I'm Actually Panicking Because My Heart Doesn't Beat (GL) - Chapter 18

On the phone, the operator was taking notes as Guan Xiaoxuan reported the situation. Then, she told her to contact Zhang Wen, keep calm, and wait for rescue.

They didn’t want Guan Xiaoxuan to take any risks—someone had probably already been sent.

Guan Xiaoxuan thought about how, earlier that evening when she got home, Xing Tianqing looked like she was heading out for work. She guessed it was very likely that Xing Tianqing had gone to the dormitory at their school.

She tried calling Zhang Wen again, but this time, the call wouldn’t go through.

That was strange.

Guan Xiaoxuan couldn’t sit still. She thought of Zhang Wen’s roommates and picked one person she had talked to before to call directly.

The girl’s name was Xu Ying. The original Guan Xiaoxuan wasn’t very outgoing, and Xu Ying had a similar personality. They occasionally chatted about schoolwork—not close, but at least they could talk.

It took a long time before Xu Ying finally answered, her sleepy voice mixed with confusion. She wondered why someone she barely knew was calling her at this late hour.

“Hello…”

Hearing the tired voice, Guan Xiaoxuan got straight to the point. “Xu Ying, can you check if Zhang Wen is in the dorm?”

“Zhang Wen?” Xu Ying was puzzled. While pulling back the curtain, she asked, “Why are you asking about Zhang Wen so late at night?”

She looked out and saw Zhang Wen’s usual bed, but the curtains were closed and the dorm was pitch dark. It was impossible to tell if Zhang Wen was there.

Guan Xiaoxuan said, “Zhang Wen called me just now, said something happened to her. I’ve reported it to the police. But I can’t reach her now, so I want you to check if she’s in the dorm.”

What really made Guan Xiaoxuan uneasy was that the Zhang Wen who called sounded odd—like the same person, with a similar tone and way of thinking, but something felt off.

So she forced herself to bother Xu Ying to peek behind the curtain and see if the call was really from Zhang Wen.

Of course, she didn’t tell Xu Ying the second part—worried it would scare the girl.

Xu Ying was very honest. Even though it was 3:30 a.m. and she was woken up, she didn’t complain. She even got out of bed, crossed over, and pulled back the curtain to check. Then she said, confused, “Zhang Wen isn’t in the dorm. Did something happen to her?”

Hearing Xu Ying’s voice, the other two roommates were also woken up. They pulled back their curtains and looked at Xu Ying standing in the dorm, asking, “What’s going on?”

Guan Xiaoxuan heard their questions and told Xu Ying, “She’s in some trouble. You three shouldn’t go out for now. I’ll try calling Zhang Wen again. If she comes back…”

Would Zhang Wen really come back?

That question suddenly popped up in Guan Xiaoxuan’s mind. Having gone through the “Red Girl” incident, she knew it was almost impossible for an ordinary person to escape from those strange forces.

“If she comes back, I’ll let you know,” Xu Ying kindly finished the sentence Guan Xiaoxuan didn’t say.

Guan Xiaoxuan paused, then nodded. “Thank you.”

After hanging up, the room fell silent again.

From Zhang Wen’s call, to Guan Xiaoxuan calling the police, then calling Xu Ying—it all happened within ten minutes. But in those ten minutes, things had changed.

Zhang Wen disappeared, and Guan Xiaoxuan couldn’t reach her by phone.

Zhang Wen had cried and said she could only reach Guan Xiaoxuan, begging her to come to the dorm to save her. Guan Xiaoxuan had been suspicious, thinking it might be a trap.

After all, she’d only met Zhang Wen twice.

And one of those times was in a dream.

Now, suddenly unable to contact her, Guan Xiaoxuan felt an inexplicable pressure inside.

She stared at the darkened phone screen, feeling she shouldn’t take the risk. Zhang Wen wasn’t family, and if she rushed to the dorm, she might end up dead too.

But Zhang Wen had no one else to turn to.

And that Cheng Yi was strange—why did he know about the Red Girl? Why did he say Guan Xiaoxuan was special?

Guan Xiaoxuan suspected Cheng Yi had noticed her ever since she accompanied Zhang Wen to that empty classroom gathering.

She remembered locking eyes with him in the empty classroom. The greed in his gaze was obvious.

Could Cheng Yi be connected to the Red Girl?

Guan Xiaoxuan was baffled. Since Xing Tianqing and the others had gone to the dorm, and she had already called the police, she felt like she had done all she could. Yet she still felt uneasy.

She lay back down, not intending to sleep. After all the trouble, her drowsiness was gone. She planned to call Zhang Wen a few more times to see if she could get through.

But every time it just rang and rang, making Guan Xiaoxuan even more anxious.

She thought of Zhang Wen’s bright eyes, of a young girl just 19, just like the original Guan Xiaoxuan—still in the prime of her youth.

What if she really died?

Such a young life, not even graduated from college, not yet hardened by the world—could it really end like this?

