Chapter 209: Phase Two
Hearing Gu Qinghuan’s shout, the boys were instantly delighted—she took the bait!
They even put on fierce expressions, turning their heads to scare her. But just as they turned, they heard a rapid series of click sounds.
Qinghuan stood out in the open, holding up her phone, a good ten meters away. “My phone might be a bit old, but the zoom and burst mode are still pretty good!”
The boys froze for a few seconds. One of them instinctively tried to rush over and grab her phone, but Qinghuan calmly stepped back two more paces, her smile unchanged. “Go ahead.”
The leader reacted faster and grabbed the guy trying to snatch the phone, yanking him so hard he fell to the ground.
Why did they come to this corner? Because there were surveillance cameras outside!
“Hand over your phone!” he threatened darkly. “Or you’ll regret it!”
Qinghuan’s smile didn’t waver. She tapped her screen, and his voice immediately played back: “…you’ll regret it!”
“I recorded that,” she said kindly. “You might want to think before you speak. The school’s signal is pretty good—I can send this to Sun Qinglian in seconds.”
Sun Qinglian, head of the Discipline Department—nicknamed “Lady Yama.” She had a round, doll-like face, always smiling gently, speaking slowly.
Her record? Twenty-three disciplinary notices in a single semester.
At Mingde, where every student had some background, someone who could still enforce rules like that was truly formidable.
Qinghuan had added her as a friend because Sun Qinglian loved cats. Back when Xiao Si was still in the office, she often brought it snacks. Over time, they naturally became close.
Now, hearing her name, the boys’ faces turned pale.
Who would dare provoke her?! They were just acting for a job—they didn’t want disciplinary punishment. If their families found out, they’d be finished!
If not for their last bit of reason—knowing they couldn’t expose Wei Xiao—they would’ve already tried to clear themselves.
“Class monitor!”
Unfortunately, Jiang Chuchu had stopped the group chat from mobilizing—but not Ai Ning, who had already sent the location and stopped checking messages.
His voice arrived before he did. By the time he reached Qinghuan, he wasn’t even breathing hard. Standing in front of her, he was like a wall.
At 1.85 meters tall and trained in boxing since childhood, even as a hobby, Ai Ning was more than enough to handle a few people.
Qinghuan was completely blocked by him and had to step aside. “My backup is here. Should I call more?”
Ai Ning immediately said, “I already called in the group chat!”
Qinghuan choked. No wonder her phone kept buzzing earlier!
The boys were already losing their nerve. After exchanging looks, they threw out a weak, “We’re leaving!”
Their words were bold—but their retreat was anything but.
They fled awkwardly.
Ji Tianxiao and Tao Shenxing also arrived. They hadn’t even checked the group—they just rushed over, worried Qinghuan and Ai Ning couldn’t handle it.
“What happened?” Tao Shenxing noticed the boy in the corner slowly getting up.
“Nothing major,” Qinghuan signaled subtly with her eyes.
As members of the “troublemaking squad,” the three immediately sensed something was off.
Helping people was normal for Qinghuan—but this kind of direct intervention? That wasn’t her style.
If anything, in Class 3’s eyes, their class monitor was more like… a mastermind behind the scenes.
So what situation would make a mastermind step forward personally?
With that thought, the three of them looked at the boy with newfound scrutiny.
Qinghuan walked over. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” the boy said softly, looking even more fragile. “Thank you for helping me.”
Ji Tianxiao raised an eyebrow subtly. There were three of them standing here—why not thank them too?
Even if they were just deterrence, ignoring them entirely felt deliberate.
And in his opinion, this boy was acting.
Not bad—but not as good as him.
So what role was he playing?
Qinghuan suddenly looked surprised. “Ah, it’s you—you were the one who helped me on the bus the other day, right?”
The boy paused, thought for a moment, then smiled in realization. “So it was you. What a coincidence—consider it returning the favor.”
“Let’s avoid this kind of ‘favor’ next time,” Qinghuan shook her head.
“I’m Ning Siqi. What’s your name?” he asked proactively.
Behind her back, Qinghuan gestured to the others. They didn’t understand the exact meaning, but the fact she was signaling meant she wanted them to do something.
Ai Ning reacted fastest. “Our class monitor has even been on TV—you don’t recognize her?”
Ning Siqi stiffened, then looked again carefully, as if realizing. “Oh—you’re Gu Qinghuan from Class 3, right? Sorry, I have a bit of face blindness. I didn’t recognize you just now.”
“It’s fine, it’s been a while. I don’t have a very distinctive face anyway,” Qinghuan nodded understandingly, then asked, “Should I report this to Minister Sun?”
“No need,” Ning Siqi lowered his gaze, his tone subdued. “Even with your evidence, they’d only get some punishment—not expulsion.”
“And after things calm down, they’d just come after me again.”
“I overheard a bit earlier—if what you said is true, then he thinks you stole the girl he likes?” Qinghuan asked.
Ai Ning and the others perked up: gossip?!
Ning Siqi nodded awkwardly. “I don’t even remember that girl, and I told him so—but he doesn’t believe me.”
“So a girl has shown interest in you so clearly that other guys can notice, yet you didn’t realize?” Qinghuan asked without blinking.
Ji Tianxiao / Tao Shenxing / Ai Ning: What a sharp angle.
Blaming the girl? Dream on.
“Uh… I said earlier, I have face blindness, so I don’t really remember girls’ faces…” Ning Siqi said vaguely.
“So many girls show interest in you?” Qinghuan smiled faintly. “You’re quite popular.”
That “popular” definitely didn’t sound like praise.
Ai Ning decisively stamped him in his mind: classic player casting a wide net.
He spoke up, “Class monitor, don’t you need to get back to the student council? Don’t waste time here—we’ll handle this.”
Ning Siqi tried to say something more, but Qinghuan already agreed briskly: “Alright, I’ll leave it to you. The council is waiting—I’ll go first.”
As soon as she finished speaking, she ran off.
Facing Ai Ning and the others, Ning Siqi didn’t want to linger either. “No need to trouble yourselves, I’ll handle it—”
Before he could finish, Tao Shenxing interrupted, draping an arm around his shoulder in a friendly manner.
“Since we ran into it, we can’t just ignore it. Go on, tell us—we’ll help you figure something out.”
Meanwhile, Ji Tianxiao quietly pulled out his phone and turned on the recording.
Let’s see how well this Ning Siqi has written his “script.”
