Wealthy Woof Chapter 59

When it came to Lu Chenghan’s teasing, the best way for Zuo Ning to retaliate was by tattling. He had originally planned to bask in the sun and soak up some sunlight essence in the yard, but upon hearing the mocking voice, Zuo Ning immediately turned and ran straight to Lu Chenghe’s study.

Lu Chenghe had just turned on his computer and hadn’t even sat down for long when Little Pudding darted in, fake crying as he threw himself onto Lu Chenghe.

Helplessly, Lu Chenghe picked him up and asked, “What’s wrong?” This little rascal had perfected the art of playing pitiful to the point of mastery. No wonder, considering he had starred in two movies and even won awards for both of them—truly a remarkable dog spirit.

Zuo Ning pointed towards the yard, touched his face with his paw, and then buried himself in Lu Chenghe’s embrace, whimpering, “Woo…woo…”

Lu Chenghe asked, “Did someone laugh at you?”

Zuo Ning fiercely barked, “Woof!” An unapologetic kind of mocking!

Faced with this tattletale spirit, Lu Chenghe tried hard not to laugh and patted the little pudding’s head several times while holding him in his arms, saying, “Was it the servants teasing you?”

“Woof, woof.” Definitely not—the maid ladies were all kindhearted. It’s just your brother who lacks decency!

Lu Chenghe quickly deduced that, within the house, after he had mentioned how self-conscious Little Pudding was during his shedding period, the only one who would still blatantly mock him without restraint could only be his unreliable brother. “Was it Lu Chenghan teasing you?”

Zuo Ning immediately jumped out of Lu Chenghe’s arms, barking while nodding his head, “Woof!” He laughed especially loudly!

Between his younger brother and his little dog spirit, the most important one was obviously the little dog spirit. After all, his brother would eventually belong to someone else, but the dog spirit was his forever. It took quite the effort to coax Little Pudding out of the room, only for him to face humiliation the moment he stepped out. Look at him now, running over with such an indignant face to tattle—it was as if he’d been wronged in some monumental way.

Faced with Little Pudding, who could put on such drama daily, Lu Chenghe could only feel a mix of helplessness and amusement. Perhaps this was the joy of keeping pets, especially when one had a mischievous little drama king.

Lu Chenghe patted Little Pudding, “Alright, don’t be mad anymore. I’ll avenge you later.”

Upon hearing this, Zuo Ning immediately squinted his eyes in delight and rolled around in Lu Chenghe’s arms, barking, “Woof!”

Lu Chenghe pinched his paw, “All you know how to do is tattle. He mocked you, and you didn’t think to pounce on him and bite him?”

Zuo Ning huffed in response. Why bother putting in the effort when tattling was a shortcut? Besides, tattling was secondary—the process of tattling was the real highlight. What an unromantic man. If he couldn’t train him, then Zuo Ning would just have to accept this lonely life!

After the morning’s painting session ended, Lu Chenghan shamelessly followed Ren Shishi back to Mother Lu to mooch lunch. Mother Lu greeted him with a cheerful smile, saying, “Your second brother is looking for you. He asked you to go over.”

Lu Chenghan secretly gritted his teeth but kept up a smile. He turned to Ren Shishi and said, “I’ll head over then. I’ll come to pick you up on the day of the exhibition.”

Ren Shishi nodded but quickly noticed Mother Lu looking at her with a teasing expression. Embarrassed, she lowered her head. Thinking about Lu Chenghan’s attentiveness over the past few days, she felt somewhat awkward in front of Mother Lu. Even her smile faltered slightly as she softly said, “Auntie.”

Madam Lu held her hand gently and said with a smile, “What’s there to feel shy about? Everything in life follows the rhythm of fate. Bringing you into our home was in the hope of fostering a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law bond, but these matters cannot be forced. But Shishi, you must tell me—do you have any feelings for Chenghan? Auntie hopes you can choose what you truly like and not be passive. If you don’t like him, feel free to reject him. I’ll communicate with your aunt about it.”

Ren Shishi looked at Mother Lu, paused in silence for a moment, then said, “I… don’t know. Chenghan is a good person—knowledgeable and pleasant. Though he often appears carefree and unserious, I can feel that he’s a very responsible man. I don’t dislike him.”

