Chapter 17

“You’re back, Boss Jiang?” Luo Jingyao asked casually, feigning nonchalance. “It’s my first day at work—I just called home to check in.”

Boss Jiang neither confirmed nor denied whether she believed it. She just stared at Luo Jingyao silently for a few seconds, and then suddenly chuckled.

“What is this place, a shady black market? You felt the need to call home and report your safety?”

“I didn’t mean it like that…” Luo Jingyao replied awkwardly.

Perhaps seeing how embarrassed she was, Boss Jiang waved her hand dismissively and stepped forward. With a surprisingly familiar air, she looped her arm through Luo Jingyao’s and started walking back with her.

“We’re like family now. Just call me Sister Jiang. Once you’ve been here a while, you’ll see—I’m not that strict. As long as you do your job well, that’s all I ask.”

“Alright, Sister Jiang,” Luo Jingyao responded smoothly.

Soon, the training area—which had emptied out for lunch—became lively again.

As the afternoon training session neared, Sister Jiang finally let go of Luo Jingyao’s arm.

In the short span of about ten minutes, she had almost interrogated her all the way back to her ancestors. Thankfully, Luo Jingyao was well prepared. Her half-truths and vague answers were just enough to get by.

After an intense morning of training, most of the trainees were now relying purely on willpower. After all, this was a weight loss camp—not a torture chamber. Perhaps to avoid any accidents, the frequency of breaks in the afternoon was clearly increased.

When the break whistle blew again, Luo Jingyao wiped the sweat from her brow and looked toward the coach’s rest area in the far corner.

Then, she deftly maneuvered past the sprawled-out trainees and headed straight for that door.

She stood outside for a moment, but due to the loud music blaring from the overhead speakers, she couldn’t tell what was going on inside.

After a moment of thought, she placed her hand on the doorknob and gave it a firm turn.

Creak—

As the door opened, her eyes were immediately met by a sea of glistening, bare muscles.

Apparently, the male coaches had gotten hot from the earlier training and had stripped off their shirts. Steam was practically rising off their bodies.

As expected, a wave of pungent, sweaty air hit her square in the face. Fortunately, Luo Jingyao was experienced—she held her breath the moment she opened the door.

The group, who had been laughing and chatting just a second ago, suddenly grew awkward at her unexpected entrance. One of the younger-looking coaches stood up and spoke with a shy, slightly embarrassed smile:

“Sorry about that. We’ve never had female coworkers here before. We’ll be more careful in the future. Please don’t feel uncomfortable, Coach Luo.”

“It’s fine. Don’t mind me,” Luo Jingyao replied lightly, playfully. “If anything, I’m the one getting the advantage here.”

Seeing that she truly didn’t seem to mind, the young coach visibly relaxed. He went on to introduce her to the rest of the group.

And just like that, Luo Jingyao finally learned their names.

The young coach was named Xiao Ping.

Then, Xiao Ping pointed to a wall lined with metal lockers and waved grandly.

“Any locker that doesn’t have a spare key hanging on the handle—you’re free to take your pick.”

“Alright, got it.” Luo Jingyao responded politely, but all the while, her eyes continued to sweep subtly across the room.

When her gaze lingered briefly in one particular corner, she turned away and casually picked a locker.

Then, as if curious, she pointed toward that very same corner and asked:

“What’s all that stuff over there?”

Xiao Ping followed Luo Jingyao’s gaze and suddenly realized what she was looking at. He explained,

“Oh, those are the instructors’ class logs. It’s a camp rule—every coach has to fill one out daily. They’re used as a basis for calculating bonuses at the end of the month.”

“Once you’ve been here a couple of days, Sister Jiang will probably give you one too.”

Luo Jingyao’s eyebrows lifted slightly at the mention. Seizing the opportunity, she asked,

“Would it be alright if I took a look at yours first? Just so I don’t fumble around when it’s my turn to write one.”

“Of course—go ahead and take a look,” Xiao Ping replied generously without hesitation. The other coaches didn’t object either.

Just then, a whistle blew from the training field outside, signaling the end of the break. After letting her know, the group began heading out one by one.

Soon, the not-so-spacious break room fell quiet and empty.

Luo Jingyao calmed her racing heartbeat and, once certain the door was securely shut, walked up to the table stacked with orange leather-bound notebooks.

She reached out and picked the one on top. On the otherwise blank first page sat the name “Xiao Ping” written squarely in the center. Though the handwriting lacked flair, it was neat and clearly written.

Flipping through the pages, she found each dated at the top and sparsely filled with notes: what classes were taught that day, overall student performance, which trainees needed special attention, and a short reflection followed by goals for the next day.

