The next afternoon, Xu Shuangning really did send him a message:
"Where are you?"
Li Daonian was currently in an elective class, sitting in the back row and happily playing Hearthstone.
His two buddies leaned in close, giving completely unhelpful tactical advice. When Xu Shuangning's chat box popped up, they both stared in astonishment, looking at him with sly grins.
"Ahem, ahem!" Li Daonian coughed twice, dramatically exited the game, and then huddled off to the side with his phone to reply.
"Damn!" His roommates felt an itch of curiosity. What was this pretty little girl looking for him for? Could she really have run into a ghost?
There were four of them in their dorm, and they all knew that Li Daonian caught demons and banished ghosts.
As roommates, they occasionally heard his interesting stories about catching ghosts. At first, none of them believed it, but after helping him catch a few ghosts, they had to completely reevaluate the world.
As for Li Daonian harassing Xu Shuangning last night, the others didn't know the inside story, but his roommates knew the general idea.
Since Master Li had deduced that she had run into a ghost, it was most likely true.
Now that Xu Shuangning had come looking for him, it undoubtedly had to do with this matter.
"Crap! Are you really trying to hide from us?"
Li Daonian chuckled from behind his screen: "You guys focus on the lecture, why are you asking about so much? You people of the living world shouldn't poke your noses into underworld business!"
After tossing out a casual remark, he started replying to the message seriously. Actually, there was nothing shameful about it; he just liked teasing his friends.
Friends you can't tease aren't true friends!
"In class," he replied lightly.
"Class is over, can we meet up?" Xu Shuangning replied in a split second.
Li Daonian: "Sure."
Xu Shuangning: "Then let's meet at the fruit stand by the school gate at five-ten."
Li Daonian: "Hey, did you ask the psychology teacher? (Curious emoji)"
Xu Shuangning: "I did."
Li Daonian: "What did he say?" He smiled smugly behind his screen.
Xu Shuangning: "We chatted for a bit, and he told me to come find you."
Li Daonian: "Great, see you in a bit."
Hahahahahahaha!
Putting his phone down, he almost burst out laughing.
When this girl parted ways with him last night, she had still thought it was just her own psychological pressure and said she was going to consult the psychology teacher.
Wasn't this Teacher Wang an old friend who had crashed into a wild boar? The two of them were now familiar enough to regularly go out for drinks.
Whenever Wang Hai encountered a student with psychological issues and sensed something was off, he would forward Li Daonian's WeChat contact.
It had practically become a one-stop service: I'll solve your psychological problems, and classmate, don't be scared of ghosts either.
Last night, he had even spoken with brazen confidence:
"You're going to come looking for me."
Today, Xu Shuangning had obediently contacted him. He wondered what she must be thinking in her heart.
After class, he headed straight back to the dorm, grabbed his backpack, which was loaded with the tools he'd need for ghost-hunting, and walked directly to the fruit stand outside the school gate.
From afar, he could already spot Xu Shuangning's slender figure.
Today she was wearing a simple athletic outfit—a brown jacket over a short-sleeved shirt, white socks, and white sneakers—giving off a very girl-next-door vibe.
But as he got closer, he saw that her dark circles were worse and her energy was poor; she definitely hadn't slept well again last night.
Before Li Daonian could even speak, the girl took the initiative:
"Have you eaten yet? Let me treat you to dinner first."
Li Daonian narrowed his eyes and smiled: "What kind of scheme are you plotting?"
Though her aloof demeanor was gone, she still threw out a retort:
"Don't overthink it. I have to go to work later, so I need to eat first. Time is a bit tight, so let's eat and talk."
"Fine," Li Daonian replied, figuring he'd listen to what was going on first.
"Is there anything you want to eat?" Xu Shuangning asked.
"Rice noodles, I guess," he said.
Hearing this, Xu Shuangning's expression shifted slightly, thinking to herself that this guy was quite straightforward.
She had eaten out with guys before, and usually when she asked that question, the response would be: "Whatever, I'm fine with anything, it's up to you."
They found a rice noodle shop, ordered two bowls of Manila clam rice noodles, and began to talk.
