Chapter 47: The Little Ghost Got Confessed To

Song Yaoyao buried himself in Xie Ningwan’s chest, his body stiffened a bit, and he timidly turned his head to look toward Song Huaichuan.

“Please come in, President Song.” Assistant Lei extended his arm, gesturing to Song Huaichuan.

Song Huaichuan took a deep breath, his breathing trembling somewhat. He barely suppressed his intense emotions and walked into the ward.

“Yaoyao,” he said as he reached the bedside and stood in front of Song Yaoyao. He looked down at him, his usually composed and gentle lips trembled, his eyes reddened, and he said hoarsely, “I’m your big brother.”

“…” Song Yaoyao’s breathing paused for a moment, his chest tightening.

The wrist held by Xie Ningwan stiffened, his fingers tightened, and Xie Ningwan gripped it back, pinching it soothingly.

“I’ll leave the space for you and President Song, okay?” Xie Ningwan asked softly, seeking his opinion.

Song Yaoyao nodded lightly and slowly, but his hand still clutched Xie Ningwan’s clothes corner without letting go.

“I’ll stay right here, not go out,” Xie Ningwan said. “I’ll be on the sofa by the window.”

“Okay.” Song Yaoyao said.

Xie Ningwan patted his back again, stood up, and retreated some distance, leaving space for the brothers who were recognizing each other.

Song Yaoyao felt a bit nervous and sat up straight on the bed, raising his eyes to look at Song Huaichuan.

Two pairs of similar eyes met—one round and bright, the other gentle and steady. At that moment, both were filled with deep pain and redness.

“President Son…” Song Yaoyao’s fingers gripped the blanket, his head tilted up, and he tentatively called out, “…Big Brother.”

Song Huaichuan’s eyes suddenly turned fully red. The emotions he had just suppressed surged back. Looking at Song Yaoyao, he responded, “Mm.”

He turned his head, closed his eyes briefly, and did his best to calm his fluctuating emotions. Then he slowly walked to Song Yaoyao’s side and sat down.

After sitting, he first handed over the neatly bound kinship appraisal report stamped with the judicial appraisal seal for Song Yaoyao to read.

It was a rigorous kinship appraisal document, and the conclusion on the final page stated: 【It is inclined to believe that Song Huaichuan and Song Yaoyao are full siblings.】

Song Yaoyao quietly read the document, his gaze lingering on that sentence for a long time.

Song Huaichuan sat beside him, his gaze falling on Song Yaoyao’s lowered, delicate eyebrows and eyes, lingering there for a long time as well.

Song Yaoyao finished reading and slowly closed the appraisal report, his fingers resting on the cover.

Song Huaichuan spoke up. “I’m sorry, Yaoyao.”

“You were too young when you went missing, fell into the water, and disappeared in an instant. We searched for a very, very long time but couldn’t recover you…” Song Huaichuan’s eyes reddened again.

“For so many years, we never believed you were gone. We hoped you were still alive somewhere.

“…We’ve been doing charity work, rescuing all stray, orphaned, and lost children, hoping that if you were still out there, you’d receive help and not suffer too much…”

At this point, Song Huaichuan’s voice choked up, and he couldn’t continue. He turned his head away.

“…But I never imagined there must have been a mistake somewhere, with rescue personnel not doing their job properly. I checked your past records and found no missing person registration or aid records for you… I never thought you wouldn’t have received it—”

“I did receive it.” Song Yaoyao suddenly said.

“I did receive it.” Song Yaoyao raised his head and looked earnestly at Song Huaichuan.

He really had received it.

Although it was in another world, separated by an invisible wall that couldn’t be crossed, he believed that Song Huaichuan and his other family members’ actions had crossed that wall and reached the little him in that other world.

From childhood to adulthood, Song Yaoyao had indeed received help from various organizations and sponsors. Though lonely, he had grown up healthily and well, without suffering much hardship.

“I didn’t have it too bad.” Song Yaoyao awkwardly comforted Song Huaichuan.

Tears glistened in Song Huaichuan’s eyes. He couldn’t hold back anymore and leaned down to hug Song Yaoyao.

