I'm Actually Panicking Because My Heart Doesn't Beat (GL) - Chapter 64

Xing Tianqing had the sudden feeling that something had just flashed past her bedroom door. When she snapped out of it, she realized the person who had been sleeping beside her—Guan Xiaoxuan—was gone!

She immediately sat up, threw on a jacket, and rushed out of the bedroom.

“Guan Xiaoxuan?”

She checked the living room, the guest bedroom, the bathroom, and the kitchen—no sign of Guan Xiaoxuan anywhere. She even looked out on the balcony and searched every corner of the apartment, but there was still no trace of her.

Weird. Where could she have gone?

Xing Tianqing’s expression grew tense. That was when she noticed the front door was slightly open—just enough to suggest that someone had recently stepped out.

Did Guan Xiaoxuan leave?

She hurried to the door, but as soon as she grabbed the doorknob, she suddenly felt someone touching her. She spun around—and there was Guan Xiaoxuan standing right behind her.

“When did you get behind me?” Xing Tianqing instantly relaxed at the sight of her. She let go of the doorknob and walked over, looking Guan Xiaoxuan up and down. The girl was still in her pajamas.

“I was just looking all over for you. How come I didn’t see you at all?”

Guan Xiaoxuan looked pale. She stared at Xing Tianqing and said, “I was in the room the whole time. I saw you walking around, searching for me.”

Xing Tianqing was stunned. “That’s impossible. If you were here, how could I not see you?”

Right after she said that, she realized something. She stared at Guan Xiaoxuan in silence for a moment before asking in a low voice, “Have I already started to lose sight of you?”

Guan Xiaoxuan wasn’t sure. She’d been sitting on the living room sofa the whole time, deep in thought, when she saw Xing Tianqing come out of the bedroom and start searching everywhere. When Xing Tianqing was about to step out the door, that’s when Guan Xiaoxuan realized—she was the one being looked for.

But that didn’t make any sense. She’d been right there on the sofa the whole time. When Xing Tianqing called her name earlier, she even responded.

Xing Tianqing had walked right past her several times… and didn’t see her?

Guan Xiaoxuan felt a chill run down her spine. Something was seriously wrong.

She looked at Xing Tianqing and asked, “You really didn’t see me at all?”

Xing Tianqing met her eyes with a serious expression. “I really didn’t.”

A heavy silence settled between them. The weight of the situation was impossible to ignore.

After that, Guan Xiaoxuan and Xing Tianqing ran a little experiment. Xing Tianqing locked herself in the bedroom for five minutes, then came out—but still couldn’t see where Guan Xiaoxuan was. Even when Guan Xiaoxuan stood directly in front of the bedroom door, Xing Tianqing couldn’t see her at all.

Guan Xiaoxuan tried calling her name, but Xing Tianqing couldn’t hear it. Unless Guan Xiaoxuan physically touched her, she had no idea she was there.

This strange phenomenon shocked them both so much that they skipped breakfast. Xing Tianqing grabbed Guan Xiaoxuan’s hand and rushed downstairs. She made sure Guan was buckled into the passenger seat before calling the Supernatural Affairs Bureau.

Xiao An was on duty last night, and as soon as she answered, Xing Tianqing barked, “When is the A-class item going to be delivered?!”

Xiao An was startled by her tone and quickly replied, “I heard it’s already in the city. It should arrive at the points exchange center later today.”

“Good. I’m heading straight there. I won’t be coming into the office this morning. Let the others know.”

“Okay, Captain Xing.”

Feeling that something was off, Xiao An hesitated before asking, “Did something happen?”

“It’s nothing. I’ll explain when I get back.”

After hanging up, Xing Tianqing started the car and told Guan Xiaoxuan, “We’re going to the points exchange center first. I’ll give you the item as soon as it arrives.”

Just as she finished speaking, she felt someone tug gently on her sleeve. She turned and looked at Guan Xiaoxuan.

“Don’t be too anxious,” Guan said, trying to comfort her. “It’ll be okay.”

Xing Tianqing nodded with a serious expression and drove straight to the points exchange center in the suburbs.

The center didn’t open until 8:30 AM. The vehicle carrying the A-class item arrived at 9:00.

Once it arrived, it was sent in for registration. After that, Xing Tianqing immediately took it and gave it to Guan Xiaoxuan—a small black velvet box placed gently in her palm.

Guan looked at the item and saw it was about the size of a jewelry box.

It was small and light, covered in soft black velvet, almost like a piece of luxury jewelry.

When Guan Xiaoxuan opened it, she saw a thin golden disc the size of a coin nestled in black foam. It looked like the kind of gold pieces you’d see in a jewelry store, with a sun symbol engraved on it.

