Moonlit: This chapter is sponsored by jess.
When Zuo Ning met Wang Cai again, it was in the private courtyard restaurant on the ninth floor. Compared to the first time Zuo Ning saw Wang Cai, in just a few short weeks, Wang Cai had been nurtured into a shiny, well-fed state. The little guy still remembered him and immediately ran over joyfully, sniffing around him.
Zuo Ning patted its head with a paw. “Hey buddy, how’s it going?”
Wang Cai excitedly tried to snuggle up to him. Zuo Ning swiftly climbed onto Lu Chenghe’s leg and looked down at Wang Cai, saying, “Changed owners, huh? Must be living the dream now?”
Wang Cai didn’t realize it was being teased. Seeing Zuo Ning on his owner’s lap, it sat on the floor, tilted its head, and said, “It’s great! My owner treats me well every day, giving me all kinds of yummy food and lots of meat bones! I’ve hidden a bunch—later I’ll take you to dig them out so you can have some!”
Zuo Ning couldn’t help but feel exasperated, three black lines forming on his forehead. “No thanks, keep them for yourself. If you have any questions about your new life, you can ask me. I can help you figure things out and even teach you how to make your owner love you more.”
Wang Cai tilted its head in confusion and said, “But my owner already loves me a lot!”
Zuo Ning snorted. “Let me tell you, from now on, don’t eat food given to you by others—only eat what your owner gives you. Don’t run around or bark outside; always stick closely to your owner. Try to memorize the few syllables your owner often repeats to you, understand their meaning, and follow their instructions. Also, never guard food in front of your owner. If you’re eating and they take food from your mouth, they’re just teasing you—it will still end up back with you. Most importantly, never bite anyone. You can show your teeth to scare people, but never actually bite.”
Wang Cai listened attentively. It thought this big white dog was so impressive and knowledgeable. It wanted to look up to him as a role model and become its owner’s favorite dog!
Lu Chenghe patted Little Pudding’s head. “What were you saying to it?”
Zuo Ning slightly tilted his head and rubbed it against Lu Chenghe’s hand. “Awooo.” Teaching the 108 ways to domesticate humans.
Lou Jiu, sitting in a wheelchair, had a large yellow dog obediently by his side. Seeing Lu Chenghe pat Little Pudding, he couldn’t resist patting Wang Cai’s head as well, laughing as he said, “They might be chatting and catching up. Maybe they still remember each other.”
Lu Chenghe glanced at the big yellow dog beside Lou Jiu. It looked much healthier than the last time, when it had been scrawny and frail. Even its eyes were now bright and lively, clearly well-cared for.
Noticing Lu Chenghe’s gaze, Lou Jiu smiled and said, “I originally wanted to give it a new name, but the vet said it’s already two years old and probably too accustomed to its current name. So, it’s still called Wang Cai. It’s very well-behaved, never causes trouble, and even when it plays, it only does so around me. Perhaps it’s because it’s experienced past darkness that it cherishes its current happiness so much.”
Lu Chenghe asked, “And you?”
Lou Jiu naturally understood what he was implying. Looking at the steaming, fragrant teacup before him, Lou Jiu smiled lightly. “I’ve told him clearly.”
Lu Chenghe paused slightly, his hand holding the teacup, and lifted his gaze to look at Lou Jiu.
Lou Jiu sighed and said, “I told him I wouldn’t wait anymore. If I meet someone decent, I’ll settle down and spend my days with them. I’ve no plans to return to the Lou family anyway. I’ll just keep running this little shop, occasionally gather with friends, and now I have a dog too. It’s quite comfortable and carefree.”
“What about him?”
Lou Jiu lowered his gaze slightly, giving a faint, mocking smile. “He said to wait a little longer.”
Lu Chenghe didn’t respond, placing his teacup on the stone table after taking a sip. Zuo Ning, who was lying on his lap, also remained silent, simply resting there while observing the beautiful man. With Lou Jiu’s strikingly handsome features, every expression and movement of his was captivating, as if someone like him deserved to be cherished, cared for, and adored. Yet, it was unfortunate that he had fallen for a man who couldn’t give him his wholehearted devotion.
Thinking this, Zuo Ning couldn’t help but glance at Lu Chenghe. Knowing him well, Zuo Ning was certain that if someone earned Lu Chenghe’s true affection, he would go above and beyond to treat them with unparalleled care. Even as just a friend, Lou Jiu’s troubles prompted Lu Chenghe to drop everything to rush to his aid. If the person he loved faced difficulties, Lu Chenghe wouldn’t hesitate to scour an entire mountainside to find them.
