Wealthy Woof Chapter 57

How can one achieve a stable and self-controlled transformation into a human? This has been the serious, contemplative question occupying Zuo Ning’s mind recently—so serious that he hasn’t even had time to spy on his romantic rival. Compared to turning into a human, a romantic rival means nothing. If he doesn’t turn back into a human, he won’t even have the standing to deal with his rival!

But what are the conditions that trigger this transformation into a human? He still hasn’t figured it out. Previously, on that private island, and later in Lu Chenghe’s walk-in closet that night, he hadn’t done anything identical. The only common point, if there is one, might be the exceptionally strong desire to become human at those moments. One time, he recalled his last memories as a human; the other, he was helpless in stopping Lu Chenghe’s blind date. In those moments, he fervently wished he could turn back into a human again. Could this be the key?

Zuo Ning furrowed his brows with a serious expression, pondering. Perhaps this dog body he inhabited was inherently different—when he held a strong enough wish, he could transform back into a human. However, the duration of this human form was short. The first time was in a half-awake, half-asleep state, and he didn’t know how long it lasted exactly. The second time lasted about five minutes. It seemed that the time he could maintain a human form was tied to his own energy.

Does it mean that only when the power within his body reaches a certain level can he freely switch between human and dog forms? But where does this energy even come from?

Zuo Ning tilted his head at a sorrowful 45-degree angle, gazing at the sky. Could it be derived from the essence of the sun and moon? Isn’t that how novels always write it—things gradually developing spiritual essence after long exposure to the sun and moon’s refinement, eventually gaining sentience and becoming beings?

Lu Chenghe stared at Little Pudding sitting motionlessly and gazing out at the balcony for half an hour. He had no idea what kind of strange mood he was in. “Little Pudding.”

Zuo Ning turned to look at him.

Lu Chenghe patted the bed. “Come over and sleep; it’s late.”

Zuo Ning ignored Lu Chenghe and continued to stare at the big, bright moon outside, lost in thought about life. The moon was so large, its light so strong, yet he couldn’t feel any energy from its glow. After some contemplation, Zuo Ning ran back to his kennel, dragged a soft cushion over, and placed it by the balcony door. He decided he would sleep bathed in moonlight tonight.

Lu Chenghe, observing his actions, helplessly set down his book. “Little Pudding.”

Zuo Ning lay on the cushion, looked at Lu Chenghe, and let out a “Woof!” I’m sleeping on my own tonight. Even if you beg me, I won’t sleep with you!

“Are you really not coming to sleep up here?”

“Woof!” No way. I’m cultivating to become human!

Lu Chenghe nodded, picked up the remote, and turned off the lights. “Alright then, suit yourself. Good night.”

Zuo Ning watched as Lu Chenghe turned off the light, pulled up the blanket, and turned his back to him, falling asleep just like that. In the darkness, Zuo Ning silently bared his teeth at him. Fine, you really won’t care about me if I don’t sleep on the bed? Jerk!

Zuo Ning quietly waited for a while until he heard Lu Chenghe’s breathing become steady and calm, indicating he had fallen asleep. Only then did he close his eyes and silently repeat in his heart, I want to become human. I want to become human.

Although winter hadn’t passed yet, and it still occasionally snowed, the floor’s heating seeped through the cushion, keeping Zuo Ning warm as he lay there. However, having grown used to sleeping in bed, not having a blanket over him felt like something was missing. After a long while of self-hypnosis with no results, he looked at Lu Chenghe sleeping soundly on the bed. Unable to resist, Zuo Ning stretched out a paw and scratched at the cushion.

Forget it. Turning into a human isn’t something he can achieve just by wanting it every time. It didn’t work today, so he’ll try again tomorrow after absorbing some sunlight essence.

Zuo Ning carefully climbed off the cushion, his paw pads softly stepping onto the carpet. Even in the pin-drop silence of the room, he moved without making a sound. Slowly, he walked to the side of Lu Chenghe’s bed where he was sleeping. Even in the darkness, Zuo Ning could clearly see Lu Chenghe’s peaceful sleeping face.

Squinting slightly, Zuo Ning lowered his body slowly, then suddenly pushed off with his hind legs, launching a surprise attack toward Lu Chenghe.

With his eyes closed, Lu Chenghe instinctively reached out and caught Little Pudding, who was trying to jump onto the bed to scare him. With a smooth roll, he pinned Zuo Ning onto the bed. Looking at the startled expression on Little Pudding’s face, Lu Chenghe chuckled softly, “Were you trying to ambush me and scare me, hmm?”

