I'm Actually Panicking Because My Heart Doesn't Beat (GL) - Chapter 42
Two days later, Guan Xiaoxuan’s school officially started its holiday break. On the same day, the Paranormal Bureau organized a dinner to celebrate Guan Xiaoxuan joining their team.
During the meal, Guan Xiaoxuan got to know the other members of the group.
The Paranormal Bureau’s Xinglin City branch was mainly led by team leader Xing Tianqing. The regular staff included Xiao An, Qiu Nan, Zhang Jingshan, Song Yan, and others. They were all official employees of the bureau, and Guan Xiaoxuan had met some of them before during missions.
The rest were external contractors, like Guan Xiaoxuan herself.
For example, the woman who hypnotized Guan Xiaoxuan earlier at the morgue door was also an external member of the bureau.
These external members had their own regular jobs but became involved with the Paranormal Bureau by chance. Some were flower shop owners, some regular office workers, while others were fortune tellers, exorcists, or worked at temples.
All together, the bureau had about ten official employees and fewer than twenty external members. It was a small team.
As a new member, Guan Xiaoxuan was naturally warmly welcomed. Since she was also the youngest, everyone paid special attention to her, and the whole dinner was very lively.
Watching everyone enjoy themselves so much, Guan Xiaoxuan could drink but didn’t really want to. So she whispered to Xing Tianqing, who was sitting beside her.
“They’re drinking so happily, how are they going to get home later?” Guan Xiaoxuan asked with some worry.
Xing Tianqing had also had a little to drink; her cheeks were slightly flushed, and her eyes looked moist and gentle. When she looked at Guan Xiaoxuan, her gaze was full of tenderness, making Guan Xiaoxuan’s heart beat faster.
She took off her glasses and put them in her pocket, sipping the red wine. “Don’t worry. Our work is dangerous and stressful. It’s rare to have a new colleague, so they’re just taking the chance to relax.”
Cases handled by the Paranormal Bureau were always risky — it was like walking a tightrope. One wrong step could mean death on the job.
Xing Tianqing understood this feeling well, so when they had the chance to unwind, she never interfered.
The saying “eat, drink, and be merry for today” seemed to fit them perfectly.
Guan Xiaoxuan replied with a simple “Oh,” then curiously looked at Xing Tianqing without her glasses. After staring for a while, she quietly asked, “Xing Team Leader, you’re not nearsighted, right? Why do you always wear those glasses?”
Actually, you look better without them.
Guan Xiaoxuan thought quietly to herself. Seeing Xing Tianqing look at her, she blushed slightly and quickly took a sip of her drink to hide it.
Xing Tianqing noticed the girl’s blush and felt an unexpected joy. She leaned over and whispered in Guan Xiaoxuan’s ear, “I think I just heard your thoughts. Are you saying I look better without my glasses?”
Guan Xiaoxuan widened her eyes, surprised. “Can you read minds?”
Xing Tianqing laughed and said, “There’s no such thing as mind reading. I’m just good at reading people’s micro-expressions. Sometimes what people want to say is written all over their faces. If someone isn’t very secretive, it’s easy to tell.”
Guan Xiaoxuan was curious, “What does that have to do with you wearing glasses?”
“Nothing really. Wearing glasses just makes it harder for people to see the color of my pupils,” Xing Tianqing said, moving closer to Guan Xiaoxuan so their eyes met.
Guan Xiaoxuan’s heart was pounding so loudly she could almost hear it. Looking into Xing Tianqing’s eyes, she saw they had changed to a soft green—a very calm color.
“Your pupils…”
“Shh.”
Xing Tianqing said quietly, “You’ll understand why my pupil color changes later. Today is just a team dinner; let’s not talk about it now.”
Guan Xiaoxuan thought for a moment. She’d have plenty of time to ask later and, seeing Xing Tianqing didn’t mind, she decided to wait.
The dinner lasted until 11 p.m. Guan Xiaoxuan was so tired she could barely keep her eyes open. Meanwhile, the others in the Paranormal Bureau seemed to get more energetic, planning to go for a second round.
Some people didn’t have that much energy and went home after the dinner ended.
Xing Tianqing called a driver and went home together with Guan Xiaoxuan.
The next day, after checking in at the bureau, Guan Xiaoxuan officially became a member of the Paranormal Bureau.
During the May Day holiday, malls and tourist spots were packed with people.
The streets were bustling, and the city was lively.
On this warm holiday, Guan Xiaoxuan carried a backpack, dressed in clean clothes, and came back to the lake where she had been rescued before.
Because of so many things going on earlier, Guan Xiaoxuan hadn’t had time to visit the lake until now.
Taking advantage of the holiday and the nice weather, she planned to dive in herself.
Although she felt this simple method probably wouldn’t work, she wanted to try anyway—hoping against hope.
