Chapter 30: Little Ghost’s Countdown to Turning Back into a Human 3

Song Yaoyao said goodbye to Xie Ningwan, leaned against the door and watched the car drive away, then turned and returned to the living room.

He first took the last few boxes of leftover ice cream from the fridge and placed them one by one on the coffee table. He stacked the throw pillows on the sofa into a comfortable little nest, and finally turned on the TV and tuned it to his favorite cartoon.

He had already watched SpongeBob SquarePants up to season six. On the screen, SpongeBob and Sandy were performing a play, holding a wedding.

“SpongeBob, do you take Sandy to be your wife?”

“I do.”

“…”

“Very well, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

Song Yaoyao held a small spoon for scooping ice cream in his mouth, lay in the pile of pillows, and stared at the scene of the little sponge and the little squirrel about to kiss. He zoned out, thinking of Xie Ningwan.

If he really kissed Xie Ningwan once…

Song Yaoyao pursed his lips and pictured the scene in his mind, then hurriedly shook his head to shake it away.

…But anyway, Xie Ningwan could not feel it, so it should be fine.

No, Xie Ningwan could feel him now.

Song Yaoyao held his ice cream bowl, rolled over, and lay tangled on the pillows.

What a shame. He should have kissed him a few more times before Xie Ningwan could sense him!

The ultimate desire to turn back into a human finally overcame his shyness. Song Yaoyao sat up from the sofa, puffed out his cheeks, and racked his brain for a solution.

He floated up first to the place where Xie Ningwan had hung the Little Bear Doll to dry and touched it.

The Little Bear Doll was almost dry.

Song Yaoyao poured some more water on its chubby body to wet it again. As he sprinkled the water, he muttered under his breath, “Sorry about this.”

If it dried, Xie Ningwan would definitely make him carry it again when he came back tonight, and then he would not be able to move freely.

.

The conversation with the business partner that evening was not pleasant. No agreement was reached, and after leaving the banquet hall, Xie Ningwan’s expression was rather indifferent.

“The night is still young. Why don’t you stay a bit longer, President Xie? We can have some tea and snacks?” The partner’s boss came out to see him off, fawning.

Xie Ningwan: “No need.”

The partner boss followed beside Xie Ningwan, continuing to flatter him. “President Xie, you’re so young and accomplished. We’ll have to rely on you a lot in the future. This time, it was our oversight…”

Assistant Lei was Xie Ningwan’s right-hand man and had accompanied him tonight. He maintained his poise and spoke on Xie Ningwan’s behalf. “President Li, you’re too kind. Our collaborations have always been based on mutual attitude and sincerity. There’s no talk of relying on anyone.”

“Yes, yes,” President Li smiled obsequiously. “It’s our side’s issue.”

The group walked out of the banquet hall private room. In the outer lobby, on a sofa, sat a young girl. She turned her head, saw them, smiled, and stood up to greet them.

“Dad.”

“Hey.” President Li pulled his daughter over and eagerly introduced her to Xie Ningwan. “President Xie, this is my daughter.”

“And this is Xie Ningwan, President Xie.” He turned to the girl.

“Hello, President Xie.” The girl looked at Xie Ningwan curiously and greeted him in a crisp, sweet voice. She stealthily sized up Xie Ningwan, taking in his broad shoulders and handsome face, then shyly half-hid behind her father.

Xie Ningwan did not speak. He merely gave her a faint nod, nothing more.

“Hahaha,” President Li chuckled nonstop, asking his daughter indulgently, “Were you waiting here for Dad and President Xie to finish talking?”

“Yeah,” the girl nodded obediently. “I just ordered some snacks and tea. I figured you’d be drinking tonight, so some tea afterward would help sober you up.”

“How thoughtful, thinking just like Dad,” President Li patted his daughter’s shoulder in praise, then turned to Xie Ningwan. “President Xie, my daughter prepared this specially. Why not stay and have some tea?

“I heard you live alone, President Xie. It shouldn’t matter if you head back a bit later, right?” He probed subtly.

The girl chimed in too, her tone full of expectation. “President Xie, stay and have some tea with us? There are sweets too.”

Faced with the father and daughter’s obviously premeditated setup, Xie Ningwan’s indifferent expression flickered slightly upon hearing this. He lowered his gaze.

His home had been empty before, but now…

He wondered if that little ghost was watching cartoons all night again at home, or sneaking into his closet to “steal” things.

Seeing Xie Ningwan give no response, Assistant Lei tactfully declined. “Sorry, President Xie has other matters and it’s not convenient.”

“What a shame. You see…” President Li still wanted to persuade him, and his daughter tried to speak up too.

“My apologies.” Xie Ningwan spoke lightly, brushed past them, and continued walking out.

“President Xie—”

“Please stay, President Li.”

President Li was about to say more when Assistant Lei extended an arm to block him, nodded to him, and followed Xie Ningwan out the door.

Passing the sofa where the girl had been waiting, there was indeed a pot of clear tea and several plates of exquisite snacks on the table in front.

Xie Ningwan’s gaze swept over the cake on one plate, and a thought occurred to him.

Little snacks, desserts, treats. Looking at these, Xie Ningwan inexplicably thought it would be nice if the little ghost at home were here.

So once they reached the car and Assistant Lei had finished turning down President Li and was about to get in, he heard his boss suddenly instruct, “That cake from earlier—go get it packed up for me.”

