Suddenly Became a Boy – What Should I Do? - Chapter 54.2

Though this lead was a dead end, Cheng Shiyin wasn’t ready to give up. Her mind raced with determination as she mapped out a plan to uncover Lin Xin’s whereabouts.

She approached the staff, claiming that she had been in A015 earlier but had accidentally left her wallet behind. Since the current guests hadn’t seen it, she suspected it might have been taken by a staff member and asked to check the security footage.

The staff member frowned at the request, clearly preparing a rehearsed excuse to deny her access, likely something about company policy. But before they could speak, Cheng Shiyin raised her phone and said, “Hello, Urban Hotline?”

The staff member immediately stopped Cheng Shiyin, adopting a more pleasant demeanor. “This way, please.”

Leading the way, he nervously wiped sweat from his face, thinking, “What’s with this girl’s impatience? She didn’t even let me speak before threatening to call the news. Is she hoping to squeeze out some free gifts from worried onlookers?”

Cheng Shiyin and Wu Lian were soon ushered into the surveillance room without further resistance.

Inside, a lazy staff member sat with his back to them. His ill-fitting uniform was stained and wrinkled, and he was fiddling with his phone, chuckling quietly at whatever he was watching.

The sound of the door opening startled him. Panicking, he hastily pocketed his phone and pressed a button on the control panel, his movements hurried and clumsy as the feed for one of the rooms abruptly went dark.

The staff member who had escorted Cheng Shiyin and Wu Lian immediately scolded the lazy one, shouting at him while alternating between apologies to Cheng Shiyin and Wu Lian.

But Cheng Shiyin had already seen enough. She turned to Wu Lian, saying only two words, “Call 911.”

With that, she bolted from the room to find the location of the disabled camera feed. Wu Lian didn’t hesitate, pinning the lazy staffer to the ground before he could flee.

The connection was clear—this staff member was complicit in Gu Nian’s plan, and Lin Xin was undeniably in danger.

Cheng Shiyin soon found the room in question, tucked away in a hidden corner. The sign on the door read “A015,” identical to the karaoke room they had visited earlier.

The door was barricaded from the outside with just three chairs. Though simple, the obstacle was perfectly positioned to make it impossible for Lin Xin to push the door open from inside and escape the trap.

Gu Nian had already left, but Lin Xin’s unease had only grown stronger. His entire body was covered in goosebumps, the hairs on his legs standing straight up as though bracing him for the terror to come.

He decided he couldn’t wait any longer. Whatever Ying Lun or the student council had planned no longer mattered.

He needed to leave—now.

But just as Lin Xin took his first step, his legs gave out beneath him. He collapsed to the ground, his strength utterly drained.

He tried to use his hands to push himself up, but they failed him too. Now completely limp, he lay sprawled on the floor.

The truth was undeniable. Every event that had unfolded today had been part of Gu Nian’s meticulously crafted scheme, leaving no room for coincidence. Lin Xin was nothing but a hapless prey, led step by step toward the surface by bait he should have recognized as a trap. He hadn’t even seen the net before it dragged him up, leaving him utterly defeated.

Frustration filled Lin Xin’s heart, but he couldn’t muster the energy to slap himself awake. His strength ebbed further, and even his consciousness began to blur.

Just as his eyes were about to close, a sharp and stinging slap jolted him back to reality, snapping him out of his dazed state. The force was stronger than anything he could have delivered to himself.

Dazed, Lin Xin glanced up and saw the perpetrator—it was Gu Nian.

The stinging pain on his cheeks jolted him into an unsettling clarity, sharpening his awareness of his predicament. He opened his mouth to ask what it would take for Gu Nian to let him go, but before he could speak, Gu Nian grabbed his face and shoved something into his mouth.

The substance dissolved instantly in his saliva, leaving Lin Xin no chance to spit it out.

“This is the good stuff,” Gu Nian said, crouching in front of him with a sickening grin.