Chapter 45: Everything is ready

“Oh, it’s fine. I’ll have the makeup artist change your look as much as possible so no one will recognize you.”

Dad still wouldn’t give up.

He knew Gu Chen would likely refuse, but there was no better way at the moment.

“I said… this isn’t up for debate!!!”

Gu Chen clenched her fists in anger, nearly flipping the table.

It was one thing to make those eighteen-plus products; as long as it didn’t involve her, she didn’t care.

But now he wanted her to cross-dress to promote an inflatable doll?

That was just… taking a dump on his own kid!!!

Not waiting for Dad to speak further, she lost her appetite, ducked into her room, and locked the door.

‘Dad has probably been cooped up at home for too long; his mind isn’t right anymore…’

Whatever.

Gu Chen would never agree to something so embarrassing!

If outsiders found out about Dad’s inflatable doll business… then she would have to consider whether to sever… their father-daughter relationship.

Lying back down on the bed, Gu Chen sighed.

Her head throbbed slightly, but the menstrual cramps in her abdomen had eased up a bit.

It wasn’t until around 8:30 PM that she reluctantly left the bed to take a shower before curling back under the covers.

Normally at this time, Gu Chen would have turned on the computer to play a few matches of *Naraka: Bladepoint* or gone on Bilibili to sing “Super Sensitive” with her beloved Jia Ran, but she had no heart for it now.

She simply turned off the lights and went to sleep.

—

On the weekend, Gu Chen managed to sleep in.

She slept from 8:30 PM the previous night until 6:30 PM the next day.

She only forced her eyes open when her phone rang to the tune of “Ji Yin Ni Tai Mei.”

The caller ID showed it was Li Yanqiu.

“Hello, Teacher Li?”

“Gu Chen, are you free? When are you coming to school?”

“What for?”

Gu Chen rolled over, completely bewildered.

Today was Saturday, a day off.

It couldn’t be that the school had suddenly decided to hold make-up classes, could it?

“You brat, I knew you’d forget. Didn’t we talk about it on Thursday? We’re going to lure Wu Peng out tonight and find a way to catch him to resolve the school crisis,” Li Yanqiu reminded her with a dissatisfied tone.

“Oh, right. I remember now.”

She really had forgotten.

She sat up, feeling a bit embarrassed.

But she quickly asked in confusion, “Wait, didn’t you say we needed a blackout to lure him out? I just saw a message in the group chat saying the power came back on at 6:00 PM.”

She had indeed seen people complaining in the class group chat about the power being out since the morning.

The cafeteria hadn’t even opened for lunch, so everyone had to make do with group-buy meals.

The blackout had lasted until the afternoon.

By then, the school’s cameras would have been functional again.

Wu Peng shouldn’t dare to make a move.

“Yeah, but the power went out again less than half an hour after it came back. They said there’s a circuit problem and they’re rushing to repair it. No telling when it’ll be back. I think it’s a good opportunity, so the plan is still on.”

“Huh? For real?”

To be honest, Gu Chen really didn’t want to go.

It didn’t matter during the school week since she was already there.

But on her rare weekends off, she just wanted to lie at home.

Nobody wanted to do anything else.

However, she had already promised Li Yanqiu, and she felt too awkward to back out now.

She could only agree helplessly, saying she would be there soon.

After changing her clothes, Gu Chen dragged her exhausted body out of her room.

Dad was just making dinner.

“Chen, have you come around?”

Dad’s eyes lit up when he saw her wake up.

“I have to head out for something. Eat dinner by yourself! Bye!”

Gu Chen shot him a look of pure disdain and bolted.

—

Because of the power outage and the school’s usual stinginess, it was absolutely impossible for South City High to be equipped with something like a generator.

Night had fallen, and the entire campus was pitch black, carrying a hint of eeriness.

Gu Chen rushed there, finding that even the security booth at the entrance was only lit by a single flashlight.

Fortunately, the stars were shining in the sky, allowing her to barely see the path.

“Whew, it’s actually pretty creepy.”

