Upon hearing that Lu Chenghe was planning to call the police, Zuo Ning’s eyes reddened. Whether out of fear or the grievance of not being trusted by Lu Chenghe, it was hard to tell. At that moment, Zuo Ning’s inner thoughts were a complete mess. His expression was utterly bewildered.
Though he had long considered that treating people and treating dogs would be different, now that he was facing this situation, his actual feelings were completely different. No matter how much he’d imagined it before, when it actually happened, it was impossible for things to go as he’d envisioned. So, all the mental preparations and expectations he’d built up earlier proved to be futile. Now, Zuo Ning was left only with fear and confusion.
Lu Chenghe saw how scared the little one was, to the point of tears, and couldn’t help but find it amusing. But he dared not scare him too much; last time, just asking a couple of questions had been enough to frighten him sick. Now that he’d directly transformed into a human in front of him, Lu Chenghe worried that before he could say anything, Zuo Ning might scare himself to death. So, he turned around, grabbed a bathrobe, and placed it by the edge of the bathtub, saying, “Put on some clothes and come out with me.”
Zuo Ning couldn’t gauge Lu Chenghe’s attitude, so he quickly complied, putting on the clothes hurriedly. Once he was no longer completely exposed, he finally felt a tiny bit safer and then followed Lu Chenghe, teary-eyed and shaky-legged.
When Lu Chenghe turned back to look at the little pitiful crying figure, he almost failed to keep a straight face. He pointed to the sofa and said, “Sit over there.”
Zuo Ning obediently scurried over, sitting with his legs together and hands neatly placed on his knees—a posture akin to a primary school student corrected by the teacher on their first day of school. Seeing Lu Chenghe glance over, he whimpered pitifully, “I really, truly am Little Pudding. Please believe me.”
Lu Chenghe raised an eyebrow and replied, “You want me to believe you? What proof do I have? Transform back and let me see.”
Zuo Ning was on the verge of tears. This kind of thing was beyond his control—he hadn’t mastered the skill of transforming yet. If he could control it, he wouldn’t have been caught red-handed. Now, being asked to transform back, how was he supposed to do that?
As Zuo Ning was racking his brain trying to figure out how to explain things to Lu Chenghe, he heard Lu Chenghe add, “But this crying face, it does resemble Little Pudding quite a bit.”
At that moment, a flash of insight struck Zuo Ning—his mind instantly cleared. Lu Chenghe was just teasing him!
Lu Chenghe definitely knew that he was Little Pudding. In such a situation, how could a living person suddenly swap places with a dog? Where could such a large Samoyed be stolen or hidden? In such a huge estate with so much security, how could an outsider even get in? Was all that surveillance equipment and the pack of German Shepherds at the gates just for show?
Zuo Ning simply flopped onto the sofa cushion and pretended to cry with exaggerated sobs.
Back when he was a dog, this kind of whimpering sound would have been somewhat believable. But now that he was human, even he felt his act was too fake. So, he quietly sat back up, pretending that the person who had been fake crying just now wasn’t him.
Lu Chenghe, unable to hold back anymore, burst out laughing at Zuo Ning’s series of actions. Unfortunately, Zuo Ning, who had his head lowered like an ostrich trying to hide, didn’t see it.
Seeing the little one with his head down, remaining silent as if struggling to figure out how to explain everything, Lu Chenghe cut straight to the point: “So, tell me, when did you start turning into a human? What else have you been hiding from me?”
Zuo Ning sniffled, forcing back the tears that had emerged from his earlier fright. He looked up at Lu Chenghe, noticing that he no longer seemed as stern and intimidating as before. He was back to being the Lu Chenghe he knew. Feeling slightly relieved, Zuo Ning finally confessed about the previous instances when he had turned into a human.
With arms crossed, Lu Chenghe stared at him. “So, you’re saying that the boy I saw at the hotel last time was you? And the moment you saw me, you ran away. If you hadn’t suddenly turned back into a dog, were you planning to just run off like that?”
