Just as he was a few meters away from Xu Shuangning, Li Daonian froze. He stopped in his tracks. Was someone trying to steal his gig?
He saw two smiling guys rush up to her ahead of him. "Hello! Your performance was amazing. Can I get to know you?"
A moment later, a few more guys walked over, all pulling out their phones and flashing their WeChat QR codes.
*Damn it,* Li Daonian thought, completely baffled. This was the first time he had ever seen people queue up to ask a girl for her WeChat.
Most of them were fresh-faced college freshmen who had no idea how difficult it was to get this little beauty's WeChat.
Last semester, when Xu Shuangning was a freshman, an upperclassman had added her on WeChat. As soon as she accepted, she asked, "Who are you?"
The upperclassman replied, "I think you're really pretty and seem like a great person."
Before the upperclassman could say another word, Xu Shuangning blocked him. The only thing left behind was a depressing red exclamation mark.
After that, the rumors grew more and more exaggerated. Many people learned that this girl's WeChat was nearly impossible to get. She had an icy demeanor, was difficult to talk to, and had a very stubborn personality, so most people simply backed down.
These freshmen clearly didn't know.
Li Daonian stood on the sidelines, watching the show.
"Excuse me!"
"I'm not interested!"
"Please step aside!"
After Xu Shuangning rejected several guys, she finally started walking toward the backstage area, leaving those reckless young men standing awkwardly in place.
Li Daonian stepped forward with a flash, grinning, "Miss! Wait a moment!"
Xu Shuangning lowered her gaze and let out a deep sigh.
Under the spotlight, her slender waist and long legs gleamed white. The sequins on her crystal body-con dress shimmered brightly as she glared at him with resentment in her peach-blossom eyes. The dim light outlined the seductive, full curves of her body.
Absolute top-tier figure!
Only as Li Daonian drew closer did he see her face clearly.
The tip of her cute nose was slightly flushed, and her Lancôme-like large eyes seemed to swim with unshed tears. The contours of her diamond-shaped face were sharp, with waves of emotion rippling across her brows. She truly looked like a modern-day Daji. With the stage lights hitting her, tears seemed to well up in her eyes and her lips pouted in a pitiful, endearing manner.
Damn! No wonder so many guys were begging for her WeChat. Back in ancient times, she would be the kind of beauty who could ruin a kingdom.
Right then, Li Daonian blocked Xu Shuangning's path and blurted out something utterly idiotic: "Miss, wait a moment!" She looked at him with obvious displeasure, while a crowd of guys gathered around, eager to watch him make a fool of himself.
Was this clown going to perform on stage next?
Li Daonian glanced around and saw so many people watching him, knowing they expected a joke. He sneered inwardly.
I am damn well not here to ask for her WeChat. I'm here to save your little beauty!
With a sigh, Xu Shuangning stared unblinkingly at the young man, ready to dismiss him the second he opened his mouth. Instead, she noticed him staring at her legs and waist, hesitating and saying nothing, which left her feeling somewhat strange and disgusted.
Just as she was about to turn and leave with those long legs of hers, Li Daonian spoke—and his words made the surrounding crowd burst into roaring laughter.
"Miss, I can see a dark aura between your eyebrows. You're facing some bad luck lately!"
"Hahaha!"
"Hahahaha!!"
Seeing him use such a low-tier pickup line, the onlookers burst into laughter, slapping their thighs in amusement.
Even Xu Shuangning couldn't help letting out a faint, scornful chuckle: "Idiot!"
Li Daonian had expected her to say that, and remained completely unruffled. "Have you ever heard of me?"
"And who are you?" Xu Shuangning asked dismissively.
"I am Li Daonian!" He looked confident enough to put his hands on his hips.
"Never heard of you!" the little beauty replied mercilessly.
Damn, this was a bit awkward.
The young men and women watching the fun couldn't stop laughing.
This guy was hilarious! What major was he from?
Normally at a time like this, Li Daonian could just check the campus confession wall later that night and find it flooded with people making fun of him.
However, none of them knew that he was a man of actual substance.
"It doesn't matter if you haven't heard of me. I'm here to solve your problem," he continued.
Xu Shuangning smiled. "What problem could I possibly have?"
"That dark aura between your eyebrows."
"Nonsense!"
"Oh, come on, I'm not here to argue with you about that. Let me ask you just one thing: have you been sleeping poorly at night lately?"
At that, Xu Shuangning's brow furrowed. She raised her head, looking at him suspiciously, as if she had words on the tip of her tongue but swallowed them back.
