In his second year of delayed graduation, Bie Hengqiu had his third academic paper stolen. He calmly accepted the fact, found a remote mountain, and prepared to leap to his death to put an end to all his troubles.
He had no idea which immortal he had offended. His orphanage adoption spot was stolen, his recommendation for admission to school was stolen, his graduation thesis was stolen, and even when he was about to jump off a cliff, someone had to get there first.
Wait, jump off a cliff?!
Out of basic human decency, Bie Hengqiu put his plan on hold and chose to take the person to the hospital.
And then he was conned into joining a Taoist temple by an illiterate, penniless Taoist priest.
Bie Hengqiu: So I went from a PhD in physics to the temple's second-in-command?
Yao Qing: Congratulations on your career change.
Bie Hengqiu: ...Thanks. What about my salary?
Yao Qing: No salary, but food and lodging are covered, and you get to see ghosts.
*
As a committed physics student, Bie Hengqiu firmly believed that ghosts could be perceived and studied.
After dogged perseverance, he finally developed a machine capable of monitoring and recording ghost fields, and named it Lingxi.
Yao Qing clapped without expression, then asked a soul-searching question: So why did you make this so complicated when I could have just opened your spiritual sight?
Bie Hengqiu had only just worked up the courage to show off for his crush, having begun to develop tender feelings for him, only to be hit with this devastating blow. He covered his face and fled with a whimper.
After that, Lingxi came into widespread use for population registration and police investigations. Even the underworld came knocking to propose a partnership.
Having achieved fame and success, Bie Hengqiu finally gathered the courage to nervously confess to Yao Qing again.
Yao Qing: Huh? But haven't we been dating this whole time?
