“Is the cake tasty?” Xie Ningwan asked, tilting his head.
Song Yaoyao nodded. He wasn’t carrying the Little Bear Doll now, nor did he want to speak and let cake flavor escape, so he rubbed against the suit fabric on Xie Ningwan’s shoulder.
“Let’s go home.” Xie Ningwan said.
Song Yaoyao obediently hugged his neck and climbed onto his back.
The driver waited at the venue entrance and sent Xie Ningwan, complete with one attached little ghost, back to the villa.
Song Yaoyao clung to Xie Ningwan’s body as the man and ghost entered the house together. The lights were on inside, and SpongeBob SquarePants, Song Yaoyao’s favorite show, played on the living room television.
A Little Bear Doll sat squarely in the center of the sofa, pretending to seriously watch TV.
Xie Ningwan nearly laughed helplessly.
“I didn’t let you come with me tonight only because I was afraid you’d get lost.” He explained.
Song Yaoyao felt a bit guilty as he slid down from Xie Ningwan’s body. He picked up the Little Bear Doll, pressed its head, and nodded up and down to show he understood.
Then Song Yaoyao pulled out the Memo Pad from the pocket on the Little Bear Doll’s belly and wrote: 【They bullied you, so I went to bully them.】
“Thank you.” Xie Ningwan took the note, his gaze softening for a moment. “You already scared them. They won’t dare provoke me again.”
After today, those villains should fear Xie Ningwan and stay quiet for a while. Song Yaoyao recalled the plot, hugged the Little Bear Doll, and nodded again.
It was already late, and they had just returned from the banquet. Seeing Song Yaoyao and the Little Bear Doll pounce onto the sofa to watch TV together, Xie Ningwan took off his suit jacket and went to the bathroom first to shower.
……
Song Yaoyao tugged the Little Bear Doll’s round paw and peeked out from the corner outside the bathroom door.
Ever since Xie Ningwan discovered him, whenever Xie Ningwan showered, he would securely close the bathroom door and draw the shower curtain.
To guard against him.
Song Yaoyao huffed softly. When the sound of water rushing in the shower started, he used it as cover and silently pushed open the bathroom door.
The more Xie Ningwan did this, the more he wanted to sneak in.
Song Yaoyao entered the bathroom and first habitually glanced at his former nest—the laundry basket.
He could now cling to Xie Ningwan anytime, so he no longer needed to absorb fortune by touching Xie Ningwan’s worn clothes. Song Yaoyao circled the laundry basket once, his gaze landing on a suit hanging from the rack nearby.
He had been busy at the Charity Gala that evening—sneaking cake and bullying Xie Ming and the others—so he hadn’t fully noticed. Xie Ningwan’s suit that night was truly handsome.
Thinking back now… Song Yaoyao’s mouth pursed as he grew eager. He set down the Little Bear Doll, reached out, and took the suit jacket off.
Draping the suit jacket over himself, Song Yaoyao floated excitedly to the mirror to admire it.
In the mirror, an expensive, luxurious suit jacket floated in midair, worn by an invisible little shadow. It hung loose and baggy, without any shape at all.
“…” Song Yaoyao struck a few poses he thought were cool, dissatisfied. But Xie Ningwan’s jacket was too big on him. No matter how he twisted, it didn’t look as handsome as when Xie Ningwan wore it.
It must be the clothes’ fault.
Song Yaoyao’s cheeks puffed up bit by bit. He gave up, took it off, and hung it back properly.
After hanging the jacket, Song Yaoyao took the Little Bear Doll’s fluffy paw again.
By now, he had grown accustomed to carrying the Little Bear Doll with him. Even if Xie Ningwan didn’t say anything, he always held its hand when moving around the house, as if it were his companion.
He had unilaterally declared this Little Bear Doll his partner in all things.
Song Yaoyao arrived at the frosted glass door of the shower, hesitated for a moment, and prepared to float in through the gap between the glass door and the ceiling.
He quietly floated to the top edge of the glass door, hugged the Little Bear Doll, and poked their heads out together, lying on the door to peer inside.
Mist swirled inside the shower. Xie Ningwan stood in the center, facing the showerhead. Water flowed down his handsome, chiseled features, over his upright back and shoulders, his firm waist, and finally vanished into the steam…
Song Yaoyao’s face suddenly flushed red.
Though he had previously lurked in the bathroom to admire Xie Ningwan’s figure, he had never truly intended to watch him shower so directly.
Song Yaoyao didn’t dare look longer. He held his breath and prepared to turn and float away.
