Although the sound of Wang Shen throwing the notebook wasn't loud, Xiao Lin's body still trembled slightly. Xiao Lin frowned and glanced at Wang Shen, then remained silent for a moment before finally sighing. Xiao Lin's body finally relaxed a bit, as if all his strength had been released, and he said, "Actually, I came here this time to find a red hard drive."
Upon hearing this, Wang Shen and Liang Zichen both perked up. A red hard drive? Suddenly, a new clue had emerged. "A red hard drive? What's inside? Why do you want this?"
Upon hearing Wang Shen's words, Xiao Lin nodded, seemingly in surrender. "Han Mo used to store all her novel plots and writing ideas on this red hard drive. Having this red hard drive is equivalent to having all of Han Mo's novel manuscripts."
"What do you need these things for?" Wang Shen asked while taking notes.
Upon hearing the question, Xiao Lin silently lowered his head, remaining silent for a long time. Wang Shen finally put down his pen, looked up at Xiao Lin, and patiently waited for his answer. Time passed second by second, but Xiao Lin remained silent. Wang Shen couldn't wait any longer and urged, "Is this question really that difficult to answer?"
Xiao Lin shook his head, then nodded, then shook his head again. Finally, Xiao Lin spoke up, saying helplessly, "I won't lie to you, my life now is far worse than when I was Han Mo's assistant."
"What does this have to do with anything?" Liang Zichen sat to the side listening, completely baffled by what Xiao Lin had just said.
Xiao Lin shook his head and continued, "Ever since Han Mo's accident, I've been living the high life for a while, relying on the documents in Han Mo's office." After saying this, Xiao Lin paused again, seemingly immersed in the glorious memories he was recounting.
"Hey buddy, come on, can't you speak like a normal person? What are you trying to do by talking so incoherently?" Liang Zichen became more and more impatient as he listened; he had no interest in hearing about Xiao Lin's past.
Xiao Lin seemed to completely ignore Liang Zichen's meaning and continued his story. "I helped Han Mo arrange her daily schedule, including book signings and reader meet-and-greets. I also tried to write some suspense novels like Han Mo. Of course, my suspense novels didn't sell very well. I gradually realized that I really didn't have any talent in this area." At this point, Xiao Lin gave a wry smile.
"After Han Mo's incident, a group of police officers came to her office, but they didn't seem to take anything. Later, an idea came to me. I searched through Han Mo's office and found a lot of manuscripts of her unpublished novels. These manuscripts detailed the ideas for the novels Han Mo was about to write, and some were even partially completed. I used these materials to get back on the path of a novelist. I truly admire this woman's imagination and logical structure. When I used the first novel manuscript she left behind to serialize on the website, I gained many fans and positive reviews. In this way, I confidently relied on Han Mo's manuscripts, put my own name on them, and wrote one viral article after another online. Later, even publishing houses came knocking, and I published three novels. Until today, I have established my own studio. However, I used up all of Han Mo's novel manuscripts a year ago." After saying this, Xiao Lin fell silent again, unsure how to continue.
Hearing this, Wang Shen and Liang Zichen finally understood Xiao Lin's meaning and why he had come to find the so-called red hard drive.
"What's the name of your novel?" Wang Shen asked Xiao Lin, pressing him for the title of his novel.
Xiao Lin glanced at Wang Shen, then rattled off almost all the titles of his unpublished novels, or rather, Han Mo's unpublished novels. Wang Shen jotted down the titles in his notebook, then picked up his phone and opened a search engine. He located the novels on the search engine. Xiao Lin's novels, serialized using Han Mo's manuscripts, didn't use a pen name, so they were easily identifiable by their titles and the author's name. Xiao Lin's words weren't false; according to the search engine data, the popularity and reviews of all of Han Lin's popular novels had cooled down almost a year ago.
"So, you want to find that red hard drive and see if there are any unfinished novels by Han Mo on it, so you can use them again, is that right?" Liang Zichen asked Xiao Lin this question before Wang Shen could even speak.
Xiao Lin didn't answer, he just nodded.
"Wait a minute, since you already used up Han Mo's novel material a year ago, why did you only think of looking for that red hard drive today?" Liang Zichen suddenly realized this problem, staring straight at Xiao Lin, and pressed him for an answer.
"When Han Mo's incident happened, although the police ultimately ruled it a suicide, there was still a lot of discussion in society. Even recently, Xu Xiaolin's serialized novel bore a striking resemblance to the Han Mo case, sparking another wave of public debate..."
"Wait a minute." Hearing Xiao Lin's words, Wang Shen suddenly interrupted him and asked, "Do you know Xu Xiaolin?"
Xiao Lin looked at Wang Shen, shook his head, and said with a wry smile, "Before, everyone who wrote suspense novels knew her. Now, anyone who writes a novel—no, I should say anyone who knows anything about novels—would know her. After all, she's just as talented as Han Mo."
Wang Shen listened attentively to what Xiao Lin said, thought for a moment, nodded, and said, "Excuse me, please continue with the previous topic."
"Because the Han Mo incident has garnered a lot of public attention, and as her assistant, I'm bound to receive even more attention. I really don't want to get involved with Han Mo's case, so I never even considered going to her house. It's just that recently, I've been struggling to keep up with my novel. In our industry, new talents are constantly pushing the old aside. If I don't step up my efforts, I'll be left behind. But even so, I still haven't thought about that red hard drive. Because I never even had a key to this house before." Xiao Lin paused again, glancing up at Wang Shen and Liang Zichen.
"What? You don't have the key to this house? Then how did you get in?" Liang Zichen asked in surprise after hearing Xiao Lin's last sentence.
"I was referring to the past," Xiao Lin reiterated the key words from the last sentence.
Wang Shen and Liang Zichen were both staring intently at Xiao Lin. The amount of information contained in the facts Xiao Lin presented today was simply too much.
“Just yesterday, I got the key to Han Mo’s house.” As Xiao Lin said this, the corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up slightly.
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