Chapter 15

“It’s fine. I wasn’t paying attention either,” the man she bumped into replied with a sheepish grin, patting his own right arm, though it clearly hurt more than he let on.

Hearing the commotion, Boss Jiang walked back to check on her. Once she confirmed that Luo Jingyao was okay, she smiled kindly at the man across from them. “Thanks for coming by, Brother Zhao. Quite a few spotlights in this area are broken. Sorry to trouble you with replacing them all today.”

“What are you talking about? No need to be so formal,” Brother Zhao replied cheerfully, flashing a row of white teeth. He then casually grabbed a ladder from a pile of equipment nearby and got to work.

Seeing Luo Jingyao’s curiosity, Boss Jiang explained as they continued toward the office, “Brother Zhao works in maintenance for the mall. When I first opened the shop here last year, I happened to see him fall from the second-floor railing to the first floor…”

The moment the call connected, he walked over to the sofa and, without giving her a chance to refuse, shoved the phone right in front of Luo Jingyao’s face.

Hearing the beeping tone in her ear, Luo Jingyao’s eyes widened in shock.

One thousand six hundred eighty-eight.

She understood the silent movement of Lin Jiafan’s lips and, accepting her fate, took the call.

At the same time, a suspicious voice came through the receiver:
“Hello? Who are you trying to reach?”

“It was just calling an ambulance for him once. Who would’ve thought he’d actually be so grateful? Since then, he’s been fighting to help out with any work in the shop.”

While chatting, the two finally arrived at the office. Boss Jiang motioned for her to sit in the chair near the door and then made her way behind the desk, settling into the executive chair.
“I can see Miss Luo is a straightforward person, so let’s get straight to the point. Our training camp pays a base salary plus commission. For entry-level coaches, the base pay is around 8,000 yuan a month.”

“The company provides three meals a day and accommodation. There’s a one-month probation period, and during that time, you’ll only receive 50% of the salary. If Miss Luo finds that acceptable, you can start work officially tomorrow.”

Wait… That’s it? So casual?

Caught under the expectant gaze of the woman, Luo Jingyao stumbled over her words, “Um… I don’t really know much about the company yet…”

“Oh! Right, right.” Boss Jiang acted like she suddenly remembered something and quickly sent a message on her phone.

Less than two minutes later, there was a knock at the office door, and a fluffy-haired head poked inside.
“Jiang-jie, you called me?”

Boss Jiang waved him over grandly.
“This is Coach Luo, here to apply for the job today. Take her around and show her the training camp. Be sweet, and make sure you convince her to stay, got it?”

“Leave it to me!” The young man saluted energetically, then turned to Luo Jingyao with a bright smile.
“Coach Luo, shall I give you a tour?”

Clearly unused to such enthusiasm, Luo Jingyao was about to politely refuse—until she caught a good look at his face. The words caught in her throat, and she awkwardly swallowed them.
“Then… I’ll trouble you.”

As they exited the office, she followed at a polite distance behind him, secretly observing his side profile.

Rather than a man, he looked more like a boy—younger than her by quite a few years, maybe only in his early twenties. Still, his muscular frame made him seem quite intimidating.

Of course, that wasn’t the main issue.

The real problem was—why did his face look strangely familiar?

“Coach Luo, what you’re seeing now is just the daily training area for our students. Go out that front door and turn left, and you’ll find the dining area. It used to be the staff cafeteria of the mall, so the environment is pretty decent,” the young coach explained dutifully.

“Oh, and the dorms are behind the mall in that residential building. Coaches and students all stay in twin rooms—but since you’re the only female coach right now, you’ll get your own 15-square-meter single room. Honestly, it’s enviable.”

Luo Jingyao forced a polite smile in response.

“Oh, right!” The young coach suddenly slapped his forehead and gestured for her to follow again.

They passed through the training area and arrived at a door, which happened to be directly opposite the boss’s office, forming a perfect diagonal line.

He opened the door unceremoniously.
“This is the coaches’ changing room and lounge.”

Then he called out:
“Everyone, listen up! This is Coach Luo, our new teammate. Let’s give her a warm welcome!”

The next second, a scattered round of applause and playful hoots rang out.

You could tell this young coach was absolutely Boss Jiang’s employee—both of them only believed in what they believed and acted accordingly.

Before today, Luo Jingyao had never considered that social interaction could be difficult. But in this moment, she realized for the first time—maybe she did have social anxiety.

Even so, she mustered the courage to politely wave at everyone in the room.

Only after that did she finally have time to clearly see the people standing in front of her.

!!!

Her pupils dilated instantly—completely unable to reflect the storm raging in her heart.

Trying to maintain a composed expression, she kept glancing between the muscular coaches in the room. Eventually, she couldn’t help but turn slightly and whisper:
“Excuse me, could you tell me where the restroom is?”

Following the directions given by the young coach, she soon found her way there.

