Chapter 14

“Are you still hiring coaches by any chance?”
Luo Jingyao’s mouth moved faster than her brain this time.

Luckily, she made the right guess. As soon as she stated her intention, the woman on the other end of the line became enthusiastic.
“Yes, yes, we are! But where did you hear about our job opening?”

Typical of an unregulated training camp—the person on the other end was alert and cautious.

“I heard about it from a friend,” Luo Jingyao replied, scratching her cheek a little awkwardly before steeling herself to finish her response. “She lost weight at your place and mentioned you might be short on coaches lately.”

Whether or not these shady operations dared to publicly post job listings, saying a friend referred her was the safest and least suspicious route.

“Ah… yes, we recently admitted a bunch of new students, so we are indeed short two certified fitness coaches. Do you have the necessary certifications or work experience?” the woman asked, sounding like she had no doubts.

“I do. I’ve been in this field for over ten years,” Luo Jingyao replied, deliberately ignoring Pang Guangbuyi who was beside her, frantically making exaggerated faces.

National-level and world-class certificates and honors—her house was full of them. But this clearly wasn’t the time to flaunt them. If she listed them all, the woman might hang up on the spot from sheer panic.

Even if she actually wanted to take the job, the company probably couldn’t afford to pay someone of her caliber.

Operations like this cared only about maximizing profit. Why would they bother hiring someone like her—what, to worship her like a statue?

As expected, the woman on the other end readily agreed.
“Is that so? Wonderful! If you’re free tomorrow, come in for an interview. If everything goes well, we can sign the contract on the spot.”

“Mhm… alright. No. 227 Chongli Road, Huaidong District… See you tomorrow.”
Luo Jingyao repeated the address aloud. Only after seeing Lin Jiafan nod slightly did she hang up the call.

“Well, now that’s the advantage of being a perfect match for the role!” Pang Guangbuyi plopped down on the sofa and gave her a big thumbs-up. “Captain, I thought you wanted Coach Luo to call and pretend to be a weight-loss customer. Who knew she’d land herself a whole new job in seconds!”

Accepting the compliment without guilt, Luo Jingyao tilted her head slightly and handed the phone back to the man still standing at the coffee table.

“You’ve got the address now. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be heading out?”

As soon as she finished speaking, she grabbed her bag and made a move for the door, afraid something else might come up.

Seeing this, Pang Guangbuyi quickly tried to stop her.
“Hey, hey, hey! Coach Luo, you’re not coming with us tomorrow? Captain Lin can apply for fieldwork pay for you again!”

“I’ll pass.” She waved her hand firmly.
“What if I really do pass the interview tomorrow and the boss forces me to sign a contract? I already signed a labor contract with the Public Security Bureau. That wouldn’t be appropriate.”

She paused for a moment, then looked directly at the quiet Lin Jiafan.
“Besides, doing something that goes against my conscience? That’s gonna cost extra.”

“…”
Lin Jiafan slowly curled his lips into a smile, meeting her gaze with interest. He clearly understood that this was her sharp rebuttal to his earlier remark—‘1688.’

Finally having the upper hand, Luo Jingyao raised her eyebrows proudly like a victorious general, straightened her back, and waved again in farewell as she turned to leave.

Unexpectedly, Lin Jiafan’s voice rang out behind her.

“I heard Coach Luo owns a flower shop?”

“My family is hosting a wedding early next month. We’ll need a large number of fresh flowers for the venue. I checked with other florists and they’re quoting over 100,000 yuan…”

“I can do it!”
Luo Jingyao spun around instantly. The pride in her posture from moments ago deflated immediately. The smile on her face was polite and overly professional.

It’s all just for survival. Nothing shameful about that.

She reassured herself while nodding enthusiastically.
“Of course I can do it! I mean, we’re basically half-colleagues now. If it helps move the case along, what’s one little interview?”

“Mainly, I trust Officer Lin’s character. If he promises something, he’ll keep his word—right?”
As she spoke, she pulled a business card from her bag and took two steps forward to slip it into Lin Jiafan’s jacket pocket.

Suppressing a laugh, Lin Jiafan glanced down at his coat pocket, then lifted his gaze again, face back to his usual calm.
“Well, since we’re half-colleagues now, I suppose Coach Luo can give us a bit of a discount?”

Grinding her teeth slightly, Luo Jingyao’s lips parted. Her words were tinged with personal emotion:
“Fifteen percent off. No lower!”

But the next second, she saw the glimmer of cunning in Lin Jiafan’s black eyes.

“I was going to say 10% off, but since Coach Luo is being so generous, I graciously accept your offer.”
With that, he walked past her.
“See you tomorrow at 9 a.m., in front of the training camp.”

Luo Jingyao didn’t miss the barely audible chuckle he let out.

