Wealthy Woof Chapter 104

Zuo Ning looked at Lu Nianqi, who had suddenly asked to meet up, only to tell him the moment they met to leave Lu Chenghe. The whole situation was so baffling that he couldn’t make sense of it. He sized him up for a long moment, uncertainly asking, “Are you joking with me? Or is this some kind of prank game? Did you lose a round of Truth or Dare?”

Zuo Ning looked at the Lu Nianqi before him—those eyes no longer held the usual smile they once did. In the past, every time they met, his gaze had been warm and friendly. But now, it was dark and indifferent, so unfamiliar it was like facing a stranger. Zuo Ning’s heart sank in an instant. His instincts told him Lu Nianqi was being serious—this wasn’t a game, nor a joke.

But he didn’t understand. Just two days ago, at Lu Chenghe’s birthday family banquet, when Lu Nianqi came by, he even brought him that game disc he’d been dreaming about for so long. Though he had shown up as “Little Pudding” that time and hadn’t been able to thank him face to face or play with him together, that was just two days ago. How could things have changed so drastically in such a short time?

Zuo Ning’s imagination ran wild. Could it be that someone was threatening him, forcing him to help that person get together with Lu Chenghe? But that didn’t make sense either. To put it bluntly, Lu Chenghe didn’t care about Lu Nianqi at all. He only looked after him a little out of respect for a deceased elder. Lu Nianqi himself was well aware of this. But even if Lu Nianqi knew the truth, outsiders might not. Especially since, because of him, Lu Nianqi had been spending more time around Lu Chenghe lately, giving others the wrong impression.

Pushing the speculation further, could it be that Lu Nianqi had been reborn? Did he know something about the future, and that’s why he was now begging him to break up with Lu Chenghe? Zuo Ning tried hard to think. If he stayed with Lu Chenghe, what would happen in the future? Or was it that they didn’t stay together, Lu Chenghe fell in love with someone else, and then he, out of love turned to hate, made a huge mistake?

At that thought, Zuo Ning couldn’t help shivering and quickly reined in his wild thoughts. What kind of nonsense was that? He wasn’t even the type to go down the path of “love turns to hate” in the first place.

Looking at Lu Nianqi, who was staring at him in silence, Zuo Ning lost all trace of his earlier smile. “If you can’t give a reasonable explanation, do you think a casual demand like that is even remotely possible? Of course, even if you do give what you think is a reasonable explanation, that doesn’t mean I’ll agree.”

Lu Nianqi’s tightly clenched fists tensed even more. “You won’t be happy being with my second brother. You two come from completely different worlds.”

To someone trying to break him and Lu Chenghe apart—even if they used to be friends—they weren’t anymore. Hearing that, Zuo Ning let out a cold laugh. “You say I won’t be happy, and that’s supposed to make it true? Since when do you get to decide what happiness looks like for Chenghe?”

Lu Nianqi said, “You know it in your heart, too. There’s no good ending for you and my second brother. So why not let go early? So many tragedies are foreseeable, why do you insist on getting involved with my second brother?!”

Lu Nianqi hadn’t wanted things to be like this. Even now, he still couldn’t bring himself to believe what he had seen that night. But no matter how much he didn’t want to believe it, what had happened had already happened.

He had regarded Lu Ning as a friend. In this big city, people he could truly call friends were already few and far between. And after those incidents at school, he didn’t have a single friend left. Fortunately, there was still Lu Ning. Especially considering that Lu Ning might one day become his future second sister-in-law—a friend and a family member. Lu Nianqi had been genuinely happy to have someone like that in his life. He had even put real effort into nurturing their relationship.

But—but this person he had seen as a friend, his supposed future second sister-in-law, turned out not to be human.

That night, his eldest and second brothers were discussing business in the living room. His fourth brother and sister-in-law were playing a game. He had been feeling regretful that Lu Ning couldn’t come because of filming, which left him with no one to talk to or joke around with. So he decided to go out into the yard and play with a few of the German Shepherds.

The dogs had grown quite large already. They were professionally trained, very obedient and intelligent. They especially loved playing fetch with the frisbee. After playing in the yard for a while, Lu Nianqi happened to look up and saw Little Pudding on the second floor. At the time, he was just about to call out for Little Pudding to come down and play when, in the blink of an eye, Little Pudding suddenly transformed into Lu Ning.

It was terrifying. In his more than twenty years of life, he had never encountered anything that shattered his worldview so completely. In this world dominated by science, if he hadn’t witnessed it with his own eyes, who would believe that a dog could turn into a human?

The most crucial point was that being was in a romantic relationship with his second brother.

From all his past interactions with Lu Ning, he could tell that Lu Ning was a good person, whether as a human or as Little Pudding. He had never harmed a single member of the Lu family. But that didn’t change the fact that he wasn’t human. He was a yao—a supernatural being. And how could a yao possibly be with a human? Even if they never harmed anyone, even if the love was real, their lifespans weren’t the same. When his second brother reached his forties or fifties, Lu Ning would still look exactly like he did now, twenty-something. Then what would become of his second brother?

