# "To be honest with you, Xiao Chen, now that I know ghosts really exist in this world, having a powerful exorcist like you living across the hall makes me sleep much more soundly at night."
"If I weren't afraid you'd mind, I'd even want to move right into your place~" At this point, a faint blush rose on Sister Hong's cheeks, making her look just like a ripe peach.
"So you must take this apartment..."
This time, Jiang Chen didn't refuse. After all, the rent here wasn't cheap—over 5,000 yuan a month, which was no small expense even for his current savings.
"That's wonderful! You eat first, and I'll tidy up for you. I'll take your clothes to wash, so come get them tonight, okay?" Having given away the apartment, Sister Hong was overjoyed, looking like a young girl in her twenties.
...
It was 9 a.m. at Jiangbei University of Finance and Economics. The school gate was filled with vibrant, youthful figures. It was summer, and countless fair, attractive long legs made the male students' eyes wander.
Walking among them, Jiang Chen felt as if he had regained his youth—even though he had died at the age of 26 in his previous life.
"What a pity Old Zhang isn't here; otherwise, his eyes would've practically popped out of his head."
Old Zhang was the elderly man who had adopted Jiang Chen. He was quite a rascal, always dragging Jiang Chen along to peek at widows bathing or sneak into the backstage of the town's opera house to watch actresses change clothes.
Every time they got caught, he'd be the first to run away, leaving the seven or eight-year-old Jiang Chen to take the blame.
After entering the campus gate and walking for another ten minutes, Jiang Chen arrived at the building of the School of Economics and Management.
In Lecture Hall 415 on the fourth floor, roll call was held every Monday.
As soon as Jiang Chen walked in, he saw the classroom filled with noisy young men and women. He found a seat in the back row, opened his thermos to pour a cup of water, and pulled up news about the Tianfu Road murder case on his phone.
"One of the victims was a passerby, killed and then dumped in a flower bed. The other two were residents of an old community nearby—one was dumped at the staircase entrance, and the other's body was found in their own home."
"Rather than calling it 'dumping the body,' it's more like the culprit had no intention of cleaning up the crime scene at all. This behavior is so strange; it's nothing like what a normal criminal would do."
Criminals weren't fools. If they wanted to avoid being caught, they would at least clean up after committing a murder.
"There are only two possibilities: either it's a mentally ill person, or... it's one of *those things*."
"Moreover, all the victims were disfigured, as if the killer had some kind of obsession. The Knocking Ghost was also obsessed with breaking down doors to kill, even though she could clearly climb up to the 12th floor with her bare hands..."
Jiang Chen analyzed bit by bit, thinking that the likelihood of this being a supernatural incident was very high.
Just as he was deep in thought, a commotion suddenly broke out at the door. Then, several students from the same department called out to the back of the classroom.
"Jiang Chen! Jiang Chen, someone's here to see you!"
"It's Lin Youwei! Dude, when did you meet the campus belle Lin?!"
"And there's also Belle Yang! Oh my god, Jiang Chen, you're so ordinary, but you actually got two campus belles to come find you! I'm so jealous! Envious! Resentful!"
"Hurry up and come out!"
A group of male students were all excited.
People in the classroom also craned their necks, straining to look toward the door.
Jiang Chen froze, looked up, and saw two women with completely different auras standing among the crowd at the door.
One of them wore a slightly form-fitting white shirt on top and a long skirt below. Her whole person exuded a gentle, graceful aura, but there was a sense of distance in her polite smile—she clearly came from an outstanding background.
The other wore sportswear; her pretty face was as cold as ice, and she was also a campus belle-level beauty.
"Lin Youwei?" Jiang Chen recognized the former. They had been elementary school classmates, but her family had moved away when she was in the fifth grade. He never expected to run into her again in college.
That time had been in the library—both of them had thought the other looked familiar, and after a few words, they realized they had lived in the same town and been in the same elementary school.
However, they hadn't had any contact since then.
He stood up and walked out, stopping in front of the two women. Having lived two lifetimes, he didn't get overly excited even when facing such beautiful women. He asked calmly, "Lin Youwei, is there something you need?"
Lin Youwei looked at the crowd around them, smiled, and pointed to the corridor outside. "Shall we talk over there?"
Jiang Chen nodded, and the two walked to the side.
Yang Chan, the girl in sportswear, furrowed her brows almost imperceptibly.
"Jiang Chen, take this." Lin Youwei handed over a triangular yellow paper talisman wrapped neatly. "My mom got this from a Taoist temple last time—it can ward off evil spirits and protect you. Find something to hang it close to your body, and try not to take it off."
"Also..." She hesitated for a moment. "It's not safe outside lately; there have been many murder cases. Stay at home as much as possible, and never go out at night, especially."
Before Jiang Chen could say anything, Lin Youwei gave him a polite smile and left with Yang Chan.
After the two had walked a distance away, Yang Chan slightly furrowed her shapely brows. "Weiwei, there are some things ordinary people aren't supposed to know. Doing this will go against the iron rules issued by the Taoist Alliance and the Underworld!"
"I didn't say anything extra—I just gave him a talisman."
"That's ok, but I have to remind you: he's just an ordinary person. There's a world of difference between you two. Even if we don't mention your identity in the supernatural world, just your family background alone—he'd never be able to reach it even if he worked hard his entire life." Yang Chan said.
Hearing this, Lin Youwei fell silent for a moment, then playfully hit Yang Chan's arm, pretending to be angry. "What nonsense are you talking about? I only see him as a friend—I never said I wanted anything more!"
"Heh, would you give an ordinary friend a graded evil-suppressing talisman? This thing can sell for two million yuan on the black market, and even then, it's hard to get one." Yang Chan sneered.
"Have you forgotten what I told you? When my dad was down on his luck and went back to our hometown to take refuge, I was his classmate. Once, he saved me from human traffickers and ended up with his head broken and bleeding."
"A life-saving favor—what's a single talisman compared to that? Besides, there's been another outbreak of Yin energy recently; I'm afraid he might run into *those things*." Lin Youwei said.
"You also know that he's just an ordinary person—if he runs into a ghost even once, he'll die. You two are from completely different worlds." Yang Chan's tone turned serious as she looked at her best friend.
"Weiwei, I'm warning you: don't mistake gratitude for love. You're in the prime of your life, and you have such great talent—how many outstanding people in the supernatural world are pursuing you?"
"An ordinary person, no matter how hard he works his whole life, will never be good enough for you!"
Lin Youwei didn't speak anymore; her eyes were filled with complexity.
What she didn't tell her best friend was that she could naturally tell the difference between gratitude and love. It was just that the shadow of that young boy from her childhood had long been engraved in her heart.
"Sigh..."