I'm Actually Panicking Because My Heart Doesn't Beat (GL) - Chapter 19

Zhang Wen’s words sent chills down Guan Xiaoxuan’s spine.

In her eyes, although it wasn’t very bright around her, there was no sign of fog at all. She could even see five or six hundred meters away, including the group of people in black coats moving around.

“Zhang Wen, are you sure there’s fog over there?” Guan Xiaoxuan asked again, unsure. After Zhang Wen confirmed, she fell into a thoughtful silence.

Where exactly had Zhang Wen gone?

Why did she say there was fog outside?

Could it be that they weren’t seeing the same thing?

Guan Xiaoxuan had often seen movies about overlapping spaces before. With a serious look, she asked over the phone, “Zhang Wen, can you see how many cars are parked under the girls’ dorm? And how many people in black coats are walking around?”

Zhang Wen didn’t answer immediately. It seemed like she was climbing something. After a few seconds, she said, “No, I don’t see anything. The whole school is covered in thick fog. I can’t even see the building across from me clearly.”

Then Zhang Wen suddenly made a surprised sound and said, “Xiaoxuan, I think I see something moving inside the fog. It’s pitch black. Is it a person?”

Guan Xiaoxuan’s heart jumped. She quickly took cover behind a building and told Zhang Wen, “Things over there seem complicated. Be very careful. Don’t move around recklessly, okay?”

Zhang Wen nodded cautiously. Watching the black shape moving inside the fog, she quietly shrank back into her hiding spot.

She said, “Xiaoxuan, I have a bad feeling about this place. Do you really think someone will come to save me?”

“They will.” Guan Xiaoxuan peeked at the black-coated people in the distance and said, “They’re already downstairs. It’s just that your situation is complicated, so it might take some time to find you. Don’t move. Stay calm.”

“Okay.” With someone talking to her, Zhang Wen calmed down from her earlier panic. She relaxed a bit, sitting in the corner, leaning against the wall, curling up and hugging her knees. “Thank you, Xiaoxuan. When I get out, I’ll treat you to dinner. Let’s go to that new hot pot restaurant, okay?”

Guan Xiaoxuan stared at the group in black coats and replied distractedly, “Sure. When you get out, we’ll go for hot pot.”

Just as she finished speaking, Guan Xiaoxuan caught a glimpse from the corner of her eye—an explosion sound came from the top floor of the neighboring teaching building.

She turned her head and saw smoke rising from the old building’s rooftop. She could vaguely see many people gathered there.

Were those the people Cheng Yi had gathered?

Squinting, Guan Xiaoxuan saw a woman with long black hair standing at the highest point on the roof. She wore a hoodie and a short skirt, looking down on everyone below.

Because of the distance, Guan Xiaoxuan could only make out a blurry face—almost as if the woman had no features.

The legendary faceless female student!

Not only Guan Xiaoxuan noticed her—those black-coated people loitering under the girls’ dorm also spotted her. They immediately rushed to the teaching building opposite, soon making a loud noise, even shouting.

After thinking it over, Guan Xiaoxuan decided to take a side path and head to the girls’ dorm. When she arrived, she saw only two black-coated guards at the entrance—the others had run to the other building.

This could be her chance.

More familiar with the school layout than those guards, Guan Xiaoxuan quickly went around to the back of the dorm, opened a first-floor bathroom window, and climbed in.

“Zhang Wen.” Guan Xiaoxuan stepped out of the bathroom and said into the phone, “I’m inside the dorm now. Tell me where you are, and I’ll come find you.”

Zhang Wen was surprised. “You got in? Okay… I’m in a room by the east stairs on the second floor. When you get here, knock, and I’ll open the door.”

Guan Xiaoxuan responded with a low “Hmm” and didn’t hang up. She quickly went up to the second floor and headed toward the east staircase.

She didn’t walk along the corridor by the windows but stayed closer to the inside of the dorm, trying to avoid being seen by the two guards outside.

As she pressed close to the wall, whether it was her imagination or not, Guan Xiaoxuan felt the walls were colder than usual. The chill wasn’t just from touching the walls—it seemed like the coldness was there even when she was near them.

Something was off.

She cautiously avoided touching the walls, sticking close to the interior as she moved.

Perhaps because of the noise from the black-coated people downstairs, many dorm rooms lit up. Soft whispering voices could be heard, but even if Guan Xiaoxuan tried to listen carefully, she couldn’t make out what was being said. The sounds were more like something scraping or rubbing rather than talking.

