The Mystic Lucky Baby is Five and a Half Years Old - Chapter 3

Zhao Tang was startled by how loud Yu Sheng suddenly spoke. Her small body trembled slightly. Realizing that he might’ve come off too harsh and scared his little sister, Yu Sheng immediately softened his tone, his eyes full of guilt and affection.

“This is your home. It will always be your home. Even if Yu Niannian came back, nothing will change. Don’t worry, your brother will always be your strongest support. If you ever feel wronged, just tell me, don’t hold it in.”

“As for what happened just now, I’ll tell Dad for you. I’m sure he won’t take sides.”

Zhao Tang nodded obediently, her face finally breaking into a smile. Seeing her mood lift, Yu Sheng smiled too. He made a mental note to bring this up as soon as his father, Yu Shanhe, got home.

Meanwhile, Yu Shanhe, who had rushed to the company earlier, dove straight into work the moment he arrived at his office.

He worked in real estate.

After a series of incidents that had shaken the family, he’d shifted all his attention to home life for stability’s sake, entrusting the company’s day-to-day affairs to his most trusted business partner.

But that man had betrayed his trust, wrecking the company’s operations and embezzling a large sum of public funds. Though Yu Shanhe had already dealt with the culprit, the lost money could not be recovered.

One of their property developments was still under construction. If the company’s cash flow broke down, that project would likely become an unfinished ruin.

Yu Shanhe had always prided himself on doing business with integrity, he couldn’t bear the thought of such an outcome. So lately, he’d been pouring all his energy into fixing the mess. He worked tirelessly, until night fell.

By then, every other employee had gone home. Only the light in his office remained on.

“Achoo—!” Still immersed in his work, Yu Shanhe suddenly sneezed. A chilly draft swept past him. “It’s already autumn. Why’s the air conditioner still on?”

He rubbed his nose, frowning as the temperature around him continued to drop. A bit of irritation flared toward the janitor responsible for the building.

Sure, turning on the AC occasionally after autumn wasn’t a big deal, but forgetting to turn it off before leaving? That was too much.

He stood up to stretch, pushed open his office door, and stepped out to switch it off. But when he looked into the dark, empty hallway outside, his heart skipped a beat.

The entire building was pitch black, eerily silent.

At the far end of the corridor, swallowed by darkness, he suddenly had the unsettling feeling that if he took another step forward, some unseen monster would drag him into the shadows. The thought made him shiver.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” he muttered, shaking his head to dispel the image. He forced himself to step out.

Step… The sharp echo of his leather shoes against the floor rang through the silent office building, somehow making the emptiness feel even more sinister. He tried to ignore the creeping unease, taking a dozen steady steps toward the main control room. 

Then, a loud crash came from behind him.

He spun around. A potted plant in the corner was floating in midair, rising, then hurtling straight toward him. Yu Shanhe gasped and twisted aside just in time. The flowerpot smashed into the wall beside him, shattering into pieces.

Still in shock, he hadn’t yet processed what had happened when a face appeared right before his eyes. 

A decayed, rotting human face.

Its cheeks had decomposed so badly that bone showed through, and its half-attached lips hung by only a few scraps of flesh.

“Ahhh!!” Yu Shanhe screamed, terrified beyond words. His entire worldview felt like it was collapsing. He swung his fists wildly, trying to push the hideous thing away, but his blows passed right through it.

A prank? No, the truth was obvious. He couldn’t deceive himself anymore. He had really seen a ghost.

He scrambled to his feet, desperate to flee, but his legs were trembling so badly he could barely stand, let alone run.

“Heeheehee… heeheehee…” The ghostly figure, its gender unrecognizable beneath all that rot, let out a chilling, high-pitched giggle. The laughter echoed through the building, sharp and close, as though it were coming from inside his own skull. It made his head throb with pain.

The ghost crept closer, twisting and crawling toward him.

Cornered, Yu Shanhe could only watch in horror as its skeletal hands reached for his throat. But just as the ghost’s clawed fingers brushed his skin, something unbelievable happened.

A sudden burning sensation spread across his chest.

The safety charm his little daughter had given him earlier that day shot out from his pocket—whoosh!—and smacked the ghost square on the head.

The air filled with the acrid scent of something scorching. The ghost let out an agonized shriek. There were no flames, but it was as if it were being burned alive. Bit by bit, it turned to ash and vanished into nothing.

Yu Shanhe sat frozen on the floor for a long time before he finally came back to his senses.

Looking around at the wrecked office, the shattered pots, the dirt strewn everywhere, he realized with absolute certainty that none of it had been an illusion.

Ghosts… were real.

And the charm his daughter had given him had actually worked.

He touched his chest, feeling a surge of gratitude. Thank goodness he’d brought his little girl home today, and thank goodness he’d accepted her gift. If he hadn’t been so eager to send Yu Sheng to pick her up first, if he’d stayed at work and come home late instead, he might not have made it out alive.

He no longer dared stay a second longer in that haunted building. Trembling, he forced himself up and stumbled toward the exit. He didn’t even bother grabbing his car keys, he just hailed a random taxi and told the driver to take him home.

When his villa finally came into view, only then did his heart begin to settle.

As soon as he stepped inside, Yu Sheng, who had been waiting on the sofa, immediately stood up to complain. “Dad, listen, about Tangtang today—”

“Where’s Niannian? Is she asleep?” Yu Shanhe cut him off before he could finish.

Right now, he wanted nothing more than to see his little girl. Everything else could wait.

“I don’t know, I was just about to tell you what happened—”

“I’ll go check on her first. We’ll talk later.” Ignoring his son, Yu Shanhe strode straight upstairs.

Having been interrupted twice, Yu Sheng’s face darkened like a storm cloud. For the first time, he truly sympathized with Zhao Tang.

The long-lost daughter comes home, and suddenly everyone else doesn’t matter.

He’s still his father’s son, isn’t he? And Zhao Tang had been the one by their side all these years! “So annoying,” he muttered under his breath, anger flaring. He stomped upstairs after his father.

He’s definitely going to talk with him tonight.