His arms still didn’t dare to tighten. Having lost and regained him, he was too fearful and only loosely held him, his fingers clenched into fists.

Warm, protective breath enveloped him completely. Song Yaoyao hesitated but then raised his hand, imitating how Xie Ningwan had comforted him earlier, and gently patted Song Huaichuan’s broad shoulder.

After a long while, Song Huaichuan temporarily regained his calm. Not wanting to overwhelm Song Yaoyao all at once, he straightened up, his eyes full of concern. “Were you hurt today?”

He had already heard the diagnosis from Assistant Lei and the doctor before coming, but he still couldn’t let it go.

“No.” Song Yaoyao shook his head and subtly pulled down his sleeve to cover his chafed wrist.

But Song Huaichuan still noticed. He frowned, pulled over his hand, and rolled up the sleeve.

Seeing the abrasion marks, a fierce glint flashed in Song Huaichuan’s eyes. He regretted not hitting harder earlier.

“…It’s already been treated with medicine. It’s fine, doesn’t hurt.” Song Yaoyao said.

Song Huaichuan felt heartbroken. After confirming the doctor had said there were no issues, he finally spoke. “Big Brother won’t let them off.”

After saying that, he hesitated for two seconds, looked into Song Yaoyao’s eyes, and asked cautiously and carefully, “Yaoyao, in a couple of days, can Big Brother take you home to see Mom and Dad?”

Song Yaoyao was stunned. His first reaction was to turn his head to look at Xie Ningwan standing by the window.

Xie Ningwan had been quietly standing by the window the whole time, not interrupting their conversation. Now he also turned his head and looked at him silently.

He stood in the backlight, so Song Yaoyao couldn’t see his expression clearly.

But he remembered that Xie Ningwan had asked him before—if he found his family, what would he do?

And… he himself was a bit reluctant to leave Xie Ningwan now.

Song Huaichuan had been carefully observing Song Yaoyao’s expressions all along, worried that he might not adapt, feel scared, or be unable to accept it right away. Seeing his conflicted hesitation now, he had his answer.

There was a hint of bitterness in his heart, but more than that was an uncontrollable softness and heartache.

“It’s okay. You can take a little more time to adjust. Tell me when you’re ready, alright?” His voice was gentle as he lightly held Song Yaoyao’s hands.

“Mm…” Song Yaoyao nodded.

This time, Song Huaichuan raised his hand to Song Yaoyao’s soft hair and gently stroked his head.

After this brief meeting, Song Huaichuan still had matters to handle and wanted to give Song Yaoyao time to think and adjust. He stood up, his gaze lingering on Song Yaoyao for a long time.

“Yaoyao, Big Brother will go take care of some things first. Contact me anytime if there’s anything.”

Song Yaoyao: “Okay.”

Song Huaichuan gave him one last look, nodded to Xie Ningwan in greeting, and turned to leave the room.

Xie Ningwan came forward from the window and said softly to Assistant Lei, “Still need to keep an eye on President Song.”

“Got it.” Assistant Lei acknowledged and went to make arrangements.

After Assistant Lei also left, Xie Ningwan sat back beside Song Yaoyao and gently raised his finger to touch his face.

Song Yaoyao’s hands, which had been gripping the blanket and sleeves, suddenly let go. He threw himself into Xie Ningwan’s arms, his eyes rapidly reddening at the corners.

Xie Ningwan leaned against the headboard, steadily holding him and stroking his back and the back of his head. He heard his soft sobs.

Song Yaoyao hadn’t cried in front of Song Huaichuan earlier. Now that they were alone, facing Xie Ningwan, he cried. His arms wrapped around his neck, face buried in his chest, tears rolling down.

Xie Ningwan bent down and held him tightly in his arms. Feeling the person in his embrace trembling from crying, he lovingly rubbed his cheek against Song Yaoyao’s and patted his back rhythmically.

“It’s okay, it’s okay, everything’s fine,” Xie Ningwan continued the patting motion with his hand while softly comforting him verbally. “It’s alright, it’s all over now.”

