There’re Always Paranoid Thoughts to Monopolize Me - Chapter 17.1

The next day after dinner, Qin Ke received a message from the bulletin board group notifying her of a meeting at nine in the evening.

At that moment, she was walking back to the dormitory with Gu Xinqing. As soon as the message tone sounded, the already tense Gu Xinqing immediately turned her head and stared intently at Qin Ke’s phone.

Qin Ke was amused by her exaggerated reaction.

“Why are you so nervous?”

Hearing this, Gu Xinqing wrinkled her face bitterly.

“Ke Ke, shouldn’t I be the one asking you? Such a big issue, being schemed against so maliciously, how can you not be nervous at all?”

“I’m not the one doing something wrong, so why should I be nervous?”

Qin Ke smiled gently.

Gu Xinqing gave her a thumbs-up, “You’re really broad-minded. If I knew someone was so ‘concerned’ about me, I definitely wouldn’t be able to sleep at night.”

Qin Ke smiled and said nothing.

——

Having already witnessed the more vicious and unscrupulous sides of Qin Yan in her previous life, Qin Ke really didn’t find this minor scheme surprising.

“How is it, Ke Ke, is it…?”

“Yes.” Qin Ke nodded lightly, putting away her phone after reading the message.

“…”

Gu Xinqing’s expression was complicated, “Qin Yan is really ruthless to you. Even if you two aren’t related by blood, you’ve known each other for so many years, yet she can still do such things…”

Qin Ke didn’t comment.

After walking a bit further towards the dormitory, Qin Ke suddenly thought of something. She took out her phone and checked the call history from last night with Gu Xinqing.

Her fingers moved, and she deleted that entry.

Gu Xinqing saw this.

“Are you worried…?”

Qin Ke smiled slightly and tilted her head.

“Just in case.”

Gu Xinqing was completely impressed by her caution.

As the two walked down the sandy path next to the temporary school building in Area A, just as they stepped off the stairs, the sharp-eyed Gu Xinqing discreetly nudged Qin Ke’s elbow.

Qin Ke understood and looked up.

“Xiao Ke.”

Qin Yan smiled as she walked over from the entrance of Qin Ke’s dormitory.

“I’ve been waiting for you for a long time.”

Qin Ke’s eyes flickered.

She looked seriously at Qin Yan and her bright and gentle smile—if she hadn’t already been completely disappointed in this person, she thought she might have asked Qin Yan: What exactly did I do to make you hate me so deeply, to the point where you wish to crush my bones and scatter the ashes?

However, Qin Ke didn’t say anything in the end.

She only asked, “Sister, is there something you need?”

A trace of hesitation flashed in Qin Yan’s eyes, but it quickly faded. She showed an apologetic smile.

“I accidentally dropped my phone into the sink today, and now it won’t turn on. I haven’t called home yet to let them know I’m safe… So, Xiao Ke, can I borrow your phone for now?”

Qin Ke paused.

Qin Yan quickly added, “I’ll bring it back to you after I make the call tonight.”

“No problem.”

Qin Ke took her phone out of her pocket and handed it over. “You can use it.”

“…Thank you, Xiao Ke.”

Qin Yan took the phone, her eyes showing a moment of panic, which she quickly suppressed.

She turned and hurriedly waved to Qin Ke, “I’ll head back now.”

“…”

Watching Qin Yan leave, Gu Xinqing, who had been holding a tense expression, spat lightly.

“What a scummy sister.”

Then Gu Xinqing turned back, worried, “Ke Ke, are you really going tonight?”

“Of course.” Qin Ke blinked and smiled lightly, “We’ve already prepared everything; we just need you to bring the final piece.”

“But I’m still a bit worried about you… That Gao Hao seems decent, but who knows what bad things he might do to pursue you?”

Qin Ke joked, “Don’t worry, I’ve trained for this.”

“…”

Gu Xinqing hesitated.

Their plan was already discussed, so she wasn’t too worried about that.

However, about Huo Jun…

Gu Xinqing glanced at the senior building in Area C, feeling conflicted.

—He had been behaving for a day, and there was no word of Huo Jun causing any trouble.

So, there shouldn’t be any problems, right?

****

At nine in the evening, Qin Ke arrived punctually outside the bulletin board group’s tool room.

The tool room was located in a few isolated small houses in the southwest corner of the entire military training base. Even outside, there were only a few sparse lights, dimly illuminating the area from several dozen meters away.

If it were late at night, no one would hear you even if you shouted at the top of your lungs.

…They sure knew how to pick a place.

Qin Ke thought mockingly.

Knowing that Qin Yan was likely hiding in the shadows of one of the houses, Qin Ke didn’t pause and walked straight into the tool room.

She pushed the door open, and sure enough, Gao Hao was the only one inside.

Sitting behind the desk, Gao Hao looked up in surprise when he heard the noise, “Qin Xue-mei, what brings you here?”

Qin Ke showed no emotion, “I received a message from the bulletin board group…”

“Oh, that. I’m really sorry, there was a small issue with the bulletin board design this time, so I sent a notification to cancel it—didn’t you get the message?”

A trace of mocking amusement flashed in Qin Ke’s eyes but quickly vanished.

She paused, “My phone is with someone else.”

As soon as Qin Ke finished speaking, a look of relief appeared in Gao Hao’s eyes.

She pretended to turn around—

“In that case, I’ll head back first. Goodbye, senior.”

Almost as soon as Qin Ke finished speaking, the wooden door behind her closed with a “thud.”

Immediately after, the sound of a lock being secured was heard.

A few seconds later, someone ran away from the door.

The girl, half-facing the door, seemed stunned, standing still without moving.

Behind the desk, Gao Hao quickly adjusted his expression and hurriedly got up, feigning surprise as he ran to the door—

“There’s someone in here! Don’t lock the door!”

“……”

“Is anyone outside?”

“……”

“Can anyone hear me——”

“……”

Gao Hao shouted earnestly, naturally not noticing that behind him, the girl who, according to his and Qin Yan’s plan, should have been panicking, was instead watching him with remarkable calmness and even a bit of indifference.

After shouting for a while, Gao Hao turned around with a look of helplessness.

“Whoever it was must be brainless, or someone played a prank on us…”

He sighed, sneaking a glance at Qin Ke’s expression, “Junior sister Qin, I left my phone in the dormitory—do you have yours? If so, call your classmate or friend to have someone come and open the door for us.”

Qin Ke shook her head.

“My phone was borrowed.”

Hearing this, Gao Hao’s eyes relaxed, but he kept a tense expression.

“Ah? What do we do then?”

The corners of Qin Ke’s mouth lifted slightly, her smile as faint as a dandelion puff.

“No problem, let’s sit for a while… someone might come by later.”

With that, the girl gave a faint smile and walked directly to the table.