Li Daonian knew he had hit the nail on the head.
"I suppose so," she said softly. "Isn't that normal? Besides, what does that have to do with you?"
Ignoring her aggression, Li Daonian pressed on, speaking at his own pace:
"You've been crying?"
*Huh?* The crowd was completely baffled. They tilted their heads to look at Xu Shuangning's face. What did this guy mean? The little beauty had been crying? Who upset her?
Hearing this, Xu Shuangning looked genuinely surprised. She turned her head slightly to hide from the others, then glanced back at Li Daonian with a complex expression before slowly asking,
"Why do you ask that?"
Bingo. Not denying it meant it was true. Li Daonian felt he had her figured out and cut straight to the chase:
"Xu Shuangning, you've run into a ghost!"
"What? Are you kidding me?" The little beauty flashed a disdainful smile.
"You don't have to believe me."
"And I really don't."
"Tell me about the strange things you've encountered lately," he urged.
"Strange things?"
"Don't hide it from me. I can tell."
Xu Shuangning hesitated for a moment. She glanced at the surrounding crowd, weighing whether she should just hurry away and ignore this lunatic or actually talk to him.
After a brief hesitation, she decided to chat.
And so, right under the watchful eyes of everyone—while the crowd of boys could never get her WeChat—the dance beauty Xu Shuangning actually grabbed this young man's arm and pulled him off to the side.
???
???
What was going on here?
To top it off, the guy named Li Daonian didn't forget to look back, blink, and flash a smug look at them.
A bunch of morons, not even knowing how capable I am.
This was a fate tied together by a ghost. Which of you could ever compare?
Once they were pulled to the side where no one else could hear them, Xu Shuangning parted her lips and asked,
"Why did you say that?"
"I'll be straight with you. I'm a ghost hunter. I saw signs that you're being haunted by a spirit, so I wanted to ask."
Li Daonian rubbed the skin on his arm, feeling a slight sting where the girl had forcefully dragged him over.
"This is the age of science, and people still have this job?" Xu Shuangning asked skeptically.
"There's a lot you don't know." Li Daonian smiled and jerked his chin toward Xu Shuangning's back.
She turned around to look and saw that two guys had actually followed them over to eavesdrop.
Xu Shuangning glared fiercely at them, then grabbed Li Daonian and walked even further away.
True to form, he smugly blinked at the two guys again. *I saw you two laughing the hardest just now!*
"You really did run into something strange, didn't you?" he said.
"I don't know," Xu Shuangning shook her head, sounding uncertain.
"Tell me about it," he urged.
Li Daonian was very familiar with this situation. Many skeptical clients wouldn't tell him the truth because they didn't trust him yet.
In cases like this, he had to take it step by step and slowly win their trust.
Sigh, in a way, he really did have the kind heart of a healer.
Xu Shuangning looked at him, debated internally for a moment, and finally spoke up:
"Lately, I've been hearing crying at night. It sounds like an auditory hallucination."
"In the dorm?"
"I rent an apartment off-campus."
"Then take me there tonight to have a look."
Xu Shuangning looked at him with utter distrust. Was this guy just running a high-end pickup line? Why on earth did he want to follow her back to her room?
"Don't trust me?" Li Daonian asked with a smile.
Xu Shuangning pursed her lips, chuckled faintly, and shook her head.
"If you don't trust me, that's fine. Just add me on WeChat. Contact me if your symptoms get worse. My initial assessment is that it doesn't look like a malicious spirit yet."
*Ha!* Xu Shuangning let out a dry, scornful laugh. So he finally showed his true colors!
And yet, it was a trap she couldn't avoid, since what he had said earlier was actually true.
Reluctantly, she pulled out her QR code and added him as a friend.
"I think I'll still consult the school counselor. I suspect I'm just under too much pressure," Xu Shuangning said before turning to leave.
"Which counselor?"
"Teacher Wang Hai."
"Haha, I know him well. You'll be coming back to me."
Xu Shuangning almost laughed out loud at his nonsense.
"I don't believe you."
With that, she walked off toward the backstage area to change her clothes and leave.
Li Daonian remained unhurried, knowing the girl would likely contact him by tomorrow.
He walked straight back to the crowd that had been watching the fun, pulled out his phone, turned the brightness all the way up, and opened Xu Shuangning's WeChat profile.
Right in front of everyone, he recorded and sent a voice message:
"Ahem, Xu Shuangning, message me on WeChat tonight if you can't sleep!"