Chapter 38: World Two — I Have a Date with a Fierce Ghost
The next day, Nan Xun bade farewell to her mother, who was thin as a bundle of bones. Hugging her, she said, “Mom, I’ll study hard. While I’m away, please take good care of yourself.”
Her mother looked relieved and said, “Momo, you don’t need to worry about tuition or living expenses. Even if I have to sell the pots and pans, I’ll still support you through school.”
Nan Xun nodded, eyes reddened, and set off alone on the road to the city.
Other children were escorted by their parents, but she went by herself—carrying a worn old backpack, registering on her own, handling the boarding procedures on her own.
“I can feel that your mood is very low,” the Void Beast suddenly said.
Nan Xun forced a grin. “It’s nothing. I was just thinking about my mom. She’s probably my only real attachment in real life.”
Her mom had poured a great deal of effort into her, yet never forced her to learn anything. Elegant things like piano or violin weren’t mandatory—her mom just liked them, so she learned, even reaching Level Ten. She liked taekwondo and sanda, and when her mom found out, she didn’t oppose it either, instead encouraging her to do whatever she wanted.
They were both teacher and friend to each other. Her mom’s tolerance had shaped her optimistic, easygoing personality, but perhaps because of that scumbag father, there was also an extreme indifference buried deep within her bones.
“Little Eight, hurry up and recover. Even though I used to be a top student, I really don’t want to go through school all over again.”
Void Beast replied, “Oh come on—don’t you know the last Xuanwu world was a high-level world? Dragging you back and forth costs a lot of spiritual power, okay? Getting to relive your student days is something countless people dream of but never get. Be content already, hmph~”
Persuaded by the Void Beast, Nan Xun began to truly let herself go. Anyway, no one at this school knew Bai Mo, so she wasn’t afraid of her persona collapsing.
Bai Mo was pretty, had good grades, was cheerful and enthusiastic, and loved helping others. Very quickly, she gathered a whole crowd of younger brothers and sisters around her, living an extremely comfortable life.
To ease the burden on Bai Mo’s mother, Nan Xun tossed her pride aside completely. Whenever the school offered hardship subsidies, she applied. She wrote the applications as miserably as possible, to the point that several teachers read them with reddened eyes. After that, they paid special attention to her—whenever any subsidy became available, she was the first person they thought of.
At the high school entrance exam, Nan Xun lived up to expectations and ranked first in the entire city, entering the city’s key high school. She brought honor to her alma mater and smoothly obtained a large amount of financial aid. Even the town mayor learned about it and provided additional funding, so her tuition for all three years of high school was settled.
Her cheap mom wiped away tears of joy, and her black-hearted uncle—who had always hoped she’d drop out and get married—temporarily put aside his crooked thoughts.
However, Nan Xun still ended up facing the calamity destined in Bai Mo’s life. Bai Mo’s mother fainted and was sent to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with terminal stomach cancer.
Nan Xun ran back and forth every day, her little face growing noticeably thinner.
Yet on the day before the college entrance exam, her mother still passed away. The next day, she was unable to sit the exam.
Nan Xun collapsed on the ground and cried to Little Eight, “I feel like my entire being has been hollowed out.”
The Void Beast felt somewhat guilty. “Hang in there a bit longer. My spiritual power is almost fully restored—at most, one more month.”
Nan Xun gave Bai Mo’s mother a proper burial, then sold the house and left the small town alone.
With only a high school diploma, Nan Xun was just thinking about how to earn a living when Little Eight suddenly said cheerfully, “I’ve recovered! I’ll take you four years into the future right now!”
Before Nan Xun could even voice an opinion, her vision went black.
Four years later, Nan Xun was sharing a two-bedroom apartment with someone else. The room she lived in wasn’t large, but it was kept very clean. The balcony held a few pots of spider plants and a bamboo rocking chair, looking extremely cozy—exactly her kind of style.
“Little Eight, what am I doing for a living now?” Nan Xun asked.
“A resident singer at a bar,” the Void Beast replied weakly.
Nan Xun was startled. “I actually ended up selling my voice at a bar? That’s miserable! But Little Eight, what’s wrong with you? You sound really drained.”
The Void Beast said pitifully, “The spiritual energy in this low-level world is too thin. I finally managed to gather some, and it’s all been used up. I’ll probably need to sleep for a while.”
Nan Xun hurriedly said, “That won’t do, Little Eight! If you’re not around, how am I supposed to find the villain big boss with evil value 100?”
The Void Beast’s voice grew fainter and fainter. “Didn’t you say before that the target in this world already likes you? He’ll definitely come looking for you on his own. Be good—I’m going to sleep now~”
Nan Xun: …
“Little Eight? Little Eight! Little Eight…” She called out several times with deep feeling, but the Void Beast never made another sound.
With Little Eight gone, Nan Xun felt a bit unaccustomed at first. But lying on the rocking chair, with warm sunlight streaming in through the window and gentle instrumental music playing from her phone, such a cozy afternoon nap quickly made her forget all her worries.
The soft music on her phone was interrupted by a ringtone. Half-asleep, Nan Xun picked up the phone and answered with a nasal “Hello.”
From the other end came the faint sound of a low chuckle, but when Nan Xun listened more closely, it was gone.
Her drowsiness vanished halfway at once. Seeing the unfamiliar number on the screen, she instinctively thought it was some kind of sales call. Still lounging lazily, she yawned and asked, “Hello, who is this?”
There was a brief silence on the other end, then a man’s unhurried voice came through. “Hello, is this Bai Mo?”
The voice was deep, mixed with a hint of gentleness, giving off a very comfortable feeling. Yet somehow, it also carried a chill that made Nan Xun instinctively pull the blanket tighter around herself.
She quickly answered yes and asked, “Yes, I am. May I ask who you are, and why you’re calling?”
“I’m Fu Yu. Do you still remember me?” the man asked calmly. Just hearing his voice made it easy to feel favorably disposed toward him.
The name Fu Yu sounded very familiar to Nan Xun—like one of her high school classmates.
Luckily, Nan Xun had jumped directly to four years later, when her high school days were still fresh; otherwise, she really might not have remembered someone named Fu Yu.
She was a little confused about how he had gotten her phone number. Over the three years of high school, the total number of words she’d exchanged with Fu Yu probably didn’t exceed ten.
Since the other end was still waiting for her response, Nan Xun didn’t overthink it. She smiled and replied, “Of course I remember. Fu Yu—you were the shortest in class but always sat in the last row. And you didn’t like to talk, but your grades were especially good.”
A low laugh came from the other end of the line. His mood seemed to brighten noticeably because of her words.
“Bai Mo, where are you right now?” Fu Yu asked.
His breathing sounded very light; when he spoke, there was none of that breathy trailing tone at all.
