Tang Lingyi froze for a split second—but he didn't show any panic. Instead, he slowly came to a halt.
"Were… you calling me?" Tang Lingyi parted his cherry-red lips, and a soft, melodic feminine voice floated out.
Since he was already dressed as a woman, of course he knew how to mimic a female voice—he subtly raised his pitch just enough to sound convincingly girlish.
As an elite phantom thief, panicking and running away now would be the worst possible move. For one, he wasn't built for sprinting; for another, he was wearing seven-centimeter heels. Trying to outrun these bodyguard types—men who literally earned their living with their physical strength—was pure fantasy.
And fighting? Even more impossible. Though he'd picked up some basic hand-to-hand combat training in the organization, facing four or five burly men at once was hopeless—unless he happened to be Ip Man himself, capable of taking on ten opponents single-handedly.
So what should he do now?
Simple. Just one word:
Deceive!
If he could trick them, he'd walk out of here without a scratch.
The black-suited men all stiffened slightly at the sound of that gentle voice, their expressions softening involuntarily. Even their tone grew milder:
"No… no problem, miss. I just wanted to let you know—your jacket's caught in your skirt."
"Huh?" Tang Lingyi turned around in feigned surprise, then saw that his coat really was tucked into his skirt. He quickly fixed it, cheeks flushing slightly as he mumbled, "Sorry… I must've dressed in a hurry."
Though partly an act, his embarrassment was genuine—after all, this was a serious blunder for a phantom thief of his caliber.
The guards exchanged glances. Their leader waved a hand dismissively. "Ah… no need to apologize, miss. We were just pointing it out."
"Mm-hmm, thanks so much! Bye-bye~" Tang Lingyi raised one hand, palm outstretched, and twirled it playfully in the air—a cute little wave—before turning calmly and strutting away with elegant, unhurried steps.
At a moment like this, his gait had to be relaxed, natural… even a little sassy.
He'd pulled off countless escapes like this before; his nerves were now as steady as bedrock. He still remembered his very first time cross-dressing to flee—he'd been so nervous his legs had trembled uncontrollably.
The guards stood there dumbfounded, watching the "young lady's" retreating figure.
One finally broke the silence: "Do you think she's… you know… one of *those* girls? Coming out of a hotel like that, not even dressed properly…"
"Huh? You called her 'miss'—I thought you were just being polite, like how we say 'driver, sir' to taxi guys."
"I'm not *that* blunt! But seriously, someone who looks like her… must charge a pretty penny, right?"
"For sure. At least this much." The man held up fingers to indicate a number.
"Holy crap, that expensive!?"
"What'd you expect? Anyway, let's just focus on our job. If we catch that data thief today, maybe we'll get to enjoy some of that 'good fortune' ourselves."
"Got it!"
Unaware that the very "good fortune" they dreamed of had just slipped right past them, the guards kept pumping each other up for their imaginary future.
Meanwhile, after walking several blocks with perfect nonchalance, Tang Lingyi hailed a taxi and slid into the back seat.
"Driver, please take me to Meishilin."
"Sure thing," the driver replied, glancing at him through the rearview mirror. "Just so you know, this car has full video surveillance—no need to worry, miss."
Tang Lingyi, who'd been scrolling on his phone, paused mid-swipe. Then, covering his mouth with a delicate laugh, he deliberately deepened his voice and said, "Don't worry, sir… because I'm actually a guy."
"What the—?!" The driver whipped his head around so fast his local accent slipped out. "Now you've got me worried!"
Half an hour later, the taxi pulled up near Meishilin.
Meishilin was a scenic natural reserve—and the designated meeting spot with Long Ge was right by the landmark stone engraved with "Meishilin."
Tang Lingyi jogged over to the stone, where Long Ge—dressed head to toe in leather—was already waiting.
Long Ge's real name was Li Tianlong, about twenty-five years old, tall and broad-shouldered. Known for stealing classified documents and then escaping from skyscrapers using a wingsuit, he'd earned the nickname "Sky Dragon" within the organization.
"Long Ge~" Tang Lingyi called out in an exaggeratedly sweet female voice as he approached. He knew Long Ge was a lifelong single—twenty-something, zero dating experience, practically allergic to girls. Rumor had it no girl had ever even called him by name before. Since Tang Lingyi happened to be in full drag, he couldn't resist teasing him.
Li Tianlong had been checking his phone when he heard a girl's voice call his name. His whole body jolted involuntarily, eyes lighting up as he spun around eagerly—only to deflate instantly.
"Hey, cutie, were you— Wait, *what the hell*? It's you again?!"
They'd known each other since they were kids—over twenty years. No matter how flawless Tang Lingyi's disguise was (and it could fool most of the world), Li Tianlong saw right through it every time.
"Who else would it be? Did you really think some random girl would come up and talk to you?" Tang Lingyi kept using his feminine voice—it was safer while he was still in public dressed like this.
He handed Li Tianlong the USB drive from his skirt pocket. "Mission complete. Tell Sister Yang to deposit my allowance."
"Go check your bank balance yourself—has Sister Yang ever missed a payment?" Li Tianlong rolled his eyes.
"True enough. Alright, I'm off, Long Ge."
"Where to? You haven't been back to HQ in ages. Come with me this time—Sister Yang misses you."
"Nah, I've got classes tomorrow."
"Oh, right—I almost forgot you're still a college student." Li Tianlong nodded. "Be careful on your way. Come visit during break."
"No problem." Tang Lingyi turned with an easy wave and strolled off into the distance.
Li Tianlong watched his retreating figure—the sway of his hips, the grace in his steps. Honestly, was his disguise just *that* perfect? From behind, there was absolutely no telling if he was male or female.
Most members of their organization were phantom thieves, each with their own signature escape method. Li Tianlong favored wingsuits for high-altitude getaways, while Tang Lingyi specialized in switching from male to female personas to vanish in plain sight.
Because of this, Tang Lingyi had earned the nickname "Bang Di Tu" within the group—
a playful reference to the line from the ancient poem *The Ballad of Mulan*:
*"Two rabbits run side by side—how can you tell which is male or female?"*
Plus, since Tang Lingyi was born in 1999—the Year of the Rabbit—the name stuck.
Just then, Li Tianlong suddenly remembered something and called out urgently:
"Hey, Lingyi! You're not planning to go back to campus dressed like *that*, are you?"
Far ahead, Tang Lingyi stopped dead in his tracks.
"Oh crap—I totally forgot! Thanks, Long Ge!"
"…"