Early the next day, Xiaotao sent me a text asking me to drop by the station at 10 to discuss the case. Dali and I took attendance in class, then slipped out the door as soon as our professor looked away.

At the school gates, I saw Lao Yao standing there as if he were waiting for someone. How rare indeed. Lao Yao was a well-known homebody who never left his “cave.”

"Lao Yao, who are you waiting for?" I asked.

Lao Yao’s eyes brightened at the sight of me as he skipped over with a come-hither look. "Xiao Song-song, I’m waiting for you of course!" he flirted.

My head was covered with beads of cold sweat. Being in public certainly didn’t stop this guy from behaving scandalously. I deftly dodged his wandering hands and said, "About what I asked yesterday, did you manage to find out anything?"

"I was waiting just to tell you this,” he said. “I couldn’t find anything and I think the problem lies with the hardware. I was just...