Zuo Ning quickly shook his head. “No, no! I wasn’t planning to run away! I was just… I was just afraid you wouldn’t accept it, so I thought I’d hide for a while and only come out after I’d turned back.”
“When I asked you back then, you lied to me. Even if you were a spirit, I could accept that. Why didn’t you tell me about this? Were you planning to hide it from me forever? Or were you waiting until you could freely switch between forms before leaving?”
Zuo Ning immediately shook his head like a rattle drum. But how could he explain this? Should he confess that, even as a dog, he was captivated by Lu Chenghe’s charm and had been striving to win him over? That his grand plan after turning human was to stage a romantic drama-like encounter, sweep him off his feet, and… well, take things further? Such an embarrassing truth, how could he possibly say it out loud?
Seeing Little Pudding remain silent and only shake his head, Lu Chenghe raised an eyebrow. “So, how do we settle the fact that you lied to me?”
Zuo Ning reached out to tug at Lu Chenghe’s clothes, looking up at him with an effort to appear even more pitiful. “I’m sorry.” As for the scare Lu Chenghe had just given him, Zuo Ning no longer had the mental capacity to dwell on it. His mind was entirely occupied with figuring out how to appease Lu Chenghe.
Lu Chenghe narrowed his eyes. “Is there anything else you’re hiding from me? Spill it all.”
Zuo Ning shook his head frantically. He couldn’t say it, absolutely couldn’t. What could be said had already been said. Oh, right, there was the matter of wanting to sweep Lu Chenghe off his feet. Should he mention that? Zuo Ning furrowed his brows in hesitation, stealing several glances at Lu Chenghe during his internal struggle. In the end, he decided not to say it. After all, he planned to monopolize Lu Chenghe in the future, leaving no room for anyone else. With Lu Chenghe’s intelligence, he would surely understand his intentions.
Lu Chenghe, observing Zuo Ning’s demeanor, could tell there were still secrets being withheld. However, he wasn’t the type to pry into every detail. After all, everyone has their little secrets, and this spirit was entitled to its own rights. The major revelation of being able to transform into a human had already been disclosed; the smaller matters were insignificant.
Zuo Ning thought the matter had been resolved, but to his surprise, Lu Chenghe instructed him to stand up and spin around.
Zuo Ning, still a bit dazed, stood up and spun around. Naturally, the bathrobe was tailored to Lu Chenghe’s size, so it was far too big for him. What should have reached the knees on Lu Chenghe hung down to Zuo Ning’s calves. Feeling the loose fit, Zuo Ning instinctively tightened the robe around himself.
Lu Chenghe gave him a once-over. “Fully transformed? No lingering issues? Ears and tail all tucked away?”
Zuo Ning instinctively reached back to feel his rear. Not finding any extra appendages, he nodded at Lu Chenghe. “No issues!”
Seeing his silly demeanor—just moments ago on the verge of tears, now grinning like a fool—Lu Chenghe couldn’t help but feel exasperated. With a heart this carefree, would Zuo Ning even find his way back if let out? Even as a human, Lu Chenghe wasn’t confident that Zuo Ning wouldn’t get lost.
But letting Little Pudding wander around the house in a bathrobe wasn’t an option. So, Lu Chenghe led him to the wardrobe and found a casual outfit that might fit him.
Dressed in a white tracksuit, Little Pudding looked particularly youthful. His black hair and eyes sparkled. When he smiled, it was as if stars lit up his gaze. Especially the way his eyes lit up upon seeing Lu Chenghe; it was just like when he was still a dog. This familiarity made Lu Chenghe feel no sense of strangeness, even seeing him in human form.
Zuo Ning, now fully dressed, roamed the house freely. The sensation of his feet on the plush carpet was entirely different from when he’d walked on it with paws—softer, more delicate, and far more comfortable. Spotting the soft, inviting bed, he couldn’t resist leaping onto it.