Zuo Ning, who had intended to sneak up and scare him but ended up being scared half to death himself, couldn’t help but bark, “Woof woof woof!” You said you were asleep! You liar!

Lu Chenghe held his mouth shut to stop him from barking. “You tried to scare me, but failed. Now you think you’re in the right? I invited you to sleep on the bed, but you refused. Were you deliberately plotting something?”

Zuo Ning rolled his eyes dramatically. Who’s plotting anything? It was just a sudden whim to scare you, okay.

Seeing that Zuo Ning had stopped barking, Lu Chenghe finally let go of his mouth and pinched his cold little paw. “You little rascal, are you holding a grudge? Still remembering the time I scolded you and trying to get revenge?”

Zuo Ning snorted. I’m not that petty. This overly imaginative man really loves to make up stories.

Seeing the obviously displeased little expression, Lu Chenghe chuckled and picked him up, tucking him under the blanket. He patted the little lump that had formed, saying, “Sleep well. If you keep fussing, I’ll let you keep Lang Ya company.”

Zuo Ning wriggled under the blanket, finding that sleeping in a bed with a blanket was indeed more comfortable. He yawned widely, adjusted his position under the blanket, and nestled into Lu Chenghe’s arms to end his exhausting day.

Lu Chenghe felt that Little Pudding had been acting strangely recently, ever since the day he had hit him. In the past, when he went to work, Little Pudding would cling to his leg and refuse to let go, to the point where Lu Chenghe got used to bringing him to work. But in the past few days, Little Pudding had stopped sticking to him. When Lu Chenghe left for work, Little Pudding would just sit obediently at the door to see him off. Even when Lu Chenghe called him to get in the car, the little one wouldn’t move.

Previously, at bedtime, as soon as Lu Chenghe lay down, no matter what Little Pudding was doing, he would immediately climb up and insist on squeezing into Lu Chenghe’s arms. But now, every night, he would stare at the moon in a daze, and even getting him to sleep required repeated coaxing. It was truly unusual.

Faced with such abnormal behavior, Lu Chenghe couldn’t help but feel a bit irritated.

After thinking for a while, he minimized the work page on his laptop, opened the browser, and posted a help thread to the all-knowing internet: I hit my dog and made it angry. What should I do?

【What else can you do? Coax it. Don’t think that just because dogs are always so enthusiastic when they see their owners, like long-lost lovers, they don’t have tempers. Their little tempers can be quite big.】

【You need to be rational with dogs. If they misbehave, teach them patiently. Even if it’s a bit complicated, explain it a few more times, and they’ll understand. Hitting doesn’t solve the problem. But don’t worry, even if they’re angry, they won’t hold a grudge for too long. They’ll get over it soon. Just don’t hit them next time. Reasoning with them works better.】

【Use food as bait. Coax it with something tasty—it’s absolutely effective.】

【It’s your own spoiled dog, so if it’s angry, you have to coax it yourself.】

【If you indulge its little temper, it’ll think it can ignore you when it’s mad. Don’t pay attention to it, especially during mealtime. Let’s see who ends up coaxing whom.】

【Give it something delicious. If that doesn’t work, take it out to play. Once it’s had enough fun, it’ll naturally forget it was angry.】

【You can’t indulge a dog’s temper too much. Over-pampering will make it unaware of its true place in the family. In the future, it’ll throw tantrums whenever things don’t go its way. Be firm—lock it up for a while or skip a meal or two. It needs to understand that not everything can be resolved by throwing a fit.】

Lu Chenghe read through the various comments from netizens before closing the forum. He figured that Little Pudding was probably genuinely upset after being hit. After all, this was the first time it had happened since coming to their home. On top of that, not letting it eat at the table that evening must have created some emotional disparity.

He decided not to randomly feed it treats, as the little one was quite clever. If it realized that throwing a tantrum could earn it tasty food, it would undoubtedly cause trouble every day. Instead, he thought about taking it out for some fun. Checking his schedule, he decided to take it hiking this week.

Meanwhile, back at home, Zuo Ning had no idea that his recent struggles with transforming into a human had been misunderstood by Lu Chenghe as sulking over being hit. Nor did he know that Lu Chenghe was planning to take him out to play. At that moment, Zuo Ning was secretly hiding in a corner, engrossed in gossip.

This script was definitely not the one he had signed up for!

A quiet moment of painting, a slow approach, and then the male lead gazing intently at the female lead—this is straight out of an idol drama! The scene absolutely needs to be in slow motion, with a romantic and elegant background score like the song “Hidden Fragrance”. The mood would be perfect and utterly captivating.

