Wealthy Woof Chapter 1

【The first meeting between a puppy and a man】

Zuo Ning was being held by someone, his armpits cradled in their arms. This wide-open posture made him shy, wanting to curl his legs to cover his hairless balls. Even his tail, which he still couldn’t control well, tried desperately to hide them. But his legs were too short, his tail too thin, and the fur wasn’t thick enough. After struggling a few times to no avail, he had to give up.

His jet-black, shiny eyes were shifting restlessly from side to side, refusing to make eye contact with the man who was currently facing him with an imposing aura. Yet, even if he wanted to make eye contact, the man before him wouldn’t spare him a single glance. After all, Zuo Ning, at this moment, was just a powerless little puppy; a puppy that the man found quite troublesome and annoying.

Lu Chenghe, after bookmarking the book he’d been reading, looked up at his mother, who was trying to please him by bringing a small puppy closer. His sharp, cold gaze landed on the woman in front of him. Despite being close to fifty, her beauty remained. Even he couldn’t help but soften slightly when looking at her.

However, upon hearing his mother’s request, he glanced at the fragile little creature in her arms, a thing so weak it could be easily crushed with a single hand. He spoke coldly, without any emotion, “At home, we have people who can take care of it. If you’re worried, have the housekeeper hire a professional dog trainer. When you come back, I promise you’ll find a healthy dog.”

Hearing the refusal in her son’s words, Mother Lu gently cradled the little puppy back into her arms, her well-maintained face nuzzling into its soft, white fur. She looked at her son with pleading eyes, saying, “But then little Pudding will just become someone else’s dog. Whoever treats it well, plays with it, and feeds it will be its owner. Darling, can you help me take care of it for a while? It’s better for Pudding to recognize you as its owner than the servant or trainer who feeds it.”

As she lovingly stroked the puppy’s fur, she sighed helplessly, saying, “Your Aunt Wenpei may be a bit strong-willed, but she truly loved that man with the last name Wan. She used to think he was a good and honest man. Turns out he’s heartless. He even has such a big illegitimate child. Now that your Aunt Wenpei has divorced, she wants to get away and clear her mind. Of course, I need to accompany her. I just brought Little Pudding home a few days ago, and it’s not fully fed yet. I can’t just hand it over to the servant. Darling, could you please take care of it for a while? It’s such a good puppy, quiet, obedient, and well-behaved. You don’t have to do much, just play with it when you have time and feed it at the right moments. Slowly, it’ll know you’re its owner. You don’t need to worry about anything else, the servants will handle it.”

Hearing the words “quiet, obedient, and well-behaved”, Lu Chenghe cast a highly skeptical glance at the little white furball. The notorious reputation of the Samoyed breed was well-known. They were celebrated as professional homewreckers in the dog world. Although Samoyeds weren’t quite as foolish as the other breeds, they had no connection to being quiet, obedient, or well-behaved.

Just as Mother Lu was about to extol how sensible and docile Little Pudding was, the butler knocked on the door to inform her that the car was ready and they could leave at any time. Steeling herself, Mother Lu decisively placed the little puppy into her son’s arms, refusing to accept any objection as she declared: “I’m off to accompany your Aunt Wenpei on her trip to relax. If I return and find that Little Pudding isn’t close to you at all and you haven’t taken good care of it, just wait for me to set you up on at least ten blind dates!” With that, she strutted off in her high heels, leaving behind an elegant and resolute silhouette.

Having overheard the entire conversation, Zuo Ning lay motionless on the man’s chest, not daring to move an inch. He was terrified that even the slightest movement would result in the man tossing him out. After all, all puppies looked alike—if one got thrown and died, another could simply be bought. Especially since this man in front of him seemed utterly cold and stern, to the point of being friendless. Even his tone when speaking to his mother was so frosty, making it clear he didn’t seem like a caring person in the least!

However, the anticipated harsh treatment didn’t come. Zuo Ning only felt an overwhelming sense of oppressive scrutiny as the man’s gaze locked onto him for a full thirty seconds. Then, he felt the skin at the back of his neck being pinched and lifted. His entire body instantly froze, his tail stiffening into a straight line. Before his unease could escalate, he was placed on the nearby sofa.

Lying there quietly for a while without sensing any further movement from the man, Zuo Ning cautiously sneaked a glance. The man sat with his back to the light. The sunlight streaming in from the window seemed to cast a halo around him. From Zuo Ning’s vantage point, looking upward, the man’s features appeared deep and chiseled, bearing some resemblance to the kind lady who had cared for him for two days—but far colder, more defined, and strikingly handsome.

Just that face alone was probably the most stunning Zuo Ning had seen in his brief twenty years of life.

Seeing that the man was seriously engrossed in his book and paying him no attention at all, Zuo Ning quietly breathed a sigh of relief. After all, it wasn’t easy to adapt to turning into a dog overnight. He had never raised a dog before; the closest he’d come was teasing the neighbor’s pet. Figuring out how to interact with humans as a dog left him feeling a bit lost. So for now, he thought it best to do nothing—just stay quiet and obedient. He’d figure out the rest later.

Once Zuo Ning stopped glancing around and settled down quietly, Lu Chenghe, who had been keeping an eye on him out of the corner of his eye, finally relaxed and returned his focus to the book. He had been ready to hand the puppy over to the servants at the first sign of trouble. He didn’t dislike dogs, but he couldn’t say he particularly liked them either. As long as they weren’t noisy, he could tolerate them.

