Chapter 15

“It’s fine. My fault for not paying attention.”

The man she had bumped into gave her an honest, easygoing smile, though the way he rubbed his right arm suggested it clearly wasn’t as fine as he claimed.

Boss Jiang, who had been walking ahead, immediately turned back when she heard the commotion. After confirming that Luo Jingyao wasn’t hurt, she smiled warmly at the man across from them.

“Sorry to trouble you with another trip, Brother Zhao. Quite a few of the spotlights in this section have gone out. Could you replace them all today?”

“Come on, why’re you being polite with me?” Brother Zhao flashed a row of white teeth. Clearly familiar with the place, he pulled a ladder out from a corner piled with miscellaneous supplies and got straight to work.

Noticing Luo Jingyao’s curiosity, Boss Jiang explained as she led her toward the office.

“Brother Zhao works maintenance for the mall. Last year, right after I opened this place, he happened to fall from the second-floor railing all the way down to the first floor.”

“I only called him an ambulance, but who knew he’d be so grateful? Ever since then, anytime there’s work to be done around here, he’s always the first to volunteer.”

As they spoke, they finally arrived at the office.

Boss Jiang gestured for Luo Jingyao to sit in the chair by the door before taking her own seat behind the desk.

“Miss Luo, you strike me as a straightforward person, so let’s skip the small talk and get right to it. Our training camp uses a base salary plus commission system. For a junior coach, the monthly base pay is around eight thousand yuan.”

“We provide meals and accommodation. There’s a one-month probation period, during which you’ll receive fifty percent of your salary. If that sounds acceptable, you can start officially tomorrow.”

Luo Jingyao blinked.

…That was it?

Wasn’t this a little too casual?

Under the woman’s expectant gaze, she stumbled through her response.

“Um… I actually don’t know much about your company yet…”

“Know more about us? Ah, right, right!”

Boss Jiang suddenly seemed to realize something and quickly sent a message on her phone.

Less than two minutes later, someone knocked on the office door.

A fluffy-haired head poked inside.

“Sis Jiang, you needed me?”

With a grand wave of her hand, Boss Jiang said, “This is Coach Luo, here for an interview today. Take her around, show her the facilities.”

Then she lowered her voice dramatically.

“And sweet-talk her a little. Whatever you do, make sure she stays!”

“Mission accepted!”

The young man snapped a salute before turning toward Luo Jingyao with a bright, sunny grin.

“Coach Luo, shall I give you the grand tour?”

Luo Jingyao wasn’t particularly comfortable with that level of enthusiasm. She had been about to refuse, but after getting a good look at his face, she swallowed the words at the last second.

“Then I’ll have to trouble you.”

After leaving the office, she followed a few paces behind him, quietly studying his profile.

Calling him a man felt inaccurate.

Boy was probably more appropriate.

He looked even younger than she was, maybe twenty at most. The muscles, however, were substantial—large enough to look genuinely intimidating.

Of course, that wasn’t the important part.

The important part was why his face felt so strangely familiar.

“Coach Luo, everything you can see right now is just the students’ daily training area,” the young coach explained dutifully. “If you go through that door ahead and turn left, you’ll find the dining hall. It was converted from the mall’s original employee cafeteria, so the environment’s actually pretty decent.”

“Oh, and the dorms. Both students and coaches stay there. It’s the residential building behind the mall. Coaches share double rooms just like the students.”

He paused and grinned.

“Though you’re currently the only female coach, so you get a private fifteen-square-meter room all to yourself. Honestly, I’m jealous.”

Luo Jingyao could only force a polite smile in response.

“Oh, right!”

The young coach suddenly slapped his forehead.

“Almost forgot something. Follow me.”

The two of them crossed the training area and stopped in front of another door. Judging by the layout, the room behind it sat almost perfectly diagonal from Boss Jiang’s office.

Without much ceremony, he pushed the door open.

“This is the coaches’ locker room and lounge.”

Then he raised his voice.

“Everyone, attention! This is Coach Luo, our newest colleague! Let’s give her a warm welcome!”

Scattered applause and playful whistles immediately followed.

As expected of Boss Jiang’s employee.

Their confidence in things they’d already decided to believe was exactly the same.

Before today, Luo Jingyao had never considered social interaction particularly difficult.

Now, for the first time in her life, she suspected she might actually suffer from social anxiety.

Even so, she forced herself to smile and wave politely at everyone.

When she finally lifted her head again and got a clear look at the people inside—

Her pupils contracted sharply.

Even that physical reaction couldn’t fully express the shock crashing through her mind.

She kept her expression under control with considerable effort.

Her gaze moved repeatedly among the muscular coaches, checking and rechecking their faces.

Finally, unable to suppress herself any longer, she turned slightly and asked in a low voice:

“Excuse me… where’s the restroom?”

Following the directions the young coach gave her, she quickly found it.

After making sure nobody else was inside, she entered a stall, locked the door, and sat down on the toilet.

Only then did she begin slowly sorting through the chaotic thoughts stirred up by her discovery.

