Qi Yuqiu finished his lament and turned around, only to have a dark mass smack right into his face.
The child emitting Black Qi glared at him with deep-seated resentment. Qi Yuqiu felt the kid was blaming him for not playing the Taishang Sansheng Jieyuan Miaojing on a 24-hour loop. He patted his own head and said, “Xiao Guang, I was busy today, but I promise I’ll buy you a music player tomorrow.”
Xiao Guang didn’t dwell on this odd name. Instead, he stretched out a tiny hand to rub his bald head, then calmly pointed at his little belly and patted it twice to indicate he was hungry.
Qi Yuqiu finally understood—the little guy wanted something to eat. “Tomorrow, tomorrow I’ll go out and buy you some incense and candles. For today, you’ll have to make do.”
Xiao Guang sighed, turned around, and lay motionless on the windowsill.
After washing up, Qi Yuqiu placed his phone on the table. Watching the bored child picking at his fingers, he couldn’t help but sigh.
Though he had died tragically and become a vengeful spirit, he was still just a child of a few years old, naturally playful. Being cooped up alone day and night in this small room—how could he not be miserable?
Qi Yuqiu walked over and stood in front of him. “I’ll buy you toys tomorrow. What do you want?”
Though Xiao Guang remained motionless and dejected, a glimmer of light flickered in his dull eyes.
Seeing that the child couldn’t speak, Qi Yuqiu sent a message to Deng Chao, asking what kids these days liked. Deng Chao quickly replied with several links.
Qi Yuqiu clicked on one, which redirected to a mobile app. The page was filled with flashy, colorful little animals.
Scratching his head, Qi Yuqiu held the phone in front of Xiao Guang. “Look, which one do you like?”
Xiao Guang initially tried to maintain the dignity of a vengeful ghost, but within seconds, he extended a small hand to browse through the page, grunting for Qi Yuqiu to scroll down. Finally, when he saw two bears, he stopped, his eyes sparkling as he looked at Qi Yuqiu.
Qi Yuqiu tapped to open it. After a cheerful tune, the hilarious antics of two bears and a bald man began.
Xiao Guang watched with great interest. Qi Yuqiu had intended to watch with him for a bit before going to sleep—what was so interesting about two bears anyway? Were they more entertaining than the dramas he had acted in?
Two hours later: Ahahaha, this is so good! We can still watch twenty more episodes before dawn!
While Qi Yuqiu was watching cartoons with Xiao Guang, a major incident occurred in Jicheng—Zhou Xingwen, chairman of the Zhou Group, was detained on suspicion of murder!
Zhou Xingwen had rushed to the police station in the middle of the night, confessing that he had killed his father and that his father was now coming to claim his life. Following his statement, the police quickly found evidence of how he had secretly plotted against his own father.
The news quickly spread throughout Jicheng’s business circles. Everyone was shocked—how could a successful businessman like him kill his own father? Had he gone mad?
Rumors circulated that the deceased was not Zhou Xingwen’s biological father. Old Mr. Zhou had originally been a teacher, and Zhou Xingwen was the son of one of his friends. That friend had committed a crime and was sentenced to death, so Old Mr. Zhou adopted Zhou Xingwen, who was less than a year old at the time.
Old Mr. Zhou had remained unmarried his entire life for Zhou Xingwen’s sake, only to be betrayed and killed by this ungrateful wretch.
However, seeing what had happened to Zhou Xingwen, people couldn’t help but sigh—the heavens still had eyes.
Early the next morning, Qi Yuqiu received a call from Gu Changqing, who spoke in a grave tone about the Zhou family incident.
“I never imagined Zhou Xingwen could be so depraved. The Zhou family is finished now.”
Qi Yuqiu yawned. “Karma has its own retribution. For someone who committed so many evils, this outcome is already lenient.”
Gu Changqing sighed. Having been friends with Zhou Xingwen for so many years, he was both stunned and frightened to suddenly learn this person was as vicious as a jackal. Over all these years, who knew how many wicked deeds he had done behind their backs.
After hanging up the phone, Uncle Liu happened to call him down for breakfast. Qi Yuqiu went downstairs with dark circles under his eyes.
Min Yu frowned at Qi Yuqiu’s dark circles and drowsy appearance. “What were you doing last night?”
Qi Yuqiu took a sip of porridge and glanced up at him. “Nothing much.”
He had just watched some cartoons with Xiao Guang for a while.
Seeing how exhausted and sluggish he was, Min Yu helplessly picked up a steamed bun for him. “Eat a full breakfast, then go catch up on sleep. You’re not even twenty yet, still growing. From now on, you must be in bed by eleven.”
Qi Yuqiu nodded dazedly. He had truly overestimated his current physical condition. In the past, staying up for days was no problem, but now he was suffering.
So he really needed to eat well, drink well, sleep well, and exercise diligently. Only with a healthy body could he have more energy for… staying up late watching cartoons…
Min Yu watched him finish the bun, then added a shaomai and a fried egg to his plate. Qi Yuqiu wasn’t picky at all, obediently eating everything bite by bite.
Min Yu suddenly felt as if he were feeding a small animal—especially when Qi Yuqiu finished the egg and looked up at him. The fair-skinned, red-lipped youth seemed to transform into a little kitten waiting to be fed.
It instantly hit his soft spot.
Thus, President Min dutifully took on the role of feeder, making sure the lazy little Qi kitten was full before leaving the table.
After Min Yu left, Uncle Liu followed his instructions and made sure Qi Yuqiu returned to his room to sleep.
Qi Yuqiu was indeed extremely tired. After asking Li Qi for leave and notifying Liu Hao to pick him up in the afternoon, he collapsed onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep.