Attached to the disc was a silver chain. As soon as she picked it up, she felt a comforting warmth. It was almost hot to the touch, though not hotter than body temperature, and it faintly glowed with a soft golden light.

“This is an A-class item?” Guan asked curiously, looking at the necklace-like thing in her hand. “It just looks like an ordinary accessory.”

“It used to be just the gold disc,” Xing Tianqing explained. “We added the chain to make it easier to wear. The chain is adjustable—you can wear it on your wrist if you don’t want it around your neck.”

Guan tried it on and felt it was too noticeable around her neck, so she decided to wear it on her wrist instead.

The silver chain wrapped around her wrist three times, and the golden disc dangled neatly. It looked much better that way.

Only after handing over the item did Xing Tianqing finally seem to relax a bit.

She looked at Guan and said, “With this, no ghost can get within a meter of you. If one does appear, you’ll be able to sense it right away. This greatly increases your chances of survival.”

Guan nodded and tucked the item into her sleeve. “How long can I use it?”

“I made a special request. You can use it until this whole thing is over,” Xing explained.

“Oh,” Guan responded, then asked, “How many points does this cost if someone wants to exchange for it?”

Xing Tianqing smiled and said, “You’ll find out once you reach the right clearance level.”

Since Xing clearly didn’t want to say more, Guan didn’t press the issue.

After greeting Lin Weiwei, the two returned to the office—there was still a lot to do.

Xing Tianqing explained Guan Xiaoxuan’s current condition to the team, and everyone looked very serious. Without needing orders, the members quickly divided up patrol areas, focusing mainly on the neighborhood where Guan and Xing lived, to continue searching for the woman in red.

Everyone else was busy trying to help Guan, but she herself didn’t have much to do.

She had already gone through all the related files in the past few days, even the internal database of the Bureau. From what she found, the woman in red was extremely powerful and very possessive—once she set her sights on someone, she never let them go.

As for the victims? All of them disappeared without a trace. No bodies, no signs of life or death.

Guan lay on the couch, fiddling with the charm on her wrist, wondering why that woman was doing all this. Had she really eaten all those people?

The more she thought about it, the less sense it made. She couldn’t stand just sitting around and waiting to be hunted. She looked around the office.

Most of the Bureau staff were out. The few remaining were administrative workers.

Xing Tianqing had gone to a meeting. Just like any normal workplace, the Bureau held countless meetings when not on missions. Right now, no one was paying attention to Guan.

After thinking it over for a while, she finally stood up.

As long as she didn’t touch anyone, nobody could detect her. It was practically like being invisible. Aside from gradually fading from people’s memory, Guan thought—if this was the woman in red’s ability, it was actually kind of useful.

She left the Bureau, rented a shared bike, and headed to her university.

The dorm supervisor didn’t notice her at all. Guan quickly ran to the second floor. Before she could call out, she noticed the colors around her changing—fading from bright to dull shades of black, white, and gray.

She knew she had entered the “inner world.”

She hurried to Bai Zhiqi’s dorm room, just about to step inside when she heard someone shout, “Don’t come in!”

She froze with one foot halfway through the door.

Bai Zhiqi was standing on the balcony, looking at her from a distance as if separated by a vast chasm. “Just stay there and talk. Don’t come in.”

Guan blinked, then raised her wrist to show the golden charm. “You’re scared of this?”

Bai Zhiqi glared at her. “Who isn’t? You came here wearing that thing—trying to kill me?”

Guan obediently pulled her foot back and stood at the door. “I’ve run into trouble. I couldn’t get away the last few days, but I’m here now to talk and see if we can come up with a solution.”

“Solution?” Bai Zhiqi scoffed. “You’ve pissed her off. Your life’s basically over. You should probably write your will and plan your inheritance. Who knows, maybe we’ll meet again in the inner world.”

Guan chuckled. “That doesn’t sound so bad.”

“Bad?! You want to die that badly?” Bai Zhiqi gave her a pained look. “Seriously, how did you even get on her bad side?”

“It’s a long story.”

Guan explained what had happened on the bus, then looked at Bai and said, “You’re the nicest ghost I’ve met. You’ve helped me out of so many messes. Can you think of anything this time? Something to get rid of her?”

Bai Zhiqi thought for a moment, then said seriously, “You helped me, and I helped you. We’re basically friends now. But this time… I really don’t have any good ideas. That woman is way stronger than I am.”

She paused. “Since you came to me, I’ll ask around. If I find a way, I’ll send it to you in a dream.”

“Okay.” Guan didn’t push her. She turned to leave, but Bai suddenly called out.

“Guan Xiaoxuan,” she said, “Be careful these next few days. You’re barely noticeable in the real world right now, but to ghosts, you stand out like a beacon. Don’t wander around too much—you might attract others.”