Chapter 43 Familiar People
“How did you get to one-forty?” Qiu Leling waved her hands like she was shooing away a fly, retorting, “I’m clearly one-forty-eight, that’s almost one-fifty, alright!”
“Still a big loli.”
Liu Zining rubbed her eyes. She had almost fallen asleep.
If she hadn’t been talking to Qiu Leling, she might have crashed her head onto the desk.
“If you need to borrow money, just tell me,” Qiu Leling said like a rich little lady, patting Liu Zining’s shoulder. “Who told me to be your husband.”
“Get out of here.”
Liu Zining buried her face in the table, looking like a dumpling.
Qiu Leling was a local of Jiangquan City, so her family was very wealthy, a typical rich young lady.
In contrast, Liu Zining…
Forget it, the more she talked about it, the more tears she shed.
Qiu Leling looked at Liu Zining’s sleepy face.
“If you have any difficulties, you can tell me directly.”
“You know, just last month, there was a girl at our school.”
“Because her family didn’t give her money for food, she was driven to do… very bad things.”
“At our age, studying at university, it’s very difficult to support yourself.”
“So, if you have any problems, just tell me directly.”
Qiu Leling also knew that last month, Liu Zining had experienced a very heartbreaking loss.
It was precisely because of this incident that she had completely lost any income.
Although there was compensation, the compensation money had not reached Liu Zining’s hands.
Whether it was the family that was saved or the driver who caused the accident, both sides were still shirking responsibility.
Because of the lack of money, Liu Zining had trouble eating recently.
“I appreciate your kindness…”
Liu Zining, with her face on the table, slowly closed her eyes.
Last night, she had gone to Gui Ping District. She had intended to deal with a ghost infant, but she hadn’t found it. Instead, she had encountered a red shadow that made her shiver just thinking about it.
With just a glance, An Qinglian realized she had no chance of winning.
The thunder-summoning talismans in her hand had turned to ash. Even if she had forcefully detonated them, they wouldn’t have been able to harm the opponent at all.
Although it was terrifying, it had no intention of attacking.
Liu Zining’s senses were very sharp. She could sense that the red shadow had no hostility towards her.
Its gaze was like… it knew her.
This gaze reminded Liu Zining of a loved one who had passed away a month ago.
So familiar, so gentle…
“No…”
Liu Zining opened her eyes and shook her head.
As a powerful ghost exorcist.
She knew the dangers of supernatural events very well.
Even if the other party had become a loved one she knew, she couldn’t trust it.
Ghosts and monsters were very cunning. If one rashly trusted them, they could easily fall into an abyss.
Speaking of which, Liu Zining remembered a colleague.
During a supernatural event, that ghost exorcist told her that he had met his wife.
His wife had shown him a gentle and loving expression and slowly opened her arms.
When he told Liu Zining about it, the emotion he conveyed was so sincere and resolute.
Even though Liu Zining repeatedly advised him not to believe what he saw in the supernatural event.
But three days after he told Liu Zining about it…
She saw his corpse.
The ghost exorcist was hugging a rock.
His lips were covered in dirt, and his face was covered in blood.
But even in such a tragic state, his face showed an expression of happiness and satisfaction.
Later, the forensic doctor’s autopsy report showed that the man had died of severe impact leading to brain death.
However, the forensic doctor found it a bit strange.
Even after dying, the man kept hitting his head against the rock until his skull had completely shattered and deformed…
So, no matter how familiar or gentle the red shadow’s gaze was, she wouldn’t believe it.
As she thought about it, Liu Zining, who was resting on the table, slowly fell asleep.
When she woke up again, she saw Qiu Leling sitting beside her, and the other people in the classroom had disappeared.
The bright sky had now turned hazy yellow.
Night was about to fall.
“Zining, you’re finally awake?”
“You…” Liu Zining wiped her face and then asked, “You’ve been staying here the whole time?”
“There’s nothing I can do. It’s not very safe to leave you here alone, is it?”
“Then your classes all day…”
In response, Qiu Leling squinted one eye and stuck out her tongue.
“I skipped them all!”
“…”
Looking at Qiu Leling, who was as cute and playful as an elementary school student, Liu Zining couldn’t help but cover her face.
But even so, she said sincerely.
“Thank you.”
Qiu Leling crossed her arms like a mature little adult, her childish voice speaking very maturely.
“If you can’t make it next time, just sleep in my bed in the dorm. Why are you forcing yourself to come to class?”
“You’re right.”
Liu Zining rubbed her slightly sore arm and aching waist.
“But I should go home now. See you tomorrow.”
Liu Zining was not a boarding student. As a ghost exorcist, it would be inconvenient for her to live in the dormitory, so she had always been a commuter student.
“Do you want me to give you a ride?”
“No need.”
Liu Zining refused Qiu Leling’s kind offer. She carried her books, walked out of the teaching building, got on a shared bicycle, and prepared to go home.
“See you tomorrow.”
After bidding farewell to Qiu Leling, Liu Zining stepped on the bicycle pedals and slowly left the school.
Her home was a bit far from the school and also quite secluded.
The hazy evening gradually turned into night.
After leaving the noisy school district and crossing the river, the number of pedestrians on the road began to decrease noticeably.
But Liu Zining was accustomed to the situation.
Her home was outside the shared bicycle service area, so she parked her shared bicycle by the roadside, put on her Bluetooth earphones, and the girl continued to walk leisurely on the road.
To pass the time on the road, Liu Zining often watched videos while walking.
Of course, it was indeed dangerous, but she only had this little fragmented time. It allowed her to relax her mind, so what was the harm in that?
However, as she walked, her phone suddenly received a message.
“Boss, boss! There’s a new commission.”
“And the reward is very substantial!”
“I’m already at the air-raid shelter. Hurry over, boss.”
After sending the message, the other party added a screenshot.
Liu Zining glanced at the screenshot and then frowned.
The place shown in the screenshot was an abandoned air-raid shelter.
It was a nuclear defense project built in the last century to deal with a certain superpower to the north.
But a few years ago, a child accidentally entered it. Due to ventilation damage inside, when people found the bodies, the two children had already died of suffocation inside.
To prevent such tragedies from happening again, the police later fenced off this nuclear defense project to prevent more children from entering.
But now, the commission in her phone screen.
It said someone heard children playing and laughing inside?
What was even more strange was that someone had also seen children’s figures inside?
But Liu Zining remembered that after the accident happened that year, she had gone inside to investigate, and there was no resentment there at all.
Why were there now rumors of it being haunted?
“I’m coming right over.”
Liu Zining stopped by the roadside and flagged down a taxi.
“Driver, take me to the air-raid shelter to the north.”
“Alright.”
The taxi slowly drove, and the driver in front looked at the girl with her arms crossed. He kindly advised.
“Young lady, something happened at that air-raid shelter a few years ago. If you have nothing important to do, it’s best not to go there. It’s very strange.”
“If you just want to see the nuclear defense project out of curiosity, the subway to the south is better. Although there aren’t many people, at least there are people, aren’t there?”
Facing the driver’s kind persuasion, Liu Zining just shook her head slightly and said.
“I’ll just look from the outside, I won’t go in.”
After that, there was no more conversation in the car. Liu Zining focused on her phone, and she had no intention of chatting with the driver.
Soon, the taxi stopped by the roadside.
Liu Zining looked at the air-raid shelter on the mountainside and also looked a bit troubled.
There used to be a ladder to go up to this air-raid shelter, but after the incident that year, the ladder was also removed.
And before her was an almost completely vertical cliff. How could she get up?
But then again… how did that kid Jiang Ran get up there?