Mother Lu gently patted her hand and said, “Since you don’t dislike him, then give it a chance and get to know him better. You’re a good girl, and Chenghan is also a good kid. Although he may sometimes act mischievous, he’s been very sensible from childhood to adulthood. Relationships inevitably require some adjustment and compromise. If the two of you can adapt to each other, then fate has smiled upon you. I can see that Chenghan likes you very much. Don’t be fooled by his seemingly flirtatious facade—he’s never even had a girlfriend.”

Ren Shishi blinked in mild astonishment. It was clear to her that Lu Chenghan wasn’t as unreliable as he might appear. He spoke with substance and carried himself with grace. Moreover, every time he looked at her, his gaze felt so attentive and sincere, like the way her uncle looked at her aunt, filled with love. However, the revelation that Lu Chenghan had never had a girlfriend did catch her by surprise.

Mother Lu didn’t elaborate further and simply shared a couple of thoughts. She truly liked Ren Shishi, recognizing her as a kind-hearted girl whose environment had perhaps contributed to her sense of humility and reserve. Despite this, her temperament was good, not restless or frivolous. Given time to blossom, she would undoubtedly shine brighter than she did now.

It was precisely this essence of Ren Shishi that won Mother Lu over. She wanted to nurture her and eventually have her as a daughter-in-law. Ren Shishi would surely grow into a devoted wife and mother. She hadn’t anticipated, however, that her youngest nephew, Chenghan, might end up benefiting from this bond.

Meanwhile, Lu Chenghan, who had unknowingly gained this favor, looked at his second brother with a bewildered expression and said, “The wind seemed quite strong earlier—I didn’t quite catch that. What did you just say, Second Brother?”

Lu Chenghe stared coldly at him, while Little Pudding, perched on his lap, donning a monkey-like expression, also stared intensely at him.

Lu Chenghan’s hand trembled as he pointed at the dog on his brother’s lap, saying, “Second Brother, look carefully! I’m your brother. Wake up! You actually issued a ban on me because of your Little Pudding?! I haven’t even managed to win Shishi over yet!”

Lu Chenghe stroked Little Pudding’s head calmly, “You’ve already inflicted severe psychological harm on Little Pudding. To prevent further trauma, this place will remain off-limits to you during his shedding period.”

What???

Lu Chenghan glanced at his second brother, then at the white dog, then back at his second brother, and back at the white dog again—utterly dumbfounded. Quickly, he squatted by his second brother’s feet and ingratiatingly held onto the small white paw, saying, “Little Pudding, I was wrong. Your big brother is currently courting a wife. Once I’ve won her over, I’ll buy you a beautiful little female dog, alright? I’ll even take you to choose one. Whichever you fancy, we’ll buy it. If you like them all, then we’ll buy them all to fill up your royal harem!”

Zuo Ning wished he could spit right in his face! This grudge was irreconcilable—it had escalated into a life-or-death feud!

“Woof woof woof!” You’re the one who needs a little female dog! What wife are you pursuing? Believe me, I’ll get a hundred little female dogs and throw them at your house!

Lu Chenghan turned to his second brother and asked, “What’s he saying?”

Lu Chenghe responded expressionlessly, “He’s angry. You mentioned finding him a female dog, and that’s completely off-limits for him. “Regular dogs might enjoy having a beautiful female dog, but when it comes to dog spirits, it’s hard to say. At that moment, Lu Chenghe realized that if he couldn’t find a suitable female dog spirit, his little rascal might be single for life.

Lu Chenghe thought to himself as he gazed down at the fiercely determined little eyes. A lifetime, then. If it came to that, it didn’t matter—he would still have Little Pudding by his side. It didn’t matter if they couldn’t find another dog spirit. What he hoped for, though, was that Little Pudding’s lifespan wouldn’t be too long, just a day shorter than his own. Just one day shorter would be enough.

Lu Chenghan was immediately floored—could he really step on a landmine just by saying something random? And here his second brother was, sounding so serious about it. Had his second brother been possessed?

“Bro, are you serious?”

Lu Chenghe: “What do you think?”

Lu Chenghan took a deep breath and then grinned apologetically. “Alright, alright, little ancestor, we won’t bring up female dogs anymore. Tell me, what do you want? If you want a star from the sky, I’ll pluck it down for you.”

Zuo Ning snorted and turned his head away disdainfully.

