Wealthy Woof Chapter 129

After Lu Chenghe gave Little Pudding a proper lesson, he rested at home for a day. Then the pitiful Little Pudding, carrying a small bundle on his back, trudged bitterly off to military training. The way he kept turning back every few steps made Lu Chenghe’s head ache. It was just half a month of training, why act like they were parting for life?

But while Lu Chenghe had expected the beginning, he hadn’t anticipated the ending. While Little Pudding was stirring up a storm at school, Lu Chenghe was left alone at home, guarding an empty room. He had already arranged for a drill instructor to specifically look after Little Pudding’s class. Though he knew Little Pudding was full of energy and that such training would be good for him, his own child was different—he could push Little Pudding to exhaustion himself, but others couldn’t. Lu Chenghe felt like he was evolving into an overbearing parent, and that wasn’t a good sign.

Even though he thought that way, Lu Chenghe still couldn’t help but open the video. It was a military training clip he had someone collect especially. In the video, Little Pudding was dressed in full camouflage, standing at attention. Early September’s weather was still scorching hot, and the training field had no shade whatsoever. Everyone was exposed to the blazing sun. Among all the handsome boys and pretty girls in the class, Lu Chenghe spotted his Little Pudding at a glance. Despite standing ramrod straight, the boy’s eyes were following the instructor everywhere. As soon as he slipped into the instructor’s blind spot, he would fidget slightly, unable to stay still.

Lu Chenghe couldn’t help but laugh at that lively gaze. Seeing Feifei crawling up his pant leg, he picked it up with one hand and turned it to face the screen. “Look, that’s your dad.”

Feifei stared at the screen for a while. Who knew whether it really saw clearly, but it barked excitedly several times, its tail wagging even harder.

The students at the drama academy naturally aimed to become stars on screen in the future. So unlike other schools that were strict about protecting student privacy, this academy had partnerships with friendly media who were allowed to film on campus. That’s why, even though military training had only just begun, plenty of photos had already been released.

Though not every student at the academy was a beauty, the overall appearance level was definitely top-notch. And thanks to Lu Ning, their class had the highest exposure rate. Aside from Lu Ning, a few fresh-faced young men had also enrolled this year. If it hadn’t been for the Xing Ze incident, Lu Ning wouldn’t have been as famous as those other boys. But things were different now—nine and a half out of ten people in the country knew who Lu Ning was. On top of that, it was normally difficult to dig up any news about him. Now that he was finally exposed directly in front of the cameras, major media outlets naturally jumped at the chance to make the most of it.

As a result, Lu Ning’s looks were once again firmly confirmed.

【No comparison, no harm. Just want to ask, what kind of psychological shadow must that girl standing next to Ning Baby be dealing with? As a beautiful girl who’s not lacking in looks herself, she’s actually a few shades darker than a boy. Overwhite Ning really lives up to his name—so pale it’s fearless.】

【There once was a god-level, outrageously handsome top star—his looks were so stunning it hurt to look. But because he was too pale, his acting roles ended up being limited. In the end, he deliberately tanned himself, and to this day, it remains my greatest regret. Now Lu Ning’s looks are no less than that top star’s. All I want to say is, please stay pale forever, don’t tan!】

【I don’t know if it’s because we’ve already developed a mental impression of Lu Ning early on, but out of all those handsome guys and pretty girls, only Lu Ning stands out instantly at first glance. As for the others… It’s like I forget what they look like the moment I look away. And those girls? All big eyes and small faces, they look like they rolled off the same assembly line.】

【Just for Ning Ning, I nearly hit seven re-watches of that movie. No matter how many times I watch, he’s just that good-looking. I’m begging Ning Bao to act in more films. There’s way too little content, not enough for me to even fangirl properly!】

【Just a total passerby here. Not saying anything else, but with looks like that, I’m sold. Let’s see how the future projects go. For now, there just aren’t enough works.】

【Discovered that Lu Ning is one of those lifelong “cannot take group photos” types. Whoever takes a photo next to him just ends up looking bad. This is no good. He’s going to be blacklisted by the entire entertainment industry as public enemy number one.】

