Chapter 8: The Little Ghost Peeks at Someone Bathing

Song Yaoyao, the little ghost in the form of a turban snail, slept until noon before waking up. He habitually rolled around on the bed in a daze and noticed that the feel of the bedsheet was different from usual.

Hm?

He opened his eyes and discovered that he was still sleeping in Xie Ningwan’s room.

Last night, he had kept watch over Xie Ningwan, afraid that his fever might return, so he stayed by his side the whole time. Unexpectedly, he had fallen asleep again.

Xie Ningwan was no longer in the room. Song Yaoyao turned around and floated out to find him.

Sounds from the television drifted up from downstairs. Song Yaoyao followed the noise. Since Xie Ningwan was sick today, he probably wouldn’t go to the company.

Sure enough, Xie Ningwan sat on the living room sofa, working on a laptop.

He showed no signs of having been ill. Since he hadn’t gone out, he wore casual home clothes, and his hair wasn’t styled, making him less stern than usual.

“Are you better?” Song Yaoyao approached and lightly touched Xie Ningwan’s forehead. The fever was gone.

Looks like I’m pretty good at taking care of people, Song Yaoyao thought smugly.

Xie Ningwan focused intently on his computer work, while the television played. A little yellow sponge was putting on clothes to head out to work.

“Huh?” Song Yaoyao floated over.

He tilted his head in confusion for a moment before realizing that Xie Ningwan had probably just turned on the TV for background noise.

It happened to resume from the part Song Yaoyao had watched yesterday.

Yay! Song Yaoyao happily circled Xie Ningwan once and leaned against him as he sat down.

The person who could help him turn back into a human was right beside him. At this distance, he should be able to absorb some fortune, right? Plus, he could openly watch TV. Perfect.

Song Yaoyao had slept well last night. He felt a bit stronger than the past few days, probably because he had stayed close to Xie Ningwan all night.

Song Yaoyao sneaked a little closer to Xie Ningwan, then even closer. Looking at his semitransparent body, he inched nearer still, until he pressed against Xie Ningwan’s arm.

The cartoon reached its funniest part. SpongeBob SquarePants’s work pants tore at the back. Song Yaoyao doubled over laughing and stomped his feet in delight.

Unable to hold back, he leaned back laughing and crashed onto the sofa cushion.

The soft cushion dipped slightly—not easy to notice, but Xie Ningwan caught it.

He tapped a few keys without changing expression, glanced at the TV he had just switched to, then eyed the sofa beside him with his peripheral vision.

—There it was, a faint indentation.

Xie Ningwan didn’t turn his head, afraid of scaring it off. He just subtly curved his lips, amusement hidden in his eyes.

In the past, Xie Ningwan only worked in his study and allowed no one to disturb him. But now, with this inexplicable little ghost in the house, sitting in the living room and listening to the noisy TV as background, he surprisingly felt exceptionally calm.

After finishing part of his work, nearly a morning had passed. Xie Ningwan took a sip of coffee to perk up and slightly turned his head.

That indentation was still there, and the sofa cushion had shifted five centimeters on its own while he wasn’t paying attention.

Xie Ningwan glanced at the TV. The cartoon had already played ten more episodes.

He recalled that his assistant had a daughter and strictly controlled her TV time to prevent nearsightedness.

Would the little ghost get nearsighted? Xie Ningwan pondered.

…Probably not?

At lunchtime, Xie Ningwan stood and headed to the kitchen.

Song Yaoyao had watched TV for half the day and felt a bit tired leaning on the cushion. He floated up, stretched, and followed Xie Ningwan again.

“What are we eating today?” Song Yaoyao landed on Xie Ningwan’s back, sprawled on his head, and peered down.

If Xie Ningwan made something where portions weren’t obvious, Song Yaoyao could sneak a bite, like that thick soup from breakfast. But if it was something like a sandwich, he couldn’t.

While Xie Ningwan cooked, Song Yaoyao stayed perched on his head, watching his movements and tentatively hugging his neck.

The System was right. He decided to work harder to turn back into a human so he could eat delicious food without restraint.

Xie Ningwan planned a simple dish and soup today. While chopping vegetables, he reached up to rub his shoulder. Maybe it was sore from sitting on the sofa too long that morning.

The culprit, Song Yaoyao, who had been perched there, swiftly switched to the right shoulder the moment Xie Ningwan’s hand rose, successfully dodging. He felt secretly triumphant, like after pulling off a prank.

Right, Xie Ningwan couldn’t see him, so he couldn’t do anything about it. Song Yaoyao snickered to himself.

With that thought, Song Yaoyao grew bolder. While Xie Ningwan washed cherry tomatoes, he popped one straight into his mouth.

“…”

Seeing Xie Ningwan turn around and hesitate at the number of tomatoes, Song Yaoyao nearly sprouted little devil horns on his head.

This was kind of fun.

What he didn’t know was that while he stole the tomato and thought he had puzzled Xie Ningwan, Xie Ningwan was secretly amused and found it interesting.

Xie Ningwan first made tomato soup with the cherry tomatoes, simmered it in a clay pot until done, ladled a bowl, and set it on the dining table. Then he turned to make the second dish.

While chopping vegetables, he quietly glanced back without a trace.

Sure enough, the little ghost was drawn to the tomato soup and floated to the table’s edge. Under his gaze, the soup on the table slowly diminished by half a bowl.

Xie Ningwan usually spent his days at the company, so Song Yaoyao could only stay home and had little time to absorb fortune.

Today was rare with Xie Ningwan at home, and following the System’s advice, Song Yaoyao stuck close to him secretly all day.

After lunch, when Xie Ningwan returned to the living room sofa to work, Song Yaoyao pressed arm to arm with him. When he went to the study, Song Yaoyao sprawled on his back. When he walked around, he trailed right at Xie Ningwan’s heels…

Until evening, when Xie Ningwan grabbed home clothes and entered the bathroom. Only then did Song Yaoyao stop and obediently wait at the door.

He had wanted to follow in, but he had the perverted thoughts without the guts, so he only paced at the bathroom door.

Song Yaoyao sat in the laundry basket, head against Xie Ningwan’s jacket, gazing toward the shower.

Through the frosted glass door, he could vaguely make out the man inside. His figure was great.

Go in, or not? That was the question.

Song Yaoyao stood and floated back and forth at the door. Tired of floating, he stopped, casually propped a hand on the bathroom door, hesitated a while, and decided to be a gentleman and wait here for Xie Ningwan to come out.

While showering, Xie Ningwan vaguely sensed furtive rustling sounds from behind. He peered through the frosted bathroom door and narrowed his eyes.

On the fogged glass door, a handprint suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

…

Xie Ningwan calmly turned around and pretended not to see it.