Moonlit: Thank you, aki, for the ko-fi~
Lu Chenghe was prepared to let Little Pudding play with that husky for a bit longer since he thought that he was finally assimilated into the doggy social circle. In the end, he had only spoken one line with Tang Ke’er, and Little Pudding had gone. It had happened in the blink of an eye.
Most areas of the play pit could be seen clearly with one glance as there weren’t many obstacles. A big Samoyed would be seen no matter where it was. But now, Little Pudding, who was supposed to be playing, had disappeared.
Tang Ke’er, who was trying to invite him, noticed that Lu Chenghe’s expression suddenly turned cold. The aura around him instantly became very terrifying. Tang Ke’er’s heart couldn’t help but tremble. She followed Lu Chenghe’s gaze and turned her head to look, feeling an icy chill in her heart. The Samoyed was gone.
Lu Chenghe no longer cared about Tang Ke’er. He strode into the play pit and searched all the places where Little Pudding might be hiding. But Little Pudding was not there. He called out several times. Usually, no matter where Little Pudding was hiding, as long as he heard Lu Chenghe’s voice, he would definitely come out. But now, there was no response, which clearly indicated that he was no longer nearby.
Lu Chenghe pursed his lips, his face becoming even darker. If not for his rationality, he would have wanted to lock down the entire mall immediately. Although he didn’t lock down the mall, he made a phone call to increase the security personnel.
Soon, the mall’s upper management received the call. All the security personnel were mobilized to guard all the exits. Anyone carrying a Samoyed was to be stopped. The personnel who had been resting in the back office were puzzled by the sudden task, not knowing whose dog was lost. It was definitely not an ordinary person. After all, ordinary people would just broadcast a message.
Just now, Lu Chenghe got slightly distracted while talking to Tang Ke’er, and it was definitely no more than a minute. Little Pudding must have wandered off on his own; if someone had forcibly taken him away, there would have been some noise. Thinking about that little guy wandering off to play somewhere unknown, Lu Chenghe felt both anxious and angry. The moment he discovered Little Pudding was missing, he was truly flustered. In his entire life, apart from the time he received news of his father’s accident, he had never experienced such a moment of blankness.
Fortunately, the fair was held inside the mall and not in an open-air fenced area. In such a short time, Little Pudding definitely wouldn’t have run out. As long as someone guarded the various exits, he could definitely be found.
Seeing a lot of security personnel in uniform rushing towards the exits, Lu Chenghe regained his composure. Once he found that little rascal, he was definitely going to give him a stern lesson to make sure he wouldn’t dare to run off again!
Originally, he wanted to search around, but he was worried that if Little Pudding returned and didn’t see him, he might run off in fear. So, Lu Chenghe decided to wait at the original spot for a while.
Tang Ke’er, seeing the security personnel coming out, noticed many small dogs getting restless. Worried that her own Tang Bao might be frightened, she hurriedly called her dog back from the play pit and held it in her arms. Then she looked at Lu Chenghe and said, “Let’s go look for him first. Little Pudding shouldn’t have run far in such a short time.”
Although Lu Chenghe knew that it was probably Little Pudding who had run off by himself and rationally understood that he couldn’t blame anyone for this, he never had any feelings for Tang Ke’er. He only responded to her out of politeness each time. Now, knowing that he would definitely find Little Pudding, he could remain somewhat calm. Otherwise, he wouldn’t know if he could maintain his gentlemanly demeanor.
“Miss Tang, if you have no other matters, please feel free to leave. There’s no need to trouble yourself over Little Pudding.”
Tang Ke’er felt that this matter had something to do with her. Holding her own dog, she stood to the side, a little at a loss. If she hadn’t been talking to Lu Chenghe, his dog wouldn’t have run away. Thinking about how she would feel if it were Tang Bao missing, she thought she might be so anxious that she would cry.
Seeing Lu Chenghe just standing there, observing his surroundings, obviously waiting for the dog to return on its own, Tang Ke’er stood a little further away. She was afraid that getting closer would make him even more displeased.
Xue Lu had previously returned to the restroom to check the dog tag. Without any equipment to test it, she couldn’t be 100% sure it was a real diamond, but judging by the luster and fire, it probably wasn’t fake. She put the dog tag inside her bag. She didn’t see Little Pudding waiting at the door when she came out. She breathed a sigh of relief.
There were no cameras here, and the dog couldn’t speak. Even if the owner found the dog tag missing, he would probably just think it was lost. Calming herself down a little, Xue Lu returned to the dessert shop where she was meeting her friends.
She had just sat down when she saw a lot of security guards being mobilized. Feeling guilty, Xue Lu panicked a little. She unconsciously tightened her grip on her bag and casually asked, “What’s going on?”
