I'm Actually Panicking Because My Heart Doesn't Beat (GL) - Chapter 71

Guan Xiaoxuan had already accepted the fact that men could see her. She calmly looked at the middle-aged man in front of her and noticed he looked exactly like the photo.

Brown hair, high nose bridge and brow bones, coffee-colored eyes—a mixed-race face, around forty years old.

But Jin Cheng’s appearance didn’t shake Guan Xiaoxuan mentally. She just looked at him and asked, “How did you know I would come looking for you?”

Jin Cheng walked slowly down the stairs and said, “I heard about you from Chen Man. She praised you as an outstanding person. I even heard you saved her on the No. bus 444 a couple of days ago. I owe her a big thanks because of you.”

“Saving Chén Màn was just the right thing to do. No need to thank me, Boss Jin,” Guan Xiaoxuan replied. “Since you already guessed I’d come, you must also know why I’m here, right?”

Jin Cheng nodded. As he stepped down the last stair, he glanced at Guan Xiaoxuan and said, “Looks like your time isn’t long.”

Guan Xiaoxuan stared at him and realized his gaze wasn’t on her—it was on… her shadow?

She recalled how last night in her dream, Bái Zhǐqí glanced at her before leaving. Back then, Guan Xiaoxuan thought she was looking at her, but now she realized Bái Zhǐqí’s eyes were cast downward—probably at her shadow.

Was there something wrong with her shadow?

She turned to look and saw her shadow obediently following behind her. But… it was fading?

How could her shadow be fading?

When had it started to get so faint? Compared to the vase’s shadow beside it, hers was almost invisible.

“Finally noticed, huh?” Jin Cheng said.

He walked to the coffee table, poured himself a glass of water, then looked back at Guan Xiaoxuan. “Your shadow is getting lighter every day. But it’s always behind you, so you never really paid attention.”

Guan Xiaoxuan stared tightly at her shadow, frowned, then asked, “Boss Jin, how do you know so much?”

“I’m a businessman. Knowing a lot is just part of the job,” Jin Cheng said as he sat on the sofa. “Sit down, let’s talk about your situation.”

Guan Xiaoxuan studied his relaxed expression. He casually crossed one leg over the other on the sofa, looking completely at ease. That gave her a slight sense of relief.

If this man could see her and still act so calm, she knew he must have a way to save her.

What the cost would be, she didn’t know yet.

She sat opposite Jin Cheng with a serious expression. “Boss Jin, I want to say upfront—I’m just an ordinary college student. I don’t have much money.”

Jin Cheng’s eyes curved into a smile, cheerful and warm. “Do you think I’m short on cash, Miss Guan?”

“No, you’re not,” she said, looking at him. “Then what do you want?”

“We’ll talk about that later. First, let me analyze your current situation,” Jin Cheng said. After a brief pause, he asked, “That woman has already come after you, hasn’t she?”

“Yes,” Guan Xiaoxuan answered. “Last night, my colleagues from the Weird Affairs Bureau and I tried to ambush her, but we didn’t catch her.”

“Not only did you fail to catch her, but didn’t you also damage some important items?”

“…Yes. She destroyed one of our Grade A items.”

Guan Xiaoxuan didn’t explain what a Grade A item was. She was still cautious around Jin Cheng. But with his abilities, he definitely knew about the Weird Affairs Bureau’s point system—no need for her to explain what the ABCD grades meant.

Jin Cheng nodded knowingly and said, “So your life-saving tool was destroyed by her. Now your life could be at risk any moment.”

Guan Xiaoxuan remained silent and simply nodded.

“I have a rough understanding of your situation,” Jin Cheng said, folding his hands on his lap, chuckling lightly. “I can help you get rid of that woman. But my price is quite steep.”

Guan Xiaoxuan’s eyes flickered, and she asked, “What do you want?”

“Half of your life.”

“What?”

Jin Cheng remained calm and said, “To be exact, I need you to sacrifice half of your soul.”

“Sacrifice… my soul?” Guan Xiaoxuan frowned. “What does that even mean? How can you sacrifice a soul—especially half of it?”

“I wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t possible,” Jin Cheng replied. “Don’t worry, sacrificing your soul won’t cause any pain or harm your body. But from then on, you won’t be a complete human anymore—you’ll be half ‘strange,’ so to speak.”

“Half ‘strange’?”

Guan Xiaoxuan’s heart skipped a beat.

It seemed Boss Jin didn’t know everything. At least he didn’t know she was already someone who had come back from the dead without a heartbeat—otherwise, he wouldn’t have said something like that.

