Late Night – Li Fan's Private Office, 38th Floor
The digital blueprint on the monitor blinked out. Darkness returned to the room, except for the city lights pouring in through the floor-to-ceiling windows.
"You've been real quiet tonight," came the lazy voice of Lu Shen, sliding in like smoke through the door. "Should I call tech support? Or is the great General Li Fan brooding over his first loss?"
Li Fan didn't even glance back.
Lu Shen raised a brow, watching his friend's clenched jaw.
"Let me guess... God Gu?" he drawled. "The great hacker ghost who managed to outmaneuver you tonight?"
Still no answer.
Lu Shen plopped onto the leather chair across the desk and smirked. "Face it, Fan. You lost. And not to a spy, not to a trained agent... but to a shadow hacker"
"She's not just a hacker," Li Fan said quietly. "She's a tactician."
"Ohhh. So now she's special?" Lu Shen exaggerated a gasp. "Li Fan is complimenting someone without demanding their full criminal record. Twice in two days. First the jogger girl from yesterday. Now this phantom hacker. What's next? A poetry club?"
Li Fan turned to him slowly, face unreadable.
Lu Shen's grin grew. "I mean, don't get me wrong. The girl next door has legs for days and eyes like knives. But God Gu? She's a ghost. Probably some greasy guy in a basement—"
"Watch your mouth."
The words were cold. Low. Laced with a thread of steel that made Lu Shen pause mid-laugh.
Li Fan's voice remained calm—but chilling. "Say something stupid about her again, and I'll let you test that bulletproof vest you like so much."
Lu Shen blinked. Then laughed nervously. "Damn, Fan. Didn't know she already ranked above me."
Li Fan walked past him, pouring himself a glass of whiskey, posture sharp and precise.
"She's efficient," he said. "Not a trace left behind. Clean exit. Misdirection tactics. She baited me, Shen. Baited me."
"...And yet you let her go?"
"I wanted to see what she'd do."
Lu Shen whistled. "You're really playing 4D chess here. But what's more interesting—God Gu's tricks, or the mystery girl you saw climbing balconies barefoot like a cat on Red Bull?"
Li Fan's jaw ticked slightly.
Lu Shen leaned forward, mischievous glint in his eyes. "What would people say when they learn the great boss li who is notorious for disliking women suddenly likes two girls? ahahha people wont believe it"
Silence.
Li Fan sipped his drink, his eyes dark and gleaming. He didn't answer.
Lu Shen's grin vanished. "Wait. No way. Are you saying they're—?"
Li Fan's smile was faint. Sinister.
"Sleep with one eye open, Shen."
Lu Shen stood up dramatically. "Oh, I'm definitely telling your mother you've fallen in love with two criminals."
"I haven't fallen."
"Oh, but you're circling the edge, buddy. And I'm bringing popcorn."
Li Fan turned to the window again, the wind ruffling the edge of his collar. His voice dropped:
"She made me curious."
Lu Shen blinked. "Again?"
Li Fan's lips curled, dangerously slow.
"Curiosity, Shen, is the first step to possession."
"…Is that supposed to be romantic or threatening?"
Li Fan didn't answer.
Lu Shen exhaled. "God save us all. "
Midnight — Li Fan's Penthouse, Private Residence
Steam coiled thick around the glass walls of the shower, fog blurring the sharp lines of the marble. Inside, water cascaded down Li Fan's sculpted back, his head bowed slightly, droplets tracing the curve of his spine. But his mind wasn't silent.
Two images looped in tandem behind his closed eyes.
A shadowed figure in black, sliding like smoke across the hotel's surveillance blind spot, fingers flying over the drive extraction panel.
And…
A girl with bare feet and wild hair, crouching to pet a stray cat in the moonlight, unaware of the eyes watching her from a floor above.
God Gu.
The neighbor girl.
He didn't know if they were the same. But he couldn't stop thinking about the way they both moved—like a whisper before a storm. Something in their grace. Their recklessness. Their ability to vanish before he could catch his breath.
He opened his eyes.
A storm was brewing behind them.
1:07 AM — Li Fan's Study
Freshly showered, dressed in a black silk robe, Li Fan strode to his desk, towel slung around his neck. He picked up his phone with deliberate ease, as if dialing the country's most elite principal was no different than ordering coffee.
The call connected on the first ring.
A deep, professional voice came through, a note of urgency laced with reverence."Master Li. What an honor. How may I assist you?"
Li Fan's voice was a low drawl, calm as ever—but the edge in it was unmistakable.
"Principal Chen."He didn't waste time with pleasantries. "I'm visiting your school tomorrow."
There was a pause—only a second—but in that second, the principal's breath caught."Understood. I'll clear my morning. Do you require student access or staff-only zones?"
Li Fan's lips twitched faintly, the ghost of a smirk."Student."
Another pause. Then:"Of course. May I ask—"
"No."Sharp. Final.
The other end of the line went respectfully silent.
Li Fan leaned back in his leather chair, gaze cold as moonlight, finger tapping lightly against the glass of his phone.
"Send me the full student database tonight."
"Y-Yes, Master Li."
Li Fan ended the call without a goodbye.
1:11 AM — Balcony Overlooking the City
The wind cut sharp against his wet hair. Below, the city glittered, unaware.
Li Fan stood in silence, watching.
God Gu had made him lose. The neighbor girl had made him pause.
Two things he didn't allow.
And yet… both had made his blood stir.
"Curious," he murmured to himself.
Then the corner of his mouth lifted—just slightly.
"Let's see what you're hiding… little cat."