At noon, Uncle Liu went upstairs on time to wake Qi Yuqiu for lunch. After his nap, Qi Yuqiu felt much more refreshed.
Downstairs, he asked Auntie to set the meal on the table in the small living room and turned on the TV. It happened to be broadcasting news about Zhou Xingwen.
When Gu Changqing mentioned it yesterday, Qi Yuqiu hadn’t paid much attention. But hearing the name again today, it felt vaguely familiar. After thinking for a long time, he remembered—Zhou Xingwen seemed to have appeared in that book he had read.
For some reason, the contents of that book were gradually fading from his memory. But Qi Yuqiu didn’t mind. He figured Zhou Xingwen must have been a villain in the book too, so it was just as well that he had inadvertently taken care of him.
After the meal, Liu Hao came to pick Qi Yuqiu up for the company. Uncle Liu handed him a thermos filled with stewed sweet soup.
Sipping the soup in the car, Qi Yuqiu sighed contentedly. Min Yu’s chef was truly skilled. This life of eating and sleeping was really comfortable.
Arriving at the company, Qi Yuqiu stepped into Jushang’s lobby once again. Though scornful glances still drifted his way, they were much more restrained now.
He had no schedule and could have stayed home, but Qi Yuqiu felt that money wouldn’t just come knocking on his door if he stayed indoors. Going out for a walk might just lead him to someone in need of help or something else.
For example, that old ghost lingering in the hallway.
Though called an old ghost, he was actually only in his forties. It was just that his attire was utterly unkempt, making him look slovenly. This old ghost had probably been a bit sleazy in life, crouching by the door and peeking through the crack.
Even as a ghost, he was still peeking through cracks—clearly a habit he’d grown accustomed to.
Qi Yuqiu walked over and peered through the crack, finding a few kids inside fiddling with musical instruments he wasn’t very familiar with.
“What are you looking at, you peeping tom?” The old ghost actually planted his hands on his hips and started scolding Qi Yuqiu. “You pretty faces, all looks and no substance, ruining TV and movies, and now you won’t even spare the music scene. Listen to the noise you call singing—it’s just racket!”
Qi Yuqiu dug at his ear. “What’s this? You finish your peeping and then start yelling at me? What, you looking for a fight?”
The old ghost was stunned. He glanced around, saw no one passing by, and noticed Qi Yuqiu’s gaze was clearly fixed on him. He waved his hands frantically, pointing at himself and stammering, “M-me, you—you can see me!”
“I’m not blind. But what are you doing crouched here?”
The old ghost’s face twisted into an expression caught between crying and laughing. He reached out to grab Qi Yuqiu but passed right through him.
Just then, the door to the room opened. A young man in a black baseball cap poked his head out, saw Qi Yuqiu standing at the door, curled his lip disdainfully, and shut the door again.
He looked as though he was afraid Qi Yuqiu would latch onto him.
Qi Yuqiu sighed. Clearly, it was the old ghost’s fault, but he was the one taking the blame.
“What are you doing here?” Qi Yuqiu headed toward Li Qi’s office, and the old ghost naturally hurried to follow.
The old ghost hadn’t spoken to anyone in so long that he was quite fluent when cursing, but now he started stammering again. Through his halting description, Qi Yuqiu finally understood—this guy was here to see a male singer celebrity.
Talk about strong obsession. Qi Yuqiu couldn’t help but marvel. Weren’t most fans these days teenagers or people in their twenties? What was an old man doing joining in?
“You—you don’t understand. That’s not just any song—that’s rock. What I hear—is it just a song? It’s nostalgia!” the old ghost rambled on.
“Ah, it’s a shame. The rise of rock over a decade ago was like a fleeting dream.” At this, the old ghost grew somber. His generation had witnessed the glory of rock and watched its decline. Many had already left, and those who remained steadfast were few and far between—Sheng Jun was one of them.
Qi Yuqiu asked, “Do you want to see him, or what?”
The old ghost followed him silently to the door of Li Qi’s office before finally speaking. “I don’t know. I just don’t want to leave yet. Maybe one day, when it feels meaningless, I’ll go.”
Qi Yuqiu pushed the door open, turned to him, and said, “Suit yourself. If you need help, you can come find me.”
This kind of ghost, driven by obsession but not resentment, couldn’t harm anyone, so he didn’t particularly care whether he intervened or not.
The old ghost smiled. Having been invisible for so long, just having someone see him and speak to him felt deeply satisfying.
After the old ghost left, Li Qi, who had opened the door, looked out curiously and asked Qi Yuqiu, “Who were you talking to?”
Qi Yuqiu shook his head: “I wasn’t talking to anyone.”
“Alright, alright, hurry up and come in.” Li Qi didn’t have time to argue with him over such trivial matters. Yesterday, upon hearing that Gu Changqing had come looking for Qi Yuqiu, Li Qi knew the company would no longer leave Qi Yuqiu to his own devices. Sure enough, today the director gave instructions: once Qi Yuqiu arrived at the company, Li Qi was to take him to see him to plan Qi Yuqiu’s future development path.
Li Qi was practically moved to tears. The crooked tree he had chosen finally had a chance to be straightened out. This time, he had to keep a close eye on this guy and couldn’t let him mess around anymore!
Li Qi said, “Once we get there, don’t say anything reckless. How far you go from now on depends entirely on today.”
Before Qi Yuqiu could even catch his breath, he was dragged off to the director’s office.
On the way, they encountered Qi Han, whose eyes were red. As they passed each other, Qi Han glared fiercely at Qi Yuqiu and said, “Don’t get too cocky. I’ll get my revenge sooner or later!”
Qi Yuqiu remained completely calm, not even sparing him a glance, which infuriated Qi Han so much that he gritted his teeth while staring at his retreating figure.