One of her friends shrugged. “Who knows, but there’s an event here today. There are a lot of cats and dogs for sale downstairs. Let’s go take a look later?”
Xue Lu didn’t dare stay here too long. If she ran into Little Pudding again, and he barked at her, wouldn’t it arouse the owner’s suspicion? Thinking this, Xue Lu pretended to have something urgent and left first. It wasn’t until she left the mall and saw that the security guards at the entrance didn’t stop her that she finally breathed a sigh of relief, hailed a cab, and hurried home.
Zuo Ning had previously followed someone who looked like his roommate. When he returned, he almost got lost, but luckily he could read signs and vaguely remember the direction. As he got closer, Lu Chenghe’s aura became stronger. Zuo Ning knew he was on the right track. Sure enough, after turning a corner, he saw Lu Chenghe standing there.
Zuo Ning, unaware of the impending trouble, happily barked. Seeing Lu Chenghe notice him, he quickly ran towards him, paws flailing.
As soon as Zuo Ning reached Lu Chenghe, he started barking continuously and pawing at his neck, indicating to Lu Chenghe that his dog tag was stolen.
Seeing that Little Pudding had returned on his own, Lu Chenghe patted his fur and called to have the alert lifted. After hanging up, he saw Little Pudding looking at him foolishly and gently patted his head, saying, “You’ve learned to run off, haven’t you? You disappeared in the blink of an eye. So naughty. How should I teach you a lesson so you remember not to do this again?”
Zuo Ning was shocked, realizing the gravity of the situation. Lu Chenghe was truly angry. His smiling anger seemed scarier than a stern face.
Thinking it over, Zuo Ning decided to be submissive, rubbing against Lu Chenghe in an attempt to calm him down.
But Lu Chenghe was determined to teach him a lesson this time. Being a bit cute wouldn’t help him.
In the mall, even if Zuo Ning got lost, Lu Chenghe could find him. But what if it happened outside? Even with a dog tag, someone could see how cute he was and decide to sell him. If the tag was ripped off and thrown away, Lu Chenghe might not be able to find him again.
Thinking about the possibility of never finding Little Pudding again, Lu Chenghe felt an itch in his hands, wanting to give him a good spanking right now.
Seeing Lu Chenghe looking at him with a stern face, Zuo Ning patted his hand with his paw and scratched his own neck, whimpering, “Awoo…” Look here, the dog tag was stolen.
Lu Chenghe saw him scratching his neck continuously and wondered if he was hurt somewhere. He squatted down to check and only then discovered the dog tag was missing. “Where’s the dog tag?”
Zuo Ning looked back in the direction he had come from and barked, “Woof!” It had been stolen; the thief was over there.
Lu Chenghe thought the dog tag had simply fallen off, so he tied the leash and followed Little Pudding’s lead.
Seeing Tang Ke’er still standing nearby, Lu Chenghe couldn’t just rudely walk away. However, having lunch together was clearly out of the question now. He nodded as a gesture of farewell and then led Little Pudding to find the dog tag.
Tang Ke’er breathed a sigh of relief seeing that Little Pudding had been found. She watched as Lu Chenghe walked away with the dog, contemplating whether to follow but deciding against it. She liked Lu Chenghe purely because she liked him. If something could develop from it, she would be delighted. But she knew Lu Chenghe didn’t like her. So she was satisfied just with these occasional encounters and chats. She hoped that Lu Chenghe wouldn’t dislike her because of this incident.
Tang Ke’er silently looked at her obedient Tang Bao in her arms and sighed helplessly, “Your mommy is going to be heartbroken again. Sigh… Why is it so hard to impress my crush?”
Zuo Ning led Lu Chenghe all the way to the restroom and barked a few times towards the ladies’ restroom. Lu Chenghe said, “Did the dog tag fall in there? Did you follow a pretty lady? You little rascal.”
Zuo Ning quickly barked twice and then made a scratching motion on his neck with his paw. He was making it so obvious, how could Lu Chenghe not understand? It was simply frustrating!
Lu Chenghe raised an eyebrow. “The dog tag was taken by someone?”
Zuo Ning excitedly wagged his tail and barked once. Yes, yes, the dog tag was taken by someone. Who would have thought that the girl who looked so pure and pretty would be a thief?
Lu Chenghe patted his head. “Let’s go home first and deal with your situation. I’ll find the dog tag.”
Hearing this, Zuo Ning, who had been trying to distract Lu Chenghe, realized that a scolding was inevitable. He dejectedly followed behind Lu Chenghe, ending an unpleasant outing.
