Chapter 4: Little Ghost Steals Cufflinks

Unable to find the missing cufflink, Xie Ningwan was in a poor mood. He first cleaned and put away the rest of his clothes and accessories, then went into the study to work as usual, planning to have the cleaning staff search later.

The culprit, Song Yaoyao, hid the cufflink and followed him. Xie Ningwan was already sitting at his desk looking over documents.

Song Yaoyao hummed a little tune as he drew close and draped himself over the back of Xie Ningwan’s chair, poking half his head out from behind.

Seeing that the data and tables on Xie Ningwan’s computer screen were just as incomprehensible as yesterday’s, Song Yaoyao lost interest and wandered off.

He had obtained one of Xie Ningwan’s personal cufflinks that evening, so he had no intention of touching things like pens anymore. After wandering around the study for a bit, he came to the bookshelf.

Song Yaoyao found the storybook he had only glanced at the beginning of last night. He glanced back at Xie Ningwan and saw that he was focused on work, so he took the book out again.

Learning from yesterday’s experience, Song Yaoyao did not spread the book open on the floor this time. Instead, he propped it against the shelf, flipping pages lightly and occasionally glancing at Xie Ningwan.

The content of the storybook was intricate and complex; just the names alone made Song Yaoyao dizzy. He focused intently and gnawed through it bit by bit.

The atmosphere in the study was harmonious and quiet, with only the occasional crisp sound of keystrokes.

As long as there were no unusual pauses in the keystrokes, Song Yaoyao continued reading in peace.

The sky outside the window turned a deep ink blue, and a cool evening breeze gently wafted in. After reading half of the financial report, Xie Ningwan leaned back in his chair and looked toward the window with the wind.

His gaze naturally shifted and happened to catch sight of the book he had placed in the corner of the bookshelf last night, now flipped open and tilted to one side again.

How did it fall down again?

Xie Ningwan’s brows twitched. He stood up to check.

The moment he noticed Xie Ningwan’s movement, Song Yaoyao intended to close the book and put it back right away, but he did not make it in time and got caught.

“Ah.” Song Yaoyao sprawled on top of the bookshelf, watching Xie Ningwan approach, and let out a small sigh.

Reading a book was not easy.

Xie Ningwan stood by the bookshelf and picked up the book to examine it. This time, he checked the spine and binding, frowned, then pressed it between several other books.

Song Yaoyao: “…” This would make it even harder for him to read it later.

Song Yaoyao gave up on reading and obediently followed Xie Ningwan back to the desk, watching him work just like yesterday.

Bored, he draped himself over the chair again, staring at the various numbers on the computer.

1, 2, 3, 4…

Song Yaoyao counted while his head bobbed lower and lower until it thudded onto Xie Ningwan’s shoulder, and he fell asleep.

…

Some time later, Xie Ningwan suddenly frowned and rubbed his shoulder.

That heavy feeling on his shoulder from last night had returned.

Song Yaoyao tumbled to the floor again.

Dazed, he pushed himself up using the nearby chair and glanced to the side. Xie Ningwan was still reviewing the report.

“Aren’t you going to sleep?” Song Yaoyao leaned against Xie Ningwan and said to him.

Xie Ningwan naturally did not respond. Sleepy-eyed, Song Yaoyao answered himself: “Then I’m going to sleep.”

“Good night.”

With that, Song Yaoyao returned to the room next to the study to sleep.

He lay on the bed, still groggily pondering how to rub off more Fortune in his next moves, before gradually drifting into a deep sleep.

Under the pillow, a sapphire cufflink glimmered faintly.

He was asleep, so he did not notice that an hour later, someone pushed open the room door.

After handling company affairs, it was already late into the night. Exhausted, Xie Ningwan did not go upstairs to the master bedroom and decided to rest in a nearby guest room.

He walked to the guest room next to the study, twisted the doorknob, paused, narrowed his eyes slightly, and looked at the bedsheets that clearly showed signs of someone having slept there.

The evening breeze gently lifted the curtains, and the leaves outside swayed in the wind.

A little ghost lay in the center of the large bed, completely unaware that he was exposed to someone’s gaze, sleeping soundly on his own.

.

The next day, at the company.

“President Xie, I checked for you. The cleaning staff from the last villa maintenance acted very properly, with no oversteps,” the life assistant reported in the office.

“Is that so.” Xie Ningwan sat in his office chair, tapping his fingers lightly on the armrest, and frowned.