That expression was so human-like that Lu Chenghan couldn’t help but widen his eyes and stare at his brother. “Second Brother, are you sure you’re raising a dog? This must be a spirit, right?”

Indeed, it was a little spirit he was raising. Lu Chenghe patted Little Pudding’s head, then picked up a magazine from the side and tossed it in front of Lu Chenghan. “Buy him a set of this as an apology gift.”

Lu Chenghan picked up the magazine, glanced at it, and couldn’t help but twitch the corner of his mouth. “Bro, don’t tell me you bought this for Little Pudding to play with?”

Lu Chenghe raised an eyebrow. “Why not?”

Lu Chenghan quickly said, “Alright, alright, absolutely! I’ll have it delivered to you tomorrow! It’s just a VR setup, right? This stuff is cheap—around two hundred thousand yuan can get you a decent one.” Though there were more expensive options, there was no need for that, especially since no one at home was forming gaming squads.

Lu Chenghe replied, “It has to be something the dog can use.”

Lu Chenghan stared at his brother with deadpan eyes. “Second Brother, are you messing with me?”

“Design it. Make a setup with a chair and game controllers tailored to Little Pudding’s size. The software settings can be standard. You already have a partnership with the CEO of DragonTech, don’t you? Go ahead. Once the toy is ready, you can come back.”

No, no, this couldn’t be his real brother. Lu Chenghan was practically on the verge of rolling on the floor in despair. All he did was make a casual joke. Sure, that face was laughable every time you saw it, but who would’ve thought his brother would take it so far! Was this just an excuse to vent his annoyance at seeing him every day, using Little Pudding as a pretext?

Lu Chenghan pleaded pitifully, “Dear brother, your little brother here has been single for twenty-five years…”

Without even looking at him, Lu Chenghe picked up Little Pudding and said, “Get lost.”

Watching Lu Chenghan leave dejectedly, clutching the magazine and skipping dinner, Zuo Ning gleefully rolled around on Lu Chenghe’s lap. Although he did want a VR setup, he had planned to buy it himself with his own card, and it was just going to be a simple headset costing a few thousand yuan, purely for the experience of watching movies. Who would’ve thought Lu Chenghe would go all out and demand a full gaming setup?

Lu Chenghe held the playful little rascal in his arms and chuckled softly, “Satisfied now? He can’t come back until your toy is ready. Does this punishment make you happy?”

Zuo Ning immediately barked, “Woof!” Happy—absolutely happy. Forget about chasing a wife; this is a must-have. Otherwise, as a single dog watching others enjoy sweet, loving relationships every day, he’d end up depressed.

Thinking this, Zuo Ning couldn’t help but snuggle up to Lu Chenghe, twisting his body to lie on his lap, even using a paw to touch his own face. “Awoo!” Come on, give your little baby a kiss.

Lu Chenghe pinched his paw and poked his face twice—the face that had lost all its charm due to shedding. “Look at your round little face. Tomorrow morning, you’re coming jogging with me. If you keep being lazy, I’ll shave off all your fur and make you wear those little outfits.”

Zuo Ning let out a whimper, flipped himself upright, grabbed Lu Chenghe’s collar with both paws, tilted his head, and gave him a big slobbery kiss on the face. He rubbed his nose against him and even kissed him again. If you won’t kiss me, then I’ll just have to take the initiative.

Lu Chenghe gave him a firm pat on the backside. “Behave. Go eat.”

Despite the language barrier, through Little Pudding’s gestures and pointing, Lu Chenghe still understood what the little rascal meant. He was a spirit, so he could eat human food.

However, given Little Pudding’s lifelong enthusiasm for human food, Lu Chenghe was skeptical of this claim. But if he truly was a spirit, he should indeed be different from regular dogs. So, Lu Chenghe decided to start by feeding him lightly salted food for a while and observe. If it didn’t affect his health, he’d gradually loosen the restrictions on his diet.

Even just a bit of lightly salted food brought Zuo Ning to tears of joy. He felt that hotpot wasn’t far off—sooner or later, he’d get to enjoy it too!

After eating and drinking his fill, Zuo Ning lay on the carpet and patted his round little belly. Glancing over, he saw that Lu Chenghe had once again immersed himself in work. So, Zuo Ning got up, loaded some snacks onto a small trolley, and pulled it along to find Lang Ya and Fu Na. He had been so busy these past days tracking people, transforming, and revealing his identity that he hadn’t had the chance to properly connect with his two dog friends.

