After getting the number, Ning Xiangsi found a place with better reception and dialed Qin Jiu’s phone.
Seeing an unfamiliar number, Qin Jiu answered with some confusion. A voice came from the other end. “Excuse me… is this Daoist Qin?”
Qin Jiu recognized the voice immediately.
“It’s Ning Xiangsi,” he said to Tang Guo.
“Ask her what she wants,” Tang Guo said as she lay on his back, smiling. Ning Xiangsi’s call had indeed surprised her.
She wondered what Ning Xiangsi wanted to say.
“It’s me. What’s the matter?” Qin Jiu asked.
Ning Xiangsi let out a breath. “I… I’d like to see Miss Tang. I’m not sure if it’s convenient. You probably haven’t gone far. I’m still at the original place.”
“Guoguo, she wants to see you.”
Qin Jiu relayed the message to Tang Guo. Their low voices carried faintly through the phone, and Ning Xiangsi heard them. She had already noticed earlier that this human and ghost were truly inseparable, even more affectionate than she and Fang Yunchi had ever been.
Thinking of that made her feel a little sad. Ever since Fang Yunchi had been consumed by hatred, the sweetness between them had faded.
Tang Guo took the phone. Her voice interrupted Ning Xiangsi’s thoughts. “You want to see me?”
“Yes, Miss Tang. Is it convenient?”
Ning Xiangsi felt nervous. Whether two years ago or today, Tang Guo always gave her the impression of strength, freedom, and ease.
She did whatever she wanted, never constrained by rules or rigid frameworks.
Tang Guo was the one who truly acted according to her heart and her principles.
She believed that this belated gratitude should be spoken face to face.
She even wondered if, back when that tragedy happened at her school, things might have been different if Tang Guo had been there. Perhaps the killer would have been found sooner, and the girl’s soul recovered.
“If you have something to say, just say it. It’s the same over the phone.”
Ning Xiangsi felt a flicker of disappointment. So she really did not want to see her?
“I’m very busy. I don’t have time to sit down face to face. If you haven’t thought it through, you can send a message to this phone and take your time.”
“No, I’ll say it like this,” Ning Xiangsi said quickly. “It won’t take much of your time.”
Tang Guo gave a soft laugh. “Alright. Go ahead.” She had a feeling Ning Xiangsi was different today. Earlier, when she had done those things, Ning Xiangsi had not seemed repulsed. She had even sensed a trace of satisfaction in her eyes.
What had changed her?
“Miss Tang, the first thing I want to say today is thank you,” Ning Xiangsi said in a rush. “Maybe to you, what you did back then was just something done in passing, like today. But to me, it meant everything.”
“If you hadn’t appeared in time that year, I might have become one of those numb women, or one of the unjust souls who died there. Without you, I would only have been a wandering ghost.”
Tang Guo felt a touch of surprise, yet it was also within expectation.
Ning Xiangsi herself was not a bad person. She had simply been raised with very orthodox ideals.
Many times, her kindness had been misplaced.
And the consequences of that misplaced kindness were things she, with her simple and well-meaning mindset, could never foresee.
Tang Guo was certain something unpleasant must have happened to change her.
“Is there anything else?”
Ning Xiangsi had expected Tang Guo’s indifferent tone. “There’s one more thing. Brother Fang has already gone to seek Master Mingxuan.”
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