Chapter 42: The Little Ghost’s True Origins

In the early morning, the sunlight outside the window filtered through the gap in the curtains. Song Yaoyao’s eyelashes fluttered as he stirred between sleep and wakefulness. He rolled over groggily on the bed and ended up sprawled on top of Xie Ningwan.

The weather lately was no longer cold. Xie Ningwan’s pajamas and Song Yaoyao’s little bear pajamas were both very thin. Through the two thin layers of fabric, he could clearly feel each other’s body heat.

Song Yaoyao hugged Xie Ningwan’s neck and buried his head in the crook of his neck. He adjusted to a comfortable position and slept soundly.

After a while, he moved groggily again and readjusted his position.

Song Yaoyao rolled back and forth several times in a daze.

Xie Ningwan, who was being used as a mattress beneath him, felt his brow twitch. He opened his eyes.

He looked ahead, and his temple throbbed. He pulled the warm mochi ball stuck to him down, turned over, got out of bed, and went into the bathroom.

Song Yaoyao was still asleep. He only felt Xie Ningwan get out of bed and didn’t notice anything strange. He flipped over, shrank back into the covers, hugged the little bear doll, and continued sleeping.

Half an hour later, hearing the sound of water from the bathroom, Song Yaoyao finally sat up on the bed with bleary eyes.

He got out of bed in a daze, slipped on the little bear slippers that matched his pajamas and were placed by the bed, and walked to the bathroom door, holding the little bear doll’s round arm.

Xie Ningwan rarely showered in the morning. Song Yaoyao stood at the door in confusion for a moment, waited a bit, then went upstairs first to his own little room to freshen up.

After washing up, Song Yaoyao went downstairs. Xie Ningwan had already finished showering and changed clothes. He was making breakfast in the kitchen. When he saw Song Yaoyao, his expression was as calm as ever.

Song Yaoyao observed him but didn’t see anything unusual on his face.

Apart from that small interlude in the morning, Song Yaoyao spent most of the day as usual. He ate breakfast with Xie Ningwan in the morning, had a snack after arriving at the company, sat on Xie Ningwan’s desk to attend classes and do homework, and finally lay on the guest sofa in the office to watch a few episodes of cartoons.

This was Song Yaoyao’s daily routine after turning back into a human.

Of course, his routine before turning back into a human was not much different.

In the afternoon, after eating the exquisite lunch delivered by the assistant, Song Yaoyao lay on the sofa with his legs kicked up, watching cartoons on the tablet.

The phone’s vibration suddenly rang in the office.

Song Yaoyao didn’t pay attention. He shook his little legs and continued to bury his head in the cartoons, guessing it was Xie Ningwan’s work message.

The phone vibrated again.

Song Yaoyao still ignored it.

“Song Yaoyao,” Xie Ningwan spoke up and called him, “Your phone is ringing.”

“Ah? Is it mine?” Song Yaoyao turned his head.

Xie Ningwan: “Yes.”

Song Yaoyao got up, walked over, and took his phone from the desk. There were only three contacts in his phone: Xie Ningwan at the top, followed by Assistant Lei and Song Huaichuan.

Song Yaoyao opened his phone blankly.

Xie Ningwan was right beside him, and Assistant Lei was in the assistant’s office outside. If there was something, they would come directly to the office to tell him, so it could only be the remaining Song Huaichuan.

“Who is it?” Xie Ningwan was also a bit curious.

It really was a message from Song Huaichuan. Song Yaoyao said, “It’s President Song.”

“You two exchanged contact info?” Xie Ningwan raised an eyebrow, lifted his head from behind the desk, and asked in an unclear tone, “What did he send you?”

Song Yaoyao tapped on Song Huaichuan’s avatar and looked at the message content.

