"Mr. Shen, I apologize for disturbing your rest so late at night."
Jiang Wenxin began with another apology to Shen Siyuan.
"It's okay."
As Shen Siyuan spoke, he reached out and patted the little head of Dou Dou beside him, and Dou Dou immediately radiated a faint blue glow.
Standing aside, silent, observing Shen Siyuan all along, Tao Guangsha's eyes suddenly widened with surprise.
Then he exclaimed "Dou Dou" and bent forward to embrace her, but he grasped at nothing, as if what he had just seen was merely an illusion.
Tao Guangsha reacted quickly, and immediately looked up at Shen Siyuan.
With an incredulous expression, he asked, "Is... is my daughter's ghost really here?"
Clearly, he had not believed his wife Jiang Wenxin, but solely out of love for her had he agreed to come along, of course also fearing she was being deceived.
He didn't even stop her when she took some "gift of thanks" from home, and was secretly pleased, thinking that if the person dared to accept it, he would immediately call the police. With such a large sum involved, they would certainly be put away for good.
So he kept silent all along, but to his amazement, he had actually seen his daughter.
He hoped it was just his imagination, but also wished it wasn't.
"This is Dou Dou's daddy..."
Jiang Wenxin was tactful in her words, introducing him not as her husband but as Dou Dou's daddy, because Shen Siyuan had said he was very fond of Dou Dou, so she did it to gain a favorable first impression with Shen Siyuan.
"Mr. Shen, hello, I am Tao Guangsha."
Tao Guangsha stood up, introduced himself proactively, his expression a bit excited, and even as he introduced himself, his eyes kept glancing at the spot by Shen Siyuan's right leg, where Dou Dou was standing.
Dou Dou thought her daddy could see her and excitedly waved her little hands.
"Mr. Shen, we came in a hurry, with no proper preparation, this is for you, as our token of gratitude."
As Jiang Wenxin spoke, she hastily took out a red square brocade box from her bag and handed it to Shen Siyuan.
"What's this?" Shen Siyuan was somewhat surprised.
He didn't think much of it and took it over.
"This is something I bought before, a bit vulgar perhaps, but it's the only thing presentable we have at home," Tao Guangsha explained from the side.
Upon hearing this, Shen Siyuan casually opened the brocade box and then froze.
Inside the box were four gold bars, investment-grade gold, each one weighing a hundred grams. At the rate of five hundred yuan per gram, these four gold bars would be worth two hundred thousand yuan.
"This is too valuable, I cannot take it."
Shen Siyuan was tempted, but after some thought, he handed it back.
He helped Dou Dou out of pity, not for any reward.
"Mr. Shen, we will still need you to care for Dou Dou in the future. If you don't accept it, it won't sit right with us," Tao Guangsha knew how to persuade.
Jiang Wenxin nodded in agreement beside him.
Shen Siyuan hesitated for a moment, then took out one bar and returned the other three.
"This one bar is enough," said Shen Siyuan.
Humans have desires, even Shen Siyuan who was in need of money, but a gentleman loves wealth in a proper way. One gold brick was enough; taking them all would be greed.
The couple wanted to refuse, but Shen Siyuan was firm: "Take it back."
It was a simple phrase, but the couple shivered involuntarily, the hair on their arms standing on end. They were unable to utter a word, only to take the brocade box handed back by Shen Siyuan in a daze.
In fact, he knew this couple probably didn't lack money. Just the watch on Tao Guangsha's wrist was probably worth several times the value of those four gold bars.
But he just wanted to help Dou Dou, and since that was the case, he would keep things straightforward from start to finish.
If he really wanted money, he had plenty of ways to get it now.
"Then tomorrow, we'll treat you to a meal," Jiang Wenxin said.
"You should spend more time with Dou Dou."
Shen Siyuan's thoughts stirred, and the Ten Thousand Soul Banner appeared in the palm of his hand. With a gesture of his fingers, a wisp of azure light shot into Tao Guangsha's forehead.
Tao Guangsha only felt a slight chill at his forehead. He subconsciously reached up to touch it, but before he could raise his hand, he noticed Dou Dou next to him, flapping her little hands.
"Dou Dou..."
Tao Guangsha was overjoyed and, disregarding everything else, squatted down again and hugged Dou Dou into his arms.
"Daddy, can you see me now?"
Dou Dou, held in her father's embrace, pouted, feeling both happy and wronged.
"Baby... Daddy... Daddy..."
Upon seeing his daughter again, Tao Guangsha choked up, struggling to speak.
"Go home and have a long talk. You have about a day," Shen Siyuan said, feeling uncomfortable sight.
"Mr. Shen, are you... are you saying that Dou Dou only has one day left?" Jiang Wenxin asked, somewhat panicked.
Tao Guangsha had no time to be sad; he quickly picked up Dou Dou and looked anxiously at Shen Siyuan.
"It's not that Dou Dou has one day left, but that you can see her for only one day."
The reason they could see Dou Dou was because of a wisp of Netherworld energy from the Ten Thousand Soul Banner that Shen Siyuan had injected into them.
But this wisp of Netherworld energy, once away from the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, would dissipate completely in at most one day, and then they naturally wouldn't be able to see Dou Dou again.
"Is there any way to..."
Tao Guangsha opened his mouth, wanting to speak, but Shen Siyuan interrupted him directly.
"No, humans and ghosts tread different paths. The fact that I can let you see Dou Dou and have a brief reunion is already the limit. Prolonging this would not be good for either of you..."
Shen Siyuan allowed them to see Dou Dou and communicate with her by using a wisp of Netherworld energy from the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, which was not something beneficial for ordinary people.
Seeing the serious look on Shen Siyuan's face, the couple did not dare to say more.
"Take Dou Dou back," Shen Siyuan said again.
The couple looked at each other upon hearing this and could only hold Dou Dou and reluctantly bid farewell.
As Tao Guangsha turned around with Dou Dou in his arms, he also noticed Old Man Lu standing not far away.
Then he was startled, remembering the words his wife had mentioned on the way here, which were also true.
It turned out that there really was a ghost, following them all along.
But thinking of Shen Siyuan being there, he felt greatly reassured, and after giving the other party a deep look, he continued walking out of the community holding Dou Dou.
"Bye-bye, Guo Guo."
Dou Dou, held in her father's arms, waved cheerfully at Shen Siyuan.
Shen Siyuan also smiled and waved back at her.
Once they were completely out of sight, he immediately restrained his smile and looked at Old Man Lu, who carefully approached.
Looking at his face full of thumb-sized tumors, Shen Siyuan, forcing down his discomfort, asked in a deep voice, "Aren't you afraid I'll capture you?"