Have the girls’ dormitories always been this creepy?

Out of the corner of her eye, Guan Xiaoxuan glanced back. The darkness seemed alive, slowly creeping closer, making her feel immense pressure.

She shook her head, trying to clear the strange feelings, focused ahead, and finally reached the east staircase.

Not knowing which room Zhang Wen meant, she said into the phone, “I’m here. Come out.”

“You’re here?” Zhang Wen was overjoyed. She quickly sat up from the floor and walked to the door to look outside before speaking to Guan Xiaoxuan. “That other girl isn’t around, is she?”

“She’s not,” Guan Xiaoxuan said over the phone. “When I came in, I saw she went to the old teaching building. There are quite a few people there, so I don’t think she’ll be back anytime soon. You’re safe for now.”

Zhang Wen finally breathed a sigh of relief. She patted her chest and her eyes lifted slightly as she said with a bit of ease, “Okay, I’ll come out now.”

She unlocked the bolt but took a deep breath before opening the door. She didn’t open it right away—she was afraid that if she opened it and the faceless girl or Cheng Yi was standing outside, it would be too terrifying.

So, Zhang Wen quietly cracked the door open a little and looked out at the empty hallway. Only then did she quietly relax.

But soon, she grew anxious again, clutching the phone and asking, “Xiaoxuan, are you really at the stairwell? I don’t see you.”

Guan Xiaoxuan was puzzled too. She glanced at her own position and confirmed with Zhang Wen that they were both at the second-floor stairwell.

“Then why can’t I see you?” Zhang Wen’s fear grew. She said, “Could you knock on the railing? Maybe I can hear you.”

Guan Xiaoxuan looked at the stainless steel stair railing, nodded, and walked over. She lightly knocked on the railing with her knuckles.

Knock knock—

Two sharp taps reached Zhang Wen’s ears, and she instantly got excited. “I heard it! I heard you knocking on the railing!”

But just as quickly, she grew confused again. “Then why can’t I see you?”

Guan Xiaoxuan frowned slightly, knocked twice more to confirm Zhang Wen really heard, then said seriously, “This is strange… Zhang Wen, can you describe exactly what happened back then?”

Zhang Wen nodded and told Guan Xiaoxuan about her experience.

Since a lot had happened earlier that day, Zhang Wen had gone to bed early. She was sleeping deeply when suddenly she felt light, like she was dreaming.

When she opened her eyes, she realized she was walking at the end of a line of people.

In front of her were some students—some in pajamas, others dressed to go out. Everyone’s eyes looked dazed. At the front of the line was a woman named Cheng Yi.

Cheng Yi held a flashlight she somehow had and walked at the front. When she noticed Zhang Wen looking at her, she suddenly stopped.

“Oh, a little hedgehog just woke up,” Cheng Yi said.

She turned back, her tear-marked eyes looking at the awake Zhang Wen, curling her lips into a faint smile. “It’s really rare for someone close to her to wake up so easily.”

At first, Zhang Wen didn’t fully react. She looked at the classmates around her and then back at Cheng Yi, thinking she must be dreaming. Curiously, she asked, “Why am I here? What are you planning to do?”

“We’re going to catch the thing,” Cheng Yi said as she moved through the crowd and stopped three steps in front of Zhang Wen.

Zhang Wen couldn’t help but notice how beautiful Cheng Yi’s face was—her eyes soft and inviting like calm water. Her appearance was both innocent and seductive.

She was slim, wearing a light green dress. The night breeze in the hallway lifted her skirt slightly, making her even more charming.

But as Zhang Wen got closer, she noticed something was off about Cheng Yi’s face.

Every feature was perfect on its own, but together they seemed oddly mismatched.

It was like the features didn’t belong to the same face.

Realizing this, Zhang Wen snapped fully awake and took a step back, staring at Cheng Yi. “Are you human or a ghost? Why are you bringing me here in the middle of the night?!”

Cheng Yi smiled softly and said, “Why would I hurt you? I just want to know about that gu.”

“Gu?!”

Hearing this, Guan Xiaoxuan felt a chill run down her spine.

How did Cheng Yi know about the gu?

What was her connection to the late Red Girl?

Zhang Wen didn’t understand the meaning behind Cheng Yi’s words. Cheng Yi didn’t explain but said, “Tell her this—Red Girl is just a little beast. The one who really wants her is someone even more terrifying than Red Girl.”