Flight delays were nothing—Lu Chenghe had once bought a private plane just to take him, a mere dog, on a trip. It was inconceivable that the other man couldn’t secure a plane or ask Lu Chenghe for help if he truly needed it. But perhaps that man was still struggling to make ends meet at home, unable to act so freely. Yet at a time like this, when considerations still took precedence, it was evident that he valued himself above all else.
Such a man wasn’t worth waiting for—he should be kicked aside in favor of someone better!
Lou Jiu looked at Wang Cai and patted its head, saying, “You know the old saying, don’t you? Fortune and misfortune go hand in hand. People must go through certain experiences; otherwise, they trap themselves, mistakenly believing that the small patch of sky above their heads is the entirety of the heavens. But it’s not too late now.”
Hearing Lou Jiu’s words, Lu Chenghe remained silent. He had always refrained from interfering in other people’s relationships. Today, he had only come to check on Lou Jiu’s recovery. Seeing that everything was fine, Lu Chenghe didn’t stay long. After sitting for a while, he left with Little Pudding.
As they were leaving, Zuo Ning called out to Wang Cai, “Take good care of your owner. If there’s anything you don’t understand, remember it and ask me next time.”
Wang Cai, panting with its tongue out, wagged its tail at them and replied, “Sure, sure! Come visit me next time!”
Seeing the two dogs seemingly exchanging farewell greetings, Lou Jiu chuckled and patted Wang Cai, saying, “Are you two becoming friends? Does this count as a little nobody holding onto the big league’s leg? No, wait, Little Pudding is probably the rich and handsome type.”
Not understanding what his owner was saying, Wang Cai happily circled around Lou Jiu, occasionally rubbing his head against the hand reaching out to pet him, showing great affection.
Looking at the clingy Wang Cai, Lou Jiu couldn’t help but laugh. It’s often said that raising a dog is better than falling in love; this couldn’t be more true.
On the way back, Zuo Ning noticed a roadside stall selling roasted sweet potatoes. Before the car even reached the intersection, he couldn’t resist tapping on the car window and shouting to Lu Chenghe. His favorite thing was the sweet potatoes roasted in those big iron barrels by the roadside, especially fragrant and sweet.
Lu Chenghe glanced over and immediately understood his intention. He instructed the driver to stop by the roadside and then told Little Pudding, “You have money. Go buy it yourself.”
Zuo Ning stared at Lu Chenghe in disbelief and slapped his leg, saying, “Awooo!” You didn’t bring my bag when we went out today!
Lu Chenghe unceremoniously swatted away Zuo Ning’s paw. “Didn’t we already discuss this before? You give me your money to save, and I’ll buy whatever you want to eat. If you don’t save it with me, then you’ll have to buy it yourself. The car’s already stopped for you—go buy it.”
The driver in front was utterly baffled, hearing his boss discussing saving money and purchasing with a dog. Although he had driven for his boss and Little Pudding many times before, this topic seemed far too advanced for a dog. He discreetly glanced at his boss through the rearview mirror, then returned to staring straight ahead with a blank expression. His boss’s peculiar sense of humor was beyond his understanding. No wonder the boss was the boss, while he was just the driver.
Zuo Ning pawed at Lu Chenghe’s clothes, pitifully turning his head to look at the roasted sweet potatoes so close outside the window. Then, he tried to curry favor by gently pressing his paw pad against Lu Chenghe’s hand and even leaned up to give him a kiss on the cheek. “Awooo…” Just one, please buy me one.
Lu Chenghe looked at him coldly and said, “A man’s word must count, and the same goes for a little male dog.”
Zuo Ning licked his lips. Seeing that Lu Chenghe was unwilling to buy it for him, he sighed helplessly and buried his head in Lu Chenghe’s clothes. Next time he went out, he would definitely bring a bag!
Lu Chenghe stroked his ears and said, “If you really want to eat it, it’s not impossible.”
Zuo Ning immediately perked up, looking at Lu Chenghe with ears raised, head tilted, mouth open, tongue out—the full set of adorable antics.
Lu Chenghe said, “For one hundred bucks, when we get home, you’ll have to do twenty extra push-ups.”
Zuo Ning thought it over. One hundred bucks and having to do physical labor—it was absolutely not worth it. But then he figured this was a one-time chance, and if he missed it now, there wouldn’t be another opportunity. So, he clenched his teeth and barked, “Woof!”
Lu Chenghe couldn’t hold back his laughter anymore. “Normally, asking you to do just two or three push-ups has you acting like your legs are about to break, but now, for the sake of food, you’re willing to agree to twenty? You glutton, you might as well eat yourself to death.”
Zuo Ning wagged his tail as he sat in the car, waiting for Lu Chenghe to go buy the sweet potato for him. Tsk, those long legs of his that seemed to cut through the wind—among a crowd of passersby, he might as well have been walking with a spotlight behind him, dazzling enough to blind any onlooker, dogs included.
