CHAPTER 522: CHAPTER 522 THIEF

"Hey, hey, this is really fun..."

Dou Dou was almost laughing hysterically at the balls bouncing around the room.

She couldn’t wait for the charge to finish and opened it eagerly.

The motor in the ball started spinning, generating a force, and it jumped right out of Dou Dou’s hand.

Then it began bouncing all around, from the room to the living room.

It bounced and sang songs while flashing colorful lights.

Several times Dou Dou tried to catch it, but it quickly bounced out of her arms like a little rabbit, which was really amusing.

"Isn’t it fun?"

"It’s fun."

"Then it’s yours," Yuan Kaiyang said.

"You’re so nice, brother."

Dou Dou accepted it unreservedly.

"Want to see the others? There are more fun ones, I can give them to you too," Yuan Kaiyang continued.

Dou Dou looked at the ball bouncing non-stop in the living room and nodded immediately. She was truly curious about Yuan Kaiyang’s toys, wondering if there were more interesting ones.

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Yuan Hesheng didn’t even have time to take off his white coat, rushing out of the clinic towards home.

He quickly checked the shop’s surveillance and, seeing his wife in the shop, breathed a sigh of relief.

Then he switched back to the home surveillance, saw the ball still bouncing in the living room, and his eyebrows furrowed tightly. Despite a rising sense of panic, there was also an inexplicable sense of joy.

He remembered this ball was a gift from his son’s uncle. Initially, he found it amusing, but over time it became annoying with its constant bouncing and singing, making it a memorable experience.

After a while, his son lost interest and left it aside.

After his son passed away, Yuan Hesheng had put it away. Despite finding it annoying, he wanted to look at it again due to his yearning for his son.

But upon opening it, he found it had no battery, so he didn’t charge it and just packed it away in the box.

But why had the ball appeared in the living room now?

Something was definitely strange.

Either something sinister was in the house, or there was a burglar.

But what kind of stupid thief would steal a child’s toy, recharge it, and play with it in the house? It didn’t make any sense.

Or maybe it was just a prank.

Or maybe it was simply an electronic malfunction, causing it to jump out of the box.

This wasn’t impossible; Yuan Kaiyang had many electronic toys when he was little. Due to poor contact, they sometimes played music and sang in the middle of the night, frightening him at first.

Later, whenever he recalled this, he couldn’t help but smile knowingly.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt this explanation was likely.

The panic and unease in his heart somewhat eased, but there was still a hint of disappointment.

Seeing her husband suddenly appear in her sight, a slightly surprised expression appeared on Deng Huiling’s otherwise blank face.

It wasn’t time to get off work yet, and he was still in his white coat. Looking at his hurried appearance, she wondered if something had happened.

So she stood up, saying nothing, just watching Yuan Hesheng quickly enter the shop.

No words were needed; just a look was enough for Yuan Hesheng to understand her meaning.

"Has someone gone upstairs?" Yuan Hesheng asked.

Deng Huiling shook her head, indicating that no one had gone upstairs.

In these street-level shops, the first floor is the shop, and the second floor is the living area.

To go upstairs, you must go through the shop on the first floor.

But Yuan Hesheng wasn’t too sure because Deng Huiling often seemed absent-minded; someone might have gone up without her noticing.

Of course, this was just one of his guesses.

"Is something wrong?" Deng Huiling asked softly.

Her voice was so soft, you could sense a lack of breath due to weakness.

Yuan Hesheng didn’t explain much, directly handing over his phone, which was still showing the surveillance footage.

After glancing at it, Deng Huiling’s face also showed a look of astonishment, her already pale cheeks turning even whiter.

Seemingly guessing what she was thinking, Yuan Hesheng reassured her, "It’s broad daylight, don’t overthink. You stay here, I’ll go up and take a look."

Speaking, he turned to head upstairs, but didn’t take his phone to make it easier for Deng Huiling to keep an eye on things.

As he walked just a few steps and turned his head, he saw Deng Huiling holding the phone and following him.

"You stay there, if there’s really anything, you call the police," Yuan Hesheng said helplessly.

But Deng Huiling shook her head, and in her eyes, Yuan Hesheng saw an inexplicable excitement, guessing what she was thinking.

With a long sigh in his heart, he said, "Then follow behind me."

Actually, as a doctor, he originally didn’t believe in these things, but ever since his son’s accident, he was willing to believe in the existence of ghosts and gods.

As they walked up the stairs, they could hear the Jumping Ball singing in the background, the sound clear, accompanied by the ball’s rolling sound.

In this quiet, empty house, it seemed inexplicably eerie.

There was a door on the second floor, but if someone was home, it was usually left open.

So you could see the entirety of the Inner World at a glance from the landing.

The empty room was devoid of any people.

Holding his phone, Yuan Hesheng looked again inside, ensuring no one was there before tiptoeing into the room, though he remained cautious, suspecting someone could be in the room.

Deng Huiling followed him inside as well, and she was about to bend down to pick up the Jumping Ball from the floor when she was sternly stopped by Yuan Hesheng, who pointed to the nearby storage room.

Following his point, Deng Huiling instantly tensed up, because the storage room door was always closed.

Moreover, there were rustling sounds coming from inside. Did a thief get in?

With a look, Yuan Hesheng signaled her to stay at the door and then tiptoed into the kitchen, grabbing a kitchen knife, before heading towards the storage room.

The storage room door was open, so it was easy to see the contents inside.

There was a three or four-year-old little girl, bent over, rummaging through their deceased son’s toys, muttering to herself as she rummaged.

Then she lifted a pink egg with excitement on her face.

It was a Dinosaur egg, opening it would reveal a small Dinosaur, one of their deceased son’s collections.

Deng Huiling, who had been nervously watching at the doorway, saw her husband standing at the storage room entrance, seemingly seeing something unusual, and curiously tiptoed forward.

Then she saw the little girl in the storage room hugging their son’s Dinosaur egg, exclaiming excitedly, "Is this for me too?"

"A thief?" Deng Huiling asked instinctively.

Dou Dou, startled by the voice, turned around and was so frightened that she stumbled back several steps.

After all, two adults were staring intently at her, and one of them was holding a knife, a little intimidating.

"How did you get in here?" Yuan Hesheng asked, frowning.

However, his voice was much more gentle.

By this time, he had put down his guard, assuming the little one snuck in while his wife was distracted.

Hurriedly, Dou Dou put down the Dinosaur egg in her hand and explained, "I’m not a thief."

Fearing they wouldn’t believe her, she quickly added, "Xiao Guoguo said he wanted to give it to me, I didn’t steal it."

"Xiao Guoguo?" The couple exchanged looks.