Chapter 34
The man left the villa, clutching the check, a smug smile on his face.
Watching him go, Song Jingmo bristled, his shadow forming a spiky ball.
Xie Zhang, hearing the grinding of his metaphorical teeth, remained expressionless.
Song Jingmo typed angrily: 【You believe him?】
Xie Zhang’s uncle had worked at the Xie corporation. He’d fled the country before its collapse, returning two years later, after the debts had been transferred to Xie Zhang.
He’d claimed that the company’s downfall was due to embezzlement by the board of directors and illegal activities conducted in the company’s name.
But by the time the company collapsed, the money had vanished, leaving only a mountain of debt and unresolved legal issues.
With the deaths of Xie Zhang’s parents and the disappearance of key witnesses, the investigation had stalled.
But those involved remained silent, refusing to discuss the matter, wanting nothing to do with it.
So, in the end, it had been left to a teenage Xie Zhang to pick up the pieces, shouldering the immense debt.
None of the Xie family, who had benefited from, or even orchestrated, the company’s downfall, had offered any assistance. And after Xie Zhang’s resurgence, they’d continued to avoid him.
Except for this useless uncle, who hadn’t been involved in the upper management, just a parasitic hanger-on.
Xie Zhang held the bristling shadow hedgehog, kissing him gently.
“Whether I believe him or not, I’ll investigate.”
【Eighty million!!!】
Song Jingmo’s shadow tendril hammered the keys forcefully.
Xie Zhang: “The check is signed with my name.”
Song Jingmo didn’t understand.
What was wrong with using his name?
Then Xie Zhang added: “On your checkbook.”
Oh!
Song Jingmo remembered.
They had separate checkbooks. They weren’t married, just living together, their finances independent.
Xie Zhang could sign his own checks, but signing Song Jingmo’s checks was forgery, rendering them invalid.
Heh heh.
Song Jingmo’s anger dissipated like mist in the sun. He showered Xie Zhang’s face with shadow kisses.
Not bad, his darling had learned a new trick.
Very good!
Rewarding kisses!
Xie Zhang carried Song-shadow upstairs: “So we should pack. We’re leaving for the airport tomorrow morning.”
Song Jingmo, hearing this, launched himself out of Xie Zhang’s arms, zipping towards the bedroom.
Xie Zhang, his arms suddenly empty, chuckled.
Then, the shadow returned, two tendrils wrapping around his waist, pulling him towards the bedroom.
Xie Zhang stumbled, catching himself on the smooth, cool shadow.
He heard Song Jingmo’s giggles and his excited chatter about what to pack.
Leaning against the dressing room doorframe, he watched with amusement as Song-shadow, with multiple tendrils, pulled out clothes and accessories.
Song Jingmo rummaged through the closet, his shadow tendrils poking and prodding, discarding most of the items.
He wasn’t being picky; it was just that Xie Zhang’s wardrobe consisted entirely of black, white, grey, and blue.
And the blue was always a dark, almost black, navy.
Fine, he’d pack a few, then claim he’d forgotten the rest, forcing Xie Zhang to buy him some colorful clothes.
Hee hee.
He tossed the selected items into the open suitcase.
After a while, he paused, feeling like something was missing.
He turned his head.
Xie Zhang was kneeling beside the suitcase, carefully folding and arranging the clothes and accessories Song Jingmo had chosen.
Seeing the shadow tendril freeze, Xie Zhang looked up, his eyes questioning.
Song Jingmo suddenly remembered something.
Whenever they traveled, although they had two suitcases, one and a half were always filled with his things.
Even a small pillowcase, because he was a picky sleeper.
Xie Zhang had a reputation for being… difficult to please.
He seemed to have no strong preferences, content with whatever was offered, whether it was food, clothes, or anything else.
People knew he cared about Song Jingmo, but Song Jingmo, the pampered young master, was even harder to please.
The only person who had successfully gotten close to Xie Zhang, earning his favor, was Secretary Xu, who had cleverly catered to Song Jingmo’s… unique… needs.
The previously busy shadow suddenly shrunk, forming a chibi figure.