Song Yaoyao cried out loud, his tears wetting a small patch on the front of Xie Ningwan’s shirt. Xie Ningwan held him in front and gently rocked him.

After crying for a good while, Song Yaoyao finally calmed down. He sniffled a few times and lay still on Xie Ningwan.

Xie Ningwan rocked him a bit, soothingly pressed his lips to his forehead, took a tissue from the bedside table, and gently wiped away the remaining tears while looking down.

After crying, Song Yaoyao sat on the bed sniffling, his eyes red and puffy with lingering tears, but his emotions had stabilized a lot.

Xie Ningwan went to the sink, soaked a clean, warm wet towel, and came back to wipe his face.

“Finding your big brother and parents is a good thing,” Xie Ningwan squatted by the bed, carefully and gently wiping his face bit by bit as he consoled him. “In the future, there’ll be more people who care for you, right?”

“Mm.” Song Yaoyao nodded, his voice nasal.

After wiping his face, Xie Ningwan continued to wipe his hands as well. “We don’t need to rush. Take it slow, get to know them gradually.”

“Mm.” Song Yaoyao nodded again.

Seeing that Song Yaoyao’s mood had settled somewhat, Xie Ningwan put the towel back and returned.

“Want to eat something first?”

It was getting late. Song Yaoyao had been kidnapped today and learned about his background, with huge physical and mental fluctuations and consumption. He was probably starving by now.

He hadn’t eaten much in the morning either.

Thinking of this, heartache showed on Xie Ningwan’s face, and the darkness in his eyes deepened further.

He gave instructions, first having his secretary deliver two pieces of cake to Song Yaoyao, then ordering some suitable main meal for him.

Soon, the exquisite and sweet cakes were delivered by the secretary, who also set up a small tray table on the bed and placed them on it for Song Yaoyao to eat.

Song Yaoyao picked up the spoon to eat the cake. His appetite seemed unaffected. He even had Xie Ningwan turn on the TV in the room and ate while watching.

Xie Ningwan watched him eat two pieces of cake in one go and felt slightly relieved.

After the cake, the secretary brought in the ordered hearty meal, opened the lunchboxes one by one, and placed them in front of Song Yaoyao.

Xie Ningwan stayed by his side the whole time, watching him eat.

“Aren’t you eating?” Song Yaoyao asked after drinking half a bowl of shrimp porridge. He scooped up a shrimp and offered it to Xie Ningwan curiously.

“I’m not.” Xie Ningwan said.

Song Yaoyao’s appetite was fine, but Xie Ningwan’s chest still felt tight, especially seeing the red marks on his wrist when he raised his hand. Lingering fear remained, and he couldn’t eat.

“Okay.” Song Yaoyao ate the shrimp himself.

He ate half the meal and, under Xie Ningwan’s company, had fully recovered. He even started proactively recounting the morning’s kidnapping.

“…Then while I was in the car, those two people were chatting and even talked to me.”

“They said you take me everywhere every day and treasure me so much, thinking I’m your little boyfriend.” Song Yaoyao said.

“Mm.” Xie Ningwan sat in the chair by the bed peeling an apple for him, listening attentively.

Song Yaoyao pursed his lips and continued, “They misunderstood and got it wrong. I’m not your little boyfriend.”

Xie Ningwan didn’t respond with “mm” this time. He raised his eyes, emotions flickering faintly in them.

Song Yaoyao met his gaze and sensed something in his eyes. His words suddenly halted as realization dawned late.

The atmosphere in the room grew serene, mingled with a faint, ambiguous undercurrent.

A moment later, Xie Ningwan cut the peeled apple into small pieces, put them into a small cup in front of Song Yaoyao, and spoke. “You’re my little assistant.”

“Right,” Song Yaoyao quietly breathed a sigh of relief, speared a piece of apple, and naturally agreed. “I’m Little Assistant.”

But Xie Ningwan spoke again:

“What if you really were my little boyfriend? Would you be willing?” Xie Ningwan lowered his gaze to look into his eyes, his attitude serious.