The next morning, An Xin arrived at the club activity room as usual.
As soon as she entered, she saw everyone in a panic. With a puzzled expression, she spoke softly,
“What happened? Why is everyone so anxious?”
“Something terrible, senior! The sound card and monitoring headphones are gone.” Hua Manyue, who was searching under her own seat, looked worried.
“Then it’s probably theft,” An Xin said with a slight frown, pretending to know nothing about it.
Chu Xiaoxiao, who should have been resting at home but for some reason was at the crime scene, gave an almost imperceptible shudder when she heard the word “theft.”
She subconsciously glanced at Ling Cheng, who looked dejected, and a wave of guilt surged through her.
‘I have to apologize nonstop in my heart,’ she thought, biting her lip. ‘Once my voice recovers, I’ll confess. No matter how Ling Cheng punishes me then, I’ll accept it.’
‘But not yet. I absolutely won’t let An Xin take my place.’
Just then, An Xin walked over to the window of the club activity room.
“A Chen, when you came in this morning, was the door damaged at all?”
“No, the door was still locked tight when I got here.” Ling Cheng sat down on a chair, equally deflated. If the equipment really was gone, buying new stuff would be another big expense.
“I see. In that case, A Chen, come with me to buy new equipment.”
“Huh? But…” Ling Cheng looked confused by her suggestion. He didn’t understand what was going on.
But after meeting An Xin’s gaze, he still followed her out.
Before leaving, An Xin said to the other two, “Xiaoxiao and junior, you two go home and rest today. A Chen and I will buy the equipment and continue tomorrow.”
After they left the school, Ling Cheng couldn’t hold back his confusion. “Why are we going straight out to buy equipment? We could look some more…”
“We’re buying surveillance equipment first. I have a feeling she’ll come again.”
“What do you mean? Are you implying they did it?” Ling Cheng didn’t want to think that way.
“I’m not saying they definitely did it, A Chen. But since the doors and windows were intact, it’s a possibility.” An Xin tried hard to steer the script in her intended direction.
“Besides, once we buy it, the whole activity room will be more secure from now on.”
“Fine.” Ling Cheng thought about it—she wasn’t wrong.
Since a theft had already occurred once, it was best to take precautions.
But the game funds they’d just earned over the weekend were about to be spent again.
An Xin led Ling Cheng to a store in the corner of a shopping mall. She seemed very familiar with the place, walking straight to a specific counter to pick out cameras.
The store had many hidden cameras. For example, An Xin was currently looking at one that looked like a power bank.
It could work without an internet connection and temporarily store recordings.
“An Xin, are you very familiar with this place?” Ling Cheng asked, amazed by how smoothly she was handling the purchase.
“No, A Chen. I just looked up some guides online,” An Xin quickly denied.
“Then let’s go buy a sound card. Another big expense.” Ling Cheng sighed helplessly. Luckily, Lin Wanfeng had been funding them along the way.
Otherwise, they’d really be starting their venture only to have the capital chain snap halfway.
Soon they arrived at the place where Ling Cheng had bought equipment before.
“Boss, I’ll take the same brand of sound card again.”
The plump middle-aged shop owner glanced at Ling Cheng and seemed to recognize him. “Young man, you change equipment as fast as you change girlfriends. Your new girlfriend is pretty too.”
“You sure know how to talk,” Ling Cheng said with a twitch of his mouth.
The owner actually looked proud. “Of course! Every neighbor near my house says I’m smooth-tongued. They say I speak like my mouth’s dipped in honey.”
“Forget it. Actually, neither of them is my…”
Before Ling Cheng could deny it, he suddenly felt a sharp twist on the soft flesh of his waist.
“Hiss—” He couldn’t help sucking in cold air. An Xin’s grip was brutal.
“Hey, boss, what did my boyfriend’s last ‘girlfriend’ look like?” An Xin’s face was all smiles, but her icy tone carried plenty of danger.
“Last time? She was about 5’3”, with twin ponytails…”
The more details the owner gave, the better An Xin’s expression became. Wasn’t that exactly Chu Xiaoxiao? She already knew from the surveillance footage.
“It’s fine, boss. I already know who my boyfriend cheated with. If it’s an older sister, I can accept it.” After taking the items Ling Cheng had just bought, An Xin put on a pitiful look.
After hearing such a thunderous remark, the fat owner’s gaze toward Ling Cheng instantly changed—filled with contempt and indignation, and even a hint of jealousy.
“No, I…” Ling Cheng tried to defend himself, but An Xin had already pulled him away.
“An Xin!” Ling Cheng was on the verge of tears. He felt like he’d been socially ruined.
“What’s wrong, cheating boyfriend?” An Xin joked half-seriously.
“That’s not it at all! One, I’m not your boyfriend. Two, I didn’t cheat.”
“Sorry, sorry. I needed material for my manga. The opportunity was too good, so I couldn’t help it.”
Seeing An Xin’s sincere expression, Ling Cheng didn’t say anything more. After all, he knew she was serializing a manga and needed to gather material.
“By the way, if your lover really did cheat, An Xin, how would you react?” Ling Cheng chatted idly on the way back.
“Cheating? I probably wouldn’t have the heart to scold him or hurt him.” An Xin squinted, lost in thought.
“You’re that love-struck? You’d be easy for a scumbag to deceive.” Ling Cheng felt that fit the An Xin he knew—a naive, airheaded introverted girl.
An Xin just smiled shyly at his reaction, without voicing the second half of her thought.
‘If my boyfriend cheats, first I’ll take care of the thieving cat who seduced him. Then, to prevent him from doing it again, I’ll lock him up.’
When they returned to the club activity room, they found Chu Xiaoxiao and Hua Manyue still there.
“Senior, senior! You’re back!” Hua Manyue’s eyes lit up when she saw Ling Cheng, and she immediately stood up to greet him.
It gave Ling Cheng the feeling of a lively puppy at home.
“Manyue~ The new equipment is bought. This time we need to lock the doors and windows properly. Last time, they might have been stolen because we didn’t secure them.”
As she spoke, An Xin casually placed the surveillance equipment she had bought on her desk.
Chu Xiaoxiao’s heart tightened when she saw the new equipment. She instinctively touched her throat.
‘And I still can’t speak. Will I have to do it again?’
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