Zhang Chao smiled slightly, but before he could speak, the two boys on the other end couldn’t help but show off. They talked about the recent Beast Head incident and the legendary deeds of Huo Sining.

The homeroom teacher dealt with various school inspections every day and had indeed been online less frequently recently. As a result, she hadn’t paid much attention to the major events happening online lately.

However, after listening to the students’ explanations, the homeroom teacher couldn’t help but laugh and say:

"I really didn’t know about the Beast Head incident, but I do know the Huo Sining you’re talking about. She made a stunning appearance at the Spring Festival Gala two years ago, and her magic performance was very impressive. Because of that magic show, I became a passerby fan of that little girl and even followed her on Weibo. This girl is indeed excellent and more knowledgeable than ordinary people."

No one expected that the homeroom teacher was a fan of Huo Sining, and the two students immediately became interested. They couldn’t help but crowd around and started chatting with the homeroom teacher about Huo Sining.

However, the homeroom teacher still seemed somewhat puzzled and confused: "Zhang Chao, that scammer claimed to be Huo Sining, but I just heard you mention some ID. Is it okay for you to tell that scammer the ID?"

Zhang Chao was taken aback, and the two boys beside him were also stunned.

Last night, they had all been to the internet cafe and had seen Zhang Chao log into the Haijiao forum, so they were well aware of the ID Zhang Chao mentioned over the phone.

"No way, Chaozi, that ID is for the Haijiao forum, right? Why would the scammer ask you about it?"

Zhang Chao shook his head: "How would I know? She said her name was Huo Sining and asked me what my ID on the Haijiao forum was. Then she started talking about checking my registration information. The longer she talked, the more outrageous it sounded, so I couldn’t be bothered to deal with it anymore and just hung up the phone."

The two friends exchanged glances, looking hesitant: "Didn’t you reply to some post before? If it weren’t for your suggestion, Huo Sining and her team wouldn’t have gone to Volcano Park, and they wouldn’t have found the diamonds. Maybe that call really was from Huo Sining."

Zhang Chao was momentarily stumped, but he couldn’t help but sneer after a second thought and said:

"What I posted isn’t only known to Huo Sining; the entire internet knows about it. Who’s to say some scammer didn’t come up with this trick to con people? And who is Huo Sining? With her status, does she need to make this call herself?"

Zhang Chao’s words left his two companions silent. It was clear that they also found Zhang Chao’s words reasonable. Given Huo Sining’s status, it was unlikely she would lower herself to make this call personally.

As if fearing his two friends would claim the call was really from Huo Sining, Zhang Chao added:

"Just wait, schemes like this involve several people working together. That woman called twice; I didn’t answer the first time, and I hung up the second time. She definitely won’t give up so easily but knows I’m suspicious now, so I bet another person will call me soon, maybe claiming to be Huo Sining’s husband or manager. That’s the scammer’s tactic!"

Zhang Chao’s words left the two friends speechless, though they both harbored a bit of hope and wishful thinking. What if Zhang Chao was wrong? What if the call really was from Huo Sining?

With this mindset, they both kept their eyes glued to Zhang Chao’s phone, afraid of missing the call if they looked away for even a moment.

Back in the Imperial Capital, Huo Sining’s call was hung up. Hearing the beeping sound from the other end of the phone, Huo Sining was caught a bit off guard.

It wasn’t until the phone screen went dark that Huo Sining realized she had been mistaken for a scammer and was at once amused and exasperated.

Nearby, Su Qingqing, Yue Shuwen, and the others, who had been waiting, noticed the situation and looked over with curiosity: "What’s going on?"

Huo Sining shrugged: "The person hung up on me and even asked if it was a new scam."

"Pfft—"

Su Qingqing, who was drinking tea, couldn’t help but spray it out, and Yue Shuwen was also amused.

Huang Hanyun laughed: "From that person’s point of view, it’s understandable. Phone scams are so rampant nowadays; it’s normal for people to be cautious. If it were me, and I got a call claiming to be from Leonardo, I’d probably think it was a scam too."

Huo Sining was a bit speechless: "So, I was wrong? I just wanted to give the person a little reward, that’s all."

Yue Shuwen laughed: "If that person knew they just missed out on tens of thousands of US dollars with a single call, they’d probably faint in the bathroom."

Huo Sining swirled the tea leaves in her cup, took a sip, and sighed: "Oh well, since we’ve found the person, I’ll have Liu Cheng make a trip. Let’s take it all the way as a good deed."

With that, Huo Sining called Liu Cheng and explained the situation in detail.

Since becoming Huo Sining’s manager, Liu Cheng’s workload had been incredibly light, and he had a lot of free time. If not for the recent Beast Head incident, which gave him more work, he felt like he would have been rotting at home. Now hearing that Huo Sining wanted him to make a trip to Fucheng and that there would be a high travel subsidy, he was instantly energized and quickly agreed.

"No problem. Send me that Zhang Chao’s info to my phone, and I’ll go buy a plane ticket right away."

Zhang Chao was unaware of what was happening on Huo Sining’s end. After hanging up the call from the Imperial Capital, he and his friends all watched the phone, but even half an hour later, it hadn’t rung again.

Now, Zhang Chao started to feel a bit unsure, and the eyes of his two friends were growing brighter. Tentatively, they said: "Chaozi, why don’t you try calling back the number from the Imperial Capital? Maybe it really was Huo Sining."

Zhang Chao was about to act on the idea when the homeroom teacher shot it down: "Stop it. What a terrible idea. There’s a kind of scam where they wait for you to call back and then charge you fees automatically. Zhang Chao, don’t be fooled by them, this kind of thing is too fake; you can’t believe it so easily! You need to keep a clear head. You’re the pillar of your family now, and what’s urgent is not these messy things, but getting treatment for your dad!"

Zhang Chao’s mind instantly cleared up, and pain flashed in his eyes. He nodded solemnly and said: "Teacher, I understand. Don’t worry, no matter what, I can’t fall. My dad is still waiting for me to raise money for his surgery!"