Chapter 1: Sniping

  Jiupin Literature welcomes you, any search engine searches for "Jiupin Literature" to quickly enter this site, this site permanently free of pop-up windows provides high-quality and txt format download service! Ling Lan pressed the doorbell across the street, then stood there full of expectation. In just a few seconds, the door opened, and the man leaning in the doorway with a smile making a please-come-in gesture was surprisingly Gu Hanhao.

  Ling Lan suddenly understood, why did she have to live in such a high-end house? It was because Gu Han wanted her to live under his nose. Why did Liu Fan look so unhappy? It was because he lived right across from the head of the criminal police department, yet he still asked her to abandon her husband and child to protect him 24 hours a day. Either he didn't trust her abilities or he wanted to take this opportunity to test his subordinate's work abilities. Ling Lan thought that if she were Liu Fan, she would also be unhappy.

  Ling Lan didn't hesitate, plopping herself down on the sofa in Gu Hanhao's living room and scanning her surroundings. The home decor style of Gu Hanhao's place was not what Ling Lan had expected. She had thought that this capable policeman's home would either be a messy bachelor pad with instant noodles stacked up in the kitchen or a clean and simple, modern-style apartment with a black, white, and gray color scheme and sharp angles. But everything before her eyes now was a warm-toned American country style, with antique furniture that looked expensive, and decorative items that seemed valuable. Considering the size of this house and its location in an upscale neighborhood, oh, and also Gu Hanhao's generosity, being able to give 300 yuan to an old man who had bumped into him without hesitation...

  "Are you a rich second generation?" Ling Lan knew that Gu Han Hao was probably the youngest captain of the criminal police team in S city, but looking at his age of less than 30 years old, it was absolutely impossible to say that being a policeman could earn him this house.

  Gu Hanhao sat down on the sofa opposite Ling Lan, smiling wryly and nodding his head. "I suppose so. About my family background, I'll tell you in detail later. The suite across from where you're living now is also mine. I chose the first floor because..."

  "I know, it's because of your work that time is life to you, you won't waste time going up and down the stairs, let alone choose a high floor, because elevators are unpredictable." Ling Lan quickly interrupted Gu Hanhao, eager to show off her reasonable speculation.

  Gu Hanhao couldn't help but laugh, "The reason I chose the first floor is because it comes with a basement and a small garden."

  Ling Lan's face was a bit awkward, so she changed the subject, "Basement? Is it that kind of mysterious basement in movies?"

  Gu Hanhao handed a strangely shaped key to Ling Lan, "There is a very thick door in the basement of your house, which I ordered from abroad. There are only two keys, and they cannot be copied. Both sides can open it. I'll give you one. If there's any danger, you can escape to my house through that door."

  Ling Lan took the key, "Since that's the case, let Officer Liu Fan go home. I think it's a waste of police resources to have her accompany me. It would be better for her to go back and reunite with her husband and children."

  "Who told you she's married?" Gu Hanhao looked a bit uncomfortable, "Don't assume things, she's still single."

  Ling Lan's guess was wrong again, which made her feel a bit embarrassed. Anyway, who stipulated that after the age of 30, one must have a husband and children?

  "Now that we've gotten to the point, actually I let you move in across from me not only for convenience and protection, but also because there's another very important reason - I want to deeply understand you. Of course, at the same time, I'll also let you deeply understand me."

  Ling Lan gazed at Gu Han's sincere and serious expression, feeling a little dazed for a moment. After a while, she replied with a hint of annoyance: "It's strange, why would I want to let you understand me deeply? I'm not interested in understanding you either. You're saying this, it's too weird."

  Gu Hanhao finally reacted, "How could he have made it sound ambiguous?" "Don't misunderstand, don't misunderstand. What I mean is that I want to cooperate with you, to deeply investigate each other's social networks and past experiences, and try to find common points of connection. Before, I was investigating alone, but I couldn't figure out when or why I got involved in certain events, so I couldn't find out who sent the old man to stop me from completing my mission. Now that you're here, I think we can cooperate, which will narrow down the scope of our investigation."

