Ji Zhaoxi had originally planned to take the dog home, but it kept biting Lu Huainan’s pant leg and pulling him toward the park.
It had already figured out who would be the easiest person to bully.
Ji Zhaoxi was so annoyed that she scolded it. The dog immediately argued back, then bit down on Lu Huainan’s pant leg again the very next second.
Looking at Lu Huainan’s pants, soaked through with drool, Ji Zhaoxi said guiltily, “I’m really sorry. This dog has absolutely no manners.”
Lu Huainan’s ears were bright red. He stood there without saying a word, letting Ji Zhaoxi and the dog circle around him.
“Does it… have a name?” Lu Huainan lowered his head without looking at her.
Ji Zhaoxi paused at the question and frowned. “It seems like it used to have one, but it doesn’t answer to it.”
She added seriously, “But it understands when you call it ‘dog’ or ‘Stinky Dog.’”
“Woof!” The golden retriever angrily stepped on her shoe.
Stinky Dog wanted someone to play with it. At Lu Huainan’s insistence, Ji Zhaoxi handed this important responsibility over to him, feeling extremely apologetic.
Then she sat beneath the shade of a tree, eating a popsicle while watching Lu Huainan play with Stinky Dog.
When Lu Huainan threw the toy, he could send it flying a great distance. The golden retriever shot after it, its ears flapping in the air as it ran.
Lu Huainan stood there waiting for it to return, but his gaze drifted involuntarily toward Ji Zhaoxi.
She sat beneath the shade, biting into a popsicle while struggling to unwrap a dog toy.
Looking at her through the shifting light and shadow, Lu Huainan suddenly became dazed. The figure buried deep in his memories once again overlapped with the scene before him, and he instinctively wanted to hide in a corner.
Ji Zhaoxi raised her head, and their eyes suddenly met. She paused, then waved the popsicle in her other hand at him.
“Lu Huainan, have this one first. It’ll melt soon!”
Lu Huainan felt as if something had suddenly struck his heart. He immediately looked away, his breathing falling into disarray.
He started toward Ji Zhaoxi, but a force suddenly tugged at his pant leg. He was already dazed, whether from being out in the sun or for some other reason, he couldn’t tell.
The resistance at his pant leg grew stronger and stronger, accompanied every so often by a series of strange noises. Lu Huainan’s vision grew blurry, and his head began to spin, but he had to get over there.
The golden retriever, which had been biting his pant leg the entire time: …
“Woof, woof, woof!”
The golden retriever was furious. Could he at least pay some attention to the dog? It was practically right in front of him, and he could still ignore it?
At last, he reached the shade, and his mind gradually cleared.
“You can sit down while you play with it, or you’ll get heatstroke.” Ji Zhaoxi was clearly experienced in this.
She handed Lu Huainan the popsicle, then skillfully tossed the toy in her hand toward a nearby spot. The golden retriever immediately dashed after it.
Lu Huainan ate the popsicle in silence. He looked extremely disheveled. His face was bright red from the sun, his pant leg was crumpled from being chewed, and a few strands of dry grass still clung to his head after he had tripped earlier.
Ji Zhaoxi looked at him, wanting to say something but hesitating. Lu Huainan noticed her gaze, and his movements as he ate the popsicle grew increasingly stiff.
What was wrong? Did he smell bad?
He had been running around the whole time. Did she think he smelled?
Could he blame the smell on the golden retriever and say that it had rubbed its scent onto him?
The next second, Ji Zhaoxi suddenly leaned back a little. While Lu Huainan wasn’t paying attention, she quietly removed the dry grass from the back of his hair.
Lu Huainan lowered his head, his ears so red they looked ready to catch fire. He stared at the grass, the hand holding his popsicle trembling.
“Woof, woof, woof—”
“Whine… woof, woof!”
Resting her chin in her hands, Ji Zhaoxi impatiently played tug-of-war with the dog. Whenever she was on vacation, she somehow got the most exercise of anyone.
The flush on Lu Huainan’s face had yet to fade. The wind carried a wave of heat, and he secretly watched Ji Zhaoxi’s profile.
Why had she suddenly touched his hair just now?
His expression suddenly shifted. Was the hair at the back of his head particularly ugly?
At last, the golden retriever finally grew tired. Taking advantage of the fact that it had no energy left, Ji Zhaoxi hurriedly took it to the pet shop for a bath.
The Stinky Dog hadn’t been washed in ages.
The moment it saw the pet shop, the golden retriever let out a few listless barks, but it was still led inside.
“Miss Ji, are you here to have your dog washed?” the employee asked enthusiastically as she came over to greet them.
She crouched down and stroked the golden retriever. The dog immediately placed its head in her hands.
It fell asleep sprawled on the floor before the bath had even begun, letting the employee fuss over it however she pleased.
When Ji Zhaoxi came back out, she found Lu Huainan signing up for a membership card.
Seeing her, Lu Huainan seriously explained, “That way, Stinky Dog won’t have to pay for its baths in the future.”
The pet shop owner’s face split into a broad grin as he looked cheerfully at the two of them.
Ji Zhaoxi choked when she saw the information on the card. With that many baths, the pet shop might go out of business before they managed to use them all.
“I’ll just transfer the money to you, Lu Huainan.”
Lu Huainan stared at her in disbelief. Why did she want to transfer money to him?!
Looking at his expression, Ji Zhaoxi hesitated. “It’s my dog, after all. It doesn’t feel right to let you spend so much money.”
The pet shop owner’s alarm bells immediately went off, and he hurriedly tried to persuade her. “Miss Ji, Mr. Lu likes dogs too. Just let him buy the card.”
Lu Huainan stared at her blankly, his face turning pale.
She hated him.
Then he didn’t like her either!
But he couldn’t do it…
Lu Huainan’s face grew paler and paler, and his whole body swayed as if he might collapse. Sure enough, he still couldn’t be like other people.
The moment Ji Zhaoxi saw him like this, she knew he was overthinking again. She hurriedly said, “That’s not what I meant. Thank you, Lu Huainan.”
“I just think it’s too much money. It wouldn’t be right to make you pay.”
Lu Huainan’s voice was tense. “If it wouldn’t be right for me to pay, then why would it be fine for you to pay?”
Ji Zhaoxi froze. If she didn’t pay, then who would? It was her dog, wasn’t it?
She could also ask her father to reimburse her.
Lu Huainan looked away, his expression stiff. “You work so hard to earn money. How could I possibly let you pay?”
Ji Zhaoxi looked at him, torn between speaking and staying silent. In reality, she didn’t have that much trouble earning money. It came fairly easily to her.
Bathing the golden retriever took a long time, so Ji Zhaoxi dragged Lu Huainan outside to go shopping while they waited.
The two of them needed to stop obsessing over the membership card!
They had barely taken a few steps when a delighted voice came from behind them.
“Ji Zhaoxi?!”
Before Ji Zhaoxi could even turn around, someone threw their arms around her.
“You’re back and didn’t even tell us? Our relationship has grown distant, huh?”
“Why did your school let you off so early?”
“What are you up to? Come hang out with us later.”
Several people gathered around her. They were all former high school classmates.
Ji Zhaoxi sighed. “I can’t. I still have to take the dog home after its bath.”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Going to graduate school has really worn you down.” The girl pinched Ji Zhaoxi’s cheek.
