I'm Actually Panicking Because My Heart Doesn't Beat (GL) - Chapter 60

Although Guan Xiaoxuan was sure nothing was wrong with her, Xing Tianqing still worried and took her to the hospital for a full check-up.

Holding her test results, Guan Xiaoxuan found she was perfectly healthy—strong and fit, with nothing wrong at all.

Xing Tianqing had many things to take care of, so after Guan Xiaoxuan got her report, she went to wait by the operating room.

Chen Man was undergoing surgery. The doctors said the situation was grim— even if they managed to reattach the severed limb, poor recovery could still affect her mobility in the future. Guan Xiaoxuan waited outside the operating room for over four hours before the surgery ended. Because of excessive bl00d loss, Chen Man was immediately sent to the ICU.

It would take some time for her to wake up. Seeing that there was nothing else she could do, Guan Xiaoxuan went home.

It was Monday, and school was fully booked, but Guan Xiaoxuan was exhausted after staying up all night. She didn’t go to school and went straight home to sleep.

She ended up sleeping until after 10 p.m.

Guazi, probably hungry, was sitting on Guan Xiaoxuan’s chest, looking down at her. When Guan Xiaoxuan opened her eyes, Guazi softly meowed.

“What’s up?” Guan Xiaoxuan asked sleepily. “Do you want something? Just say it.”

Guazi wagged its tail and meowed again.

With her eyes closed, Guan Xiaoxuan picked up the cat from the bed and glanced around the dark bedroom, feeling a bit uneasy.

She turned on all the lights in the house and sat in the living room, watching Guazi happily eat canned food. She couldn’t help but smile and patted the little chubby cat’s backside, sighing, “You’re so lucky. You don’t have to worry about anything.”

Maybe because it was enjoying the tasty food, Guazi didn’t mind being petted on the rear. It kept eating the canned food in big bites.

After Guazi was full, Guan Xiaoxuan took a shower. By the time she came out, it was already 11 p.m.

She wiped the water from her hair, cleaned the bathroom a bit, and went to the kitchen.

Opening the fridge, Guan Xiaoxuan found almost nothing inside. After searching around, she finally found a bag of frozen dumplings.

Making do, she boiled water and dumped most of the dumplings into the pot.

While waiting for the dumplings to cook, she looked outside at the apartment complex. Only a few windows still had lights on; most residents were already asleep.

The garden in the complex was dimly lit by streetlights, and with fewer people around at night, it was even darker. Guan Xiaoxuan thought she saw a vague figure standing under one of the distant streetlights.

The figure was blurry and far away, so she couldn’t be sure if it was a person. Still, she felt uneasy.

The night wind made a soft “woo-woo” sound, sending chills down her spine.

The figure under the streetlight seemed to sway, then suddenly looked up and locked eyes with Guan Xiaoxuan!

Ding dong—

Startled, Guan Xiaoxuan almost dropped her spatula. She turned toward the kitchen door and then heard a knock.

“Guan Xiaoxuan.”

It was Xing Tianqing’s voice outside. “I saw your lights were on. Are you asleep?”

Guan Xiaoxuan sighed in relief and said, “Not yet. Wait for me a moment.”

She turned off the stove and looked again toward the streetlight. The vague shadow had disappeared. Looking carefully, she realized it was just a half-sized trash bin—not a person at all.

What a false alarm.

She quickly went to the door, checked through the peephole, and finally felt safe enough to open it.

Xing Tianqing stood there in a charcoal-gray tracksuit. Her normally messy long hair was neatly tied back. Seeing Guan Xiaoxuan open the door, she held out a bag of barbecue and asked, “Want some?”

Guan Xiaoxuan glanced at the food and stepped aside to let her in.

At the dining table, Guan Xiaoxuan shared half of her dumplings with Xing Tianqing and made herself a bowl of dumpling soup. She sat down and opened the barbecue packaging, asking, “Why did you buy so much?”

Xing Tianqing looked at her and said, “Why did you leave the hospital on your own today without telling me?”

“I figured nothing was wrong, so I went home to catch up on sleep,” Guan Xiaoxuan replied, picking up a sausage. “I didn’t sleep all night yesterday. I just couldn’t hold on.”

Watching Guan Xiaoxuan quietly eat, Xing Tianqing cleared her throat and said, “Guan Xiaoxuan, why don’t you stay at my place for a while?”

Guan Xiaoxuan looked up and asked, “Why?”

“I’m worried about you living alone. Besides, my guest room is empty. You can just move in,” Xing Tianqing said softly. “Having you around would make me feel a little more at ease.”

Guan Xiaoxuan smiled and took a bite of her dumpling. “Why do you make it sound like I’m definitely going to die or something?”

Xing Tianqing lowered her eyes. “Guan Xiaoxuan.”

“I know,” Guan Xiaoxuan said. “You’re afraid something will happen to me. I’m afraid of that too. Since you said it, help me move my bedding later. I’ll stay at your place for now.”