Assistant Lei: “?”

He was puzzled but had grown accustomed to his boss’s recent odd behavior. He went back to the banquet hall, contacted the staff, and had a piece of cake packed.

On the way back to the villa with the cake placed properly, Assistant Lei brought up the earlier discussion. “President Li wasn’t serious about the collaboration, but he was pretty obvious about wanting to introduce his daughter to you.”

Assistant Lei had worked at Xie Corporation since Xie Ningwan’s parents were alive and had handled matters for him for years. Though they were boss and subordinate, they were also friends of sorts. It was not work hours now, so he spoke more casually.

Xie Ningwan did not respond. His gaze fell on the cake box beside him.

“But you could consider your personal life a bit,” Assistant Lei teased. “Everyone’s eyeing the spot by your side right now. You’re their top target. This kind of thing will only increase, and who knows what tactics they’ll use later.”

“If you’re interested, you could plan ahead. After all, you’re alone now. Having someone by your side would make things better.”

Xie Ningwan remained unmoved.

But perhaps because he had drunk a bit at the dinner and felt slightly tipsy, he thought of the little ghost at home again.

In the midst of the casual chat, the driver had already pulled into the villa district and entered the garden.

The villa was brightly lit, and the sound of the TV occasionally drifted from the living room, standing out starkly in the surrounding quiet darkness.

Assistant Lei was a bit surprised. “Someone’s at your place?”

As soon as he said it, he realized. A connection clicked in his mind, linking Xie Ningwan’s recent peculiarities to this scene.

Ice cream, milk, cake, practice problems… And cake packed tonight too!

So that was it. He had spoken out of turn just now. Should not have.

Assistant Lei asked no more, restrained his expression with propriety, cleared his throat lightly. “President Xie, you head home first then.”

Seeing the warm orange glow filling the house, Xie Ningwan himself paused for a moment.

The driver and assistant left. Xie Ningwan opened the door and went home.

In the living room, as soon as Song Yaoyao heard the car enter the yard, he had already floated to the entryway to wait.

Xie Ningwan came in and reached the entryway. Song Yaoyao boldly rushed forward and hugged his waist. “You’re back!”

He was no longer the light, ethereal little spirit. Xie Ningwan staggered slightly from the pounce and first set the cake box in his hand on a nearby cabinet.

“Cake?” Song Yaoyao’s attention was instantly drawn. He clung to the edge of the cabinet and raised his voice. “For me? You bought cake for me?”

“Yeah, for you.” Xie Ningwan unbuttoned his suit jacket and responded.

“Yay!” Song Yaoyao happily spun around holding the cake box, eager to open it on the living room coffee table.

Xie Ningwan steadied himself against the entryway cabinet with one hand. Watching the cake box float in midair, he pictured the teenage little ghost gleefully spinning with his head bumping the box and could not help curving his lips.

He took off his jacket, draped it over his arm, changed shoes, and walked into the living room. Song Yaoyao had already untied the colorful ribbon on the cake box and taken out a spoon, ready to dig in.

Seeing a chunk scooped out of the little cake in midair, a softness that Xie Ningwan himself did not notice appeared in his eyes.

“Want some?” Song Yaoyao, halfway through eating, finally noticed Xie Ningwan watching him and asked belatedly.

The spoon with a bit of cake was offered up. Xie Ningwan shook his head. “Thanks, no. You eat.”

“Okay.” Truth be told, Song Yaoyao was not particularly keen on sharing. He sat on the rug between the coffee table and sofa, eating cake while continuing to watch TV.

Xie Ningwan watched him amusedly for a moment longer, then went upstairs to the bathroom for a shower.

Midway through the shower, he could not resist glancing up at the top of the shower glass door. The little ghost was eating cake now, so he probably did not have time to sneak over and peek at him showering.

Even so, after showering and putting on his bathrobe, Xie Ningwan still planned to give the Little Bear Doll to Song Yaoyao so he could carry it and let him see his whereabouts.

Xie Ningwan picked up the Little Bear Doll drying on the balcony, only to find its fur surprisingly still damp.

“?” Xie Ningwan looked at the doll in his hand with slight puzzlement, pinched it to confirm—indeed not dry. He set it down again, thinking nothing more of it.

Having drunk that night and showered, Xie Ningwan prepared to sleep. Before entering the bedroom, he specially went to check on Song Yaoyao again.

Song Yaoyao had already tidied up the cake trash obediently, turned off the TV, and seemed to have returned to his own room.

Xie Ningwan felt at ease, went back to his room, and fell asleep.

.

It was deep into the night again.

The door to the master bedroom was pushed open soundlessly by the little ghost. A small shadow slipped in.

Faint moonlight filtered through the gap in the curtains. The small shadow stood at the bedside, casting a translucent shadow onto the large bed in the center of the room.

The person on the bed was in deep sleep, breathing steady and calm, his face serene.

Song Yaoyao took a breath, held it, and slowly climbed onto the bed.

Song Yaoyao felt like a thief, his heart pounding with guilt. He psyched himself up inwardly, looked at Xie Ningwan’s face, and slowly lowered his head to lean in.

…

He had only meant to sneak a quick kiss on Xie Ningwan’s cheek to test it out. But just as he dipped his head, Xie Ningwan suddenly turned his head slightly in his sleep.