Chapter 19: The Background Check

Lin Ci sat on a chair and drank more than half of the plain rice porridge in one go.

He stuffed the peeled egg into his mouth, then patted his stomach in satisfaction.

The porridge had no pickles, but it warmed his belly on an early morning.

This girl peeled eggs really well. Not a single piece of shell was left.

Lin Ci closed the insulated lunch box and looked at the sticky note on the desk.

He felt puzzled.

Why is she so obedient this time?

She used to be so stubborn, running around outside until midnight for a few bucks.

Then one day he casually complained that the skewer shop was unsafe, and she actually quit her part-time job.

How come he never noticed she was this docile before?

Lin Ci shook his head, folded the note, and stuffed it into his pants pocket.

He stood up to wash up.

When he passed Gu Mianmian’s bed, he saw the jacket he had draped over her last night, folded neatly beside her pillow.

Lin Ci reached for the jacket and found a strand of hair on the collar.

It clearly wasn’t his.

Lin Ci picked up the hair and looked at it.

This girl is too restless in her sleep. She even got hair on my jacket.

He threw the hair into the trash, put on the jacket, and went into the bathroom.

He stood before the mirror and washed up.

He looked at his face in the mirror and scratched his hair in irritation.

Those straight guys who stare at me every day really get a free show.

And being a woman is such a hassle. Even washing my face requires care.

After washing up, Lin Ci had just returned to his seat when his phone buzzed.

It was a text from an unknown number.

[Hello, Student Lin Ci. This is the Jiangcheng University Poverty Student Foundation.]

[Regarding the financial aid review for your roommate Gu Mianmian, we need your help filling in some supplementary information.]

A questionnaire link was attached below.

Lin Ci clicked the link, puzzled.

Are questionnaires this ridiculously detailed now?

It even asked for the orphanage name, whether she had birthmarks, whether she had donated blood recently.

Are scammers this hardcore these days?

He had seen plenty of scam tricks in the male dorm before.

But the sender knew Gu Mianmian’s exact name and had checked dorm assignment info. This wasn’t a mass scam.

Lin Ci copied the link and used his computer to trace the domain registration.

A few seconds later, the search results popped up.

The other party was no university foundation at all.

It was an organization called Jingsheng Human Resources.

And it was a headhunting and background check firm registered in the capital, serving multinational corporations and high-end families.

The more Lin Ci looked, the more wrong it felt.

Gu Mianmian was just a sophomore orphan who could barely afford food.

Why would a company like this investigate her?

Could she have offended someone important, or did this girl have a hidden background even she didn’t know about?

Lin Ci thought it over and screenshotted the text and information, saving them to a private album.

He decided not to mention it to Gu Mianmian for now.

The girl was already timid and sensitive. If she knew someone was secretly investigating her, she’d probably sleep even worse at night.

Lin Ci closed the webpage and decided to keep an eye out himself.

At noon, the dorm door was pushed open.

Gu Mianmian walked in carrying a stack of books.

She wasn’t wearing a hat today. Her long hair fell neatly over her shoulders.

Seeing Lin Ci, Gu Mianmian hurried over and held her phone screen up to him.

“Senior, look.”

Her voice sounded a little happy.

Lin Ci leaned back half a step and read the screen.

It was a job offer from the library.

“You passed the interview?”

Lin Ci asked with a smile.

Gu Mianmian nodded.

“Yeah. Evening part-time shelver, eight to ten at night.”

“Even though the pay is half of the skewer shop, but…”

She paused there.

“But what?”

Lin Ci raised an eyebrow.

“But Senior said safety is more important than money.”

Gu Mianmian looked at her toes, fingers twisting the hem of her shirt.

“I’ll remember.”

Lin Ci looked at her meek expression, and his heart softened.

This girl was usually gloomy, but when she was obedient, she was actually quite endearing.

“Good girl. The skewer shop has all kinds of people. A little girl like you isn’t safe there.”

“The library is much safer, and staying in the library is definitely better than standing outside in the wind.”

Lin Ci stood up and rubbed her head.

“From now on, when you get off at ten, wait for me. I’ll come pick you up.”

“No need to trouble Senior. I can come back by myself.”

Gu Mianmian waved her hands quickly.

“I told you to wait, so wait. Stop with the nonsense.”

Lin Ci put on his senior authority.

“If you run into some bad guy on the way, where am I supposed to find another roommate?”

Gu Mianmian lowered her head, and the corner of her mouth curved up slightly.

“Okay. I’ll listen to Senior.”

At two in the afternoon, Lin Ci had a major class.

He packed his textbooks and walked out of the dorm building with Gu Mianmian.

The two walked along the tree-lined path toward the teaching building.

As they passed the administration building, Lin Ci suddenly stopped.

In the visitor parking spot in front of the building was a business car.

The license plate was from the capital, with an eye-catching lucky tail number.

In Jiangcheng, luxury cars with capital plates weren’t common.

The passenger window was half open.

A woman in professional attire was holding a folder stamped with the Jiangcheng University emblem.

She was speaking softly into her phone.

The alarm in Lin Ci’s mind snapped tight.

The capital plate, the administration building, the woman investigating school records.

It all matched the background check company link from this morning too well.

Someone was investigating Gu Mianmian, and they had already gotten into the school.

Lin Ci quickly pulled Gu Mianmian to walk faster.

“Senior, what’s wrong?”

Gu Mianmian noticed something off and asked softly.

“Nothing. Class is starting. Walk faster.”

Lin Ci brushed it off.

His mind was a mess.

If it was Gu Mianmian’s family looking for her, that would be good. But what if it was an enemy?

Before figuring out their intentions, he absolutely couldn’t let Gu Mianmian be exposed to danger.

Entering the lecture hall, Lin Ci found a seat by the window.

He didn’t hear a word of the lecture, his eyes fixed outside.

From this angle, he could just see the parking spot in front of the administration building.

About half an hour later, the business car slowly started and drove out the school gate.

Lin Ci let out a breath, but his worry didn’t fade.

He took out his phone and opened his chat with Gu Mianmian.

Gu Mianmian sat right beside him, head down, writing notes seriously.

Lin Ci typed a line.

Don’t go anywhere after class today. Come back to the dorm with me.

Message sent.

Gu Mianmian’s phone buzzed beside him.

She glanced at the screen, then turned to Lin Ci with a puzzled look.

Lin Ci said nothing, only gestured with his eyes for her to look at the phone.

Gu Mianmian lowered her head, fingers flying across the screen.

 Okay.

Three seconds later, another message.

 Senior, did something happen?

Lin Ci looked at the words on the screen, fingers hovering over the input box for a long time.

He typed and deleted, then deleted and typed again.

He didn’t want the girl to be scared.

Nothing. Be good.

Lin Ci replied only that.

Gu Mianmian stared straight at the words “be good.” She suddenly went quiet and didn’t reply.

After Lin Ci turned back to the lecture, Gu Mianmian steadied her rapid breathing.

She carefully screenshotted the chat and saved it to the encrypted album on her phone.

In that album were already more than a dozen photos of Lin Ci and bits of conversation.

Her fingertip gently stroked the reply through the screen.

“Senior told me to be good.”

Gu Mianmian murmured softly, the corner of her mouth curving into a dark, satisfied smile.

“Then I’ll only listen to Senior.”

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