He hopped into the suitcase, walking across the neatly folded clothes, creating little dents, then helped Xie Zhang roll up his ties.
Xie Zhang asked: “Should we pack ties?”
They weren’t necessary for a leisure trip, nor were tie clips.
But Song Jingmo had tossed a few into the suitcase, along with some other accessories.
The chibi shadow immediately pounced on the ties, his actions a clear declaration that while meetings were optional, ties were essential.
Xie Zhang, after a moment’s thought, opened a drawer and retrieved a small package of… something.
“This…”
Song Jingmo instantly recognized them.
They were… intimate accessories, used by both of them on special occasions.
Before Xie Zhang could finish, a shadow tendril snatched the package and tucked it under his shirt.
Xie Zhang retrieved his usual travel suitcase, transferring some toiletries into Song Jingmo’s suitcase.
Song Jingmo carefully checked the latches, then slammed the suitcase shut, sitting on top of it. A shadow tendril pushed him, sending him sliding across the floor.
Xie Zhang, amused, picked him up, then asked: “Momo, where did you put your red string? Do you remember?”
Song Jingmo paused, thinking hard.
He typed: 【It broke right before I left. I put it in my pocket.】
So… it should still be there?
Xie Zhang wasn’t surprised by his answer. He went to the bedroom and retrieved a small box from the nightstand, containing a carefully folded silk pouch.
Song Jingmo stood on Xie Zhang’s finger, a shadow tendril already inside the pouch before he even opened it.
He’d assumed it contained Xie Zhang’s red string, but after rummaging through it, even turning it inside out, he couldn’t find anything.
Xie Zhang said: “After the master’s visit, I remembered the red string, but it was gone.”
Song Jingmo, well-versed in the ways of the supernatural, typed: 【It probably protected us. If we’re meant to mend it, it’ll reappear when the time is right, when our connection is strong enough.】
Xie Zhang looked down at the pouch, then nodded softly, placing it back in the box and returning it to the nightstand.
That night, Xie Zhang fell asleep to Song Jingmo’s humming.
Song Jingmo, gaming until late, suddenly returned to the bedroom, his shadow slipping into the nightstand drawer, opening the box.
The drawer was dark, and the equally dark chibi shadow examined the pouch.
It felt… familiar.
Where had he seen it before…?
He couldn’t remember.
But Xie Zhang’s earlier reaction had been… telling.
He’d pack it, just in case.
A shadow tendril opened the drawer, grabbed the pouch, zipped out of the bedroom, and tucked it into Xie Zhang’s suitcase.
…
The next morning, the sky was still dark, tinged with the orange hues of dawn.
Xie Zhang, waking up early, immediately looked at the pillow beside him.
Song-shadow, having gamed all night, was sleeping soundly, clutching the corner of the duvet, not wearing his usual tailcoat, but a miniature version of Song Jingmo’s pajamas.
He even had a tiny shadow nightcap, hiding his bedhead.
This was the first change in Song Jingmo’s behavior since the master’s visit.
Previously, brimming with energy and no longer needing sleep, he now slept for two hours every night, between 3 am and 5 am, waking up with the sunrise.
He’d joked that it was the “witching hour,” when all sorts of supernatural creatures roamed free.
And he, apparently, was one of them, succumbing to an irresistible urge to sleep.
Xie Zhang, watching him, reached out, tentatively trying to remove the shadow nightcap.
Song-shadow, his subconscious still clinging to his human persona, clutched the nightcap, curling into a ball and burrowing into Xie Zhang’s pajamas.
His morning grumpiness intensified.
The cool, smooth shadow slid down Xie Zhang’s chest, settling on his stomach.
Xie Zhang’s breath hitched, his abdominal muscles tensing, which only encouraged the shadow to nuzzle closer.
Finally, the sleepy chibi shadow peeked out from Xie Zhang’s pajamas, and Xie Zhang quickly scooped him back onto the pillow.
He breathed a sigh of relief.
He watched Song Jingmo for a moment, then gently pulled out the small pillowcase from beneath him, the one Song Jingmo always packed when they traveled.
He folded it and placed it in the suitcase.
