She felt a little unnerved under his gaze.
Hua Qi’an tilted her head slightly, her face filled with confusion.
“What’s wrong?”
Seeing that she truly had no idea how shocking her previous words were, Liu Ran calmed down.
“Really…”
“You always manage to surprise me.”
Though not exactly pleased, the surprise was undeniable.
Liu Ran tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, as if signaling she had adjusted her mindset.
She had thought she already had a rough understanding of Hua Qi’an.
But those earlier words completely upended her perception…
It seemed this girl was hiding far more secrets beneath her surface.
“…Telling you that you have many romantic debts was definitely not wrong.”
Originally, she had said that just because she saw the seven Binding Love Curses on Hua Qi’an’s body…
During their conversation just now, she sensed that Hua Qi’an wasn’t consciously involved in those matters; perhaps many of those troublesome entanglements were picked up unconsciously.
But now, hearing what Hua Qi’an said out loud, Liu Ran’s view of her shifted.
Though she always wore an innocent expression and didn’t seem to invite trouble…
Her subconscious words revealed the position Hua Qi’an often found herself in regarding emotional relationships…
“Looks like those two weren’t just clinging to you.”
Liu Ran paused.
Her gaze landed on Hua Qi’an’s neck, still wrapped in bandages.
“They’re your Yin Peach Blossoms—”
Yin Peach Blossoms: romantic ties that have already taken the form of ghosts.
“You must’ve had some entanglements with them in real life…”
Liu Ran’s voice dropped slightly; her brows furrowed lightly, clearly understanding what that meant.
Having entanglements in real life but ending up as Yin Peach Blossoms was hardly a pleasant thought.
Hua Qi’an silently repeated the term in her mind several times.
She knew what it meant… but refused to believe it.
The protective charm hanging on her neck seemed to warm up, calming her restless heart just a bit.
Liu Ran also noticed the faint black cord around her neck.
She carefully felt it, vaguely sensing the protective energy it radiated.
“So you’re wearing a charm.”
Liu Ran was a little surprised.
“I see…”
But she quickly understood.
Given how much that woman cared about Hua Qi’an, providing her with protective items made perfect sense.
“Remember not to take it off lightly. It can temporarily shield you from ghostly interference.”
Liu Ran could feel the power of the charm gradually fading at a perceptible rate.
It wouldn’t last much longer.
But that wasn’t a big problem for her.
“All right, I have a general understanding of your situation now.”
“I’ll prepare some items that can temporarily help with your current state…”
“You stay here for a while.”
Saying that, she stood up and gestured for Liu Yu to follow her to get the items ready.
“By the way, any updates?”
She glanced sideways at Liu Yu, asking about her junior sister.
Liu Yu shook her head.
“The junior sister only knows that the senior uncle should have arrived in Hangyang, but her whereabouts remain unknown…”
Liu Ran sighed wearily.
Watching them leave the quiet room, Hua Qi’an lowered her head and took out the phone she hadn’t looked at since earlier.
「Did you have any crushes in high school?」
Liu Ran’s words seemed to flash through her mind once more.
Her eyelashes trembled slightly as Hua Qi’an pursed her lips.
No messages on her phone.
After graduating high school, she had deleted all her old classmates’ contacts, trying to cut ties with the past…
Except for one person.
Looking at that account still showing offline, Hua Qi’an sighed.
The chat history abruptly ended on a day two years ago.
No warning.
For two whole years, that account had never been online again.
She didn’t know what happened to the owner, nor had any way to find out.
Originally, Hua Qi’an was supposed to delete that account too, but after thinking it over, since it was a dead account anyway, she just left it there.
Her decision to apply to Hangyang University was partly because of that person.
Unfortunately, that account probably would never reply again.
Thinking back to what Liu Ran had just said, Hua Qi’an shook her head, pushing all those thoughts away.
She exited the interface and shut off her phone.
At that moment, footsteps approached the door.
Liu Ran and Liu Yu had returned.
Having sat for a long time, Hua Qi’an stood up and stretched her limbs.
After such a long rest, she indeed felt much better.
“Um… Miss Hua, here.”
Liu Ran handed Hua Qi’an a shining string of Buddhist prayer beads.
Hua Qi’an accepted them and listened as Liu Ran introduced.
“These beads also have protective properties, but their main function is to suppress curses. Under normal circumstances, they should last one to two months.”
“Like the charm, carry them with you… If they suddenly fall apart, come find me again.”
Liu Ran smiled gently at Hua Qi’an.
“Your nightmares are probably caused by ghostly qi. Now, with the charm and the beads, you should be able to block it and resolve the nightmares.”
“Meeting is fate… Don’t worry about payment. Consider this my gift to you.”
Liu Ran’s expression seemed capable of embracing everything.
Liu Yu beside her glanced sideways, seeming to want to say something but held back.
Hearing this, Hua Qi’an felt touched, wrapping the prayer beads around her wrist.
Just wearing them, she truly felt some of the long-accumulated weakness dissipate.
“Thank you.”
Hua Qi’an sincerely expressed her gratitude, smiling gently toward Liu Ran and Liu Yu.
The faint ice that had long settled in her eyes quietly melted, revealing warm waters beneath.
Liu Yu had helped her during her physical discomfort, and Liu Ran had answered so many of her questions…
They seemed like decent people.
She might have to interact with them often later, definitely a social circle worth maintaining.
“…It’s about time. I should go eat lunch now.”
Hua Qi’an glanced at the time and waved at them.
“See you next time.”
Liu Ran paused, then nodded.
“Yeah… see you next time.”
Her eyes seemed more distracted than before.
This time, walking inside the temple, Hua Qi’an no longer felt suffocated.
Watching her fading figure, Liu Yu finally came back to her senses.
“…”
“She really does have a knack for racking up romantic debts…”
Hua Qi’an’s smile lingered in her mind, stubbornly refusing to fade.
Her cheeks flushed slightly.
Liu Yu chose to change the subject.
She turned to her master and asked the question she had wanted to ask earlier, “Master, have you taken up charity work?”
Not charging at all—completely unlike Liu Ran’s usual style.
A mysterious smile appeared on Liu Ran’s face, still gentle as she watched Hua Qi’an leave.
“Who said I’m truly free of charge?”
“I don’t know what kind of relationship Miss Hua has with the company, but they seem quite concerned about her.”
Out of respect for Hua Qi’an’s privacy, she didn’t ask further.
She only knew the “company” was trying some new project again.
“This time, all the costs are charged to the company.”
Liu Ran’s tone lifted, clearly in a good mood.
Meaning she could take this opportunity to squeeze some money from that woman.
Liu Yu nodded knowingly.
So that was it.
“By the way, Master, don’t you think her voice sounds familiar?”
Liu Ran nodded, then shook her head.
“It does, but I can’t remember where I heard it.”
“Probably not important.”
Liu Yu thought for a moment and agreed.
…
After leaving the temple, Hua Qi’an first returned to campus.
She needed to buy a new phone and leave the old one in her dorm.
Then she planned to visit the haunted house again.