【As someone who only finished military training last year—a second-year dog—I remember back then, even taking a shower was a battlefield. Now look at this group from the drama academy. Should I say, worthy of their dream to be future stars? It’s obvious they’ve got makeup on. Fierce, seriously.】

【This year really feels like the year of the pretty boys. The more popular ones are all fresh little meats. There are barely any “little flowers”, and even fewer girls who stand out in beauty. What a pity.】

【As expected, handsome guys only study with other handsome guys, and pretty girls only with other pretty girls. I’m so jealous of other people having such good-looking classmates.】

Because Zuo Ning’s military training photos had been exposed, Bei Xiao naturally had to ride the wave and hype it up. They couldn’t possibly let their own artist’s lack of ambition or desire for big fame turn into self-sabotage and kill off his popularity. Seeing that the online momentum was looking good, Bei Xiao didn’t interfere further and began initiating talks for endorsements. With the Lu family’s level of resources, even if their young artist didn’t yet have any significant works to cement his popularity, when it came to endorsements, well, just the luxury brands under Fourth Young Master Lu’s umbrella were more than enough.

As for whether it would be controversial for a newly debuted rookie to land endorsements with international first-tier brands, sure, there’d be controversy, but there would also be prestige. Since the path they planned to take was one of high-class branding, the starting point couldn’t afford to be weak.

So, for the sake of future work, Bei Xiao gave Zuo Ning countless reminders about sun protection. Zuo Ning, who had never followed any kind of skincare regimen, looked at the rows of bottles and jars belonging to the other three handsome guys in his dorm. After applying one thing, they’d slather on another. Even though they were exhausted from daily training, they still got up half an hour early just to fuss over all those products. Then he looked at his own meager three items: one facial cleanser, one lotion, and one sunscreen. For some reason, he felt pitiful.

Watching those three keep busy with their skincare, Zuo Ning silently pulled out his phone and sent a message to Lu Chenghe to complain. Back when he did his military training, they confiscated everything unrelated to it and dragged them into the army for closed training. Who would’ve thought that the drama academy’s military training was this lax? It was held right on campus, they didn’t confiscate anything, and once the drills were done, students could do whatever they wanted. No wonder Lu Chenghe wasn’t worried about him turning into a little dog. Things were so relaxed that even disappearing for a few hours wouldn’t get noticed.

He secretly took a photo of one of his roommates’ desks and sent it to Lu Chenghe: If I turn into this, would you still love me?

Lu Chenghe was holding Feifei while scrolling through pictures. Ever since Little Pudding had gone off to military training, even dealing with the Tang family had lost its charm. Just one person missing from the house, and it had become this quiet. It almost made Lu Chenghe want to pull Little Pudding out of training early.

He used to think he wanted Little Pudding to go out and see the world, so that even if he was gone someday, the boy could still have a good life. But now, he realized, it might not be that Little Pudding couldn’t leave him, but rather that he couldn’t leave Little Pudding.

Rubbing the dog’s head, Lu Chenghe heard his phone vibrate. He turned his head, opened the image, and instantly laughed: If you want, I can prepare an entire wall for you to fuss over.

Zuo Ning pouted: They spend at least two hours a day on skincare. Their face masks are basically blooming with flowers. This really opened my eyes.

Right after sending that, he followed up with another message: Do you miss me?

Lu Chenghe sent back a photo of himself petting the dog.

Zuo Ning sent an angry emoji: I’m working myself to death here, and you’re at home cuddling the dog. Let go of my dog son and come cuddle me!

And then there was no reply from Lu Chenghe.

Zuo Ning waited for a while, but still didn’t get a response. He gave a snort, tossed his phone aside, and flopped onto the bed like a corpse. One of his roommates, kindly enough, handed him a sheet mask: “Wanna put one on? This one’s hydrating. With the way we get sun all day, your skin’s going to be ruined eventually. Gotta keep it moisturized.”

Seeing that they were all wearing face masks, Zuo Ning felt like an oddball not joining in, so he took it with a word of thanks. That pitch-black mask—he had no idea what material it was made of—got pasted onto his face. He snapped a selfie and sent it to Lu Chenghe: I’ve decided to go with the flow. Do I look handsome?