Song Huaichuan: 【Yaoyao, are you free this afternoon?】

Song Huaichuan: 【Sorry, I went back to the Charity Association last night and checked your information on my own. There’s something I want to talk to you about.】

Song Huaichuan: 【If it’s okay, I’ll wait for you at the café downstairs from the Xie Building, alright?】

Song Yaoyao pursed his lips, not knowing what Song Huaichuan wanted with him. Could it be that he had really found something about his identity? The one arranged by the System.

Song Yaoyao inexplicably felt a bit nervous.

“What’s wrong?” Seeing Song Yaoyao’s conflicted expression, Xie Ningwan asked again.

“President Song asked to meet me.” Song Yaoyao walked forward and handed his phone to Xie Ningwan to look at.

“Asked to meet you?” Xie Ningwan took Song Yaoyao’s phone, glanced at the messages, and frowned slightly.

“President Song said he would help me find my family. Maybe he has some leads.” Song Yaoyao pinched his fingers, his tone also a bit uncertain.

Xie Ningwan lowered his eyes in thought.

Yesterday, when Song Yaoyao told him he might have family left, he immediately arranged for people to investigate. But in this regard, the Xie Family indeed didn’t have as extensive a network and information as the Charity Association. Maybe Song Huaichuan had really found something.

However… Song Huaichuan’s overly special and friendly attitude toward Song Yaoyao made him take notice.

In the past decade or so, the Song Family had vanished from the business world and turned to charity, almost completely secluded, rarely appearing in public or hosting guests. In the years Xie Ningwan had been in charge of the Xie Family, he hadn’t had much contact or interaction with Song Huaichuan. Yet Song Huaichuan was so enthusiastic toward Song Yaoyao.

After considering for a moment, Xie Ningwan looked up and “approved” the little assistant’s leave: “Go ahead. It’s just downstairs from the company, not far. Message me anytime.”

“Okay.” Song Yaoyao nodded, took back his phone, replied to Song Huaichuan, and agreed to meet.

Song Huaichuan had probably already arrived at the Xie Building when he sent the message. As soon as Song Yaoyao went downstairs, he saw Song Huaichuan sitting by the window in the café, quietly looking at the fountain in the plaza outside. His aura was detached and aloof.

When Song Yaoyao entered the café door, his gaze shifted over, spotted him, and his expression instantly softened.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, President Song.” Song Yaoyao greeted him politely and sat across from him.

“No wait.” Song Huaichuan was refined and courteous. He first placed the hot water he had prepared on the table in front of him, then called the server to order for them.

“See what you’d like to drink.” Song Huaichuan gestured for the server to hand the menu to Song Yaoyao first.

Song Yaoyao lowered his head to choose and selected a strawberry mochi milk tea.

Song Huaichuan gazed warmly at the whirl on top of his head, his lips curving slightly.

After Song Yaoyao ordered, he noticed Song Huaichuan looking at him. He met his smiling eyes, but then felt it wasn’t appropriate to drink a beverage since they were here to talk business. He prepared to cancel and reorder coffee or plain tea.

He could drink this next time with Xie Ningwan.

“No need, just have this.” Song Huaichuan noticed Song Yaoyao’s little movement and said amiably to him.

Then, he told the server: “The same for me. Please bring us two of these, thank you.”

“Certainly, sir.” The server bowed slightly and smiled politely.

“Would you like something to eat? Desserts or such.” Song Huaichuan asked. “The first time I saw you, you seemed to be holding a cake.” He mentioned with a smile.

“Yes, I can eat.” Song Yaoyao said reservedly.

Song Huaichuan placed the menu on the table between them, and they looked together, selecting a few desserts.

After the server left, Song Yaoyao sat in his chair holding the hot water cup: “Thank you, President Song.”

“No need to thank me,” Song Huaichuan said. “I rarely eat sweets. This is a good chance to try them with you. Thank you.”

Song Yaoyao’s ear tips turned a bit red from his words, and he felt Song Huaichuan was even nicer and more approachable.

Since transmigrating to this world, Song Yaoyao thought Xie Ningwan was the best person, Assistant Lei was second best, and now President Song was almost tied with Assistant Lei for second.