After confirming she was alone in the space, she entered a stall, locked the door, and sat dazedly on the toilet, trying to piece together her thoughts, which had been thrown into chaos by pure shock.

“Coach Luo? Are you alright?”

Suddenly, a familiar voice rang in her ear, snapping her back to reality. It was the communicator she’d worn before entering.

She held her breath and listened carefully for any sounds outside the stall. Not daring to respond out loud, she took out her phone and sent Lin Jiafan a brief message assuring him she was safe.

Several minutes later, she finally composed herself and stepped out of the restroom.

But just as she was approaching the coaches’ lounge again, she saw Boss Jiang standing outside the door, hands on her hips, shouting at the people inside.

Noticing her footsteps, Boss Jiang quickly reined in her aggressive tone and turned to her with a bright smile:
“Coach Luo, have you made your decision? There are plenty of training camps in the city—I won’t say ours has the most students, but I guarantee our benefits are top-notch. Most importantly, we offer freedom in management and great opportunities for promotion!”

Even as the woman passionately pitched her offer, Luo Jingyao’s gaze remained fixed on the group of coaches inside the changing room.

Finally, under Boss Jiang’s eager eyes, Luo Jingyao gave a slight nod.
“Then… I’ll come try it out tomorrow.”

Hearing her agreement, Boss Jiang instantly lit up with joy, enthusiastically walking her all the way to the mall’s main entrance, holding her hand and chattering non-stop until someone finally called her back.

After confirming that the figure had truly disappeared from view, Luo Jingyao quickly left the mall and walked straight to the familiar jeep. Without hesitation, she opened the back door and climbed inside.

In the driver’s seat, Lin Jiafan didn’t immediately ask any questions. Instead, he quietly watched her through the rearview mirror as she removed her earpiece and tossed it aside.

Sitting in the front passenger seat, Pang Guangbuyi couldn’t hold back his excitement. He immediately turned around and asked eagerly, “Coach Luo? How did the interview go? Was everything smooth? Did you notice anything unusual about that training camp?”

“They’re operating something like this on the mall’s basement level. Their fire safety surely wouldn’t pass inspection. Since the local police station officers are already around, how about we go in with them under the pretense of a fire safety inspection and scout the place out?”

He said this while glancing at Lin Jiafan, clearly looking for his opinion.

Unfortunately, Lin Jiafan didn’t even spare him a glance. His gaze remained firmly fixed on the second row of seats.

Right then, Luo Jingyao had finished organizing the whirlwind of information in her mind and spoke up crisply:
“Does the training camp have a problem? I’d say it definitely does. What’s strange is how they train — why hasn’t any student ever reported them?”

“But that’s secondary,” she continued, lowering her head and pulling up a few photos on her phone — pictures she had taken up close when Huang Guifen caused a scene outside the police station.

Lin Jiafan and Pang Guangbuyi both leaned in to look, but didn’t notice anything unusual.

Seeing this, Luo Jingyao helpfully pointed to several burly men behind Huang Guifen, who were holding banners and photos. “I just saw them inside — these guys are all trainers at the camp!”

“What?” Pang Guangbuyi couldn’t help but blurt out, his mouth gaping open.

In contrast, Lin Jiafan remained far calmer. Though surprised, he didn’t lose his composure.

He leaned in to examine the photos again. “You’re sure all five of the men in the photo were there?”

“At first, I didn’t recognize them when I saw them individually. But once I saw those five faces together, I was certain,” Luo Jingyao replied, a small frown forming. “These five had previously helped Huang Guifen stir up trouble, and now they’re all working at a training camp connected to two deceased individuals…”

Hearing that, Pang Guangbuyi slapped his thigh. “Why don’t we bring all five in for questioning? Considering this copycat even stole someone’s mother, it wouldn’t be surprising if they were overly involved in Huang Guifen’s daily life. Who knows — the person writing the letters might be one of them!”

Still, Lin Jiafan remained silent. His long, strong fingers interlocked and rested on his lap. He neither agreed nor disagreed.

“Actually…” Amid the silence, Luo Jingyao spoke hesitantly, immediately drawing the attention of the other two.

“I already agreed to start working at the training camp tomorrow. Since your Special Investigation Unit is busy with ongoing cases, I have the time to do a bit of undercover work.”

“Even if you bring them into the station, they likely won’t say anything. Just a photo isn’t enough to justify entering the camp to collect evidence. If we alarm the boss, she could disappear overnight along with the entire operation. These people are slippery like that. If she runs, it won’t be easy to find her again.”

“Yes, yes, Coach Luo is right…” Pang Guangbuyi immediately nodded like crazy, but when he noticed the expression on his captain’s face, he quickly shut up and sat up straight.

Lin Jiafan silently pressed the ignition button.

The moment the car started, the roar of the engine was accompanied by a cold sentence:
“I don’t agree.”

“Huh?”

Luo Jingyao stared wide-eyed in disbelief, looking even more like a startled rabbit.