Chapter 241: Invite
Feng Jingcheng and Nan Yuanman exchanged a glance.
“Hearing a baby’s cry doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a ghost. Maybe your boyfriend’s family is raising a fox?” Feng Jingcheng guessed: “Oh, I mean the animal fox, not a fox spirit, haha.”
After all, a fox’s high-pitched cry sometimes sounds just like a baby’s cry.
“Or maybe it’s the cry of a child from the neighbor next door?”
Xie Shuyao shook her head, her willow brows furrowed: “Raising a pet is impossible. Baiyu has asthma, and furry pets would trigger his asthma.”
“Besides that, I also asked the neighbors. The neighbors aren’t raising a child. I even asked him if he heard any weird sounds at midnight, and he said he didn’t hear anything…”
When Xie Shuyao first heard those weird sounds, she didn’t associate them with ghosts either.
For one thing, she had never truly encountered any supernatural events. For another, she still suspected whether ghosts really existed in the world.
So her initial thought was to first check inside and outside Zhou Baiyu’s house thoroughly.
After confirming he wasn’t raising a pet and the neighbors hadn’t had a child, Xie Shuyao felt it was weird.
She also moved back to her own home from Zhou Baiyu’s house right away, but something even more frightening happened.
While sleeping at home in the middle of the night, she would also be startled awake by that shrill crying sound.
Xie Shuyao’s face paled slightly as she continued: “That cry was very shrill, just like… just like it had been abused and hurt. So I was wondering if something had happened in the house where Baiyu lives before, and then it latched onto me…”
“Perfection, after we eat, can you come with me to take a look? If… if it’s really a ghost from there that’s latched onto me, please help me resolve it.”
Nan Yuanman sat properly in her seat, her two little hands obediently placed on the table. She fiddled with the edge, tilted her head to look at Xie Shuyao, and nodded: “Sure.”
She blinked her eyes and glanced at the small black mist squatting on Xie Shuyao’s shoulder with its tail raised high, rubbing against her cheek, then asked her: “Sister, have you ever raised a kitty before?”
Xie Shuyao didn’t react for a moment to why the topic jumped to her raising cats, but she still nodded honestly: “Yes.”
“A cow cat named Tuan Tuan. I picked her up from the roadside on a rainy day. When I found her, her eyes weren’t even open yet. She was abandoned by her mother cat because of her weak constitution. I went to great lengths to save her.”
As Xie Shuyao spoke, a faint trace of sadness and nostalgia appeared on her face: “Unfortunately, a year ago when I was on a business trip, Baiyu came to feed her. When he opened the door, she playfully ran out, and she still hasn’t been found.”
Xie Shuyao also had a big fight with Zhou Baiyu over this and even suspected he deliberately let Tuan Tuan get lost, because he has asthma and once suggested she send Tuan Tuan to be rehomed.
But Xie Shuyao wasn’t willing at the time. She had raised Tuan Tuan for nearly four years, and Tuan Tuan had accompanied her through many low periods. To her, she was already family.
She didn’t want to send Tuan Tuan away because of a man she wasn’t sure would be with her for life.
The two cold-warred over Tuan Tuan, and it ultimately ended with Zhou Baiyu giving in.
After Tuan Tuan got lost, she also suggested breaking up with Zhou Baiyu, but Zhou Baiyu was also full of remorse and sadness. He found quite a few professional cat-finding teams and searched many places, but still couldn’t find Tuan Tuan.
He did his utmost, sincerely and earnestly apologized to her, and even went to a pet store to get a cow cat just like Tuan Tuan, saying they could raise it together.
Seeing that he had done so much, Xie Shuyao gradually believed he wasn’t intentional, and forgave him after his eighth apology.
After that, Zhou Baiyu went abroad, and in her increasingly busy days, she gradually faded her longing for Tuan Tuan.
“Of course, these years I haven’t stopped sending people to look for it either. It’s just that my fate with Tuan Tuan probably ended there. No matter how many people looked, they couldn’t find her.” Xie Shuyao’s eyes drooped slightly, her expression bitter.
The little black furball originally squatting on her shoulder instantly became agitated. Its tail behind it flicked rapidly, rubbing urgently against her cheek, as if wanting to say something to her, but unable to make a sound.
Nan Yuanman looked at the little black furball and was just about to speak when Zhou Baiyu’s voice came: “I’m back. What are you talking about?”
Zhou Baiyu walked over with a smile, pulled out the chair next to Xie Shuyao and sat down. Looking at the still empty table, he rubbed Xie Shuyao’s hair with a bit of helplessness and indulgence: “Yao Yao, why didn’t you order first?”
“It’s almost one in the afternoon now. The child is going to starve.”
Xie Shuyao deftly changed the subject, smiling as she spoke: “I was just chatting with Perfection about what she wants to eat. This place’s kids’ meal is pretty good. I don’t know if Perfection will like it.”
Zhou Baiyu smiled kindly at Nan Yuanman: “If you can’t decide, you can order them all and try.”
Nan Yuanman blinked her eyes and asked with a grin: “Uncle, how do you know? Do you often bring children here to eat?”
Zhou Baiyu said casually: “Not often, but my family has a little nephew. He really likes this place’s kids’ meal. I don’t know if it will suit your taste.”
“Perfection, when you have time later, you can come to my house and play with my little nephew.”
Xie Shuyao was just thinking about what excuse to use later to take Nan Yuanman to Zhou Baiyu’s house, but he handed her the ladder.
Nan Yuanman nodded happily, shaking her head: “Okay, okay! I’m free this afternoon. I can go to your house to play.”
“Does your house have a big coffin?”
Zhou Baiyu was stunned for a moment: “A big coffin? No.”
Nan Yuanman was a bit disappointed: “No big coffin? Then do you have a vegetable patch? Can you plant vegetables?”
Zhou Baiyu: “……No.”
Before Nan Yuanman could say more outrageous things, he quickly said: “But Brother’s house has a swimming pool and a kids’ castle, specially built for my little nephew and his little guests. There are lots of fun things inside.”
“Wow!” Nan Yuanman said insincerely: “I’m so looking forward to it.”
Zhou Baiyu: “……” Was it his illusion? Why did it sound so perfunctory?
Xie Shuyao asked curiously: “I know about the swimming pool. How come I haven’t seen the kids’ castle?”
“The kids’ castle is in the villa’s back garden. Every time you come, you just…” Zhou Baiyu paused slightly before continuing: “Of course you didn’t see it.”
Xie Shuyao also remembered that every time she came to find Zhou Baiyu, they would tangle together. Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she quickly picked up the water cup to cover her embarrassment: “Cough cough, so that’s how it is.”
“Come on, let’s order and eat.” Xie Shuyao hurriedly picked up the menu: “After eating, call your little nephew and take Perfection to your house to play properly.”
Zhou Baiyu readily agreed: “Okay.”
The meal was enjoyed by all. As long as Feng Jingcheng wanted to coax someone, his mouth was very sweet, and he quickly became brothers with Zhou Baiyu.
After eating and drinking their fill, Zhou Baiyu called his little nephew at home, then drove ahead with Xie Shuyao to lead the way. Feng Jingcheng and Nan Yuanman followed in the car behind.
As soon as they got in the car, Feng Jingcheng asked: “Perfection, this Zhou Baiyu has a problem, right?”
