At 10:30 p.m., the dormitory guard at Jiangcheng University's Building A3 was just about to lock the main gate when he spotted a figure in a black trench coat sprinting toward him from the distance.
"Uncle! Hold the door, please!" the young man shouted breathlessly.
The guard, half-asleep, mumbled in confusion, "Hold the door… or hold *you*?"
"Either's fine—just don't leave me outside!" With that desperate plea, the boy finally reached the entrance, bent over with hands on his knees, gasping for air.
The guard squinted, then his expression hardened. "It's you again, Tang Lingyi! Why are you coming back so late *every single day*?!"
"I've got work, Uncle," Tang Lingyi grinned sheepishly.
"Still that hotel waiter job of yours?" The guard frowned, his gray eyebrows knitting together. Tang Lingyi had used this exact excuse more times than he could count.
"Yep, yep!" Seeing the guard actually buying it, Tang Lingyi nodded vigorously and pointed past him. "Can I go in now, Uncle?"
"Hurry up! I still need to shut off the power," the guard grumbled, waving him in impatiently.
At Jiangcheng University, it was policy: at 10:30 p.m., not only was the dorm gate locked, but the electricity to the entire building was cut off—to prevent accidents and stop students from staying up all night gaming.
"Oh, right, Uncle—remember to leave the power on for Room 203! I've got homework to finish when I get back," Tang Lingyi added smoothly. As he spoke, he slipped something soft from his pocket into the guard's coat and gave him a meaningful eyebrow wiggle—the universal "you know what this is" look.
"You're too kind, Xiao Tang. Even without this, I'd still leave it on for you," the guard chuckled, patting his pocket. Judging by the size and soft packaging, it was a pack of premium cigarettes. His eyes crinkled with delight.
Tang Lingyi had always been likable—handsome features, outgoing personality—it was hard not to take a shine to him.
"Aw, gotta show my appreciation somehow! Don't mention it, Uncle. I'm heading up!" With that, Tang Lingyi slipped inside.
Once the guard saw him disappear up the stairs, he locked the gate, went to the electrical room, and deliberately left the power on for Room 203. Back in his own room, he pulled out the "gift," ready to enjoy a well-earned smoke.
But when he saw what was in his hand, his smile froze.
Tang Lingyi returned to Room 203 to find his three roommates already in bed, lights off, scrolling on their phones before sleep.
"You're back, Yi-ge! How was your date with your girlfriend?" Su Weiqun, the roommate closest to the door, called out casually from under his thin blanket.
Whenever Tang Lingyi went out on missions, he told the dorm guard he was working, but told his roommates he was out with a girlfriend—though in truth, he'd never even held a girl's hand. He was as single as they came.
"Mm," Tang Lingyi grunted, then gave Su's butt a playful slap. "Why're you in bed so early? Get up and party!"
"Party what? Power's out. Time to sleep."
"What power? Not tonight! I said so! Let's play a couple rounds!"
"No way—it's true? Yi-ge, you're legendary! Did you sweet-talk the guard again?" The other roommates, sharp-eared as ever, immediately hopped out of bed and booted up their computers.
"Of course! Under my overwhelming charm, the old man didn't even dare complain," Tang Lingyi boasted—just as his phone rang.
He answered with a flourish.
"Tang Lingyi, you little brat! If you ever try to bribe me with *paper napkins* again, don't even think about getting power left on!" The guard's furious voice blasted through the speaker, audible to everyone in the room.
"Oh," Tang Lingyi replied coolly, then hung up.
An eerie silence fell over the dorm.
After a long pause, someone finally asked, "Yi-ge… can we laugh?"
"Go ahead."
The moment he gave permission, the room erupted in laughter.
...
**The Next Day**
The alarm clock had to ring three times before Tang Lingyi finally stirred. Even with his eyes open, his bleary, half-asleep expression made it clear his brain hadn't fully rebooted yet.
No wonder—he and his roommates had stayed up until 2 a.m. gaming, thanks to the uninterrupted power. That didn't exactly mesh well with their 8 a.m. class.
Still, by sheer willpower, the four of them dragged themselves to the lecture hall at 8 a.m. like zombies.
Of course, paying attention in class was out of the question—their minds were still replaying yesterday's epic comeback victory in-game.
Tang Lingyi was majoring in Digital Media, and today's class was 3D modeling. He'd already decided he'd just ask a classmate for a finished file after class.
Luckily, he was now a third-year student—by this point, professors were used to students phoning it in. As long as attendance was decent, most teachers couldn't be bothered to care.
So there they were—the four "ambitious" young men—huddled in the back row, secretly scrolling on their phones.
"Holy crap, Yi-ge! Check this news—last night, someone calling himself 'Phantom Thief Xiao Jie' stole classified files from Huahai Center and left a calling card!" Hua Yujie exclaimed, showing his phone screen.
Because Tang Lingyi had skipped a year in school, he was older than his roommates, who all respectfully called him "Yi-ge" ("Big Bro Yi").
"Oh, that was me," Tang Lingyi mumbled, face still buried in his arms on the desk.
"Dude, you're still half-asleep. Just because you happened to be out the same night doesn't mean you're the thief," his roommate chuckled, utterly unconvinced.
And that was precisely why Tang Lingyi dared to tell the truth—because no one would ever believe him.
After all, this was an age where truth was ignored, and only fantasies were trusted.
"Man, why does my feed keep pushing random nonsense like this?" Hua Yujie scrolled further. "'Tian Yu-shu, chairman of Tianye Group, announces his daughter Tian Suqing is suspected of an affair and has fled overseas.' Who even *is* this? Why am I getting news about some stranger I don't know? I'm blocking this… Wait—damn, she's actually gorgeous! Look, Yi-ge!"
Tang Lingyi glanced over. Sure enough, the young woman in the photo was stunningly beautiful—just as Hua Yujie said.
But…
Was it his imagination, or did she look oddly familiar?
Shrugging it off, Tang Lingyi spent the rest of the morning napping on his desk. By lunchtime, he finally felt somewhat human again.
Since they had no afternoon classes, he planned to grab lunch with his roommates and head back to the dorm for another glorious gaming session.
When the organization wasn't assigning espionage missions, Tang Lingyi's life was indistinguishable from that of any other lazy college student.
They settled into a fast-food restaurant and were about to order when his phone rang again.
Seeing the contact labeled "Long Ge," Tang Lingyi's brow furrowed slightly.
Calls from Long Ge never meant good news—but he couldn't ignore it. After all, Long Ge was his primary link to the organization.
"Hey, Long Ge?"
"Lingyi, get back here now! Something's happened at HQ!"
At those words, Tang Lingyi froze.