To Zuo Ning, the whole world seemed brighter. He was so overjoyed he felt like laughing out loud. Now that everything was out in the open, he wouldn’t have to hide anymore if he transformed into a human again. With that thought, he couldn’t help but roll around on the bed in celebration.
After rolling around twice, Zuo Ning suddenly spotted the phone on the bedside table. He hurriedly lunged for it and checked the time. From the moment he had transformed into a human, to Lu Chenghe’s interrogation, to changing clothes—it had been around twenty minutes. He wondered whether this time as a human would last longer than before. Now that everything was finally out in the open, he was reluctant to turn back into a dog so quickly. He wanted to enjoy this form a little longer.
Seeing Zuo Ning keeping track of the time, Lu Chenghe, recalling what Zuo Ning had mentioned about the duration of his transformations, asked, “What causes you to turn into a human? How can you extend the time? Can you learn to control it yourself? If you suddenly transform into a human uncontrollably while we’re outside, even if I don’t want it to happen, you’d get taken away.”
Zuo Ning looked at Lu Chenghe in frustration and shook his head. “I don’t know.”
“Then what do you know?” Lu Chenghe asked.
Feeling wronged, Zuo Ning hugged a pillow and stayed silent. He wanted to know what he truly understood, too, but everything had happened so uncontrollably. What could he do? He felt utterly helpless.
Lu Chenghe, having lost all hope in Zuo Ning’s intelligence, shook his head in exasperation.
Noticing this, Zuo Ning quickly grabbed Lu Chenghe’s hand. “Don’t shake your head! I know a lot! I can speak English, I understand dog language, and I can communicate with dogs. I can help you train them!”
Lu Chenghe mercilessly pushed his hand away. “I can hire a dog trainer.”
Zuo Ning was momentarily stunned, then flopped onto the bed, looking pitifully at Lu Chenghe.
Whatever crossed Lu Chenghe’s mind, he suddenly turned to look at Zuo Ning, his gaze making Zuo Ning shiver involuntarily. “W-what’s wrong?” Zuo Ning stammered nervously.
Lu Chenghe said, “Now that you’ve turned into a human, you can’t sleep with me anymore.” After saying this, he glanced at the dog bed. “Luckily, the dog bed is big—it’s practically a little bed. You should sleep in your own bed.”
Upon hearing this, Zuo Ning immediately lifted the blanket and lay down in the bed. “I won’t!”
Lu Chenghe narrowed his eyes. “Say that again?”
Zuo Ning faltered slightly but still stubbornly clung to the pillow, holding his ground. “I don’t want to.”
Taking a deep breath, Lu Chenghe said, “You’re human now, and humans have human habits.”
Before Lu Chenghe could finish his sentence, Zuo Ning shook his head vigorously. “No, no. I want to sleep with you!”
Lu Chenghe’s expression darkened immediately. “Have you grown bold? Acting spoiled now?”
Zuo Ning looked at Lu Chenghe with grievance, lying under the blanket and remaining silent. The two were locked in a standoff for quite a while before Zuo Ning added, “Maybe I’ll turn back soon. Last time, I only lasted half an hour, honestly.”
Seeing that Lu Chenghe remained unmoved, Zuo Ning buried himself under the blanket pitifully and said, “You said you didn’t mind. Now that I’ve turned into a human, you won’t let me sleep in the bed. You lied to me. I’m still your Little Pudding, even as a human. Why can’t I sleep with you? Hmph…”
Lu Chenghe felt the veins in his temple throbbing more frequently these days. Seeing the lump under the blanket, he ultimately sighed and gave in helplessly. Indeed, it seemed to confirm the saying: if you raise a dog, even if it transforms into a human, you’ll still end up raising it, tears and all.
Moonlit: HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHA Gooooo Zuo Ning!!! Fight for your rights with the bed! HAHAHAHHAHAHHA!!!!
