is highly suspicious.”

“Gulp… ‘contacts,’ you say—what kind of contacts?”

“Ahahaha, best not to ask too much lil' bro~”

“OK, I won’t ask again.” I decisively cut off that somewhat dangerous topic and shifted direction: “So you’re planning to catch them in the act when they come to swap the SD card and battery? But my room can’t be under watch 24/7.”

“Hah? As if. No need to use such a clumsy method.”

Haitang shot me a look that basically said, are you dumb? Then she picked up the battery pack, about the size of a cigarette box, and gave it a shake.

“Qiaojue’s contacts installed a tracker inside this battery pack. Even if the culprit takes it away, we’ll still be able to follow them.”

Xiao Lei let out an impressed sigh. “Wow, those contacts of hers are amazing!”

Come to think of it, the spy gear we used to infiltrate the bar back then was also supplied by Qiaojue’s so-called contacts. Don’t tell me her contact is actually some kind of national spy?

Then Haitang pulled the SD card out of the camera.

“This card has already been trojaned by Cangyu. The moment it’s plugged into a computer connected to the internet, she can track the IP address and locate it without the other side ever realizing.”

Only then did I remember—aside from everything else, Cangyu also had the setting of being a world-class hacker… These student council members are way too professional! Are you people secretly some kind of covert ops squad protecting the city?

“But isn’t the card empty? They’ll get suspicious.”

“Don’t worry. Cangyu filled the gaps with trivial footage—like still shots of your room when you’re out, you playing PS4, brushing your teeth in the morning, that kind of thing. Absolutely seamless. At most they’ll just think you live a boring life.”

“I see… trivial footage…”

Then it hit me that something was off. I demanded, “Wait, where did she get those videos? Wasn’t this SD card formatted?”

“Whiiistle~ whoo~ whee~”

Haitang whistled off-key and looked away guiltily.

…Damn it.

“Kai-chan, you’re too green. Even after formatting, as long as the data isn’t overwritten, most of it can still be recovered with the right tools. For that little hacker, it’s nothing.”

Rinka clapped my shoulder with hindsight wisdom, then rubbed her hands together and leaned toward Haitang: “So, dear Haitang, any juicy videos worth sharing?”

Xiao Lei quickly joined in with her eyes shut, blurting: “Ah! I—I want some too!”

I thought, I’m done for, my reputation’s going down the drain. My face went pale. But unexpectedly, Haitang shook her head, sounding genuinely regretful.

“Nope, I don’t have any either. That girl Cangyu insisted on keeping it all confidential for Commander’s sake. She didn’t let anyone even sneak a peek~”

That was unexpected. Since even Haitang didn’t know about Xiao Lei and me sharing a bed, she was probably telling the truth.

So that’s how it is. Because of what happened before, Cangyu feels guilty toward me, so this time she’s voluntarily playing as an ally?

Hmm… What a good kid…

But wait—that means she’s seen all the embarrassing stuff, hasn’t she?!

“Ahem.” Haitang cleared her throat to ease the awkward mood, then bragged: “Anyways, Commander, rest assured. With both hardware and software measures in place, we’ve got double insurance. It’s foolproof. There’s no way we won’t catch them, now we’re just waiting for the fish to bite!”

“Don’t jinx it!”

Since Haitang and Qiaojue were coming back with me, Xiao Lei didn’t need to revert to Zhao Zhao anymore. She left the girls’ school as herself and immediately ran off to catch up with Senior Li Jianlian, who was heading to his part-time job.

“I’m home!”

I pushed open the door.

“Ah, Xiao Kai, you’re back? Perfect timing—we haven’t eaten yet…”

Haitang pushed me in on her wheelchair. Greeting us at the door was Wu Qinglan in her suit. Judging by the time, she and Dad must’ve just gotten home too. She froze for a second when she saw the two student council girls behind me.

Then she teased: “Well, well. You even brought your girlfriends home?”

“Sorry for intruding.” Haitang nodded politely, suddenly acting prim and proper, like some son-in-law meeting his fiancée’s family for the first time… Uh, wait, that didn’t sound right.

“Nice to meet you! I’m Kai-chan’s girlfriend!”

Wait, Qiaojue? What the hell?! I instantly denied it:
“Absolutely not! Don’t spout nonsense!”

But neither of them denied the “girlfriend” label. I was forced to explain to Wu Qinglan.

“No, they’re not my girlfriends. I don’t have a girlfriend. Don’t misunderstand.” Once they stopped stirring trouble, I added, “Could you tell Dad we’ll be upstairs for a bit? We’ll come down later—you two can start eating first.”

Wu Qinglan’s smile only widened.

“Bringing them straight to your room and you say they’re not your girlfriends?”

Hey, if that’s the standard, then Haitang’s been my girlfriend since before elementary school. She used to run into my room all the time back in the old village housing, long before we had a place like this.

The camera had originally been taped in place, so removing it left adhesive marks. Restoring it to its original state wasn’t hard.
Qiaojue stood on a stool and fiddled around inside the curtain box. After a bit, she clapped her hands and jumped down. “The bait’s been set. Now we wait for the fish.”

Damn it, whoever put a hidden camera in my room—I’ll make sure they pay!

When we went back downstairs, Dad was on the sofa “reading” the newspaper, though the paper was upside down. He wasn’t actually reading; he just couldn’t bring himself to look directly at Haitang and Qiaojue.

“We’re heading out, Uncle Chang!”

Haitang knew about Dad’s condition. She called out politely before leaving. The moment she was gone, Dad lowered the newspaper.

I gave him a light kick.
“Come on, Haitang’s still a fellow villager. As an elder, the least you can do is nod in acknowledgment, right?”

He pulled a bitter face. “Son, you of all people should know your old man’s situation.”

“I do. But it still pisses me off.”

“Don’t be too hard on your dad. He’s trying in his own way.”

Wu Qinglan stepped in to smooth things over. Wearing an apron, she brought out a table full of dishes. “You two go wash your hands—time to eat!”

Well, well. She was already acting like the lady of the house. Was it really okay that Dad still hadn’t noticed the truth?

Of course, she definitely couldn’t cook. Every dish on the table was store-bought prepared food. The apron was just for atmosphere, even though it clashed horribly with her black suit.

“With you around, Xiao Wu, everything’s been so much easier!”

Dad grinned as he sat down. Hearing that, Wu Qinglan’s mood visibly brightened.
“So, Uncle Chang, does that mean you can’t live without me anymore?”

“That’s right. Lately, I really don’t know what I’d do without you!”

Wow, that sounded pathetic.

Watching the two of them “flirt” in front of me felt weirdly gay. I lost my appetite completely. After all, Dad had no idea that the suited “gentleman” sitting next to him was actually a fair lady well past marrying age.

To be fair, though… this sly, foxlike woman with both looks and schemes had made remarkable progress in winning Dad over. His favorability rating toward her was practically maxed out.

She was just waiting for the right trigger to set things off. And knowing her, she’d tread carefully, because for her, this was a battle she couldn’t afford to lose.

Maybe she really could heal Dad’s trauma. But that was one thing. As for her becoming my stepmother—that was something I’d need to think long and hard about. After all, I’d already seen a glimmer of hope in finding my real mom again.

My only fear was that if Dad really let himself be won over by Wu Qinglan, then even if I opposed it later, it’d be too late.

The next day, September 26th, my first Friday at the girls’ campus. Around noon, I was back in my real body, eating in the hideout. Suddenly, Haitang kicked the door open with a bang.

“Commander, looks like the fish just took the bait.”

So fast!