His second brother surely knew the truth. For Little Pudding to transform into a human so openly in a room, without any attempt to hide, it could only be possible if his second brother allowed it. In such a large family like the Lu household, how could anyone act so boldly otherwise? Especially Lu Ning—the surname Lu must’ve been given to him by his second brother.

He knew this was his second brother’s personal relationship. No matter how you looked at it, it wasn’t his place to interfere. But when you’re the one in it, it’s easy to be blinded by emotion. His second brother was human, too, and not immune to being overwhelmed by love. They might be happy and in love now, but what about the future?

“Lu Ning, my second brother likes you so much, why can’t you think about him a little? One day he’ll grow old, and you’ll still look young. What’s he supposed to do then? What will others think? This is a human world—do you understand that?”

Upon hearing that, what was there left for Zuo Ning not to understand? Lu Nianqi had definitely found out. But how had he found out? Even the butler who lived under the same roof hadn’t noticed. “How did you know?”

Lu Nianqi didn’t try to hide it. “On my second brother’s birthday, you were in the room. I was in the garden. I saw it with my own eyes.”

Zuo Ning couldn’t help clicking his tongue—he’d slipped up. Usually, with Lu Chenghe around, Lu Chenghe had told him more than once that this was his home, and he should just do whatever made him comfortable. On top of that, it seemed the household staff had all been handled by Lu Chenghe—whenever he was home, those people’s movement was restricted; they were strictly prohibited from wandering about. The only one with a bit more freedom was the butler.

Because of this, the manor, which used to be filled with people coming and going, had become practically deserted whenever Lu Chenghe was home. It was like the whole place turned into a private world for just the two of them.

With time, Zuo Ning had gotten used to it and naturally grew a little careless. He hadn’t expected Lu Nianqi to witness it.

But these thoughts only flashed through Zuo Ning’s mind. He then looked at Lu Nianqi with an odd expression. “Saw it with your own eyes?”

Lu Nianqi gave a quiet “mm.”

Zuo Ning said, “Then you’re done for. I never wear clothes when I change forms. You saw me like that. If Lu Chenghe finds out, he’ll definitely kill you!”

But Lu Nianqi didn’t let himself be sidetracked by the banter. He said solemnly, “Lu Ning, humans and demons walk different paths.”

Zuo Ning rolled his eyes outright. “You’ve watched too many TV dramas. And besides, how do you know I’m the one clinging to your second brother, and not the other way around—that he’s the one holding onto me? If you’ve got the guts, go talk to your second brother instead. But let me hit you with a harsh truth: other people’s relationships have nothing to do with you. Sure, Chenghe’s your second brother, but to be blunt, to him, you might as well be nothing. What right do you have to meddle? Just because your last name is Lu? The fact that you came to me instead of him means you already know—you’re not in a position to interfere in his affairs.”

“Have you thought about Second Aunt? She can accept Second Brother being with a man, but can she accept that his partner isn’t even human? How long do you think you two can keep this a secret? This time it was me who found out, but what about next time? What happens if someone else discovers it? What will Second Brother do? What will the entire Lu Corporation do? What about all the people whose livelihoods depend on the Lu Corporation?”

Zuo Ning didn’t want to argue with him anymore. Someone who had already gotten trapped in a dead-end mindset—no amount of arguing would get through. If it were Mother Lu who had come to talk to him today, maybe he really would have been somewhat affected. Unfortunately, it was Lu Nianqi.

“I’ll say it again: if you’ve got the guts, go talk to Lu Chenghe.”

“You’re not afraid I’ll expose you?!”

Zuo Ning gave a light laugh. “Go ahead, say it to whoever you want. Broadcast it to the world, for all I care. Let’s see who’ll go down first—you or me.”

After speaking, Zuo Ning turned and walked away. Since they couldn’t come to an agreement, there was no point in continuing. He really didn’t get it. Why are there always people who think they know best? He used to think Lu Nianqi was just a bit sensitive, but a decent person overall. He hadn’t expected him to be so stubborn and obsessive. It was exhausting.

Lu Chenghe had just finished dealing with a pile of documents. Glancing at the time, he noticed that Little Pudding had been gone for quite a while and still hadn’t come back. After thinking for a moment, he decided to call Lu Nianqi. That morning, Little Pudding had been happily playing games in his room when he suddenly said Lu Nianqi was looking for him, and that he was nearby. Then he turned and ran out, not even bringing his phone. So now, the only way to locate him was through Lu Nianqi.

The phone rang for a long while before it was finally answered. Lu Chenghe got straight to the point: “Where’s Lu Ning?”

Getting a sudden call from his second brother made Lu Nianqi nervous, and he instinctively stammered, “He… he left.”

Lu Chenghe frowned slightly. “When did he leave?”

“A… a little while ago. I didn’t check the exact time.”

Lu Chenghe then asked where they had met up. Once he got the specific location, he hung up without another word. After thinking for a moment, he instructed the bodyguards to search along that route.

Looking at the table full of documents, Lu Chenghe no longer had the heart to continue working. It seemed that besides the dog tag, he should probably add a tracker to every accessory Little Pudding wore. The moment he got playful and ran off without his phone, it became a hassle just to locate him.

Staring at the ended call, Lu Nianqi’s expression grew even darker. Can a human and a demon… really find happiness together?