Taking a deep breath, she finally opened the office door and left.

8:50 AM the next morning.

It had rained the night before, and the morning air was now filled with mist and the crisp chill unique to early autumn.

As she stepped out of the taxi, Luo Jingyao instinctively pulled her baseball jacket tighter around her. After briefly getting her bearings, she walked straight through the thick fog toward a Jeep parked by the roadside.

Knock knock knock.

With her rather unceremonious knocking, the driver’s side window slowly rolled down, revealing Lin Jiafan’s handsome face, still carrying traces of sleepiness. Without his glasses on, the upward slant of his eyes was especially pronounced.

It looked like he had just been asleep moments ago. Judging by his outfit—still the same one from yesterday—he had clearly pulled another all-nighter.

With that kind of ridiculous work intensity, how is he not dead from exhaustion yet?

Luo Jingyao frowned in confusion but knew better than to pry beyond the bounds of normal social etiquette. Instead, she simply asked, “I’m about to meet the training camp owner at the agreed time. Will someone from your side be going in with me, or…?”

“To avoid alerting them, you should go in alone first and assess the situation,” Lin Jiafan replied, handing her something that looked exactly like a Bluetooth earpiece. “Wear this communicator. If you run into any danger, just press this button.”

“The local precinct and SWAT officers are already in place. Don’t worry, we won’t let anything happen to you.”

“Mm, I know.” Luo Jingyao had never been worried about that. She calmly put the device on and lifted her leg to walk away.

“Wait.” Lin Jiafan suddenly called out, dragging out his voice. Then, with a swift movement, he handed a breakfast bag right under her nose.

Startled, Luo Jingyao took the bag and felt its warmth through the kraft paper.

But she quickly suppressed the strange emotion that had bubbled up from her chest. With a meat bun in her mouth and her ponytail swinging, she walked toward the gate at the address given by the training camp owner.

It was a fairly large commercial mall. Likely due to poor planning during its construction, the place had been in decline for some time, even though it was surrounded by residential areas.

Once inside, Luo Jingyao realized “decline” was putting it lightly. The rows of abandoned storefronts reflected eerie, ghostly light under the dim overhead bulbs.

With barely any daily visitors, even the escalators and elevators were out of service. She had to follow the directional signs on the walls and floor to eventually find the staircase leading to the basement level.

What a creepy place. How do they expect customers to not run away?

With that thought, her expression turned indescribable as she descended several flights of stairs. At last, she spotted a sign on the wall ahead:
“Victoria Slimming Training Camp”, accompanied by a bold red arrow pointing right.

Following the sign, she pushed open a heavy emergency door, and suddenly, a wave of pumped-up shouting hit her ears without warning.

Upbeat, energetic music echoed in the air. She craned her neck and saw a few people sweating it out on the nearby training floor.

Luo Jingyao didn’t speak right away. Instead, she strolled slowly through the training facility to get a better sense of the environment.

The space was decently large, but the layout was a bit chaotic.

For instance, on the east side, a group of people were doing aerobics. Just two or three meters away, others were blasting loud music while doing strength training. The trainers shouting instructions were completely drowned out by the noise—making the workouts nearly useless.

Not just useless—possibly dangerous.
People could easily end up with knee fluid buildup, lumbar strain, or even multiple fractures.

She twitched at the corner of her eye but couldn’t help herself. Stepping into the weight training area, she casually supported a barbell resting on a girl’s shoulders as she was doing weighted squats. Then, with her other hand, she gently guided the girl into the correct hip-hinging posture.

“This way your lower back won’t hurt. Also, don’t increase the weights blindly in the early stages—it’s easy to get injured.”

The girl nodded gratefully, likely mistaking Luo Jingyao for one of the coaches. She didn’t seem to think anything was out of the ordinary.

As Luo Jingyao stood in place, continuing to observe the girl’s form, a curious voice called out from behind her:

“Hello, are you Miss Luo here for the interview?”

She turned instinctively and extended her hand with a smile. “Hello, are you Boss Jiang?”

The woman nodded. She looked to be in her forties, wearing a form-fitting silk dress that accentuated her figure. Her curled hair and red lips gave her a striking, elegant appearance.

After a brief handshake, Boss Jiang stepped aside and gestured politely, “From just a few words earlier, it’s clear you’re highly professional. But since you’re already here, why don’t we talk in my office?”

Naturally, Luo Jingyao agreed. As they walked through the various workout areas, she estimated there were probably over a hundred trainees currently enrolled.

No wonder they’re short on coaches.

“Ugh!”

Sure enough, multitasking had its drawbacks. Distracted by the surroundings, she bumped straight into someone.

Rubbing her sore shoulder, she quickly apologized, “Sorry about that…”