Passing by the man-made lake—a frequent site for incidents—Gu Chen felt a chill down her spine and couldn’t help but quicken her pace.

The surface of the lake seemed to glow with an eerie green light, as if the Loch Ness Monster might crawl out at any moment!

Arriving at the Faculty Dormitory, Li Yanqiu was already waiting and waved at her.

She was in casual clothes, but they couldn’t hide her anime-like hot figure.

Gu Chen could tell who she was from 1 mile away.

“You’re here. Let’s go. We’ll talk inside,” Li Yanqiu said.

“Uh, the school doesn’t allow students in here.”

Gu Chen felt a bit hesitant.

This was the living quarters for the staff; students weren’t allowed inside without a specific reason.

Furthermore, the floors were separated by gender.

Li Yanqiu’s floor was for female teachers.

She felt that given her current status, it really wasn’t convenient to go in.

“What are you afraid of? It’s pitch black; no one will recognize you.”

“All right.”

Since she’d put it that way, Gu Chen didn’t overthink it.

She followed Li Yanqiu to the third floor of the dormitory.

It was her first time being here.

The staff dormitory was in much better condition than the student ones.

They were all single rooms equipped with their own bathrooms and showers, providing great privacy.

Of course, they had to pay for it.

From teachers to students, everyone tried their best to save every penny.

Keeping her head down the whole way, she arrived at Li Yanqiu’s room.

There was only a desk lamp for illumination, but the light was sufficient.

“Tang Ziya?”

Walking in, she saw the room was nicely decorated with a full set of furniture, all neat and tidy.

It was a private room, after all.

Tang Ziya was also sitting on the sofa; she had arrived earlier than Gu Chen.

“All right, everyone’s here.”

Li Yanqiu smiled and sat on the edge of her bed.

Gu Chen felt it wasn’t appropriate to sit anywhere, so she just stood where she was and exchanged a look with Tang Ziya.

“Teacher Li, when do we start?”

Tang Ziya asked.

She was definitely participating in this.

She had come over in the afternoon to wait, wanting to catch the pervert as soon as possible.

As a member of the school, it was her duty!

“Don’t rush; we still need to discuss the specific plan. The power likely won’t be restored for a while, and it’s already dark outside. Based on what we thought before, we need a suitable person to act as bait to lure the pervert out. We also have to ensure we can stall the guy to prevent him from escaping. Understand?”

Li Yanqiu waved her hand and began analyzing the plan.

“It’s fine, I’ll do it. You two lie in ambush nearby. If anything happens, rush over and grab him.”

Tang Ziya once again volunteered, her attitude firm.

“Class Monitor, it’s not very appropriate for you to be the bait.”

Li Yanqiu shook her head and rejected the suggestion.

“Yeah, I agree,” Gu Chen chimed in.

Her “Nutcracker Kick” was already famous.

Wu Peng probably wouldn’t dare approach her.

They really needed someone else.

“I’m not afraid of danger!”

Tang Ziya looked aggrieved and immediately stood up to state her position.

She thought they were looking down on her.

“Don’t get worked up; that’s not what I meant.”

Li Yanqiu hurried to soothe her.

She then explained, “I’m thinking that if the copycat really is Teacher Wu Peng, it will be very difficult to catch him.”

“He’s a PE Teacher. His physical abilities are stronger than the average person’s. Even if he commits a crime, he’ll be very cautious. It won’t be that easy to catch him slipping up.”

Gu Chen and Tang Ziya exchanged a glance, then looked back at her.

What she said seemed to make a lot of sense.

“Teacher Li, are you saying that guy chooses his targets carefully rather than just attacking anyone who’s alone?”

Gu Chen reacted immediately.

Come to think of it, that guy Wu Peng wasn’t a good person.

His biggest trait was being cautious and careful.

Not only did he avoid leaving slip-ups, he barely even left any evidence for people to talk about.

If there had been even a single flaw, the girls of the entire grade would have filed a collective complaint long ago to get him fired.