Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
It was an experienced and skilled hacker, hiding in the unknown depths.
Q.
A code name, unknown gender, unknown name, unknown age, unknown looks.
Three months ago, they had lost contact with seven undergraduates overseas. The embassy communicated with foreign ministries, but the investigation did not come to fruition as it concerned military satellites.
It caused an uproar locally, as tons of people took to the internet to voice their unhappiness.
Just as the embassy members were out of ideas, a hacker appeared out of nowhere and disabled the military satellite system of that country.
Not much was known about the hacker, except that the person used the code name “Q”.
An ordinary hacker who had never been known in this field had suddenly become as famous and popular as the top five hackers.
And he was now being eyed on by the international police.
From then on, the code name Q practically became synonymous with mysteriousness and was hailed as the father of contemporary hacking.
Because of that, the requirement for enrolment into the computing course was raised drastically.
There were too many different versions about the story of Q, but no one was truly able to find any clues about this person.
Qin Ran did not look up. There were no outsiders around and her legs were casually propped up. In the light, her hands holding the towel were so pale. “Hung up.”
“So early?” Gu Xichi smiled and thanked the passerby who guided him. His eyes returned to the phone screen and he paused for a moment. Just as Qin Ran was about to click on the link, he said, “Ran’er, you’re in a dangerous situation right now.”
**
It was night.
The lights in the school doctor’s office were dim and soft.
The girl rested her cheek against her left hand as she sat opposite the doctor.
“The painkiller can only alleviate your toothache, you’ll still have to go to the main hospital tomorrow,” the young person said as he wrote on a medical certificate. “Hand this over to your teacher and ask for a leave of absence tomorrow.”
The light reflected off the ear stud was bright and cold.
The young person looked simple but pleasant, and his hair had some silver highlights.
“Thank you.” The girl gave him a grateful nod as she scanned her school card but still looked a little weary because of the ache.
The young person waved his hand kindly and looked towards the back. “Grandpa Juan.”
As the girl turned around, she caught the corner of the couch in her peripheral vision.
A hand was resting on the side of the couch—the fingers were draping downwards naturally, the joint segments pronounced and slender.
A very artistic hand.
The young person touched his ear stud and quietly said, “It’s already eight.”
“The task is tough this time?”
Cheng Juan was up to something and hadn’t slept in days. He gave a tired acknowledgment. “Went to look for Jiang Dongye.”
He did not explain further. His movements had always been kept rather secretive, even Old Master Cheng wasn’t too sure what he was onto.
He got up with the support of that hand on the couch.
It was a black top with the sleeves rolled up a few rounds, revealing some of his wrists.
The tips of his eyes were a little cold and distant. His eyes were too beautiful, they charmed others even when he wasn’t smiling.
Just like the rose at dawn.
A while later, he casually said, “Go home.”
The young man quickly walked before him and stood there respectfully.
Grandpa Juan of the Cheng family, the devil’s incarnate of the city.
At 16, he started up a firm and handed it to his older sister a while later. The enterprise was now one of the top five firms in the country.
At 17, he was suddenly inspired to research on robots with a group of like-minded people, and these robots were now exhibited internationally.
At 18, he tried out being a police officer.
…
At 21, he became a surgeon at the hospital.
And this surgeon was different from the rest. He only took up one operation a month, and still, the quota often went unfulfilled.
There was no other reason except that his hands were hailed the “Hands of God”.
He refused to stay on in that place too and ended up in an ordinary school as a school doctor. And he was different from the rest yet again—he brought an assistant.
The assistant did his daily work for him.
He was the descendant of a wealthy and powerful family, but he never joined the military, partook in politics, got involved in business… he never even attended classes in overseas universities in which he was technically enrolled.
He was so different, so unambitious, unlike the other descendants of his family.
Grandpa Juan was one of a kind, and no one dared mention him.
As he was the son of Old Master Cheng, and Old Master doted on him so very much.
Not many in the city, or even in the family, knew why Old Master, who had been so strict his whole life, could dote on this son who had no ambition to better himself.
“Click—”
The school doctor’s office was locked.
The girl was stunned with the medicine in her hands.
A short moment later when the figure had disappeared, she finally snapped back and held onto her aching cheek.
It hurt!
**
The next morning.
Qin Ran went downstairs for her breakfast in low spirits.
She was slightly red under her eyes, possibly a sign of poor sleep quality or a lack of sleep.
“Assistant Chen will take you to First Middle School later.” Ning Qing put her chopsticks down as she looked up. “I’m taking your grandma to the specialist later.”
When Qin Yu first went to school, Ning Qing had personally sent her there. But she wasn’t doing the same with this one.
Ning Qing clenched her jaw as she thought about having to deal with the gloating Lin family relatives.
It was all Qin Ran’s fault for being so disappointing. If only she was just one-tenth as good as Qin Yu.
Lin Qi had newspapers in one hand and his cellphone in another as he walked towards them from the living room.
Ning Qing asked what the matter was.
Lin Qi didn’t look too pleased. “It’s about Ran Ran.” He looked towards Qin Ran apologetically. “Uncle apologizes, Director Ding just gave a reply and said you probably won’t be able to get into First Middle School.”
Ning Qing’s fingers tensed up. Lin Qi’s words made her feel embarrassed.
Qin Yu finished her milk and carried the bag that Aunt Zhang handed to her. When she got up, she looked at Lin Qi with her head tilted in confusion. “Dad, it’s not hard to get into First Middle School, why can’t Sis get in?”
She looked pretty and adorable as she asked innocently.
Ning Qing’s fingers shook as the housemaids around her shot her weird glances. She felt humiliated.
“Go to school first, you’re about to be late.” Lin Qi looked towards Qin Yu a little helplessly.
He then turned towards Qin Ran. “Uncle is at fault. The teachers at Wen De Middle School aren’t any worse than First Middle School’s, right, Yu’er?”
Qin Yu let out a little laugh as she nodded and got ready to leave.
Qin Ran was still in a rather foul morning mood, but thankfully, she wasn’t hot-tempered.
She kept her head low as she chewed on her dough stick, her lashes concealing her pretty eyes.
“Well, I shouldn’t trouble Uncle any further.” She seemed to be stifling some emotions and yet spoke with a casual, loafing tone. “I have the recommendation letter from the principal of First Middle School.”