Chapter 32

Hero saving the beauty was an eternal and unchanging theme that most easily stirred good feelings in people. If the hero who saved her also had decent looks, then falling for the other party was only natural.

Qi Xu scorned herself for having such a shallow reason to like someone, yet she couldn’t help but feel her heart move for Xia Zhiming.

In her most helpless moment, she had run into the best Xia Zhiming!

As Qi Xu thought this, she saw Xia Zhiming’s figure flash by in front of the car once more. At the same time, a realization emerged in Qi Xu’s mind: This was Ghost Hit Wall!

The taxi she rode wasn’t charging straight ahead without stopping but circling the same spot. However, the events in the car had been too sudden and too shocking, leaving Qi Xu no spare energy to notice anything else. Naturally, she couldn’t discover that it was actually a looping circular path rather than a straight line.

Now, with the highly conspicuous reference point of Xia Zhiming, Qi Xu finally realized she was experiencing Ghost Hit Wall.

Xia Zhiming didn’t rush to save her. The taxi was moving quite fast, so to avoid being hit, Xia Zhiming even shifted to the side, off the road and onto the roadside flower bed. By the third time they passed Xia Zhiming, Qi Xu finally couldn’t hold back and shouted, “Xia Zhiming! Save me!”

On the fourth pass, Xia Zhiming made her move. After a familiar wave of dizziness washed over her, Qi Xu found herself by Xia Zhiming’s side.

Qi Xu had just opened her mouth to give thanks when Xia Zhiming said, “Hurry and chase it. Your body has already run off.”

Qi Xu looked down and discovered she wore that black splendid robe. She glanced at the Jade Pendant Set on her body, then at Xia Zhiming. Xia Zhiming jerked her chin toward the direction the taxi had gone. Qi Xu took a deep breath. The affection that had just sparked nearly vanished into smoke.

However, Xia Zhiming was right—they needed to chase quickly. Qi Xu bolted at full speed almost on instinct. At first, she thought she wouldn’t catch up to the taxi, but in a certain instant when her feet left the ground, Qi Xu realized she could fly…

Eh?

On second thought, it wasn’t anything remarkable. After all, she was a ghost now, a drifting spirit. Flying or floating was perfectly normal. After spending three seconds getting used to the sensation of flight, Qi Xu chased after it at a speed far surpassing the taxi.

After Qi Xu’s soul separated from her body, her physical form naturally went limp and slumped onto the back seat of the taxi. The Taxi Driver Ghost yelled for a while longer. Seeing that Qi Xu, who had been resisting it nonstop, had lost her strength, it glanced back and discovered she had collapsed on the back seat.

The Taxi Driver Ghost nearly burst into laughter. It tried to first rescue its own head, then give Qi Xu a taste of her own medicine.

Its head and neck were like a snake, dangling outside and all floppy. Now, it slowly retracted into its body—a scene too horrifying to describe. But the only spectator, Qi Xu, had fainted.

Once its head returned to its shoulders, it wasn’t in a rush to deal with Qi Xu anymore. It slowly brought the car to a stop. This was its beloved vehicle, after all. If no one drove and it accidentally hit the roadside curb, even it would feel heartbroken.

So it planned to park and then properly deal with Qi Xu.

But just as it stopped the car and reached to pull the handbrake, it saw a head hanging upside down from the front windshield, staring at it. Strands of jet-black hair cascaded down from above the window. The figure’s eyes were wide open—two pitch-black, emotionless eyes staring dazedly at the Taxi Driver Ghost.

Even knowing itself to be a ghost, it couldn’t help letting out a shrill screech at that moment: “Ghost!”

A moment later, Xia Zhiming noticed the taxi slowly driving back toward her. This time, however, it didn’t speed past her but obediently stopped right in front of her. The back door hung open, and inside, Xia Zhiming saw Qi Xu’s body slumped on the rear seat.

Then, the passenger door swung open, and Qi Xu’s Ghost Body stepped out from the passenger seat.

She looked at Xia Zhiming, all aggrieved, and said, “I-I’ll go back to my body first.” Though aggrieved, her gaze toward Xia Zhiming brimmed with accusation and resentment.

Qi Xu’s Ghost Body slipped into the back seat and returned to her physical form. When she woke, she jolted in fright. To her surprise, she wasn’t inside the taxi but sitting on the roadside curb, the rough concrete biting into her butt.

Summer was approaching, and she wore thin clothes. A gust of wind made her feel cold. But beside her, it was warm.

Qi Xu opened her eyes to find her head resting on Xia Zhiming’s thigh. She blinked and saw Xia Zhiming’s sharply defined jawline. Noticing she had woken, Xia Zhiming looked down. A lock of hair from her temple fell, its tip brushing Qi Xu’s cheek.

And tickling Qi Xu’s heart.

Qi Xu blinked, unsure what to say. She slowly sat up straight, right beside Xia Zhiming.

Her heart pounded wildly. The affection that had nearly died now reignited fiercely.

