I’d originally assumed that since Rinka hadn’t replied, he wasn’t planning to come.

But just as Qinglan and I finished dragging my dad home, a message popped up from him, confirming his attendance. Which meant—by extension—Yan Liuzhuan would be coming too.

Thinking about it carefully, it made sense why Rinka hesitated for so long. Part of it was probably due to our previous agreement.

But more than that, a water park was… not exactly friendly territory for a trap like him.

Just imagine—wearing a swimsuit that exposes a lot of skin, unable to disguise a masculine frame; facing the force of water that washes away even the best makeup.

Forget about crossdressers—even girls who aren’t confident in their looks or figure wouldn’t want to go, right?

The moment he stepped into that water park, even if he wasn’t ready to take off his mask mentally, physically, there’d be nowhere left to hide. No more passing as a convincing girl—just a guy in drag.

Now that I thought about it, there were still open spots in the group ticket.

“Brother Qinglan, you free tomorrow?”

“I am. What, you asking me out?”

“Yeah. Wanna come to that new water park? My friend still has extra group tickets.”

“You mean Aqua World?!”
His eyes lit up, but then—like he suddenly remembered something—he scratched his head awkwardly.
“Ah, um… I think I’ll pass. I still have a bunch of flyers to hand out. I’ll go to the underground shopping mall again tomorrow.”

Hold on.

He’s giving up a water park? A place filled with swimsuits, curves, and beautiful girls—just to go hand out flyers in a cramped, sweaty shopping mall?!

Is Wu Qinglan actually gay?

Or maybe he was one of those guys—the type who say, “Real-life women don’t interest me. I only need X̲X̲X̲ to be my waifu and I’m happy.”

And X̲X̲X̲ changes every three months.

(“As long as I have Platelet-chan, I’m good.”) Kai OS

Well, whatever. If he said no, I wouldn’t push.

That night, my mind was full of swimsuits and… other things.

I was too excited to sleep.

Which, of course, meant that when morning came, my alarm wasn’t enough to wake me.

No, I was woken by being physically dragged out of bed by Haitang and Zhao Zhao.

Yes, dragged.

They grabbed my legs and yanked me out from under the blankets, across my bed, and onto the floor. If I hadn’t had a carpet, my skull would’ve slammed down hard.

From there, they dragged me all the way into the bathroom to wash up.

Too real.

Don’t ask how they even got inside—I could already guess. Zhao Zhao climbed through my window and let Haitang in.

I don’t mind Xiao Lei doing that.

But Zhao Zhao?

Dude, your build is too big to be stepping on my old AC unit. One wrong step and you might send the entire support frame crashing down.

Meanwhile, Haitang had gotten noticeably tanner. She must've been running around like crazy all summer.

Not that it was a bad thing—sun-kissed skin had its own appeal, radiating a kind of healthy vibrance.

Zhao Zhao, on the other hand…

He looked like a corpse.

Pale. Gaunt. The life drained out of him.

His black eyes had turned an eerie gray.

He looked like he’d just crawled out of the Taklamakan Desert.

Cram school had ruined him.

"C'mon, quit dawdling and get downstairs. Everyone's waiting for you."

"...Everyone?"

"Yeah. I even got us a special ride today!"

Toothbrush still in my mouth, I leaned over the balcony to check.

A silver Wuling Hongguang minivan was parked outside. 2+3+3 seating, eight seats in total.

I hurriedly washed up, skipped breakfast, slung on my bag, and made my way downstairs—propelled forward by Haitang’s relentless kicks to my a̲s̲s̲.

At this point, it felt like my butt was a soccer ball, and she was Messi in the middle of a dribbling drill.

So rough. No wonder she doesn’t have a boyfriend.

For some reason, she kicked harder.

…If she keeps this up, I swear I’ll flop like Neymar and file for emotional damages.

I pulled open the van door.

The driver’s seat was occupied by a scruffy, seaweed-haired guy, looking to be in his early thirties.

Probably the chauffeur Haitang hired.

In the very back row, three girls were already seated—clearly her student council crew.

I didn’t remember their names, but I recognized them from the "Lose Moonlit Infiltration Mission."

And if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I never would’ve believed that a bunch of middle school girls had access to spy gear, could forage fake IDs, and conduct covert missions.

This was not the average middle school experience.

Then again, in a few months, they’d officially be JKs (high school girls).

"Onii-chan! You're too slow!"

Tangerine, lounging on the second-row seat, was wagging her orange tail as she chatted with the girls. The moment she saw me, she spun around, tail flicking excitedly.

"Sorry, sorry. I was too excited to sleep last night."

Haitang didn’t waste the chance to roast me.

Lifting her hand into a karate chop, she smacked me in the neck.

“What are you, an elementary schooler on a field trip?!”

“Ghhk—!”

Ow. Wait—hold on.

Aren't comedy chops supposed to hit the head?! The neck is dangerous!

Anyway, the available seats were the two in the second row and the front passenger seat.

Good thing Rinka and Yan Liuzhuan were coming separately—otherwise, this would’ve been real awkward.

Zhao Zhao started climbing into the van, but before he could sit, Haitang yanked him back by his belt.

“You’re sitting up front.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Because you're huge. You’ll take up too much space in the back.”

…I’d actually been planning to take the front seat myself.

Being crammed between girls felt… restrictive. One accidental brush of the arm, and things would get awkward.

