Chapter 19: Surprise (Requesting Monthly Votes)

The night passed without incident.

The ghost who had followed Dou Dou last night was cautious and did not reappear.

Although Dou Dou watched cartoons all night, she remained energetic.

The moment Shen Siyuan got up, she rushed over to him.

“Sweet potato pot pot~ Today I can see Mom, right?”

Her face was full of anticipation.

“Yes, you’ll see her today.” Shen Siyuan gave her a firm answer.

The little girl immediately burst into cheers, jumping and bouncing around the room.

The flame above her head swayed with her movements, looking utterly adorable.

After washing up, Shen Siyuan grabbed the electric scooter keys and stepped out; Dou Dou hurried after him.

At first, she sat behind him on the scooter, hugging his waist.

Later, she realized she could transform into a yin wind and fly through the air—faster and more fun.

So she darted around Shen Siyuan, stirring up gusts of yin wind.

“Pretty cool, huh? When it gets hot, I’ll just call you out to fan me.” Shen Siyuan teased with a smile.

But Dou Dou took it seriously, patted her tiny chest, and declared she was super powerful.

Along the way, they encountered many wandering ghosts; upon seeing Dou Dou, they all stayed far away, afraid to approach.

People say ghosts fear sunlight, but that’s wrong—whether in the Great Wilderness or modern times, ghosts aren’t afraid of sunlight, only slightly uncomfortable, with no real impact.

Since ghosts exist, they’re part of the world’s rules, just like humans—impossible to fear the moon.

If ghosts feared the sun, then in the Great Wilderness, the Nine You Demon Lord’s power would be halved, and he could only appear at night.

Yet these sun-unafraid ghosts fear Dou Dou, because her flame, even from afar, makes them feel uneasy—a primal fear from their souls.

“Whoa, there’s a big monster over there!”

Dou Dou, floating in midair, gasped and dropped down, hiding behind Shen Siyuan.

Shen Siyuan looked over and saw a toad-like humanoid creature hiding under a tree, watching them from afar.

Shen Siyuan wasn’t surprised—it was a ghost who couldn’t maintain a human form.

Since he could see ghosts, he’d seen countless bizarre shapes.

Tongues hanging to the chest, faceless ghosts, ghosts covered in eyes, even ones shaped like giant penises…

“You don’t need to fear them—they should be afraid of you.”

Shen Siyuan sighed helplessly; at least he didn’t have to command the little one to fight.

“Why should they fear me?” Dou Dou looked puzzled.

“I’m cute, and I’m not a bad kid.”

“I think you’re a silly kid—haven’t you noticed all these ghosts have been avoiding you since we started walking?”

Dou Dou shook her head, confused, then floated back into the air.

“Because you’re different from them,” Shen Siyuan said seriously.

Dou Dou blinked her big eyes, looked down at her small hands—and suddenly, blue flames erupted from them, licking the air, filling the surroundings with a chilling cold.

“Am I strong now?” Dou Dou looked up at Shen Siyuan.

“Yes, you’re strong now—that’s why they’re all afraid of you.”

“But I’m a good kid—I don’t fight,” Dou Dou said earnestly.

Shen Siyuan: …

It seemed this little one could only be a mascot—useless for anything else.

“Shen Siyuan.”

At that moment, a greeting interrupted Shen Siyuan and Dou Dou’s exchange.

It was Zhou Zheng, riding up on his electric scooter from behind.

“Morning,” Shen Siyuan greeted him.

“How’s it going? Did you finish the proposal?” Zhou Zheng asked immediately.

Since Ding Youguang had talked to Shen Siyuan about making money, Shen Siyuan hadn’t delayed—he went straight to Zhou Zheng.

But Zhou Zheng was even more enthusiastic and excited than Shen Siyuan, convinced the plan could work and had high success odds.

In his words, daily routine work was boring; now there was a chance to make money, and he wouldn’t miss it.

“I’ll have it ready today, but have you talked to Li Qunfang yet?”

Shen Siyuan hadn’t approached Li Qunfang—not because he didn’t want to, but because Zhou Zheng had taken the task upon himself.

His relationship with Li Qunfang was even better than Shen Siyuan’s.

Shen Siyuan only interacted with Li Qunfang during holiday events; Zhou Zheng, due to project development, communicated with her frequently, so their bond was naturally stronger.

Moreover, in Li Qunfang’s eyes, Zhou Zheng carried more weight than Shen Siyuan.

Companies have hierarchies—programmers sit at the top, while operations staff handling revenue sit at the bottom, even lower than channel staff.

So Zhou Zheng’s chances of convincing Li Qunfang were far higher than Shen Siyuan’s.

“With me on it, no problem—she’s already agreed to join us.”

“Good. That’s essential—we can’t make this happen without her. Today, create a group chat and we’ll all talk.” Shen Siyuan exhaled in relief.

“Sure, I’ll make the group when we get to the office. Also, add Ding Youguang—he pushed this, and I haven’t even talked to him yet.”

Zhou Zheng’s tone expressed his trust in Shen Siyuan.

“Yeah, we should meet and talk—he owes us lunch.”

“How about tonight?”

“Can’t tonight—I have plans.”

“Then next week. Three guys inviting one girl out on her day off isn’t right, and I’m off these two days—I’ll finish the fishing demo…”

“But you’d better give me the proposal this morning—I’ll check the logic this afternoon, or I might bother you again on my day off…”

“Alright, no problem.”

Zhou Zheng was meticulous and thorough—he’d be an excellent leader even if he weren’t a programmer; his coordination was flawless, rarely making mistakes.

While they talked, Dou Dou had floated down and sat behind Shen Siyuan on the scooter, hugging his waist, curiously eyeing Zhou Zheng.

They arrived at the company building, parked the scooters, and hadn’t even reached the entrance when they met Ding Youguang.

“Boss Shen, Boss Zhou, good morning!” He waved enthusiastically from afar.

He knew Zhou Zheng, though not as well as he knew Shen Siyuan.

Zhou Zheng nodded with a smile and returned the greeting.

Shen Siyuan teased: “Why call me boss? You won’t even call me brother?”

“If this works, I’ll call you dad, no problem.”

Ding Youguang had no shame—he glanced between the two, then looked questioningly at Shen Siyuan.

Shen Siyuan nodded: “Zhou Zheng agreed to join us—he’ll handle the art too.”

“Really? That’s amazing! Brother Zhou, you’ve done us a huge favor! With you on board, this is guaranteed to succeed! Have you had breakfast? I’ve got some here…”

Ding Youguang immediately clung to Zhou Zheng, so enthusiastic it made Zhou Zheng uncomfortable.

“What about me?”

“Move aside, don’t interrupt me and my brother bonding…”

The three chatted as they walked to the elevator. The doors opened to reveal Jiang Wenxin inside—she’d driven in and taken the garage elevator up.

Seeing Shen Siyuan, her eyes lit up: “Siyuan, have you had breakfast? I’ve got extra.”

Ding Youguang and Zhou Zheng both turned sharply to stare at Shen Siyuan, eyes wide.

PS: Chapter 8 slightly revised—four gold bricks, protagonist took one, making it more reasonable.