### Chapter 37: A Real Man Faces a Female Ghost
Zhao Mingyue hesitated for half a second before suddenly remembering something. When she left earlier, she had turned back for a glance and just so happened to catch sight of Li Nan’s figure. At the time, she hadn’t given it much thought; she just wanted to get out of there quickly.
The strange thing was that Li Nan was staring at Lu Liangting instead of her. Shouldn’t Li Nan’s target be her? Why was he fixated on Lu Liangting?
“You mean Li Nan?”
“Yep, that’s him.”
“But why? Why would he be interested in Lu Liangting…” Zhao Mingyue suddenly paused. “Is it because of me?”
She wasn’t dense enough not to pick up on Li Nan’s feelings towards her. They maintained a somewhat awkward relationship. He always played nice, never confessed, and she couldn’t just say, “I’m not interested, keep your distance.”
To be honest, Zhao Mingyue never expected him to hold back for so long. It seemed like he was finally ready to make a move today.
However, the Li Nan of today was clearly not the Li Nan she knew.
And now that he had his sights on Lu Liangting, it must be because Lu had been too chummy with her earlier.
That was the only explanation Zhao Mingyue could come up with.
It wasn’t that she was thick-skinned or narcissistic; Lu Liangting and Li Nan really had no issues between them. They hadn’t exchanged more than half a word in class.
Bai Yu remained silent; she actually hoped that Li Nan would do her a solid and take Lu Liangting out during lunch. It would save her the trouble, even though she knew that a little fish like Li Nan going after the male protagonist was a bit ambitious. But who knew?
Looking back, it was all a bit odd.
If she was guessing right, Li Nan was probably a minion for some game character. Since it was like that, his target should be Zhao Mingyue. So why on earth was he trying to off Lu Liangting?
What would the guy behind him think? Wouldn’t they want to take Zhao Mingyue out themselves?
Nothing is impossible in this world, and Bai Yu figured the most likely scenario was that Li Nan had made an independent decision without consulting his boss.
“Bai Yu, what should we do?”
“Just wait and see what happens.”
“That… fine.” Zhao Mingyue nodded, not arguing and not dragging Bai Yu into a rescue mission.
She had no strength, and her greatest support was Bai Yu. If she didn’t listen to her now, who else would she listen to? Making her own calls would only get them both in trouble.
If she had some strength of her own, that’d be a different story. After all, Lu Liangting had fed her so many meals; she could at least give him a hand.
“Hey, can you send a message to Lu Liangting to give him a heads-up?”
“Don’t do that. Let them sort it out themselves.”
“Okay!”
The entire afternoon, all the way until she headed to school at two o’clock, Zhao Mingyue controlled her feelings and tidied up her lunchbox before returning to school.
On this front, Bai Yu felt she had to compliment her.
What she feared most was Zhao Mingyue acting foolishly at a critical moment — not doing what she should and stubbornly doing what she shouldn’t.
That kind of idiocy could really get someone killed.
Luckily, Zhao Mingyue was actually able to take advice and avoid acting dumb.
And because Zhao Mingyue was so obedient, a slight pang of guilt blossomed in Bai Yu’s heart.
She could totally save Lu Liangting, but the real reason for not going was simple: she just wanted him to d*e.
“Hey… Mingyue.”
Just as she returned to her seat, Zhao Mingyue heard Bai Yu’s voice.
“Ah? What is it? Is it about Li Nan?”
“I, ahem… Just be careful tonight on your way back. Regardless of whether Lu Liangting is dead or not, Li Nan will definitely go after you tonight.”
“Uh-huh, I got it.”
Even saying this, Zhao Mingyue felt something was off.
It wasn’t that the situation was strange; it was Bai Yu’s tone and attitude that struck her as odd. But she couldn’t pinpoint what was strange — it was just the first time she heard Bai Yu like this.
As classes neared, Lu Liangting appeared at the classroom door. Forget about getting killed; he didn’t have a scratch on him.
Apart from a visibly disappointed expression, he seemed perfectly fine.
—
The black teardrop earrings shimmered deep purple in the sunlight, her lips as red as bl**d, and her eyeliner drawn into the most perfect curve; one more line would be too much, one less would lose that entrancing allure.
Bang!
Li Nan crashed into the wall, his jaw severely dislocated. Two of his teeth flew out, and he spat a mouthful of bl**d, collapsing to the ground like a dog.
“I told you, your target is Zhao Mingyue and Lu Liangting. When I need you to deal with him, I’ll call you. Until then, you don’t touch a single hair on him.”
With a look laced with disdain, Teacher Chen crossed her arms.
“It’s my fault, Master, please forgive me…” Li Nan got up, kneeling on the ground, shaking uncontrollably.
Then he spotted a foot clad in black high boots in front of him.
There was a small patch of dark red bl**d on the toe of the boot. His own bl**d.
“Lick it clean.”
“Y-yes…”
Moments later, Li Nan turned to leave. He wanted to scream out his dissatisfaction but didn’t dare to ask the burning question.
‘Why not k*ll Lu Liangting?’
—
“Lu Liangting, why, why…”
Zhao Mingyue was confused, just like Li Nan was.
Why on earth did Lu Liangting deserve this?
Nighttime came, and it was already eleven o’clock.
The afternoon had been uneventful, feeling quite ordinary again. Zhao Mingyue’s first task after school was to head home, tidy up, eat something, and then rush to the convenience store to work, finally clocking out at ten fifty and heading back home.
What would happen tonight, she had no idea.
There were no tasks, but maybe it was more dangerous than any task.
The female ghost on the fifth floor and the mysterious Li Nan.
In front of Sunshine Apartments, on the fourth floor landing.
“Eleven-thirty…”
Lu Liangting put his phone away, looking up at the pitch-black abyss of the fifth floor.
He closed his eyes, turned his back to the stairs, and gripped the handrail tight.
“One, two, three, four… …thirteen…”
Upon reaching the thirteenth step, Lu Liangting suddenly opened his eyes.
He had arrived at the fifth floor, and his vision was clouded by darkness, tinted with a layer of red.
At this hour, the spiritual fire hadn’t ignited yet, and the face carved into the wall hadn’t appeared.
He moved without obstruction and soon stood before the door of Room 506. He fished a key out of his pocket, tore the seal off the door, and inserted the key into the lock, turning it gently.
Click!
The door swung open, revealing a female ghost standing silently inside. Her hands were adorned with bl**d-red nails dragging dangerously close to the ground, and her melted face was horrifyingly twisted.
“I promised I would help you find your child within a week. The time isn’t up yet; I haven’t broken my word.”
Lu Liangting took a deep breath. “I will fulfill my promise. I never go back on my word.”
“k*ll me, and you’ll have no last hope left. Help me with this today, and I’ll find both of your children for you.”
“I want you to help me find someone, no, a ghost…”
Meanwhile, outside Sunshine Apartments.
“Mingyue, wait for me…”
From beneath his hood, Li Nan revealed a wicked smile.
He walked past a streetlamp, and under its glow, two shadows were clearly visible on his back.
Something lay across his shoulders.