“Coach Luo? Are you okay?”

A familiar voice suddenly sounded in her ear.

The question snapped her back to reality—and reminded her to breathe.

It was the communicator she’d been wearing.

She listened carefully for movement outside the stall.

Not daring to answer aloud, she instead pulled out her phone and sent Lin Jiafan a brief message letting him know she was safe.

Several minutes later, she finally regained her composure and left the restroom.

But before she could return to the coaches’ lounge, she spotted Boss Jiang standing outside the door, hands on her hips, loudly scolding the people inside.

Sensing her approach, Boss Jiang immediately reined in the hostility radiating from her and turned around with another warm smile.

“Coach Luo! Have you made up your mind yet? Out of all the training camps in the city, I won’t claim we have the most students—but our benefits are definitely among the best. More importantly, management is flexible, and there’s plenty of room for advancement!”

As the woman continued her energetic sales pitch, Luo Jingyao’s attention remained fixed on the coaches inside the lounge.

Finally, beneath Boss Jiang’s hopeful stare, she nodded.

“I’ll come by tomorrow and give it a try.”

The moment she relented, Boss Jiang practically beamed with delight.

She personally escorted Luo Jingyao all the way to the mall entrance, holding her hand while chatting nonstop. In the end, someone had to call her back before she finally left.

Only after confirming the woman’s figure had completely disappeared from sight did Luo Jingyao quicken her pace.

She headed straight toward a familiar jeep parked nearby.

Without hesitation, she pulled open the rear door and climbed inside.

Lin Jiafan, seated in the driver’s seat, didn’t immediately question her.

Instead, he quietly watched through the rearview mirror as she removed the communicator and tossed it aside.

Meanwhile, Pang Guang—who had somehow appeared in the passenger seat—immediately twisted around.

“Coach Luo! How’d it go? Was the interview smooth? Did anything seem suspicious about that training camp?”

“They’re running that kind of business in a mall basement. There’s no way they’re passing fire safety inspections. The local police officers are already nearby anyway. Maybe we can slip in with them under the excuse of checking fire regulations and scout the place out?”

As he finished speaking, he looked toward Lin Jiafan, clearly seeking approval.

Unfortunately, the man didn’t spare him even half a glance.

His eyes remained fixed on the back seat the entire time.

By then, Luo Jingyao had finally organized the flood of information in her head.

“The training camp?” she said crisply. “I’m certain there’s something wrong with it. What I don’t understand is how nobody’s ever reported them for their training methods.”

“But that’s actually the less important issue.”

She lowered her head and pulled up several photos on her phone.

The pictures had been taken outside the police station on the day Wang Guifen caused a scene.

Lin Jiafan and Pang Guang leaned in to look.

Unfortunately, neither immediately noticed anything unusual.

Seeing their confusion, Luo Jingyao tapped several burly men standing behind Wang Guifen, holding banners and enlarged photographs.

“I saw them inside just now. Every single one of these men is a coach at the training camp.”

“What?!”

Pang Guang’s mouth dropped open instantly.

Lin Jiafan, by comparison, remained much calmer.

Though clearly surprised, he didn’t lose composure.

He examined the photos more carefully.

“You’re sure all five of them were there?”

“At first I didn’t recognize them when I saw them separately,” Luo Jingyao admitted, frowning slightly. “It wasn’t until all five faces appeared together that I became certain.”

She paused.

“These five helped Wang Guifen stir up trouble before. Now they’re all working at a training camp connected to both victims…”

Pang Guang slapped his thigh.

“Then why don’t we bring all five in for questioning right now? Considering this copycat even stole someone else’s mother, getting overly involved in Wang Guifen’s daily life wouldn’t be strange at all. Maybe the person writing those letters is one of them!”

Lin Jiafan remained silent.

His long fingers were interlocked atop his knee.

He neither agreed nor objected.

“Actually…”

The hesitant voice immediately drew both men’s attention.

“I already agreed to start working there tomorrow.”

Luo Jingyao met their gazes calmly.

“Your Special Cases Investigation Team is busy with the case anyway. I have enough free time to take on a little part-time work.”

“Even if you brought them back to the station, I doubt you’d get much out of them. A single photograph isn’t enough justification for the police to openly enter the training camp and collect evidence.”

“And if we accidentally alert Boss Jiang…”

Her expression grew serious.

“People like her are always prepared with backup plans. They’re the type who could disappear overnight—shop and all. If that happens, finding her again won’t be nearly as easy.”

“Exactly! Coach Luo is absolutely ri—”

Pang Guang nodded frantically.

Unfortunately, the moment he caught sight of his captain’s expression, he instantly shut his mouth and sat up straight.

Lin Jiafan, meanwhile, simply pressed the ignition button.

The engine roared to life.

And beneath the rumbling growl of the vehicle came a cold, unmistakable sentence.

“I disagree.”

“Huh?”

Luo Jingyao’s eyes widened in shock.

Looking, at that moment, even more like a startled rabbit.