“Did the villa lose something, President Xie?” the assistant asked nervously. “I’ll send someone to investigate again and question the previous cleaning staff carefully.”

Xie Ningwan said flatly: “No.”

“Then…?” the assistant asked.

“Never mind,” Xie Ningwan rubbed his temple, his eyes showing a hint of bewilderment and fatigue. “Just replace the maintenance staff entirely. Have them come this afternoon for a full cleanup.”

“Yes, President Xie.” The assistant obeyed and went to make arrangements.

Xie Ningwan closed his eyes to rest for a few seconds, then continued working.

.

At the villa, Song Yaoyao sprawled on the sofa watching cartoons.

With TV to watch, he had no interest in books. Song Yaoyao had watched TV for most of the day and was just about to rest when he turned and saw a car pull into the yard.

“Hm?”

Was Xie Ningwan coming back so early today?

He hurriedly turned off the TV and went to the window, only to discover it was not Xie Ningwan’s car but a large van. About ten cleaning specialists got out.

“So they’re here to clean the house.”

Song Yaoyao flopped back onto the living room sofa, propping his chin on his hands as he watched the cleaning staff come and go with their tools, efficiently starting to tidy and clean.

One maintenance worker removed a sofa cushion—the very one Song Yaoyao was on. As he pulled it, Song Yaoyao rolled with the motion right onto the other side of the sofa.

Song Yaoyao rolled a couple of times before stopping and flopped limply in place, waiting for them to finish cleaning.

At that moment, a maintenance worker cleaning the TV wall ahead suddenly said in confusion: “Huh, why is the TV so hot? Like it was just turned on.”

Song Yaoyao’s ears twitched. He jolted upright and looked over.

“Is it? No way,” the person nearby asked.

“Really, come feel it. It’s so hot.”

Song Yaoyao quickly floated up from the sofa and went to the TV cabinet. He reached out to feel it— it really was hot!

He hurriedly fanned the back of the TV with both hands, trying to cool it down a bit.

“Maybe it’s been on standby the whole time?” another maintenance worker said casually as he came over to clean, not paying much mind.

He was about to reach out and touch it when someone who looked like the team leader stood in the center of the living room and instructed: “Keep your hands clean and be thorough! I heard Mr. Xie was very dissatisfied with the previous batch, so they specially sent us today. Everyone, do a good job.”

“Got it.”

As soon as he spoke, the maintenance workers responded and stopped chatting, focusing on their work. The two cleaning the TV no longer paid attention to the odd temperature.

Song Yaoyao lowered his hands and breathed a sigh of relief.

They probably would not report something this minor to Xie Ningwan, right?

Song Yaoyao turned around. His sofa spot had been completely dismantled. He floated around in the air for a few circles and saw some maintenance workers heading upstairs. He suddenly remembered the sapphire cufflink he had hidden under his pillow.

This could not be discovered! Song Yaoyao floated up after the maintenance workers heading upstairs and returned the stolen sapphire cufflink before they cleaned his “room.”

Dodging the maintenance workers without making a sound, Song Yaoyao carefully pushed open Xie Ningwan’s bedroom door, slipped inside, and floated to the dressing room by the bathroom.

He opened Xie Ningwan’s accessories cabinet and was momentarily dazzled by the array of expensive accessories and watches inside. His mouth fell open in silent shock for a moment. Then he found the layer with the cufflinks and placed the sapphire cufflink in his hand next to the lonely other one, restoring the pair.

The maintenance workers were very professional, tidying every room and corner until everything was clean, neat, and refreshed—including the room Song Yaoyao stayed in.

When Song Yaoyao emerged from Xie Ningwan’s bedroom, he saw someone entering his room with cleaning tools. He floated over to supervise.

Song Yaoyao sat on the small ceiling chandelier, watching “his” room get cleaned spotless with new bedsheets, extremely satisfied.

Xie Ningwan was such a good person.

.

That evening, Xie Ningwan returned home and scanned the interior. Confirming no unusual traces remained, he was fairly satisfied, just like Song Yaoyao.

The recent overload of work seemed to have given him some neurasthenia—hallucinations, dizziness, heavy shoulders and neck, and heightened suspicion.

Conveniently, the villa had just been cleaned that evening, so he decided to relax and rest early.

Passing the accessories cabinet, he saw the pair of cufflinks he had worn yesterday; the other one had been wiped clean and put back.

The cleaning staff must have found it and returned it today.

Xie Ningwan slowly exhaled, dispelling his suspicions.