The driver, seeing Little Pudding sprawled in the backseat watching the boss go buy sweet potatoes, licking his lips every so often with a gaze so focused it was as if he were staring at a platter of braised pork, chuckled and joked, “Impatient, huh? Look at you, all eager like that. Getting the boss to buy you roasted sweet potatoes—you’re probably the top dog of all dogs.”
Zuo Ning huffed internally. Sweet potatoes? Please, that’s nothing. What he really wanted to eat wasn’t a sweet potato. Unfortunately, for now, he hadn’t managed to get it into his own bowl, so he couldn’t take a bite yet.
When Lu Chenghe returned, holding a plastic bag that looked utterly out of place with his polished image—a bag containing sweet potatoes with charred skins still covered in ash—Zuo Ning’s eyes squinted with delight at the sight of him. So dashing. He wanted to pounce over and lick him a couple of times.
Lu Chenghe, not holding back, shoved the dog’s head back into the car. “You’re only allowed to eat half. Eating too much of this will make you bloated.”
Zuo Ning glanced at the tiny sweet potato in his hand. It was so small—eating the whole thing wouldn’t affect his appetite for dinner at all. Seeing Lu Chenghe’s emotionless stare fixed on him, Zuo Ning let out a small whimper, silently accepting this unfair treatment. One hundred bucks and twenty push-ups, all for half a sweet potato? What a loss.
That evening, around nine o’clock, Little Pudding’s Weibo account was updated. The video showed the snow-white Samoyed doing push-ups, with someone clearly sitting beside it, though the person didn’t appear on camera. Each time Little Pudding completed a push-up, the person would place a biscuit in front of it.
By the time the twelfth biscuit was placed, poor Little Pudding could no longer hold itself up. It turned its head pitifully to look at the person sitting beside it, even using its paw to tug at their pant leg in a pleading manner. Its adorable expression was enough to melt anyone’s heart.
【The whole world owes me a dog like this!!!】
【Paused the video to count—twelve biscuits, twelve push-ups. That’s no small feat! For a dog of this size to manage that, is the owner training Little Pudding to lose weight?】
【Oh, my poor Little Pudding! The owner just sat there watching it do push-ups without any mercy. So cruel! After this, they’d better feed it lots of meat to make up for it.】
【So boring. What’s so great about a dog doing push-ups? I only watched it a few dozen times, that’s all.】
【Hahaha, this is hilarious. Little Pudding has finally embarked on the path to weight loss.】
【Little Pudding: I’m so wronged! All this chubbiness is proof of your love for me. How could you make me lose it? Wu wu wu.】
When Zuo Ning shakily completed the fourteenth push-up, he truly couldn’t go on anymore. He collapsed on the ground, tongue out, exhausted to the point of feeling like a real dog. Lu Chenghe, however, was unsympathetic and said, “You still owe me six more. Next time you want me to buy you something, make sure to finish those six first.”
Zuo Ning shot a sideways glance at Lu Chenghe, as if he were looking at a cold-hearted and unreasonable villain.
Lu Chenghe promptly threw a pillow at his head. “Trying to play tricks again?”
Zuo Ning quickly jumped up, leaped onto the bed, and tackled Lu Chenghe, pinning him down. He bared his teeth at him—those big canine teeth looked fierce enough to scare anyone!
Lu Chenghe reached out to touch his teeth and then pried his mouth open. “Let me check if you’ve got cavities. You eat so many sweets every day and still don’t like brushing your teeth.”
Zuo Ning licked his hand and then buried his head in Lu Chenghe’s neck, rubbing against him. “Awooo!” Who said he didn’t like brushing his teeth? He was always diligent about it—how could he be falsely accused like this? Seeing that Lu Chenghe was trying to push him away, Zuo Ning lowered his head and kissed him, even licking his lips. He had wanted to do this all afternoon, and now he had finally gotten his wish—heh heh heh.
Lu Chenghe immediately flipped over and sat up, grabbing the fleeing Little Pudding and pulling him back. “If you dare lick people randomly again, I’ll give you a good smack—believe it or not.”
Zuo Ning dove straight into Lu Chenghe’s arms. It wasn’t the first time he’d kissed him, so why was he being so fierce about it?
Lu Chenghe held onto his paw, realizing that Zuo Ning had no clue about the implications of his actions. He couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on. A dog licking people was one thing, but a dog that could turn into a human licking people—that was entirely different.
And yet, this little fool probably never realized it was inappropriate. Just imagining Little Pudding in human form, unable to break this habit—pouncing on someone to lick them whenever he was happy or wanted to please them—Lu Chenghe couldn’t help but feel his hands itching to discipline him.
Don’t worry, LCH. Your beloved human Little Pudding will only “lick” you 😂