Standing by the lake, she took off her jacket. Underneath, she wore a training swimsuit — a tight short-sleeve top and shorts made of waterproof material, so it wasn’t awkward to undress by the shore.
She stretched on the shore, warmed up fully, and then carefully entered the water along the edge.
The lake water was still very cold in early May. Even with her swimsuit, the cold made her face turn purple.
Luckily, she had warmed up well on shore, so she adapted quickly once in the water.
Back in her old world, Guan Xiaoxuan had only ever swum in pools; this was her first time swimming outdoors.
With a simple diving device, she swam for a long time in the lake but felt nothing unusual. Eventually, she accepted that she couldn’t go back through the water.
She sighed deeply and surfaced.
As soon as she popped her head out, she saw a crowd gathered on the shore—people had spontaneously formed a protective barrier around the scene. A bright police car was parked nearby.
Guan Xiaoxuan: “…”
No way, she had only been in the water for about ten minutes. Were the citizens of Xinglin City really that enthusiastic?
She had timed it carefully, but unexpectedly so many people were watching her—it was a little embarrassing.
The enthusiastic crowd hadn’t expected her to resurface. They all gasped. The police officers were collecting evidence nearby. When they saw Guan Xiaoxuan swim ashore openly like that, their faces turned sour.
“What’s wrong with you?” the policeman scolded angrily. “Don’t you know swimming here is forbidden?”
Guan Xiaoxuan took a towel she had set aside and wiped her hair. She smiled awkwardly at the two police officers, “Sorry, I just went in to handle something and didn’t mean to cause a misunderstanding.”
“What kind of thing do you need to do in the water? Don’t talk nonsense. Come with us to the station.”
Guan Xiaoxuan didn’t argue. She dried off a bit, put on her coat, grabbed her bag, and followed the officers to the police station.
On the way, the police kept lecturing her—sometimes about wasting police resources, sometimes warning her not to swim in unauthorized places. They nagged the whole way.
At the station, another group gave her a scolding.
Guan Xiaoxuan sipped hot water and glanced at the clock on the wall with some helplessness. “I really understand my mistake. I definitely won’t do it again. Can I go home now?”
“Go home?” the officer who brought her in said unhappily, “You have to write a self-criticism report first. After that, you can leave.”
He threw her a notebook and a pen.
From being brought to the station, through the lecture, to writing the report, everything was done by 11 p.m.
The officers gave her one last lecture before letting her go.
Guan Xiaoxuan changed clothes as soon as she arrived at the station. Now carrying her backpack, she walked out and looked at the bus stop nearby.
The last bus had already left, and the subway was closed. It seemed she would have to take a taxi home.
Guan Xiaoxuan called a car on her phone but didn’t dare sit on the bench at the bus stop. She remembered the red-clothed female ghost who had followed her for a long time and first appeared at a bus stop, so she was especially cautious around places like that.
While waiting for the car, she kept thinking.
Although checking the water hadn’t led to anything, at least it ruled out one option. Otherwise, it would have stayed in her mind, and that wouldn’t be good.
As for whether there were other ways to get back, no one knew.
Guan Xiaoxuan sighed, holding her backpack. She had to prepare herself to live in this world for the rest of her life.
The car arrived quickly. Guan Xiaoxuan sat in the back seat and confirmed the license plate with the taxi driver. Then she leaned back and watched the scenery pass by.
The driver didn’t talk to her. He rolled down the window, letting the cool night breeze in, and hummed a little tune.
Guan Xiaoxuan hadn’t heard the song before. It was probably a new, simple folk love song.
The catchy tune was actually quite nice. She looked out the window and didn’t think much about it.
“Hmm?”
The taxi driver suddenly frowned and leaned forward a bit, looking at something not far ahead. “It’s so late, why is there still a bus running?”
Guan Xiaoxuan got curious and looked ahead, seeing a bus slowly moving along.
Aren’t buses supposed to stop running this late at night? How was this one still operating?
The driver looked puzzled too. As the bus got closer, he said, “That bus is driving really slow.”
Guan Xiaoxuan watched it and said, “Buses usually go slow, don’t they?”
“Yeah, I guess so.” The driver sped up to pass the bus. “That bus looks really old. Must be from more than ten years ago. All the city buses now have air conditioning. This kind only opens windows—I’ve only seen these in junkyards.”
As he spoke, the driver passed the bus.
When Guan Xiaoxuan glanced at the bus, she saw it was packed with people, even though it was midnight.
But something felt strange. She sensed a pair of eyes watching her closely, but she couldn’t see anyone looking at her.
The bus slowly stopped at a station and opened its doors.
Meanwhile, the taxi drove away. Guan Xiaoxuan looked back and saw the bus’s display sign showed route number [444].