  Ling Lan nodded, she remembered that Gu Han had mentioned this matter before in the hospital with his intuition of over 85% accuracy. She and he had some kind of secret connection, so they would be targeted by the same person or the same criminal organization.

  Gu Hanhao continued to bring up the old matter, "I think there must be some common ground or connection between us, otherwise we wouldn't have both been chosen by that person behind the scenes. It's also very likely that this mysterious figure is someone we all know."

  To be honest, Ling Lan wasn't particularly interested in this mysterious figure at first, and she even thought that maybe she and Gu Hanhao had managed to avoid disaster purely by coincidence. As for the elderly man who dared to knock himself bloody, the cup of "trouble-making" milk that suddenly appeared, and the woman wearing a thick makeup mask, they were all just coincidental passersby. The mastermind behind the scenes mentioned by Gu Hanhao might be the omnipotent God of Fate.

  But now, Ling Lan doesn't plan to deceive herself anymore, she has to face this reality. Perhaps from the day she decided to go on an adventure with her three roommates to visit vampires at night, her fate was rewritten, like a train that had derailed and embarked on an uncontrollable unknown journey. On this seemingly perilous journey, having a partner is better than fighting alone.

  "Shall we cooperate in the investigation? How will we cooperate?" Ling Lan suddenly felt that this was a challenge, a very interesting challenge. She liked challenges and liked to break through the ordinary life's strange things.

  "After some deliberation, Gu Han tried his best not to be ambiguous anymore. 'In the first stage, we must be absolutely frank with each other, our pasts, people we know, special experiences and so on, all need to be mutually understood, to see if there are any intersections.' I know that Jiu Pin Literature welcomes your visit, you can quickly enter this site by searching for 'Jiu Pin Literature' in any search engine. This will be a massive project, requiring both of us to invest time and energy, which is why I arranged for you to live across from me."

  Ling Lan pouted, the interest she had just sparked was about to be extinguished. After all, she didn't want to reveal her entire past to a strange man, especially that matter.

  "What if I refuse to cooperate with you?" Ling Lan asked tentatively, "Will you give up the investigation?"

  Gu Hanhao smiled confidently, "With my personality, I won't stop investigating until the truth is revealed. If you don't cooperate, it will only make the investigation more troublesome for me, but I have my ways. For you, your past, your relationships, everything about you, I will eventually know like the back of my hand. Don't forget my profession."

  Ling Lan gave Gu Han a cold glance, and she found that she had some understanding of this man. He was selfish and overbearing, and in order to achieve his own goals, he didn't care about other people's feelings at all. It seemed that she had no room for choice, and could only cooperate with him. In this way, there might still be a possibility to protect some individuals.

  "Alright, I'll think about it carefully. I'll give you an answer tomorrow." Ling Lan stood up and prepared to leave.

  Gu Hanhao politely escorted her to the door and, as she was leaving, instructed her, "Officer Liu is a diligent and responsible good police officer, skilled in hand-to-hand combat, with her protection, you can rest assured."

  Ling Lan looked a bit embarrassed, "I completely trust her abilities, it's just that, can you please tell her not to share a room with me? I need some private space."

  Ling Lan noticed a fleeting expression of difficulty and embarrassment on Gu Hanyu's face, and as expected, he refused this request.

  "It's not bad to sleep in a room alone, for safety's sake, it's decided like this."

  Ling Lan returned to room 102 across the way, Liu Fan was still sitting in the living room, seeing her return, he put down a huge stone in his heart and let out a sigh of relief, "It's late, go rest."

  Should I say that women's intuition is terrible, or should I say that Ling Lan misused her observational skills and bold assumptions? Ling Lan thought that Liu Fan liked Gu Hanhao, and Gu Hanhao was also a person with extremely strong insight, it was impossible for him not to know, but he didn't know how to handle his relationship with Liu Fan, so when it came to Liu Fan's problems, he would show an awkward and at a loss appearance.

  Ling Lan gazed at Liu Fan's back and couldn't help but stifle a wicked laugh. If she wanted to do something to punish that overbearing and selfish Gu Hanhao, then this Liu Fan would definitely come in handy.