As for how Zuo Ning, originally a human, ended up as a two-month-old puppy, even he had no idea. Zuo Ning was born into a fairly ordinary family. His father worked on a ship and was only home once or twice a year. His mother was a full-time housewife who had never worked outside. Raised by a mother who had little exposure to society, Zuo Ning had grown up with a simple and straightforward personality.

Unfortunately, this peaceful happiness was shattered when Zuo Ning was nineteen. His parents were in an accident during a trip. Zuo Ning lost the people he loved most overnight. It took him a long time to recover from the pain of their loss. Just as he was beginning to adjust to living alone, he suddenly found himself transformed into a dog.

What exactly had happened during this period, Zuo Ning didn’t know. If there wasn’t some supernatural force at play causing a soul swap, then he must have died. However, he was fairly certain this wasn’t reincarnation. By the time he woke up in this dog’s body, he was already two months old, just brought home by Mother Lu. As for how he died, Zuo Ning had no idea.

If his parents were still alive, he would’ve been desperate to find a way to return to see them. But now that the loved ones he cared most about were gone, there wasn’t anyone left for him to hold onto.

Since he had already turned into a dog, Zuo Ning decided to stabilize the situation for now, then look for an opportunity to figure out whether he had actually died or if the soul of this dog had taken over his body. No matter how anxious he got, he was a dog now. There was no going back. If he ran around and met a dog dealer, it would be fine if a kind person bought him. But if he ended up in the hands of a dog-abusing psychopath, that would be terrible.

With his mind now limited by his dog’s brain, Zuo Ning thought for a moment about his future life as a dog. Before he knew it, he had fallen asleep. He had originally curled up, but slowly, his limbs stretched out. His little belly rose and fell with each breath. There were even faint, soft snoring sounds. He was sleeping soundly.

The man who had been reading heard the rhythmic breathing. Seeing the little puppy lying quietly for a while before falling asleep, he took a moment to observe it in silence. Unable to resist, he reached out and gently stroked the puppy’s soft fur on its small head. Noticing it was sleeping peacefully, he turned his attention back to his book.

Although the rare, leisurely afternoon had been interrupted by a small trouble, as long as the little thing remained this well-behaved, taking care of it for a month or so would be no trouble.

Suddenly, Zuo Ning felt a sense of weightlessness. He jolted awake. His two little paws instinctively flailed in the air. When he opened his eyes, he was still a bit disoriented. It took him a moment to realize that he had been sleeping and must have had a dream. As his gaze slowly focused, Zuo Ning realized he was now staring directly at the cold, intimidating man.

The man remained the same—expressionless and very cold—but his gaze was no longer focused on that thick book capable of crushing someone, but on Zuo Ning instead. Zuo Ning’s paws instinctively shrank a little, as he tried to figure out what attitude he should adopt toward this man.

If it had been the previous lady, all he would have needed to do was act cute and sell his charm. But the man in front of him didn’t seem like someone who would fall for that kind of thing.

Noticing Zuo Ning’s small retreating movement, Lu Chenghe slightly squinted his eyes. He had never been fond of pets since he was young; for some reason, cats and dogs were always afraid of him. Seeing the same reaction from this little one didn’t disappoint him. He simply turned his gaze away indifferently.

The moment his gaze shifted, Zuo Ning’s internal alarms immediately quieted. It was only then that he realized he was hungry. The thought of the dog food immediately made his stomach ache.

From his observations over the past couple of days, the family taking care of him was extremely wealthy. The house was huge, with numerous servants. Not to mention, the luxurious and extravagant doghouse was so grand that even a human could live in it. In such a household, there was no way they would skimp on his dog food.

However, no matter how fancy the dog food was, the taste was still something that dogs wouldn’t praise. To say it was bad wasn’t quite right—it wasn’t terrible, but the problem was that it had no flavor. Apart from the smell of meat, there was no hint of any sweet, sour, bitter, salty, or spicy taste! And when mixed with that sheep milk… the taste was simply unbearable.

If a dog had never experienced other flavors, it might actually enjoy this dog food. But Zuo Ning, a person who couldn’t live without spicy food and would mix chili peppers with rice, found every meal a torture. It would be better if they just gave him milk to drink.

Unfortunately, based on his growth progress, it wasn’t time for him to start eating solid food. Drinking only milk wouldn’t provide enough nutrients. More importantly, he couldn’t speak to express his discomfort.

Eating was torture for his taste buds, but not eating would make his body suffer. Zuo Ning hesitated for a while. Just as the hunger inside him was about to reach unbearable levels, he raised his head to look at the man who made him instinctively fear. However, the man was already engrossed in his book again.

Zuo Ning tried to catch his attention with his gaze for a moment, but the man remained unaffected. His stomach growled loudly again and again. Unable to hold back any longer, Zuo Ning bravely raised one furry paw and placed it on the man’s large thigh. When the man looked down at him, Zuo Ning immediately tilted his little head up to meet his gaze and, with a childish voice, whined, “Awo~~” He was so hungry and was begging to be fed.

Author’s note:

This is a daily life story with a cute pet, so most of it consists of ordinary daily moments. It’s quite slow-paced, so please read with caution.

The dog will definitely turn into a human, but that’s later in the story. If you want a proportional breakdown, about two-thirds of the story is focused on the dog. Those who mind this, please be cautious.

It’s a relaxed, lighthearted read, just for fun. Read it for enjoyment and happiness.