A while later, Lu Chenghe finally replied with just two words: Very handsome.

Zuo Ning pouted, assuming he must be busy, tossed his phone aside again, and followed his roommates’ example, gently massaging the mask on his face in circles while chatting gossip with them. Those three roommates had only done a few print modeling gigs and background roles before—hardly considered real insiders—so they were super into entertainment gossip. Zuo Ning picked out a few things he could talk about and chatted with them, and the group quickly hit it off.

After taking off the mask, Zuo Ning felt like he’d instantly become fairer and tender. His skin was soft and smooth to the touch, and he couldn’t help but sigh: “No wonder you guys love face masks. These things really work.”

Before the others could even be surprised that Zuo Ning apparently didn’t do face masks often, they saw him glance at his phone, then suddenly spring up like a butterfly spreading its wings. With a quick goodbye, he dashed out excitedly.

When he got to the office mentioned in the text message, Zuo Ning saw Lu Chenghe inside. His eyes lit up instantly: “Chenghe!”

Lu Chenghe opened his arms, and that little thing jumped into them without hesitation.

Zuo Ning threw himself into Lu Chenghe’s arms, clinging to him like glue in his excitement: “Why’d you come? I said you should come cuddle me, and you actually came? Then shouldn’t I just lie down and let you pet me, so your trip won’t go to waste?”

The way he was clinging with excitement was like a dog thrilled to see its owner return home, bounding up with kisses and affection. Even though he had turned into a human, some dog-like habits really just wouldn’t go away.

Lu Chenghe chuckled softly and patted his head. “I brought you something tasty. After you eat, change back into your dog form and rest a bit. Go back to the dorm tonight. From now on, I’ll come by every other day, so you won’t have to worry about being found out.”

Zuo Ning didn’t ask any further. Since Lu Chenghe said so, then everything must be taken care of, and no one would come by during that time. So he happily frolicked around him like a puppy, even pulling his hand to his own cheek: “Touch it, how does it feel? I just did a face mask. Isn’t it super nice?”

Lu Chenghe gave a light pinch. “Mn, it really is smooth.”

Zuo Ning tilted his face up. “Then give me a kiss.”

Lu Chenghe planted a kiss on the little face that was willingly offered up. Pleased, Zuo Ning presented the other cheek as well. Lu Chenghe was very considerate and made sure to give both sides equal treatment, kissing them both. Finally, Zuo Ning pushed his lips forward, too—luckily, he’d just eaten some candy, sweet and fragrant. It must’ve tasted especially nice to kiss!

Ever since Zuo Ning had “crossed that line”, he’d secretly watched quite a few naughty little clips. He’d always wanted to try those so-called “forbidden love” scenarios. Unfortunately, Lu Chenghe had never been willing to play along. Now, being kissed so breathlessly in a teacher’s—maybe even a director’s—office, he instinctively lifted his leg and hooked it around Lu Chenghe’s waist.

Doing it in a teacher’s office at school, just thinking about it nearly made him lose control. Still, even though the idea crossed his mind, he wasn’t reckless enough to actually go through with it. Otherwise, how would he ever look the teacher in the eye again?

It might not be possible now, but after that intense kiss, Zuo Ning still panted slightly and suggested to Lu Chenghe, “Let’s make a special little room at home. Change the theme every week—like a classroom, a hospital, a little dark room… even a claustrophobic basement or a haunted house! We can throw in some little whips and handcuffs too!”

Lu Chenghe’s eyes glinted darkly. He forcibly tore the shameless little thing off his body, opened the food box beside him, picked up a piece of meat, and stuffed it into Zuo Ning’s mouth. “Eat, would you? All that mess going through your head every day.”

Zuo Ning snorted. “You’re secretly enjoying it.” He didn’t even finish the sentence before Lu Chenghe shoved another piece of meat into his mouth to shut him up.

After eating and drinking his fill, Zuo Ning obediently turned into a dog. Probably because the daytime training had really worn him out, he fell asleep next to Lu Chenghe not long after without even causing any trouble. Lu Chenghe stroked the dog’s head resting on his leg, gently pinching the fluffy ears. The emptiness he’d been feeling all day was finally filled.

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