Xue Lu went straight to her workshop when she got home. During her school years, she started making handmade items to earn some money for living expenses and opened an online store to sell inexpensive accessories. Later, wanting to sell high-quality items, she saved up to buy a set of relatively cheap tools. She could dismantle diamonds at home and take them to her workplace to have them verified by a master.
There was also the chain, which looked like platinum. She put it away. If the entire dog tag was platinum, she could have it processed into a bracelet or necklace.
Looking at the few items that didn’t belong to her, Xue Lu felt uneasy as it was her first time doing something like this. But after thinking it over, she realized that as long as the surveillance cameras didn’t capture her, no one would know. If the boys planned to hang out during this time, she would find an excuse not to go. After a while, the dog wouldn’t remember this incident.
With that thought, Xue Lu calmed herself and returned to her usual tasks.
Zuo Ning thought that Lu Chenghe’s harsh punishment would definitely involve a beating. Although he had never been beaten since he could remember, if Lu Chenghe really wanted to hit him, he couldn’t stop him. After all, today’s incident was indeed his fault. He thought he could find his way back without getting lost, but Lu Chenghe didn’t know that. Not seeing him for a moment, Lu Chenghe must have been extremely worried.
If he had to be beaten, so be it. After all, he had thick fur and plenty of meat on his butt, so a few hits wouldn’t be a big deal.
However, he underestimated Lu Chenghe’s determination.
Zuo Ning sat motionless in the living room with a paper plate of grilled sausages on his head. Lu Chenghe held a stick-like object. Whenever Zuo Ning moved, Lu Chenghe would strike the floor tiles with a loud bang. The loud noise scared Zuo Ning, making him too afraid to move.
The freshly grilled sausages emitted a tempting aroma. Lu Chenghe had even asked for extra cumin, making them smell even more delicious. However, what embarrassed Zuo Ning was that he couldn’t control his saliva. To prevent drooling, he had to keep swallowing. But every time he swallowed, the plate on his head would tremble slightly. If the movement was too big, Lu Chenghe would strike the floor with a loud bang again.
To teach this little rascal a proper lesson, Lu Chenghe specifically instructed the butler to buy cheap sausages, the kind sold in supermarkets for a few bucks each. These sausages had no nutritional value but a very enticing smell. He then had the kitchen sprinkle various spices, especially cumin, on them. The aroma was so tempting that even a human would want to eat them, let alone a dog’s nose.
He sat on the sofa, watching Little Pudding with a specially grilled sausage on his head. Seeing him constantly swallowing saliva, it was clear he was drooling with desire.
When one sausage cooled down and lost its strong aroma, Lu Chenghe had the kitchen grill a fresh one to replace it. After three sausages had cooled down, Little Pudding couldn’t sit still anymore, becoming restless and whimpering in frustration. Only then did Lu Chenghe coldly look at him and say, “Will you dare to run off again in the future?”
Zuo Ning looked up at the plate still on his head. If he opened his mouth to bark, the plate would definitely fall off, so he could only whimper twice to indicate he wouldn’t dare to run off again.
Lu Chenghe took the plate off his head and handed it to the butler for disposal. Seeing Little Pudding’s eyes following the butler, he grabbed his ear and turned his head back, saying, “What are you looking at? Today, you must go hungry! If you dare to run off again, you’ll have to balance food on your head all day without eating!”
Zuo Ning pitifully rubbed against Lu Chenghe’s palm. Three sausages, with so many spices, it would be such a waste to throw them away. The lesson was already taught, so it would be great if he could eat them.
However, he knew it was only wishful thinking; Lu Chenghe had never given him any of those uncooked sausages, let alone these heavily seasoned, grilled ones. He licked his lips with his tongue and found that the fur around his mouth was still dry and clean—no embarrassing drool. Only then did he let out a sigh of relief.
After smelling the night market aroma, the longing in his heart was uncontrollable, like a river bursting its banks. He really wanted to have a barbecue paired with ice-cold cola.
Zuo Ning thought Lu Chenghe was just saying it, like the night when there was a banquet at home when he said he wouldn’t let him eat, but after a while, he still gave him food. However, today, it seemed Lu Chenghe was serious; he said no food, and he really didn’t give a single bite.
Zuo Ning lay on the ground, feeling wronged. Watching Lu Chenghe eating, he occasionally let out aggrieved whimpering sounds. But Lu Chenghe was determined not to be moved, sighing silently. Although Lu Chenghe was still very handsome today, Zuo Ning decided to find him unpleasant for a few minutes!
After Lu Chenghe had finished lunch, he got up and walked to the study. In the corner of his eye, he saw Little Pudding still lying on the ground, sneaking glances at him but not following. Lu Chenghe chuckled; Little Pudding was throwing a little tantrum, but he couldn’t indulge him.
