Chapter 8 – Wolves Don't Knock
It started with a lockdown.
The morning had barely begun when sirens blared across UE School.
All students were ordered into classrooms. Phones confiscated temporarily. Teachers visibly pale. Principal Chen running around like a headless chicken.
"Some kind of inspection," the rumors whispered."Government stuff. Secret. Dangerous."
Inside Class 3-A, tension buzzed like electricity.
Xia leaned back in her seat, unreadable.
Zhang Meimei smirked, whispering,"Bet they're here to check on you. Makes sense, doesn't it?"
Xia didn't blink.
Just then, the door slammed open.
Boots clicked in. Suits. Earpieces. Cold expressions. One tall man in all black behind them.
Li Fan.
His presence sucked the oxygen out of the room.
Everyone stood instantly—everyone except Xia, who stared at him like he was a particularly annoying pop-up ad.
"Stay seated," he said calmly, voice like smooth iron.But no one dared obey… except Xia, already slouched.
Li Fan's eyes flicked over the room—then paused on her.
There it was again. That subtle, unreadable curve of his lips.
The predator recognizing another hunter.
The Selection
Li Fan spoke directly to the principal, who had now appeared, panting and sweating.
"I'm selecting three students for a strategic pilot program. Off-record."
Gasps echoed.
"Li Fan is recruiting? From our school?""This is huge. Government-tier…""Military-adjacent!?"
Li Fan's eyes scanned the classroom like a machine, settling on Zhang Meimei first.
"You."
She nearly fainted from joy.
Then he turned to Li Won.
"You. Come."
And then—Xia.
Dead silence.
"You."
The class broke.
"WHAT?""HER??""Is he joking??"
Xia blinked slowly.
"I didn't sign up for this."
Li Fan tilted his head slightly."I didn't ask."
Zhang Meimei looked like she might cry.
"Wait, she's not even ranked—"
Li Fan turned his gaze on her."Do I look like someone who picks based on school rankings?"
She shut up instantly.
The Private Test Room
The three were taken to a private simulation chamber—secretly owned by one of Li Fan's shell corporations.
Xia walked in last, clearly uninterested.
Li Fan stood at the center, arms crossed, calm as winter.
"One task. One system. Hack it. First to succeed gets a recommendation to the national AI-security registry."
Zhang Meimei floundered instantly. Li Won did decently.
But Xia?
She finished in under a minute.
The screen exploded with:"Breach Success. GOD GU Signature Detected."
Li Fan's fingers twitched slightly. That same signature.So casual. So arrogant. So… her.
He walked over to her terminal."You've done this before."
Xia yawned."It's almost too easy."
Li Fan leaned down slightly."Tell me, Xia. Where did you learn code that doesn't exist publicly?"
Her lashes didn't even flicker."Where did you learn to track unauthorized breaches in real time?"
A beat of silence.
Then Li Fan chuckled softly.
Behind the glass, Lu Shen grinned from the surveillance room."Bro. This chemistry? You two are hacking each other's hearts."
Xia turned away from the now-broken simulation device, cracking her neck lazily like she hadn't just exposed one of the most high-security backdoors in the country. Zhang Meimei was still trying not to cry. Li Won was still trying to comprehend what kind of human—or alien—his new friend was.
And then the door slammed open.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE!?"
Xia blinked. Li Fan blinked. Zhang Meimei looked like she might faint.
Li Won stomped into the room like a furious puppy in sneakers.
"Uncle. Uncle! Why are you at my school—no, wait—her school? Are you secretly the education minister? What kind of drama is this?"
Li Fan didn't even flinch."Security inspection."
"That's what you call breaking into my classroom and recruiting my new friend like it's the draft?"Li Won marched up to Xia and gestured wildly."This is her. This is Xia. She's my gaming savior and possibly not human."
Xia snorted quietly.
Li Fan finally turned to her, eyes sharp and unreadable.Her lips pressed together.
Because she recognized him.
The man from last night.The one she'd outrun, outwitted—and who had almost caught her.The one who stood now, dry-eyed and smug, like he hadn't lost to her.
Their gazes locked.
Li Won, blissfully clueless, waved between them."Uncle, this is Xia! Xia, this is my scary, emotionless uncle who owns half the country. Be careful—he smiles like a villain and speaks like he's about to fire someone."
Xia raised a brow."Thanks for the warning."
Li Fan's lips curled ever so slightly."Nice to formally meet you, Xia."
That word. Formally.
Oh, he knew.He was taunting her.
Xia didn't back down.
"Didn't know education inspections involved spy-level simulations. Must be a high standard."
Li Fan gave a half-smile, sharp and elegant."Only for... high-risk cases."
Tension crackled in the air.
Li Won finally sensed the temperature change.
"Wait." He narrowed his eyes."Why do I feel like you two know something I don't?"
Li Fan didn't reply.
Xia stepped forward with a cool smirk."Your uncle and I just… crossed paths recently."
Li Fan leaned closer, voice velvet-smooth and threatening."And I'm looking forward to crossing them again."
Back at the Car
Lu Shen was waiting in the backseat, sipping bubble tea.
"How'd it go?"
Li Fan slipped into the passenger seat, hands still in his coat pockets.
"She's smart. Arrogant. Reckless. Dangerous."
Lu Shen's eyes lit up."So you're in love."
Li Fan glared."I'm impressed. Not brain-damaged."
Lu Shen slurped loudly, then grinned.
"You realize you've now met two girls in two days—God Gu, and Xia—and both managed to get under your skin. That's historic."
Li Fan didn't answer.
"Wait—" Lu Shen blinked. "You don't think they're the same person, do you?"
Li Fan's expression didn't move.Lu Shen relaxed.
"Good. That'd be too insane. Xia is like some lazy schoolgirl. God Gu is…" He lowered his voice like whispering a legend. "A living hacker deity. A ghost in the code. Probably eighty years old and lives in a bunker in the Alps."
Li Fan turned to the window, eyes distant.
"Interesting theory."
Lu Shen paused."Wait. No. No."His jaw dropped."TELL ME YOU'RE NOT—"
Li Fan smirked.
Lu Shen groaned.
"I liked it better when you only cared about satellites and classified weapons
"So… God Gu and Xia are the same person?"
Li Fan didn't answer.
"You like her?"
Still silence.
"You've spoken more to her in 2 days than you've spoken to me in 5 years."
Li Fan gave him a deadpan glare.
"Do you want to be relocated to Siberia?"
Lu Shen laughed."You're just mad she keeps beating you."
Li Fan's phone buzzed.He opened it.A system alert. Unauthorized access attempt—disguised under a fingerprint encryption loop only one person could break.
He smirked.
"She's poking the wolf," he murmured.
"And the wolf's gonna bite?" Lu Shen asked, eyebrow raised.
Li Fan looked out into the city.
"No.""I'm going to hunt."