In the past, as trained dogs, their natural instincts were suppressed, and they were taught to follow commands. These snacks were usually given only as rewards during training sessions. Now retired and living at the Lu family home, the meals were undeniably good, keeping Lang Ya and Fu Na well-fed and robust. However, snacks were still rarely given out—only Zuo Ning received them in generous amounts, with whole bags at his disposal.

Zuo Ning figured it must be because Lu Chenghe knew that aside from specially-made jerky, Zuo Ning wouldn’t even glance at other dog snacks. That’s why he was allowed unlimited supplies of them—purely to share with Lang Ya and Fu Na. This arrangement strangely felt like a parent giving their child food they didn’t like, encouraging them to use it to make friends with other kids.

Shaking off those odd thoughts, Zuo Ning quickly trotted over, resembling a bouncing marshmallow, until he reached Lang Ya’s and Fu Na’s little house. He poured the snacks into the large dog bowl at the door and barked enthusiastically, “Woof!” Lang Ya, Fu Na, come out and enjoy some treats!

Before he could get closer to the house, Lang Ya came out with a low growl, warning him off.

Zuo Ning was startled—had his shedding made Lang Ya fail to recognize him?

“Lang Ya, it’s me, Little Pudding. What’s wrong? Don’t you recognize me?”

Lang Ya circled around him, assessing him for threats. Once assured there was none, Lang Ya relaxed his guard. “What are you here for?”

Zuo Ning nudged the dog bowl forward. “I brought you snacks. What’s the matter? Why are you so grumpy? Where’s Fu Na?”

Lang Ya glanced at the bags of snacks, then turned to look inside the house at Fu Na and said quietly, “Thank you.”

Curious, Zuo Ning peeked inside. Fu Na seemed to be sleeping. Seeing that Lang Ya didn’t seem interested in playing with him, Zuo Ning squatted at the door. Unlike before when Lang Ya would immediately rip open the snacks with enthusiasm, his fierce demeanor now made Zuo Ning a little afraid. After thinking it over, Zuo Ning decided to head back to the house instead. It must be because his shedding had made him look so unattractive—now even Lang Ya didn’t want to interact with him.

With a sigh, Zuo Ning muttered to himself that while dogs were certainly man’s best friend, they weren’t friendly to each other at all.

Dragging his tail, Zuo Ning trudged back to the study. He flopped onto the sofa and let out a deep sigh.

Lu Chenghe glanced over at him. “What’s wrong? Back so soon?” Earlier, Zuo Ning had eagerly pulled a trolley full of snacks and dashed off, yet here he was, returning just minutes later.

Zuo Ning let out a low whimper, “Awoo.” A life without friends—so lonely.

Lu Chenghe seemed to recall something and said to Zuo Ning, “You shouldn’t go looking to play with them for now.”

Zuo Ning lifted his head to look at Lu Chenghe.

Lu Chenghe explained, “Fu Na is pregnant. In about a month and a half, she’ll have puppies. So it’s best for you to stay away for now—Fu Na might bite you.”

Zuo Ning was instantly shocked—this was way too sudden! He hadn’t had any time to mentally prepare! Wait—why would he even need to mentally prepare? But he’d been home all this time, and yet such a major event occurred, with Lu Chenghe knowing about it while he was completely oblivious?!

But Fu Na is a military dog. Aren’t military dogs usually spayed or neutered? In this house, aside from him, the only male dog was Lang Ya, so Fu Na’s pregnancy absolutely had something to do with Lang Ya. So, does this mean military dogs aren’t neutered? Well, he didn’t really understand. In any case, since Fu Na was now pregnant, it would be better for him to stay away from her for the time being. Female dogs are very protective of their young. For safety’s sake, he’d wait until the puppies were born and had grown a bit before going to visit.

Thinking about it, Fu Na could already be considered an older mother-to-be. Zuo Ning ran over and patted Lu Chenghe’s leg, barking, “Woof woof!” You need to make sure Fu Na eats well and gets enough nutrition—older pregnancies can be dangerous.

Lu Chenghe bent down, picked him up, and placed him on his lap. “What about you? Do you want a little female dog?”