Perhaps sensing someone approaching, Ren Shishi turned her head and saw Lu Chenghan not far away. The moment their gazes met, Zuo Ning, as an observer, was practically ready to jump with excitement. Whoa, why was he so thrilled? Ahhh, it was a real-life idol drama—love at first sight! He couldn’t help but wish for a similar romantic encounter with his own Lu Chenghe.

Zuo Ning thought that while he might be rather ordinary compared to Lu Chenghe and probably didn’t have any particularly outstanding qualities to show off, his looks should be decent enough. He wondered if one day, when he appeared in human form before Lu Chenghe, his Old Lu would fall in love with him at first sight.

Imagining the future scene, Zuo Ning rolled around in his rocking chair, squealing in excitement. The surging “love vibes” in front of him seemed to have affected him, making his dopamine soar. He was brimming with anticipation for a sweet, heart-melting romance with his Lu Chenghe.

As for Lu Chenghan, who had inherited the family’s luxury goods business, he was most accustomed to dealing with all sorts of beauties in his daily life. His social circle was never short of beautiful women, yet none had ever given him the feeling of time-stopping astonishment.

The girl in front of him was undoubtedly pretty, but he had seen many who were even more beautiful than her. However, the sudden surge of emotion he felt in that moment was undeniable. He couldn’t quite describe the sensation, but his mind buzzed. Before he knew it, he had walked right up to her.

Among the three diamond bachelors of the Lu family, there was likely no one in this circle who didn’t know them. Ren Shishi naturally recognized the fourth son of the Lu family standing before her. She had even seen him once at a Di family banquet. At the time, she had been in a room, looking through the window at the bustling scene outside when she had unintentionally spotted Lu Chenghan leaning against the garden railing, holding a wine glass and casually chatting with someone.

At that time, she had just arrived at the Di family. Although it was her aunt’s husband’s family, and everyone treated her with great kindness, she was still an outsider. Being naturally introverted herself, she felt somewhat out of place. At such a glamorous socialite banquet, she only dared to stay in her room. As a result, she had a deep impression of the fourth young master, who was the center of attention and flattery from everyone.

Hiding sneakily in a corner, Zuo Ning watched the man and woman grow closer and closer, his fur practically standing on end with excitement. However, in the next moment, a devilish voice sounded from behind him.

“Little Pudding!”

Zuo Ning instinctively bolted away, turning his head only to see a little girl dressed in a snow-white cape, furry boots, and a hat with fuzzy trim running toward him.

Zuo Ning immediately fled, his legs at full speed. Someone explain to him why this little troublemaker was in the house!

Seeing her beloved Little Pudding run away, Xiao Xuanxuan gleefully laughed and chased after him. The housekeeper and two servants quickly followed behind, afraid that the little princess might trip and fall.

What could have been a beautiful first encounter was completely ruined. Watching his laughing niece chase the dog across the lawn, Lu Chenghan could only feel that this little rascal was truly his nemesis.

Ren Shishi couldn’t help but chuckle at the chaotic scene in the courtyard. She turned to Lu Chenghan and said, “Hello, Fourth Young Master. I’m Ren Shishi. I’m painting an oil portrait for Madam.”

Lu Chenghan smiled as well. Though he tried to restrain himself, his charismatic aura was impossible to hide. That slight smile carried a hint of mischief, almost as if he were flirting intentionally. “Hello. Just call me Chenghan. Your painting is beautiful.”

At that moment, a delicate and childish voice called, “Little Pudding! If you don’t come here right now, I’ll get mad!”

Zuo Ning snorted, flicked his tail, and refused to go over. His motto: Cherish life, stay away from children!

Seeing she couldn’t catch Little Pudding, Xiao Xuanxuan turned to the butler. “Grandpa Butler, can you help me catch Little Pudding? Look, he’s not even wearing clothes. So embarrassing! I brought clothes for him to wear.”

The butler smiled kindly and replied, “Grandpa is old and can’t run anymore. I can’t catch him.”

Xiao Xuanxuan pouted and turned to her uncle, who was chatting with the pretty lady. She ran over quickly and greeted sweetly, “Hello, Sister.”

Ren Shishi bent down, smiling as she patted Xuanxuan’s head. “Hello, little cutie.”

Lu Chenghan unceremoniously peeled his clingy niece off himself and said to Ren Shishi, “Don’t be fooled by her. This little rascal is a master of sweet-talking. Her only redeeming quality is her honeyed words.”