"I see your energy is bad. Did something happen last night?" Li Daonian asked.
Xu Shuangning was still somewhat skeptical, but she knew that at this point she had no choice but to treat the dead horse like a live one.
"When I was sleeping at night, somewhere between awake and asleep, I could always hear crying."
"Crying," Li Daonian muttered, thinking to himself that this was easy enough; ordinary ghosts always cried aimlessly.
As long as it wasn't mirrors seeping blood, black shadows hanging upside down, or the corpse of a dead cat, simple crying meant the ghost hadn't turned vicious to that extent.
Seeing that he seemed to have everything under control, Xu Shuangning continued:
"After being woken up by it, my head always felt groggy, and then when I fell back asleep, I'd hear the crying again. The whole second half of the night was like that."
"That sounds genuinely torturous," he smiled slightly. "Don't worry, it probably isn't a big issue. What kind of crying was it?"
Xu Shuangning frowned and slowly said: "It was the voice of a little girl."
"A little girl? About how old?"
"Kindergarten age? I don't know how old kids in kindergarten usually are, but anyway, a very small girl."
"Alright, I understand," Li Daonian continued, "Did you look for the source of the sound?"
"I did," Xu Shuangning said as she slurped her rice noodles, "I couldn't find the source at all. It felt like it was coming straight from inside my brain."
"Hmm..." Li Daonian tossed aside a clam shell. "A textbook ghost-howling phenomenon. This one is specifically targeting you with its crying; it wasn't accidental collateral damage."
"Ah?" Xu Shuangning's face instantly drained of color. It sounded very serious.
"Hahaha," seeing that the pretty girl was thoroughly frightened, he offered some comfort:
"Don't be afraid. Usually, ghost crying has a certain range, but if you're living alone, she doesn't have to work that hard—she can just cry right at you alone."
"Do you rent a place outside by yourself?"
Xu Shuangning nodded: "Yes."
"See, it all makes sense," Li Daonian spread his hands, feeling that the case was gradually coming into focus.
When they were almost done eating, Xu Shuangning said:
"My part-time job ends at nine tonight. I'll contact you then."
"Where are you going to work?" Li Daonian asked, puzzled.
"A braised pork shop in the city."
She really was a good girl, he thought with a trace of emotion.
With her looks, finding a wealthy boyfriend would be absolute child's play; he knew some girls in college did just that.
He didn't pry into her family background, a simple understanding was enough.
"No worries, I'll go with you. It'll be a good chance to head into the city and look around."
"There are still four hours until nine o'clock. Are you sure?"
"Positive and certain. Let's go, or you're going to be late."
After a brief exchange, the two of them walked out of the shop together.
Arriving at the bike shed, Xu Shuangning pulled out an electric scooter:
"I bought this to make it convenient to commute to my part-time job and come to school for classes."
"Let me drive you," Li Daonian suddenly offered.
Xu Shuangning said speechlessly, "Do you want to speed up and then slam on the brakes?"
"What are you thinking?" Li Daonian put on an expression of utter righteousness, then flashed a wicked smile: "Though, you do give good ideas."
"Get lost!"
The pretty girl finally felt familiar when she was cursing people out.
"Oh come on, I just wanted to go for a breeze, and your energy is bad right now. I'm afraid the two of us will crash and die on the road."
In the end, Xu Shuangning was finally persuaded and sat in the back seat, not caring that no one had sat on it for hundreds of years and it was covered in dust and water stains.
Guided by Xu Shuangning's constant directions, Li Daonian enjoyed the breeze and sang songs.
Slowly, slowly, they drove toward the urban area.
Watching this fellow's blissful expression, Xu Shuangning said angrily:
"Turn right! Drive faster, I'm going to be late!"
"Don't rush me, watch out or I'll slam on the brakes!"
"Get lost, get off, let me drive!"
"Crap! Stop shaking, I'm going to die, I'll turn into a ghost and haunt you!"
"You... you! Do you ever use your brain when you talk?"
The chaotic fog in Xu Shuangning's mind was suddenly rushed by a surge of hot blood, and she wasn't dizzy or lightheaded at all anymore.
It was just that her palms were itching to slap someone right now.