Seeing her hesitate, Jin Cheng continued, “Honestly, I think this deal is not a loss for you. That woman wants to take your whole life, but I only want half. I’m leaving the other half for you.”

Guan Xiaoxuan sneered, “Boss Jin thinks he’s very generous?”

“Of course,” Jin Cheng said with a kind smile. “For you, this is a win-win deal, isn’t it?”

Guan Xiaoxuan stayed quiet, looking at him for a long moment.

She knew her situation was dangerous. Jin Cheng was the most likely person to help her so far. Aside from him, she really didn’t know what to do.

Even though Xing Tianqing and the others were trying their best to help, that woman was just too powerful. And since she could destroy a Grade A item, Guan Xiaoxuan doubted they could really save her.

Technically, the Weird Affairs Bureau had many capable people. But the higher-ups didn’t seem very concerned about Guan Xiaoxuan’s case. They just gave her a Grade A item and left her to handle things on her own—no one else was sent.

Maybe Guan Xiaoxuan was overthinking. But when it comes to your life, you can’t help but doubt your leaders.

At least Xing Tianqing and the others truly wanted to help and were even willing to risk their lives. That touched Guan Xiaoxuan deeply.

Still, she wanted to live.

“Alright, I agree,” Guan Xiaoxuan said. “I’ll sacrifice half my soul, but you must promise I’ll come through this completely alive.”

Jin Cheng seemed to have expected what Guan Xiaoxuan would say and immediately smiled, his eyes lighting up. “Of course, I keep my promises.”

Jin Cheng led Guan Xiaoxuan down to the villa’s basement. Unlike the luxurious upstairs, the basement was damp, cold, and dark. Even though the windows were open, no light came in.

There were no modern appliances down there either. They even needed candles and oil lamps just to see.

Jin Cheng wore his usual black home clothes and carried an oil lamp as he walked through the dark basement. He said to Guan Xiaoxuan behind him, “No electrical devices can be installed here. If you try, they break for no reason and it’s easy to cause accidents. The only light sources that work are candles and oil lamps.”

Guan Xiaoxuan looked around. This place felt like a completely different world from upstairs — eerie and scary.

Jin Cheng pushed open a door and led her into a large room.

The room was cold and damp, with stone walls all around. It was empty except for a big solid wood table. Jin Cheng put down the oil lamp on the table and then lit the candles hanging on the walls one by one.

Though the candlelight was weak, it was at least brighter than before, pushing away some of the creepy feeling.

After setting up the lights, Jin Cheng turned to Guan Xiaoxuan and smiled. “Don’t be afraid. Several previous owners of this place died here. They were all mysteriously dragged down and killed. So, before I came, this villa upstairs was a very haunted house.”

A haunted house?

This surprised Guan Xiaoxuan. She looked at Jin Cheng in disbelief and asked, “Then here…”

“Yes, there are supernatural things here,” Jin Cheng reassured her. “But you don’t need to be afraid. They won’t hurt you. In fact, you even met one of them just now.”

“Met one just now?” Guan Xiaoxuan thought back to the people she saw when she arrived — the strong man, the two maids, and the two golden retrievers. Who could they be?

Jin Cheng didn’t seem interested in answering her question. Instead, he looked at some tools on the table and picked up a sharp pair of scissors.

Seeing the scissors, Guan Xiaoxuan took a step back.

“What are you going to do?” She instinctively placed her hand on her Seven-Star Begonia amulet.

Jin Cheng quickly said, “Don’t be scared, Guan Xiaoxuan. I’m going to cut a small lock of your hair, and then I’ll draw some bl00d from you. These will be used as part of a ritual offering.”

He added, “Actually, a proper offering needs flesh and hair, but at my level, just hair and bl00d are enough. It won’t hurt you.”

Guan Xiaoxuan watched him warily, suddenly regretting her decision. Maybe she should have just stayed home and let Xing Tianqing figure something out.

But now that she was here, backing out didn’t seem possible. She had no choice but to steel herself and say, “I’ll cut my own hair. No need for you to do it, Boss Jin.”

“Alright,” Jin Cheng nodded, turned the scissors around so the blades pointed at himself instead of her, and politely handed them over.

This small gesture made Guan Xiaoxuan feel a bit less annoyed with him. She took the scissors and picked a small lock of hair from her temple, then cut it off smoothly.

She wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination, but as she cut her hair with those scissors, it felt like some of her strength was being drained away, like a part of her soul was taken with it.

Since she couldn’t draw bl00d by herself, she let Jin Cheng do it for her. After collecting the bl00d and hair, Jin Cheng looked at Guan Xiaoxuan and smiled softly.

“Well then, let’s take a trip to the Inner World.”