Xia Zhiming hadn’t done much, but Qi Xu still thought: Wuwu, she’s so good to me. She even gave me a knee pillow!

Qi Xu sat primly beside her, but inside, her heart was thumping like a fawn on the rampage, about to shatter her chest. She casually turned her head for a glance at Xia Zhiming—then whipped it back instantly: She’s so beautiful, beautiful enough to capture my heart completely.

As Qi Xu’s heart raced wildly over there, Xia Zhiming over here answered a phone call and unleashed a torrent of complaints: “I really don’t know how the Second Bureau runs things. This is their turf, after all, and yet ghost taxis can roam freely in the dead of night!”

She ranted into the phone while Qi Xu averted her gaze to look at the previous taxi—and got another scare. The vehicle no longer resembled the one she’d ridden earlier. It looked dilapidated beyond repair, with even the frame exposed. Clearly, it was a scrapped car abandoned who-knew-how-long ago.

At that thought, Qi Xu felt itchy all over. She’d just sat in such a filthy taxi—her clothes must be dirty now!

On closer reflection, ever since meeting Xia Zhiming, she never seemed to stay clean for a day. Always ending up flat on the ground somehow—how could she stay clean?

Xia Zhiming finished her call and said to Qi Xu, “Wait here. We can only leave once the Second Bureau arrives.”

“Oh.”

Qi Xu had no objections and obediently sat beside her. The two sat on the street corner in the chilly late-night wind. Qi Xu didn’t know where they were, but judging by the surrounding buildings, they seemed to have reached the suburbs.

Feeling cold, she could only snuggle a bit closer to Xia Zhiming for warmth. Xia Zhiming said nothing, simply wrapped in her Pink Daoist Robe, sitting obediently.

It was rare for them to have such a quiet moment. Xia Zhiming’s sharp tongue made Qi Xu think: What a fine person, ruined by that mouth of hers. But now that Xia Zhiming was quiet, Qi Xu felt a little unaccustomed. Yet in the serene atmosphere, an ambiguous sentiment slowly flowed through Qi Xu’s heart.

With Xia Zhiming by her side, she felt utterly safe.

—I might really like Xia Zhiming.

Qi Xu thought.

Perhaps turning into a ghost was quite taxing. Leaning against Xia Zhiming, Qi Xu unknowingly fell asleep. Xia Zhiming glanced down at her with exasperation but didn’t push her away. She simply let Qi Xu lean silently.

When Qi Xu woke, it was already the next day. Her soiled outer clothes had been removed, leaving her naked under the covers. Fortunately, the curtains were drawn, or Qi Xu would have shrieked upon waking.

She sat up in bed, wearing only a small bra on top. Qi Xu pursed her lips and quietly found clothes to put on. Just then, Xia Zhiming walked in from outside, breakfast in hand.

This time, Qi Xu really couldn’t hold back: “You! Make some noise when you come in!”

Xia Zhiming closed the door: “What’s there to be scared of? I’ve seen everything there is to see on you.”

Qi Xu hurriedly finished dressing: “Don’t undress me next time!”

“Then toss you on the ground? Besides, this isn’t the first time I’ve undressed you.”

Qi Xu was even more shocked to hear Xia Zhiming say, “Who do you think changed your clothes when you were hospitalized last time?” At those words, Qi Xu’s face flushed crimson. It hadn’t meant much before, but now that Xia Zhiming was her crush, she felt deeply embarrassed.

Seeing her like that, Xia Zhiming sneered: “Such promise.”

“Eat up quick. After, we’ll head to the Second Bureau for a statement. They want to know what happened last night.”

When they arrived at the Second Bureau, Qi Xu discovered it looked almost identical to the Third Bureau—an ordinary factory on the surface. They didn’t even enter the main building; they gave their statements right in the security office. After Qi Xu recounted the previous night’s events in full, the Second Bureau staff politely thanked them and saw them off.

At that point, Qi Xu thought the matter was settled. But on July 2nd, after finals week ended and she took a late-night taxi home with her dormmates following dinner, she realized—she’d gotten into another Ghost Taxi.

She hadn’t paid much attention when hailing the cab, but as it drove, it started playing 1149 Late Night Radio. Qi Xu wasn’t stupid. The moment she heard the late-night radio broadcast, she snapped her head up, certain the driver up front had issues.

And it was just as she suspected. As Qi Xu looked toward the front, the driver in the seat suddenly twisted its head around. Though its face differed from the previous Taxi Driver Ghost’s, there was a subtle similarity. One side was pitch-black and bruised, the other half-rotted. It flashed Qi Xu a deeply unsettling smile.

Qi Xu instinctively sensed—trouble.

But before she could react, this Taxi Driver Ghost suddenly floored the accelerator. The car rocketed to 140 km/h and hurtled straight toward a wall that had abruptly appeared ahead.

This time, it was true Ghost Hit Wall—the ghost really hit the wall.

Qi Xu’s eyes went wide. Her back pressed against the rear seat, hands clutching the seatbelt tight. She couldn’t help thinking: Why me? Why encounter Ghost Taxis twice?!