Chapter 10: Entrusted (Begging for Monthly Tickets)

"Brother~"

"Brother~"

"Hehe…"

Watching Dou Dou seemed to be in a great mood, endlessly circling around Shen Siyuan.

Seeing that Shen Siyuan still hadn't paid her any attention, her expression immediately turned sad.

"Brother~, can you not see me either? Mommy can't see me anymore either."

Shen Siyuan still didn't respond, but got up directly and walked out of the Operations Department, arriving outside the corridor before finally opening his mouth to ask: "How did you get here? Where are your daddy and mommy?"

"Wow~, Brother can still see me, then why didn't you pay attention to me just now?"

The little fellow cheered, stretched out her tiny hand and patted Shen Siyuan's leg, expressing her displeasure.

"Because there are too many people inside, and they can't see you. If I talk to you, they'll think I'm talking to the air."

Hearing this, Watching Dou Dou crossed her thumb and index finger to prop up her chubby little chin, and said with great solemnity: "So that's how it is."

Watching her imitate an adult in such a funny way, Shen Siyuan reached out and lightly tapped her little head.

"You still haven't answered my question."

"They're waiting for Brother at the door~"

Watching Dou Dou pointed in the direction of the door, then hopped and skipped around Shen Siyuan again.

"Your mommy can't even see you, and you're still this happy?"

"Hehe~, Mommy said she's playing hide-and-seek with me, she'll find me one day for sure."

Watching Dou Dou spread her arms, like a cute little penguin.

But just as she finished speaking, she sighed, a little unhappily saying: "She's probably not going to find me."

"You know all that?" Shen Siyuan was a little surprised.

"Of course, I'm very smart." Watching Dou Dou said with a hint of smugness.

"Yes… yes, you're the big smarty."

Watching Dou Dou: →_→

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I think you're saying something bad about me."

"Haha~, no way."

This little thing really is cute, keeping one would be quite fun too.

Shen Siyuan didn't know why such a thought suddenly rose in him.

Once he left the company, sure enough he saw the couple standing by the elevator waiting.

Seeing Mr. Shen come out, the two hurriedly stepped forward.

"Mr. Shen~"

"President Tao, Accountant Jiang~"

Shen Siyuan also greeted them. Fortunately it wasn't off-work time yet and no one from the company came out; otherwise hearing them address Shen Siyuan like that, people would surely find it strange.

Without waiting for Shen Siyuan to ask, Tao Guangxia took the initiative: "Mr. Shen, are you free tonight? We'd like to treat you to a meal."

This time Shen Siyuan didn't decline, directly nodding and saying he was.

Hearing this, Jiang Wenxin added: "Because Watching Dou Dou is here, it's more convenient at home. Mr. Shen, please don't mind."

"It's fine, as long as there's food to eat, I'm not picky."

"Oh~, then you're a good baby."

Watching Dou Dou beside him suddenly reached out and patted Shen Siyuan's leg.

Shen Siyuan was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then started laughing; Tao Guangxia did the same.

Only Jiang Wenxin, who could no longer see her daughter, wore a face full of confusion.

After Tao Guangxia explained it to her, her expression became complicated, because this was originally something she often said to her daughter.

"Then we'll wait for you downstairs."

Seeing Shen Siyuan agree, Tao Guangxia was very happy.

"No need, it's almost off-work time. I'll go tell our manager and leave a few minutes early." Shen Siyuan said.

"This… won't it cause any trouble?" Tao Guangxia said.

Before Shen Siyuan could speak, Jiang Wenxin said: "It's fine, I review everyone's attendance every month, I'll just modify it then."

"There's no need for that." Shen Siyuan said.

After saying this, he turned around and walked back directly. Watching Dou Dou wanted to follow, but was held back by her daddy.

Radiance Animation's system was very well-established, but the employees didn't follow it so strictly.

Shen Siyuan said goodbye to Zhou Chuan, and Zhou Chuan didn't even ask for a reason before agreeing directly.

