Xie Wanning and her son returned to the hotel, and Du Jianghe finally met the brother mentioned by Duoduo.

"Hello, I don’t know how I should address you."

Du Jianghe saw that Shen Siyuan was young, but he didn’t dare to be disrespectful at all. He asked politely, after all, someone who could see ghosts, even appoint and dismiss Ghost Messengers, must not be as simple as they appear on the surface.

"My last name is Shen, you can call me Mr. Shen."

Shen Siyuan spoke calmly, gently pushing away Dou Dou who was sticking to him again.

This little guy was up to some mischief again, sticking to him like a sticky rice cake that wouldn’t shake off, coming back every time he was pushed away.

"Hello, Mr. Shen." Du Jianghe quickly responded, the tension in his heart easing a bit.

"I heard from Duoduo that you came from another place?"

Shen Siyuan looked at him with a gentle tone, "What’s the specific situation, tell me."

Du Jianghe didn’t dare to hide anything.

Du Jianghe didn’t dare to hide anything, he recounted word by word, truthfully, how he died, and how he couldn’t let go of his wife and child after death, staying by their side day after day, afraid to leave, all of it he told honestly.

By the end, his voice was low, his throat was choked, and his heart was full of unwillingness and regret.

Shen Siyuan listened, his brows furrowing, feeling that it wasn’t worth it for him, and couldn’t help but speak: "What were you thinking? For a woman like that, to sacrifice your life for a bag, you might as well have let her deal with it herself, was it worth it?"

Du Jianghe just gave a bitter smile, without defending.

Whether it was worth it or not, it was too late.

He didn’t regret saving her, only regretted not being able to give his family a proper goodbye.

Shen Siyuan didn’t dwell on the issue, instead asking: "What is your wish now?"

Without waiting for Du Jianghe to speak, he slowly continued: "You just want to see your wife and child once more, right? Indeed, they would be very happy to see you again, but after the happiness then what? Eventually, you’ll have to part ways, you are a ghost, they are humans, separated by yin and yang, you can’t meet frequently. A short reunion followed by an even longer, more painful longing will only make them sadder and harder to let go."

Shen Siyuan paused, then continued: "Have you ever thought about whether doing this is really meaningful?"

Du Jianghe was stunned.

It was like a bucket of cold water was poured over him, chilling him from head to toe.

All he had ever longed for, disregarding everything, was just to see his wife and child once more.

But he had never thought deeply, what after meeting them? What after speaking with them?

Could he stay? No.

Could he take them away? Definitely not.

He would only tear open his wife’s wound again, make his son sad all over.

In an instant, he was confused.

It turned out, after all this time, he hadn’t truly understood.

He had just rushed over without asking himself what he really wanted.

Seeing this, Shen Siyuan softened his tone, becoming more patient: "No rush, take your time to think about what you truly want for them, and what kind of outcome you wish for yourself. Once you’ve thought it through, come find me. As long as it’s not an excessive wish, I’ll help you."

"...Thank you, Mr. Shen."

Du Jianghe bowed gratefully, his mind a mess, walking to the corner of the balcony, quietly standing in the shadow.

He needed some time to listen to his heart.

Shen Siyuan finally looked down at Dou Dou, who was trying to climb onto his leg again.

"What are you doing? Why aren’t you playing with Tang Tang and the others?" Shen Siyuan asked curiously.

"Potato, am I your favorite?" Dou Dou asked seriously, sitting on Shen Siyuan’s leg.

Shen Siyuan was about to reply when he caught a glimpse, out of the corner of his eye, of a small figure hiding behind the glass door to the balcony.

Tang Tang, thinking she was well-hidden, had her little body tucked behind the door, only her sparkling eyes watching him intently. The glass was transparent, so her little movements and expressions were completely visible to Shen Siyuan.

Holding back his laughter, Shen Siyuan whispered a few words in Dou Dou’s ear.

Dou Dou’s eyes lit up all of a sudden, and his tense little face couldn’t help but break into a proud and happy smile, his little tail almost wagging with joy.

Almost at the same moment, a small shadow appeared beside Shen Siyuan.

Looking down, he saw Tang Tang had rushed over at some point, hands on hips, cheeks puffed, glaring with an obvious message: I, am, not, happy.

When Shen Siyuan looked over, Tang Tang immediately let out a long, dissatisfied "Oh~," full of displeasure and a little attitude.

Shen Siyuan couldn’t help but laugh, reaching out to pat her head.

Tang Tang straightened her neck instantly, turning her head forcefully to the side, clearly indicating she was angry and not going to allow it.

"I whispered so quietly, you still heard it?" Shen Siyuan asked with amusement, "Are you a magic ear?"

As soon as he uttered it, he realized there might be a possibility.

He bent down and whispered a few words into Tang Tang’s ear as well.

The little girl, who had been all puffed up and radiating "don’t mess with me," instantly broke into a smile.

The corners of her mouth turned up so swiftly, revealing bright white teeth as she beamed, her eyes forming little crescent moons, with all traces of anger swept away, her little body relaxing completely.

Dou Dou, lacking Tang Tang’s extraordinary ears, looked at the scene with suspicion, furrowing his little brows, "Potato, what did you say to her?"

"You’ll have to ask her about that." Shen Siyuan smiled gently.

Upon hearing this, Dou Dou slid off Shen Siyuan’s lap with a swift motion and turned to chase after Tang Tang.

Tang Tang, seeing this, took off with her short legs, "thud thud thud," running back inside.

"Don’t run! Hurry and tell me what Potato said to you."

"han~han~"

"If you don’t tell me, I’m going to tickle you."

"han~han~"

In no time, the living room was filled with the sounds of playful laughter.

In the corner, Du Jianghe slowly raised his head.

In those brief moments of silence, it felt as though a long time had passed.

The confusion, unwillingness, bewilderment, and impulsiveness slowly settled during this time.

He was no longer fixated only on "seeing them once more," but instead, saw his true, softest wish within his heart.

He didn’t necessarily need them to see him.

Didn’t necessarily need them to cry and cling to him.

What he truly wanted was for them to live well, to gradually heal from their sorrow, to be safe and happy, no longer suffering day and night because of him.

What he wanted was never for them to remember him, but for them to let him go and live their lives well.

Realizing this, Du Jianghe felt a lot lighter.

He was also afraid that if he thought too long, he might miss this rare opportunity.

Du Jianghe once again approached Shen Qingzhou.