Xuanxuan gave her uncle a sideways glance, her eyes darting mischievously. She then ran over to grab Ren Shishi’s hand and said, “Sister, can you help me catch the dog? Little Pudding keeps running around and won’t listen to me.”

Upon hearing this, Zuo Ning bolted without even looking back. Xiao Xuanxuan, anxious, didn’t wait for Ren Shishi’s response and tugged Lu Chenghan along to help her catch the dog.

Zuo Ning dashed back to his room, tapped open his tablet with a paw, and searched through his contacts. Without hesitation, he pressed on Lu Chenghe’s name to make the call.

Lu Chenghe had just wrapped up a small meeting. His subordinates had just left when he heard his phone vibrate. Turning to look, he was surprised to see it was a video call from Little Pudding.

Little Pudding had his own account. Back when he was filming on set, Lu Chenghe worried that he might misbehave, so they exchanged contact information. That way, if Little Pudding threw a tantrum, Lu Chenghe could video call him to calm him down. However, such a situation never occurred since Little Pudding hardly ever caused trouble outside. As a result, the number had never been used. Seeing the call coming in now, Lu Chenghe was quite surprised.

As soon as he answered, a white dog head popped into view. Apparently thrilled to see him, Little Pudding excitedly barked on the other end.

Lu Chenghe chuckled. “Did you accidentally press this while playing with the tablet?”

Zuo Ning whimpered twice before intently staring at the screen.

Thinking that Little Pudding might have dialed by mistake, Lu Chenghe, who wasn’t busy at the moment, didn’t hang up. He positioned the phone so that Little Pudding could see him, opened a file, and casually asked the screen, “Were you well-behaved at home today?”

Zuo Ning wanted to share some gossip, but speaking in “dog language” was too complicated, and even if he tried, Lu Chenghe probably wouldn’t understand. So, he barked obediently in response to Lu Chenghe’s question, indicating he was very good.

Lu Chenghe smiled. “Really behaved? You didn’t even want to go out with me today. Wasn’t that just an excuse to stay home and cause trouble?”

At that moment, his niece Xuanxuan’s voice came from outside, “Hurry up, Uncle! Little Pudding is over there. You go pick him up.”

Lu Chenghan shook his head immediately. “I don’t dare. You go if you want. I’ll guard the door for you.”

Xuanxuan looked pitifully at Lu Chenghan and said, “But this is Second Uncle’s room. I’m scared to go in, too.”

Zuo Ning, sprawled smugly on the bed, wagged his tail in satisfaction. Meanwhile, on the other end of the line, Lu Chenghe pieced things together—it wasn’t an accidental call at all. This little rascal had deliberately called him for help. A dog that knew how to make phone calls? Lu Chenghe squinted slightly. It seemed like he’d need to have a serious talk with this clever little troublemaker when he got back.

For now, though, Lu Chenghe picked up his phone and said, “Lu Chenghan.”

Since the tablet was on the bed, Lu Chenghan at the door hadn’t seen the video call. Hearing his Second Brother’s voice now, he was instantly alarmed, while Xuanxuan let out a scream and bolted away.

Watching her retreating figure, Lu Chenghan muttered under his breath, cursing the little ingrate, then plastered on a fawning smile as he stepped into the room. Noticing the tablet on the bed with an active video call, he moved closer ingratiatingly and greeted, “Second Brother.”

Lu Chenghe’s tone was icy. “What are you doing in my room?”

Glancing at the smug Little Pudding wagging his tail on the bed, Lu Chenghan explained, “Xuanxuan wanted to dress up Little Pudding, but he wasn’t having it and ran off. I came to find the dog.”

Lu Chenghe cut straight to the point: “Keep an eye on Xuanxuan. I’ll be back shortly.” Then he ended the call.

Lu Chenghan had deliberately chosen this time, assuming his Second Brother wasn’t home. Hearing those words now, his whole demeanor deflated. Glaring at the clearly pleased and grinning Little Pudding on the bed, he narrowed his eyes and growled, “Why are you so happy, you little rascal? Are you thrilled to watch me get scolded later? You scheming dog!”

Zuo Ning had no idea of the foolish thing he had done and was still smugly shaking his head. His solution to dealing with mischievous kids? Call in the parent who could rein her in!

Lu Chenghe returned quickly. Knowing he was on his way back, the one big and one little troublemaker sat obediently in the living room, waiting. As soon as Lu Chenghe walked in, Xuanxuan ran over with a sweet smile, hugging his long legs. “Second Uncle, I missed you so much! Did you miss me?”