Seeing Lu Chenghe walk away without calling him, Zuo Ning noticed the servants cleaning the dining table, ignoring him as if he didn’t exist. Feeling conflicted for a while, Zuo Ning finally crawled up silently. Being a dog had no rights; just thinking about it made him feel sad for himself.
He cautiously shuffled to the study door and saw it was left ajar. Zuo Ning snorted inwardly. Lu Chenghe must have left the door for him but didn’t call him downstairs earlier.
Pushing the door open, Zuo Ning saw Lu Chenghe sitting at the desk, staring at his computer. Acting nonchalantly, Zuo Ning circled around to the back of Lu Chenghe’s chair and looked up to see a map on the screen.
Zuo Ning instantly thought of his dog tag and then nudged Lu Chenghe. In one leap, he jumped onto Lu Chenghe’s lap, squeezing into his arms. His two paws rested on the desk, and he looked at the computer very seriously.
Lu Chenghe didn’t pay him any mind and looked at the screen. He saw the location where the positioning system in the dog tag had stopped, and sat silently on the chair for a while.
Touching Little Pudding, who was sitting on his lap, Lu Chenghe asked, “Was it a girl you’ve seen before who took your dog tag today?”
Zuo Ning quickly barked, “Woof!” That’s right, that’s her, the one you’re thinking of!
Lu Chenghe stroked the dog’s head but said nothing more.
Zuo Ning turned his head to glance at Lu Chenghe. Seeing him fall silent, he leaned back against him without moving. Discovering that his best friend’s girlfriend was a thief was truly disheartening. If their relationship were ordinary, he could just ignore it, as the loss wasn’t significant. But since their relationship was special, it was a dilemma whether to speak up or not.
Just when Zuo Ning thought Lu Chenghe would remain silent, he saw him take out his phone.
As soon as the call connected, a loud voice came from the other end, “What’s up? It’s rare for a busy person like you to contact me. Speak up, brother, I’ll do anything for you, no matter what!”
Lu Chenghe ignored the playful banter from the other side and simply said, “Today, I took Little Pudding to the city mall.”
Nie Yong couldn’t help but lightly click his tongue. ” You have developed a love for dogs. When did you ever go to such places? What’s the matter? Do you think that place is nice and want to go again with your brothers next time?”
Lu Chenghe continued, “Little Pudding’s dog tag fell off. The dog tag has a positioning system, and it now shows that the location is at your house.”
Nie Yong was taken aback and instinctively asked, “My house? Which one of my houses?” He had many houses, including his main family house and other properties in Qingniao City.
Lu Chenghe, stroking the obedient Little Pudding on his lap, said, “The house where you currently live.”
Nie Yong was silent for a moment and no longer wore a playful smile. He simply said, “Alright, I’ll contact you later tonight.” With that, he hung up the phone.
Lu Chenghe put down his phone and saw Little Pudding turning to look at him. He poked Little Pudding’s nose. “You know you’ve caused big trouble, right?”
Zuo Ning snorted, wondering what trouble he had caused. He figured out that Nie Yong must have good conditions. Even if he wasn’t one of the elite second-generation rich, he must still be wealthy. He probably wanted to find so-called true love and deliberately hid his family background. As a result, that girl might have been influenced by her own surroundings. Last time, he heard she seemed to be selling jewelry. She dealt with jewelry every day but couldn’t afford it herself, and her boyfriend couldn’t afford it either. She must have felt uncomfortable in her heart.
Or Nie Yong often took that girl to meet his good friends. Nie Yong’s friends didn’t seem like the type to eat skewers by the roadside. They had been to many good places, so their horizons naturally broadened. However, if her own capabilities didn’t improve along with it and if her mind wasn’t strong enough, she would definitely be influenced.
Zuo Ning sometimes really couldn’t understand what these rich second-generation kids were thinking. Maybe they watched too many TV dramas and novels and got addicted to role-playing.
Zuo Ning thought to himself that when he came into contact with people at this level, he was lucky to have turned into a dog. Otherwise, he might have already lost his true self. However, if he were still human, he probably wouldn’t have been able to reach such heights. Ah, life always has its gains and losses.
Hearing that serious sigh, Lu Chenghe amusingly knocked on his head, “You’re sighing? You have the nerve to sigh at me? Today, you’re punished by not being allowed to sleep on the bed. You sleep in your own kennel. How many times have you slept in that kennel I bought for you?”
Zuo Ning collapsed onto Lu Chenghe, looking like he had seen through the world. Say whatever you want. In the end, you’ll still be the one who wants me on the bed at night. Men and their words, huh.