Not that Haitang ever seemed to care about that kind of thing.

But if I suddenly hugged her, she’d definitely freak out, blush, call me an idiot, and then beat the ever-living crap out of me.

…Yeah.

Which was how I ended up sandwiched between her and Tangerine.

Oh well. At least sitting next to Tangerine wasn’t bad.

Because of her tail, she didn’t really like sitting the "normal" way—so instead, she perched on the seat, kneeling with her arms draped over the backrest.

Her fluffy tail bopped me in the face every now and then.

It brushed past my nose, leaving a soft, citrusy scent lingering in the air.

…Wait.

Does she use shampoo or body wash on her tail?

Since we’d be changing into swimsuits later, Tangerine and Haitang had dressed light—Tangerine wore a striped T-shirt and shorts, while Haitang had on a white tee and overalls.

No thigh-high socks or mismatched stockings today.

As the Wuling started moving, Haitang spun around and perched on the seat like Tangerine.

“Chang Kai.”
She thumbed at me.
“Well, you all know him. He was the center of our last operation.”

Then she glanced at me and started introducing her three comrades.

First, she pointed at the girl sitting right behind her—a short-haired girl with a boyish cut.

For someone to pull off that short of a haircut, they’d need seriously striking facial features.

“This is Bei Qiaojue—student council member and head of the sports division. She’s a total athlete… or at least, that’s her official role.”
…What’s with that phrasing?

Why does the student council need secret identities?!

“She’s actually my chief intelligence officer—the one who gathers information. Remember those invisible earpieces and high-tech camera glasses? She was the one who got them.”

Okay, but… how?!

What kind of “connections” does a middle school student need to have to procure something like that?!

More importantly, WHY does the student council even need a spy division?!

Having been introduced, Bei Qiaojue raised two fingers to her temple in a casual salute.

“Bonjour.”
She flashed a grin.
“I make it my mission to be friends with everyone. By the way, no need to keep your glasses on, y’know? We all know how pretty you are.”

HELP.

This girl was way too smooth.

A charismatic extrovert.

The exact kind of person I struggle to deal with.

“Ah, uh… I think I’ll keep them on.”

At least with glasses, people wouldn’t mistake me for a girl.

“Just a heads-up, though—water parks don’t allow glasses on most attractions.”

“…I know.”

Heh.

Did she think I hadn’t thought that far ahead?

I’d anticipated this issue and brought a pair of swimming goggles.

The boxiest, dorkiest pair I could find.

With Bei Qiaojue’s introduction done, Haitang moved on to the next girl—the one sitting behind me, fully absorbed in a handheld gaming console.

She had a soft, rabbit-like demeanor—timid, small, easily startled.

The shy type.

And yet, because she was adorable, that shy, withdrawn air actually increased her charm.

"Feng Cangyu, student council treasurer," Haitang continued.

"Don’t be fooled by her quiet demeanor—she’s actually a pretty well-known gaming streamer online. Though, in real life, she’s a bit of a recluse..."

Then, with a dramatic pause, her eyes gleamed with excitement.

"But! Whether it's 'student council treasurer' or 'famous streamer'—both are just covers! Her true identity is a world-class elite hacker!
The one who forged your fake ID? Yeah. That was her."

“Wow! Incredible!”

I was genuinely impressed.

Though, uh… hacking government databases is definitely illegal.

Maybe… don’t do that again?

“…If it’s for Big Sis, it’s nothing,” Cangyu murmured quietly.

Big Sis?

She meant Haitang, right?

So she’s a devoted underling…

“Ah, and the guy driving?” Haitang gestured toward the front seat. “That’s Feng Wu—Cangyu’s big brother. He followed along cause he’s a total siscon. Well, I ain’t complaining for the free ride from that though.”

A light chuckle came from the driver’s seat. Through the rearview mirror, Feng Wu gave me a nod.

“Pleasure to meet you.”

Wait.

These two are siblings?!

“…There’s quite a big age gap, huh?”

Cangyu either didn’t hear me or didn’t care—she kept playing her game in total silence.

…Not very cute of her.

But before I could dwell on it, the third girl with twin braids sitting behind Tangerine poked Cangyu’s head and answered in her place.

“Cang Yu’s 16. Feng Wu’s 21. That’s not that unusual for siblings, is it?”

…Wait, that guy is only 21?

No way.

He looks at least 30.

Is it the unkempt, seaweed-like hair? The scruffy stubble?

Or has life just worn him down that much?

"She’s Yang Qi, vice president of the student council. As you can see, she’s the quintessential literature-girl type—a true classic beauty.
And for once, there’s no twist.

But don’t let that fool you—she’s also the mastermind behind all our operations. My personal strategist."

At first glance, it was hard to associate her with such a role. She looked more like the kind of airhead who’d walk straight into a convenience store’s automatic doors before they even opened.

"Don’t underestimate her," Haitang added. "She’s actually a Women’s Grandmaster in chess—ridiculously strong."

I don’t know much about chess…

But Grandmaster definitely sounded impressive.

So, let’s summarize:

Bei Qiao Jue—charming, athletic, and a literal spy.
Feng Cang Yu—shy, secretive, and an elite hacker.
Yang Qi—elegant, soft-spoken, and a chess prodigy.

In other words, Haitang’s personal Three Crows.

Which means…

Even though they were all gorgeous, none of them were romantically available.

They were all part of Haitang’s harem.