Chapter 4

"What are you doing here?!" Daniel shrieked, his face instantly draining of color.

Principal Bennett eyed me suspiciously. "Not you? Then who's in there?"

I shrugged, feigning ignorance. "I don't know. Daniel called me over; I just got here and haven't seen inside yet."

Since Daniel was deliberately hiding the truth, there was no need for me to expose him.

Just then, several influencers, having gotten the news, pushed past the school security and burst in.

"Whoa, what's happening at your school? Sounds like a big commotion!"

"Principal, has some serious incident occurred?"

"Principal, can you explain the situation to our live audience?"

Principal Bennett's face was chalk-white, her jaw tight, but she said nothing.

Daniel glared at me, finally losing his composure.

He gripped my arm.

"Didn't you go in? Then who was it that went in just now?!"

"I… I got to the door, and the sounds from inside… there were so many men's voices, I got scared. I didn't dare go in…" I tried to look as panicked and helpless as possible.

Daniel was so furious he raised his hand, clearly intending to push me.

But just as his hand was about to make contact, he stopped himself just in time, giving me a vicious glare.

The influencers' cameras turned to us.

The live chat exploded.

"There's a girl crying! Are they bullying a female student?!"

"What are the school security guards doing?!"

"Streamer, call the police now!"

The streamer's face turned serious. "Folks, this situation might be very serious. I've already called the police."

Stepping out of the camera's view, a faint, cold smirk touched my lips towards Daniel.

He gasped, his eyes widening in shock.

"You…"

"Daniel, what's going on?" I asked, my voice laced with 'innocence'.

The Education Department officials' faces were like thunder. One pointed towards the storage room.

"Principal Bennett, no matter who's in there, you must stop it immediately! Student safety is paramount!"

This incident could no longer be kept under wraps.

Principal Bennett's face twisted in fury. "Alright, alright, this is just fantastic!"

As Principal Bennett was about to rush towards the storage room, I moved to block her path.

"Principal, the situation inside is unclear, it might be dangerous! You should wait for the police and more security to arrive!"

Principal Bennett tried to push me away forcefully.

"Get out of the way! Now you're talking about danger? What were you doing before?!"

The onlookers frowned, watching our exchange.

Daniel, by now, had recovered his wits.

He retreated behind the crowd, glaring at me.

Then, he seemed to have a sudden thought and jogged over, donning a mask of urgent concern.

"Alex, don't block her! I know you and Chloe are close, but what if… what if there really are criminals inside? Let the teachers handle it!"

He pretended to care about me and the school's reputation, trying to pull me away.

Seeing me still resisting, Principal Bennett shoved me aside forcefully.

I, however, turned to the live cameras, feigning extreme anxiety and worry:

"But it sounds like there's more than one person in there! If we just rush in, what if we provoke them and they hurt our classmate?"

In front of the cameras, I had to appear concerned and thoughtful.

This time, I had to be the one standing on the moral high ground.

At my words, Principal Bennett and the officials paused.

If they acted rashly in front of the cameras and made the situation worse, they would bear greater responsibility.

So, a group of people waited anxiously, hesitating about fifty yards from the old building's storage room.

The screams and struggles from inside seemed to have weakened, but that only made the situation more unsettling.

An influencer tried to get closer to film, but was stopped by security and the stern gazes from the officials, whose faces were ashen.

And so, everyone waited in agonizing suspense.

After nearly half an hour, the violent commotion inside gradually subsided, replaced by some faint whimpers and men's muffled curses.

The storage room door was abruptly pulled open from the inside.

But to everyone's surprise, out walked several cursing, disheveled construction workers, two of whom had scratch marks on their faces.

"What are you looking at? Get lost!" growled a fierce-looking man at the front.

Seeing they were just rough-looking strangers, Principal Bennett's face went ashen, and she knew instantly that something terrible had happened.

Then, someone shrieked—

"Oh my God! Inside…"