Just then, the Little Bear Doll’s chubby leg caught on the edge of the glass door and suddenly fell.
Song Yaoyao’s eyes widened. He hurriedly reached to grab it, but he was too late: “…!”
The Little Bear Doll tumbled right to Xie Ningwan’s feet.
Xie Ningwan, who had been about to turn off the showerhead: “…”
“Song Yaoyao.”
The fluffy Little Bear Doll fell onto the shower floor and quickly got soaked by the water on the ground. Xie Ningwan bent down to pick it up and called out in an inscrutable tone.
Song Yaoyao heard the storm brewing in that voice. He panicked, forgetting to conserve soul power, and shouted guiltily to cover it up: “I didn’t see anything.”
Xie Ningwan looked up toward the top of the glass door. Song Yaoyao knew he couldn’t see him, but he still felt caught.
Feeling guilty and embarrassed like a thief, he retreated out of Xie Ningwan’s sight and pretended nonchalance: “I just accidentally dropped it. Help me pick it up and dry it. I’m going back to my room to sleep now.”
With that, Song Yaoyao fled like smoke.
“…” Xie Ningwan’s expression shifted, unsure what mood he should feel. In the end, it turned to helplessness again. He rubbed his forehead and sighed.
This rogue little ghost was taking an inch and wanting a mile, growing bolder by the day.
Truly a little pervert.
Xie Ningwan wrapped himself in a bathrobe and left the bathroom. He washed the soaked Little Bear Doll along with the clothes he had worn that day and hung them up to dry.
Late at night.
Xie Ningwan figured the little ghost felt too guilty to climb into bed tonight and had already closed his eyes to sleep. He hadn’t expected Song Yaoyao to be so persistent.
When he squeezed in through the bedroom door crack, Song Yaoyao felt immensely smug.
He floated above Xie Ningwan’s head on the bed, peered down closely to confirm he was asleep, lifted the covers, and slipped into Xie Ningwan’s quilt.
Xie Ningwan’s sleeping posture at night was as proper and upright as during the day. He lay flat with a serene expression. Song Yaoyao found a comfortable position beside him, pillowing on his shoulder hollow.
It was utterly traceless, unknown to gods and ghosts—only he, the lone ghost, knew.
Tonight’s moon shone especially bright. The curtains in Xie Ningwan’s bedroom weren’t fully drawn, and a beam of cool moonlight slipped through the gap, shining right on the pillow.
Song Yaoyao lay supine on Xie Ningwan, raised his hand, and watched the pale moonlight pass through his transparent arm.
He lifted his other hand and pinched himself, feeling like he had grown a tiny bit stronger.
Previously, when speaking to Xie Ningwan, he could only occasionally utter a sentence, and weakly at that, because his soul power was insufficient. But tonight, he had spoken several sentences, even loudly in the bathroom.
“La la la…” Song Yaoyao tried singing a little tune.
Now there was hardly any sound again.
Strange.
Song Yaoyao puzzledly rolled over. Could it be because he had been emotionally excited then, making his voice louder?
He should absorb a bit more fortune.
Song Yaoyao pressed his head against Xie Ningwan’s neck, drew a little closer, gradually fell asleep, and entered dreamland.
Under the moonlight, Song Yaoyao’s soul body emitted a faint, soft glow.
……
“So much cake!”
In the dream, Song Yaoyao had successfully turned back into a human. Facing a table full of cakes, he beamed with joy.
“Hahahahaha.” Though his little ghost form could eat cake too, it had no real substance in his belly. Now human again, Song Yaoyao ate freely, cheeks bulging. He ate while watching cartoons.
Song Yaoyao was overjoyed and habitually tried to float up for a spin, forgetting he was no longer a light little spirit with a physical body. He jumped and thudded heavily to the ground.
……
“Hahahaha…”
In the dim, quiet bedroom, Song Yaoyao laughed aloud in his dream, then suddenly kicked out like he’d missed a step, landing a foot on Xie Ningwan.
“…” Xie Ningwan, deep in sleep, frowned slightly and cracked his eyelids open groggily.
A clear-featured youth with soft hair slept in his arm bend, lips curved as if having a sweet dream. The youth’s body was semi-transparent, glowing faintly all over.
The youth’s face seemed familiar, like he had seen it somewhere before.
Was it a dream?
Xie Ningwan’s mind wasn’t clear. He lowered his gaze. The youth closed his eyes and giggled twice more, kicking him twice.
Xie Ningwan frowned helplessly, pinned the youth down, closed his eyes, and sank back into sleep.