Hearing this, Xing Tianqing finally relaxed. Even though having her there didn’t guarantee Guan Xiaoxuan’s safety, at least she was stronger and could protect her for a while.
“I’ve already reported your situation to the higher-ups,” Xing Tianqing said as she ate the dumplings Guan Xiaoxuan had cooked. “They’re taking this very seriously. I expect they’ll send some A- or B-level special items. They won’t let you just die like this.”

“A- or B-level special items?” Guan Xiaoxuan asked curiously. “Is that woman really that powerful? Is it really necessary to use such high-level items?”

“The better the protection, the higher the level, of course,” Xing Tianqing answered seriously. “Besides, this is a problem that happened during work, so the higher-ups have to make sure you’re safe.”

Guan Xiaoxuan nodded. Hearing that eased her heavy mood quite a bit.

“I wonder what an A-level item looks like,” Guan Xiaoxuan said, having eaten a bit, then asked, “By the way, that book of yours…”

Xing Tianqing’s eyes flickered as she looked at Guan Xiaoxuan and slowly said, “You’re already part of the Bureau of Spirits now, so you have the right to know some things.”

Guan Xiaoxuan looked at her, puzzled. She had just asked about the golden book in Xing Tianqing’s hands, but why was she suddenly so serious?

“That book is called the Golden Book, a special item without a set rank.”

“No rank?”

“Yes. Its power depends on who holds it, so it doesn’t have a fixed level. When it’s in my hands, it’s called the Book of Restraint. Whenever I read the prohibitions written inside, it creates an invisible magnetic field around me.”

Guan Xiaoxuan had never heard of a special item that could change its power like that. Hearing this, she recalled that every time Xing Tianqing picked up the book, she read something like ‘Prohibition Rule number XX.’ So this was the power of the Golden Book in her hands?

She wondered what power it would show if she got hold of it.

“There’s one more thing,” Xing Tianqing said, deciding there was no need to hide it anymore. She took off her glasses and calmly looked at Guan Xiaoxuan.

Their eyes met, and Guan Xiaoxuan noticed that today Xing Tianqing’s eyes were a faint smoky purple.

“Your eyes…”

“My eyes are actually a kind of special item too.”

Guan Xiaoxuan was stunned. “Your eyes can be special items?”

Xing Tianqing nodded and put her glasses back on. “When I was very young, I had an accident and gained these eyes that can change color. Each color represents a boost in different abilities. For example, when I use the Book of Restraint, my eyes turn golden, and the book’s power reaches its maximum. According to the exchange center’s rating, the Book of Restraint is at least A-level.”

Guan Xiaoxuan’s eyes widened. “At least A-level?”

Xing Tianqing nodded again. “Not just the Book of Restraint — any special item in my hands becomes stronger than usual. But I usually can’t control the color changes, so I wear glasses and try not to touch special items too much.”

“So do your eyes change color even when you’re not using special items?”

“Sometimes, yes.”

Xing Tianqing thought for a moment and smiled. “Normally, my eyes are black or brown. When I’m in a good mood, they turn light green. When I’m nervous, they turn purple.”

Guan Xiaoxuan watched her pupils shift from purple to brown just now.

Pretty amazing.

Guan Xiaoxuan looked at Xing Tianqing and said, “That’s really cool.”

Xing Tianqing said, “But sometimes it’s a real headache.”

“Yeah, a little,” Guan Xiaoxuan agreed. “But this power fits your job well. It’s like a buff in a game—really useful.”

Xing Tianqing smiled but kept her eyes lowered, saying nothing.

After dinner, Xing Tianqing started helping Guan Xiaoxuan pack up. Since their homes were just across from each other, Guan Xiaoxuan had only brought a blanket and pillow—nothing else.

Because she had slept a lot during the day and was in a strange new place, Guan Xiaoxuan only fell asleep around one or two in the morning.

Once asleep, she felt herself getting colder and colder.

She seemed to be dreaming of her own room, filled with familiar things. Even Guazi, her pet, was curled up quietly in the corner of the sofa where she often slept.

The room felt cold and damp. Guan Xiaoxuan anxiously paced around, trying to figure out what was causing it.

As she wandered, she suddenly seemed to sense something. She walked to her bedroom window and looked down.

From the 17th floor, she felt a bit dizzy.

At the end of the road in the housing complex below, a dim yellow streetlamp stood alone, its light the only glow in the pitch-black neighborhood.

A streetlamp?

Did it mean something?

Guan Xiaoxuan stared at the lamp, unsure why. She must have looked for quite a while before she saw a pair of feet in red high heels slowly approaching.

Above the bl00d-red heels were pale legs. The red dress was wet, droplets clinging to the skin and dripping slowly to the ground.

The woman in the red dress stood under the streetlamp, slowly lifting her head to meet Guan Xiaoxuan’s gaze and smiling wickedly…