The Interrogation and the Search

Walking through the bustling corridor, they descended to the first-floor lobby.

Ling Qianwu confidently made her way to an office chair in the student council room. Her short legs, casually crossed, somehow exuded an unexpected charm.

Across from her sat Lin Yi and Li Yan, a pair of brothers in misfortune.

“Tell me,” she demanded, “what exactly were you two doing last night?”

Her voice was tinged with coldness. Her violet eyes held no emotion save for a hint of disdain.

Li Yan trembled under her gaze. Despite his earlier preparations, he felt a wave of cowardice wash over him the moment she spoke.

Fortunately, he had left his phone in his dorm room that morning. Otherwise, by now, he would have undoubtedly pulled it out and begged for mercy on his knees.

Lin Yi, meanwhile, remained remarkably calm, having kept his face completely covered throughout the incident.

Even if Ling Qianwu suspected him, she lacked concrete evidence to implicate him.

Unless Li Yan betrayed him, or Ling Qianwu located the security guard and Xu Wei from last night, Lin Yi was safe.

With these thoughts, Lin Yi suppressed his rising tension and fear, meeting Ling Qianwu’s oppressive presence head-on.

“I truly have no idea what you’re talking about,” he replied.

Maintaining his previous tone, Lin Yi stubbornly stuck to his story.

Ling Qianwu fixed him with a cold stare, a flicker of indignation passing through her eyes. While her evidence might have been insufficient, she was far from foolish.

Having visited Class Three earlier, she had already discerned the relationship between the two. Even if they weren’t the closest of friends, their bond was undeniably strong.

The two remained locked in a stalemate for a considerable time. Seeing that Lin Yi still refused to confess, she abruptly tossed a phone onto the desk.

Then, her voice chilling, she spoke. “Take a good look, and tell me who this is.”

The black and white screen of the phone displayed footage from the previous night, capturing Lin Yi and Li Yan in the act of stealing the phone.

Lin Yi, fortunately, had kept his face thoroughly concealed, making him indistinguishable in the video.

Li Yan, however, was not so lucky. His entire face was clearly exposed to the surveillance camera, leaving no room for denial.

Upon seeing the surveillance footage, Lin Yi’s lips twitched involuntarily. He couldn’t recall who had confidently declared that the teaching building’s power would be cut at night, rendering the surveillance cameras useless.

More than that, Lin Yi was preoccupied with how the recording had been made.

His gaze continuously swept across the student council room. Based on the footage on the phone, Lin Yi could roughly pinpoint the camera’s location.

Yet, when he looked, he found nothing.

A crawling sensation, like ants, spread through his mind. Unable to locate the camera, Lin Yi felt a persistent chill down his spine. It was a lingering side effect of being scared by Chen Sishi.

Across from them, Ling Qianwu crossed her short legs and let out an impatient yawn.

“Now do you understand? The evidence is undeniable. You can’t escape this.”

The girl’s voice, like a devil’s whisper, echoed relentlessly in Li Yan’s mind. His legs trembled not from fear of Ling Qianwu herself.

Rather, he dreaded the school notifying his parents after Ling Qianwu reported them. If his father ever found out, he’d surely beat him senseless.

“Sister, please, Sister, couldn’t you… not report us? I…”

Li Yan’s voice quivered, on the verge of tears.

Ling Qianwu merely glanced at him dismissively. Then, she began to count on her slender, fair fingers.

“Insulting the student council, using phones in school, and theft,” she enumerated, “I believe these offenses are enough to warrant a major demerit.”

A faint hint of amusement colored her tone. Ling Qianwu watched Li Yan’s rapidly changing expressions with keen interest, finding it quite entertaining.

At her words, Li Yan’s face turned ashen. He cast a pleading glance at Lin Yi, hoping he could devise a solution.

Observing Li Yan’s desperate look, Lin Yi pressed a hand to his forehead in exasperation.

While he couldn’t stand being stared at like this, Lin Yi was helpless; after all, Li Yan hadn’t bothered to cover his own face.

As Li Yan looked at Lin Yi, Ling Qianwu, who had been softly chuckling, shifted her gaze to Lin Yi as well.

“Now it’s your turn,” she announced. “Do you have anything to add?”

Her voice remained cold and dismissive. Coupled with her domineering aura, it subtly exerted more pressure on Lin Yi.

“I have nothing to say,” Lin Yi stated, “since that person wasn’t me.”

Having dealt with yanderes for so long, Lin Yi was no stranger to intense situations. Though a hint of panic still stirred within him, he wouldn’t reveal any major flaws.

Listening to Lin Yi’s words, Ling Qianwu felt an inexplicable surge of anger. Her violet eyes narrowed slightly, and a scornful sneer played on her lips.

“Alright, fine. I admit, I don’t have conclusive proof that it was you. However, until I catch him, you are not to leave this room, not even a single step.”

With that, she turned her gaze back to Li Yan.

“And you,” she added, “you’ll stay here with him. You won’t leave until I find the person responsible.”

“Also, don’t even think about sneaking away. I have cameras everywhere.”

Having said her piece, Ling Qianwu stood up and departed.

The two left behind exchanged bewildered glances. For a moment, neither knew what to say.

After a long moment, Lin Yi, who had been suppressing his laughter, finally burst out. Li Yan’s teeth ground in irritation at the sound, and the two men simply stared at each other.

Eventually, Lin Yi cleared his throat awkwardly and waved a hand. “Alright, alright, I’ll stop laughing,” Lin Yi conceded. “Now, let’s figure out what to do.”

Dropping his playful demeanor, Lin Yi didn’t remain obediently standing. Instead, he boldly settled onto the student council’s office desk, crossing his legs with the air of a complete ruffian.

“Hey, Brother Lin, how are you sitting there?”

Li Yan, still standing nearby, saw his action and wanted to join in the fun. However, before he could even attempt to sit, Lin Yi unceremoniously pushed him aside.

“Full house,” Lin Yi declared. “If you want to sit, go find a spot on the stairs.”

“Fine, fine,” Li Yan grumbled. “Brother Lin, you’re really no fun.”

Lin Yi rolled his eyes at him. Then, he turned and began running his hands over the student council room’s walls.

He was convinced there might be a hidden door somewhere. However, it quickly became clear that Lin Yi was overthinking things.

He searched for a long time but found nothing, only managing to rub off a patch of the pristine white paint.

Ling Qianwu, still observing the scene through her phone screen, felt her lips twitch involuntarily. That Lin Yi and Li Yan wouldn’t simply stand still was within her expectations.

However, Lin Yi rummaging through the student council room was something Ling Qianwu had genuinely not anticipated.

She wondered what possessed Lin Yi to frantically tap and prod at the surrounding walls. After watching for a while, Ling Qianwu realized what he was doing: Lin Yi was searching for the hidden cameras.

Fortunately, Ling Qianwu had concealed the cameras well; Lin Yi searched for ages but found nothing.

Time flew by. Ling Qianwu had already reviewed dozens of surveillance feeds from outside the teaching building. Yet, she had found nothing, her eyes starting to ache from the strain.

Opening another surveillance video, a thoroughly impatient Ling Qianwu merely cast a fleeting glance before switching to the next. Unbeknownst to her, on the other side of the asphalt road, three faint shadows were quietly passing by.