Lu Chenghe lightly pinched her cheek and said, “Miss you? You screamed and ran off the moment you heard my voice.”

Caught in the act, Xuanxuan giggled sheepishly, rubbing her head affectionately against Lu Chenghe, looking just like how Little Pudding acted when being cuddly.

Hearing the sound of the car from upstairs, Zuo Ning also came running down and immediately leapt into Lu Chenghe’s arms.

With one hand holding the dog and the other leading his niece, Lu Chenghe sat down on the sofa. Looking at Xuanxuan, he asked, “Do you like Little Pudding?”

Xuanxuan eagerly nodded. “Super like, totally like, love him a lot!”

Lu Chenghe continued, “And do you think Little Pudding likes you?”

Xuanxuan glanced at Little Pudding, who was cradled in her Second Uncle’s arms, and pouted slightly. “No, he always runs away when he sees me. He doesn’t play with me at all.”

“And do you know why Little Pudding doesn’t like you?” Lu Chenghe asked, guiding her to think about her actions.

Xuanxuan shook her head. Lu Chenghe took off her hat and tugged gently at her hair. “If someone pulled your hair like this every day, would you like them?”

Xuanxuan covered her head and shook it vigorously. She thought such people were the worst—there was someone like that in her kindergarten, and she absolutely hated them!

Lu Chenghe placed Little Pudding down beside her. “So you can’t pull Little Pudding’s fur. It hurts him. When he’s in pain, he won’t like you.”

Xuanxuan looked at Little Pudding and reached out to gently pat him. “Little Pudding, I’ll be careful not to hurt you in the future. Will you like me then?”

Zuo Ning could only whimper internally. Playing the emotional card like this? Fine, the little girl was indeed pretty and adorable, aside from being a bit heavy-handed. But dealing with kids was still a headache for a dog. Seeing how Lu Chenghe was educating the little girl so patiently, Zuo Ning felt he had to respond. Otherwise, she might genuinely feel sad. So, he rubbed his head against her as a gesture of reconciliation.

Seeing Little Pudding actively approach her, Xuanxuan was overjoyed. She threw herself onto him, hugging him tightly and giggling sweetly as she buried her face in his fluffy chest. Second Uncle was amazing—he had made Little Pudding play with her as soon as he came back.

Lu Chenghe patted her head and placed Little Pudding on the ground. “Alright, go play. But before you play with Little Pudding, you need to ask him first. If he agrees, you can play together. If he doesn’t want to, you can’t force him. Understand?”

Xuanxuan nodded quickly, waving her little hands. “Little Pudding, let’s go!”

Zuo Ning glanced resentfully at Lu Chenghe, as if to say, “I called you to save me, not to make me babysit!”

Once the little girl and the dog ran off to play in the big dog pen, Lu Chenghe turned to Lu Chenghan, who was still lounging on the sofa. “Why are you still here? Just leave Xuanxuan here.”

Lu Chenghan shuffled closer to his brother, somewhat shyly, and asked, “Second Brother, that Ren Shishi…”

Lu Chenghe gave him a sideways glance, prompting Lu Chenghan to clear his throat awkwardly. “She said she’s here to paint an oil portrait for Second Aunt.”

Lu Chenghe immediately saw through his little brother’s thoughts. “She’s the niece of my eldest aunt’s family. If you’re serious about her, I won’t object. But if you’re just playing around, then get as far away as possible.”

Lu Chenghan let out an exaggerated yelp and laughed foolishly. “Second Brother, don’t you know me by now? When have I ever played around? If I dared to toy with a girl’s feelings, you and our elder brother would surely beat me up. Xuanxuan is all yours now—I’m going to check out the painting.”

Watching Lu Chenghan’s silly grin as he ran off, Lu Chenghe shook his head. “Check the painting? Foolish boy.”

Xuanxuan’s mother had gone off to attend an academic exchange event. Originally, she had planned to rush back no matter how late it was if her younger brother was the one taking care of her daughter for the day. But when she heard that her brother had handed Xuanxuan over to Lu Chenghe, she was reassured and loosened her tightly packed schedule a bit.

That night, after finally refusing the little girl’s proposal to sleep together, Zuo Ning dragged his exhausted body back to his room. After being thoroughly scrubbed clean by Lu Chenghe, he was just about to fall asleep as soon as he touched the bed, when he heard Lu Chenghe say, “Little Pudding, care to explain that phone call from this afternoon?”

Instantly, Zuo Ning’s sleepiness vanished, and his mind was flooded with one thought: “Oh crap.” It was like an alarm blaring in his head.

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