But he had only known President Song for a few days.

It wasn’t long before the server came, cleared the hot water from the table, and served the food.

They first tasted the milk tea and some desserts. Song Yaoyao held the cake plate in front of him with one hand and a small fork in the other. He looked up and asked about the main matter.

“President Song, what did you want to talk to me about?”

Song Huaichuan lowered his gaze, took a sip of the strawberry mochi milk tea Song Yaoyao had chosen, savored the rich, sweet flavor lingering on his lips and teeth, then slowly spoke:

“Yaoyao, you said yesterday that a charity organization had helped you before, registered your information, and searched for your family. But I checked, and I didn’t find your records.”

Song Yaoyao opened his mouth, paused.

His records were from the original world; they didn’t exist here. Of course, they couldn’t be found.

He hadn’t expected Song Huaichuan to really take his matter to heart and check so quickly.

Song Yaoyao didn’t know how to explain for a moment. Instead, Song Huaichuan smiled apologetically and guiltily at him: “I’m really sorry. It must be that someone below neglected to follow procedure. It’s our mistake.”

Song Huaichuan was clearly smiling, but his expression somehow looked a bit sad.

Song Yaoyao inexplicably felt a heaviness in his chest.

“It’s not…” Song Yaoyao couldn’t tell the truth and could only comfort him. “It’s okay.”

“…You’re already eighteen.” Song Huaichuan lowered his eyes and said in a hoarse, low voice.

“Yaoyao, do you remember me telling you I have a younger brother?” A moment later, Song Huaichuan looked up, gazing at Song Yaoyao with calm, focused eyes.

Song Yaoyao: “I remember.”

“He drowned when he was very young.” Song Huaichuan kept his tone calm, but his eyes reddened slightly. “He accidentally fell into the river.”

Song Yaoyao suddenly froze.

The colorful, vibrant desserts on the table seemed to lose their color in an instant, dimming several degrees. The atmosphere around them grew heavy and stagnant.

“The current was too swift, and the small figure disappeared in a moment… We begged many agencies, mobilized a large number of water police, searched for a very, very long time… but in the end, we never found the body.”

At this point, Song Huaichuan took a deep breath, blinked his reddened eyes, steadied his emotions, and even squeezed out a smile for Song Yaoyao: “Actually, this is good news. Not finding him means he might be alive somewhere, right?

“Maybe the current carried him to some place where he was rescued and adopted; or perhaps he woke up in an unfamiliar place, couldn’t find home, and had to wander around. But no matter what…”

Song Huaichuan’s throat choked up again, and he couldn’t continue.

Song Yaoyao stayed quiet, silently passing the milk tea from beside his hand to him. Song Huaichuan smiled softly at him, took it, and drank a sip: “Thank you.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to tell you all this.”

Song Huaichuan composed himself, crossed his fingers on the table, looked at Song Yaoyao seriously, and said: “I mentioned my brother to you before because—Yaoyao, you look a lot like him.”

Song Yaoyao had just taken a sip of his own milk tea. Hearing this, he paused with the cup in hand, widened his eyes, and looked at Song Huaichuan in disbelief.

The desserts on the table regained their vibrancy, and the sweet aroma filled the café.

Song Huaichuan looked at Song Yaoyao’s face, his brows and eyes carrying a faint smile as he described in detail: “Although you’re much older now than when he fell into the water, your eyebrows, eyes, nose, mouth… they’re almost proportionally enlarged versions. You resemble my parents and my younger self.”

Song Yaoyao was completely stunned, unable to react for a long time.

He sat there dazed, looking at Song Huaichuan across from him. His mind went blank, his round eyes filled with bewilderment and helplessness.

“And you said you have no parents, that you’re an orphan. I don’t want to give up any hope, so—”

Song Huaichuan’s expression was earnest and solemn: “Yaoyao, I know it’s presumptuous, but if possible, I’d like to do a paternity test with you.”