Realizing he definitely couldn't ride the e-bike back, he said to Lin Manzhi: "Sister Manzhi, I have something tonight, could you ride my e-bike back for me? I'll wait for you at the bus stop tomorrow morning, is that okay?"

"That's perfect, saves me from having to squeeze onto the bus tonight."

"Thanks, Sister Manzhi."

Shen Siyuan hurriedly handed her the key.

"Oh my, Sister Manzhi, you two are sharing one bike now?" The mouthy Wang Chao immediately started making snide remarks.

Shen Siyuan couldn't be bothered to respond to him, and walked straight out of the Operations Department.

But Lin Manzhi was a fierce fighter, not afraid of Wang Chao at all. Hearing this, she immediately said: "What, you're jealous? Too bad you're a bit lacking in looks, this sis doesn't fancy you."

Wang Chao's face immediately flushed red, and he went on about how he had masculine charm, how good things come in small packages, how he was strong and healthy, and so on, causing everyone to burst into laughter—what a lively scene.

Tao Guangxia's car was parked downstairs, but the one driving was Jiang Wenxin.

Once she could no longer see ghosts, driving became much smoother.

Tao Guangsha, watching the wandering spirits outside the car window, took the chance to ask many of his questions.

"Why are most of these ghosts so bizarrely shaped?"

"Why don't they enter the underworld and reincarnate?"

"No reincarnation? Then where do they end up in the end — do they just keep wandering like this forever?"

……

"Death is not the final destination; the dissipation of the soul is the true end."

"A ghost dissipates completely for two reasons. The first is letting go of all obsessions, having not the slightest attachment to the human world — then it will dissipate completely. The other reason is being completely forgotten by the living."

Hearing this, Tao Guangsha held Watching Dou Dou tighter in his arms.

"We will never forget Watching Dou Dou."

Jiang Wenxin, who was driving, couldn't help saying, "After becoming a ghost, you can't do anything, you can only wander around — wouldn't that be terribly lonely?"

"Yes, the hardest thing about being a ghost is loneliness. Many ghosts, unable to bear this, eventually give up all their obsessions and return to the embrace of nature."

The couple fell silent at this. Thinking that Watching Dou Dou would still have to endure unimaginable loneliness in the future, they felt a heart-wrenching pain.

"What's wrong? Why aren't you saying anything?"

Seeing the silence in the car, Watching Dou Dou asked with a puzzled look.

Tao Guangsha picked her up and kissed her cheek.

Then, turning to Shen Siyuan, he said with a serious expression, "Mr. Shen, may we ask you a favor?"

"Go ahead."

"In the future, please take good care of Watching Dou Dou. If conditions allow, keep her company on our behalf, talk to her…"

For a father, being unable to accompany his own daughter and instead entrusting her to a stranger is an utterly heartbreaking thing.

So when Tao Guangsha said these words, his voice trembled slightly.

And Jiang Wenxin, who was driving, gripped the steering wheel so tightly her knuckles turned white.

"We can pay you a fee. Though it sounds vulgar to put it this way, we don't know how else to thank you — this is all we have…"

Tao Guangsha spoke with complete sincerity.

Watching Dou Dou was their first child, and their only child.

Moreover, being a girl, from the moment she was born the couple truly loved her a hundred times over.

Especially Tao Guangsha — Watching Dou Dou was the apple of his eye. Since her birth, he traveled less for work, attended fewer social engagements, and squeezed out every spare moment to be with his daughter.

The day Watching Dou Dou had her accident, he felt as if the sky had fallen. But he couldn't collapse — his wife still needed him, this family still needed him.

So for Watching Dou Dou's sake, he would give anything. If they weren't in the car, he would probably have knelt before Shen Siyuan on the spot.

"No need for payment. For now, let Watching Dou Dou stay with me."

"Thank you… thank you so much, Mr. Shen…"

Tao Guangsha's voice choked slightly; he didn't know how to express his gratitude.