Zuo Ning immediately barked, “Woof woof!”

Lu Chenghe chuckled. “I knew you didn’t. Otherwise, you wouldn’t react so strongly every time the topic of little female dogs comes up. Still, who knows how many others like you there are in this world.”

Zuo Ning looked at Lu Chenghe but didn’t respond; he couldn’t answer that question.

Lu Chenghe placed Zuo Ning’s paw on his fingers and gave it a gentle shake. “If it turns out that you really are the one and only, then let’s be companions. You’ll stay with me as I grow old, and I’ll do my best to be with you for the rest of your life.”

Zuo Ning stared at Lu Chenghe in a daze. Suddenly, he felt his nose sting, and he threw himself into Lu Chenghe’s arms. He felt that there was nothing more beautiful in this world than those words.

Hearing him sniffle, Lu Chenghe couldn’t help but laugh. “You really are turning into a little crybaby.”

Lu Chenghe wanted to pick him up and take a look, but the little guy clung tightly to his clothes, refusing to let him. Lu Chenghe sighed helplessly, “Alright, alright, I won’t look.”

Zuo Ning wiped the corner of his eyes with his paw. Seriously, why was he suddenly saying such sweet things? It almost overwhelmed him.

Turning his head, Zuo Ning gave Lu Chenghe a quick kiss on the face, then ran off without looking back. Maybe it was because he had less fur on his face now, making his skin metaphorically thinner, leaving him feeling embarrassed. Still, what’s been said is like water spilled—he had kissed Lu Chenghe to respond, and that was as good as sealing the deal. If Lu Chenghe ever dared to seek someone else, Zuo Ning would make sure to chase them away!

The hiking plan, originally intended to be canceled because Little Pudding seemed unwell, was reconsidered. Over the past couple of days, Little Pudding had been bouncing around with more energy than ever and was even more mischievous. Perhaps now that his true identity had been revealed, there was no longer a need to hide anything. Every day, he held onto his tablet, mastering games effortlessly. Who knew how high his scores were in match-3 puzzles and fruit slicing games? He was basically a gaming-addicted dog.

So, Lu Chenghe decided they would go for the hike after all, to see some scenery and enjoy the fresh air.

Early in the morning, Lu Chenghe dragged the lazy little creature out of bed. Despite being carried onto the car, Little Pudding stubbornly refused to open his eyes. Behind their estate and across a winding mountain road lay the city’s tallest peak, Qifeng Mountain.

One side of Qifeng Mountain was filled with winding paths and layered staircases leading upward. Even experienced hiking enthusiasts would take most of the day to reach the top. If you strolled and admired the views along the way, you’d likely reach the summit at nightfall.

The other side of Qifeng Mountain catered more to tourists, with various temples, cable cars, and elevators. This side was better suited for casual sightseeing. At the top of the mountain stood a peak hotel with stunning views, so popular that booking a room required reservations at least six months in advance.

This famous local tourist spot was something Zuo Ning had definitely heard of, including its exorbitantly expensive overnight accommodation fees. However, as he looked up at the seemingly endless staircase, Zuo Ning stared at Lu Chenghe in bewilderment, barking, “Woof?” Are we really going to climb? If they actually did, he feared he’d lose his very dog life in the process.

Back in the day, Lu Chenghe would definitely have tied him to a leash for safety. Even though Little Pudding was well-behaved on ordinary days, there was no guarantee that unforeseen incidents wouldn’t happen outdoors. But now, there was no need for that anymore—Lu Chenghe believed Little Pudding had pretty good self-control.

Behind them, the bodyguard had already changed into hiking gear, carrying a massive backpack filled with food rations for the two men and one dog to last a day. Zuo Ning glanced at the enormous pack on their backs and sighed helplessly. They might as well climb. With preparations like this, there was no way to avoid it anyway.

Not far away, amidst a group of young hikers, someone chuckled quietly, “Look at that dog over there—it literally just sighed! Forced to hike against its will, you can practically see the despair in its little doggy heart, hahaha!”

Zuo Ning didn’t bother turning to look at them. Seeing Lu Chenghe already heading up the steps, he had no choice but to lift his paw and follow. Of course, he was utterly full of despair. Running around might be okay, but climbing this mountain—he felt that by tomorrow, all four of his paws would be completely useless.

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