Guan Xiaoxuan tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Guazi, annoyed by her restlessness, finally left her side, tiptoeing to the living room and curling up on the sofa.

Not long after, there was a sound of rummaging coming from the bedroom.

Soon, Guan Xiaoxuan came out from the bedroom, her hair tied in a ponytail, wearing a baseball jacket.

She had made up her mind—no matter what, she had to go check out the girls’ dormitory. Even if it wasn’t just for Zhang Wen, it was for herself.

Grabbing her keys and locking the door behind her, Guan Xiaoxuan quickly walked across the hall. She knocked on the door a few times, then pressed the doorbell for over ten seconds. When she confirmed that Xing Tianqing wasn’t home, she decisively turned and took the elevator downstairs.

It was still very quiet in the city past 3 a.m. Occasionally, she saw some people coming home late from night shifts. Guan Xiaoxuan was familiar with this—back when she was younger and worked hard, she often got off work around 3 or 4 in the morning.

Back then, though tired and annoyed, thinking the boss was useless and clients were idiots, she still worked overtime like crazy, fueled by coffee.

At that time, she never thought coming home late at night was dangerous because in a big city, there were many people like her—workaholics who worked dawn to dusk to buy cars and houses for their bosses. It was nothing unusual.

But living again, Guan Xiaoxuan realized how precious life was. If she could graduate smoothly, she definitely wouldn’t work so hard just for her boss anymore.

She called a car on her phone. There were hardly any private cars at this hour—mostly taxi drivers working the night shift. Luckily, riding a taxi at night was still safe.

When the taxi stopped in front of her, the driver, sounding sleepy, asked, “Going to the South Gate of Normal University?”

“Yes.” Guan Xiaoxuan tightened her jacket around herself and said, “It’s a bit urgent, please drive a little faster, thank you.”

The driver started the car and said, “Nighttime driving means no speeding, little miss. You always have to watch out for safety.”

Guan Xiaoxuan: “…Yes, you’re right. Please just drive as fast as you safely can. Thank you.”

The driver glanced at the rearview mirror, curious, “So late at night, why are you going to Normal University? You don’t look old—are you a student there?”

“Yes.” Guan Xiaoxuan didn’t want to chat with the driver, so she pulled out her phone and kept calling Zhang Wen.

Seeing she didn’t want to talk, the driver stayed quiet and kept driving.

Guan Xiaoxuan called again and again, but Zhang Wen never answered. Guan Xiaoxuan started to wonder if Zhang Wen had blocked her.

The roads were almost empty at this hour. The taxi quickly arrived at the school gate.

After closing the door, Guan Xiaoxuan quietly glanced at the security room. The guard was dozing off, with two chairs propped together for a nap. She sneaked inside.

Right after entering the gate, Guan Xiaoxuan noticed her phone vibrating wildly in her hand. She had set it to vibrate before leaving, and now she quickly picked it up. It was Zhang Wen calling!

“Hello, Zhang Wen!” Guan Xiaoxuan hurriedly answered. “How are you? Are you safe? Why are you only calling me now?”

Zhang Wen sounded upset, softly explaining, “I was afraid I’d delay you from calling the police…”

Guan Xiaoxuan breathed a sigh of relief. Watching carefully as she walked toward the girls’ dorm, she said, “I’ve called the police. They told you not to move and to wait for rescue, okay?”

“Okay, I won’t move. I’m staying in the storage room by the stairs.”

Talking to Guan Xiaoxuan seemed to calm Zhang Wen down. She held the phone tightly and said, “Thank you for calling me so late. I’m really scared. Can you please not hang up?”

Guan Xiaoxuan sighed, “I kept calling you just now and you didn’t pick up. I thought something happened. I’m at the school now.”

“You came?” Zhang Wen sounded both excited and frustrated. “I was so scared earlier, saying all kinds of nonsense. Now I’ve thought it through—you’re right, it’s really dangerous here and you, a girl, shouldn’t have come. Xiaoxuan, I’m already grateful you called the police. Please don’t come into the dorm!”

Guan Xiaoxuan stopped walking and said, “Zhang Wen, I just called Xu Ying and the others. They said you’re not in the dorm.”

“Yeah, I guess I’m not,” Zhang Wen replied.

“Well, I’m already here. I’ll just take a quick look outside the girls’ dorm,” Guan Xiaoxuan said. “Don’t talk too much, it might be dangerous if you get noticed.”

Zhang Wen agreed quietly, “I understand. I won’t talk now, but please don’t hang up. I’m scared.”

“Okay.” Guan Xiaoxuan glanced at the black coat near the girls’ dorm, quietly relieved. She smiled and said, “Looks like the official team has arrived. You’ll be rescued soon.”

“Really?” Zhang Wen sounded excited but still whispered, “It’s so foggy at night. Please tell the police to be careful.”

Guan Xiaoxuan looked around, a bit surprised. “There’s fog there?”