She nodded in understanding, then pulled out her phone and quietly snapped a couple of photos. Without hesitation, she opened a second notebook.

Let’s just say—these five coaches each had their own distinctive handwriting styles.

After a few minutes, she carefully returned the stack of class logs to its original state and turned to leave the break room.

But the moment she opened the door, she nearly collided nose-to-nose with Boss Jiang standing right outside. Reflexively, Luo Jingyao took a step back and lifted her gaze, startled.

Facing her wary expression, Boss Jiang curled her red lips into a slow smile.

“Tired? Do you feel like the workload here is manageable? If it’s too much, you can take a longer break.”

Luo Jingyao frowned slightly, thinking the woman was subtly criticizing how long she’d been in the break room. She carefully replied,

“Coach Xiao just mentioned the class logs to me. I thought I’d get a head start learning how to write them…”

“No need to be so tense,” Boss Jiang suddenly said with a laugh, reaching out to give her a comforting pat on the shoulder. But then she smoothly changed the subject:
“By the way, I seem to have misplaced my phone. Do you have yours with you? Mind if I borrow it for a moment?”

Luo Jingyao looked down at the hand in front of her—fingernails painted a deep crimson—and felt a slight stiffness in her facial muscles.

Under Jiang’s unwavering stare, she slowly pulled her phone from her pocket, unlocked it, and placed it gently in the woman’s palm.

With a satisfied look, Boss Jiang immediately opened the photo album icon in the bottom right corner.

The screen lit up with vibrant images—blooms of colorful flowers filling the display. It was a very monotonous album: flowers, flowers, and more flowers.

“Oops, sorry. I’m so used to my own phone, I thought this was the call button,” Boss Jiang said casually. She then closed the album and opened the call app instead.

She scanned through the call history. On the surface, there was nothing remarkable—mostly unmarked numbers. After locating her own number, she dialed it.

Ring, ring, ring…

A crisp ringtone echoed from near the water dispenser. With a brief “Found it,” she turned to leave, smoothly handing the phone back to Luo Jingyao.

Watching her graceful figure disappear down the hallway, Luo Jingyao exhaled deeply, then looked down at her phone. Opening her messaging app, she confirmed that the photos had successfully been sent to the chat labeled “lin.” Without hesitation, she swiped right and hit the red delete button.

Her lips pressed together unconsciously.

She had to admit, Lin Jiafan’s instincts were sharp. This training camp was clearly not as simple as it appeared on the surface.

Boss Jiang’s behavior was definitely off—no normal business owner would be so guarded. But what exactly was she trying to hide?

Could it be… she had already figured out that Luo Jingyao had come with ulterior motives?

But she quickly dismissed that thought. If Boss Jiang truly suspected her, she wouldn’t have allowed her in to begin with. That would have been the safer option.

Still, there was a heavy cloud of suspicion hanging over everything, and Luo Jingyao couldn’t help but feel a flicker of sympathy for Lin Jiafan and the others. Constantly living in a state of suspicion without losing their minds—or their hair—was an impressive feat.

If pulling off this mission could finally rid her of this annoying curse of accidentally “walking into crime scenes,” she’d escape faster than anyone.

After taking a moment to gather herself, Luo Jingyao decided to keep pushing forward with the job.

The training area in the basement had no windows, and time was nearly impossible to track under the rows of dazzling, headache-inducing floodlights.

Only when the trainees erupted into cheers at the end of their last session did she realize it was nearly dinnertime.

She tilted her head slightly, looking up at the repaired lights overhead, and wondered if Lin Jiafan had made any progress.

Just then, her phone vibrated in her pocket, making her heart skip a beat. She glanced at the caller ID and answered right away, lifting the phone to her ear.

“I had the lab compare the photos you sent. None of the handwriting matches the letters Huang Guifen received,” came Lin Jiafan’s voice.

No match? Luo Jingyao pouted in disappointment.

“Coach Luo, your investigation at the camp is complete. No need to return tomorrow. Once you’re done today, head straight home, alright?” Lin Jiafan reminded her, sounding concerned.

“Mm.” She responded vaguely, though deep down, she couldn’t shake the feeling that this matter wasn’t over yet.

Even if those five people weren’t the copycat, then how exactly were they connected to Huang Guifen?

“As for the rest, the police will continue to investigate. There’s no need for you to worry about it anymore, Coach Luo,” Lin Jiafan said once more, clearly still uneasy.

“You should have Pang Guangbuyi look into Boss Jiang again,” Luo Jingyao replied abruptly, offering no context before decisively hanging up the call.

Immediately after, she strode forward quickly and caught up with Xiao Ping, who was heading toward the cafeteria. Flashing him a bright, beaming smile, she asked:

“Got time?”

“How about going out for a drink?”