HL 67

After that day, Xu Nanxiao and Ying Yusheng didn’t see each other for half a month. Although the town was small and their shop was directly across from Ying Yusheng’s, there were plenty of ways to avoid someone if you didn’t want to see them.

Xu Nanxiao also didn’t tell Ye Qiaozi about running into Ying Yusheng that day, since she already felt guilty enough about the shop situation, and there was no point in saying more.

And so, his days went on as usual—after work, he’d go eat skewers, fish, and play mahjong with Liu Zhuo and Liang Sihua.

One day, while jogging along his usual route, he suddenly noticed two unfamiliar young men struggling to drag a full-grown native dog.

The dog was pitch-black, spirited, and fairly large. But no matter how strong it was, it couldn’t match the strength of two adult men. Though it barked furiously, it could only watch helplessly as it was slowly pulled toward a van with its trunk already open.

Xu Nanxiao knew these two men definitely weren’t the dog’s owners—otherwise, the dog wouldn’t be barking like that. He didn’t want to meddle at first, but seeing this dog suddenly reminded him of the Bichon he used to own.

Almost involuntarily, Xu Nanxiao shouted at the two men: “Hey, you two! What are you doing?!”

Xu Nanxiao had expected a confrontation, but he hadn’t expected these two to be such cowards. As soon as they saw him walking over, they dropped the leash, jumped into the van, and sped off.

The dog was smart enough to realize it had been saved. It stood there dazed for a moment, then ambled over to Xu Nanxiao. It obediently lay down and rubbed its head against his pant leg.

Xu Nanxiao crouched down and expertly scratched the dog’s head. He could tell it was still young—if Juanjuan were still around, it would probably be about three or four years old.

He asked the dog: “Do you know where your home is?”

The black dog actually nodded, then walked ahead, leading Xu Nanxiao there.

Xu Nanxiao delivered the black dog to its owner, who was so grateful that she insisted on giving him cash as thanks. After he repeatedly refused, she still forced a basket of eggs into his hands.

“Didn’t you know? Some dog thieves have been operating around town lately—they’re brazen, and over a dozen families have already had their dogs stolen,” Ye Qiaozi said as she fried eggs for the crew.

“My aunt’s dog got stolen too, and it was a purebred!” Liu Zhuo cursed angrily.

“What do they steal them for?”

“The expensive ones are used for breeding, the cheap ones are sold for meat.”

“Oh.” Xu Nanxiao didn’t pay it much mind—after all, he didn’t have a dog, and neither did the shop, so it didn’t concern them.

Until a few days later, when Liang Sihua’s niece came to the shop to hang out. Xu Nanxiao casually teased her: “I remember you have English class on Wednesday afternoons—are you skipping?”

“English class was canceled last minute. Teacher Ying’s dog ran away,” Mu Yuanyuan said. “A lot of us classmates are helping him look for it. I wanted to help too, but my mom wouldn’t let me—she said it’s too dangerous.”

Xu Nanxiao suddenly froze.

“Ying Yusheng has a dog? I’ve never seen it before.”

“Oh no, it didn’t get stolen by the dog thieves, did it?”

“No wonder he canceled class—he must be frantic.”

The trio was chattering away when they suddenly heard Xu Nanxiao stand up with a bang. Then he dashed out of the shop and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

At the village entrance, a dirty van was parked, covered in a layer of thin dust except for the front windshield. If you listened closely, you could hear frantic barking coming from inside.

Inside sat two men. The younger one flicked his cigarette butt out the window and complained: “Guoqiang Ge, why’d you grab that little white one? It barely has any meat on it—what’s the point?”

“How much can you get from selling dog meat? Seven yuan a kilo at most? That dog’s obviously been raised like a little emperor at home—its fur’s white and shiny. Sell it to a pet shop, and you can easily make a few hundred.”

“For real? It doesn’t look like any purebred I know…”

The younger man was about to grumble more when suddenly there was a deafening bang on the side of the van. The whole vehicle shuddered violently, and the windows rattled. He jumped, and his cigarette nearly fell into his lap.

“Holy shit!” He was still in shock as he turned his head.

Through the window, he saw a man standing outside the door. He was tall, wearing a gray tracksuit, his chest rising and falling slightly as if he’d run over. He was good-looking, but had a fierce, thuggish air about him—clearly not someone to mess with.

The older man immediately recognized him. “Damn, isn’t that the guy who stuck his nose in before? The one with the big black dog!”

“Again? He won’t quit, will he? Let’s take him!” Mentioning it pissed off the younger man, who immediately shoved the door open and got out.

He’d been a troublemaker since childhood and wasn’t the least bit scared even though Xu Nanxiao was a head taller. He shoved Xu Nanxiao’s shoulder aggressively. Seeing that Xu Nanxiao didn’t fight back, he shoved him again. “Who the hell are you? Get lost if you don’t wanna die! Don’t go looking for a bea—”

What happened next was too fast to follow. Xu Nanxiao sidestepped the younger man’s shoving hand, grabbed it, and hooked his foot underneath. The young man felt the world spin, and his whole body slammed onto the dusty engine hood. His arm was twisted behind his back, sharp pain shooting through his joints, and he let out a howl.

“Fuck! Stop twisting! It hurts—aaaaah!!!”

“I don’t feel like fighting today. Be smart and let all the dogs out of the van,” Xu Nanxiao said, his face dark.

The older man had actually been around the underworld and could tell from Xu Nanxiao’s stance that he wasn’t ordinary. He quickly stepped in to mediate, smiling and saying nice things while lowering the dog cages from the van.

“They’re all here, all here. Didn’t catch many today. Really sorry, big bro—which one’s your dog?”

“Let them all go.”

“Sure, sure, I’ll let ’em all go. The kid’s just young and dumb—don’t hold it against him.”

Xu Nanxiao waited until he saw the older man take out a key from his waist to unlock the cages, then finally let the young man go. The young man stumbled back a few steps, still scowling and cursing under his breath, but stopped when Xu Nanxiao shot him a glare.

Then he heard a familiar bark. Xu Nanxiao looked toward the cages and spotted Juanjuan at once.

There were three dogs in the cage. Juanjuan was the smallest, but the bravest—standing at the front, barking furiously at the man unlocking the cage.

The man hadn’t lied—Ying Yusheng had indeed taken excellent care of Juanjuan. Its fur was clean and fluffy, with no tear stains, and the fur on its chin had turned white again, like a little doggy rug.

While Xu Nanxiao was distracted, the older man grabbed the still-groaning younger one. The two didn’t even take the cages—they jumped straight into the van. The van made an awkward turnaround, crunching over gravel and weeds as it fled, leaving behind only a cloud of foul exhaust.

But Xu Nanxiao couldn’t be bothered with them anymore. His heart pounded as he slowly reached out toward Juanjuan.

The little dog, however, suddenly lunged at him in a frenzy, nearly biting off his finger. Luckily, Xu Nanxiao was quick enough to pull his hand back just in time. But the little dog wouldn’t let up—it started tearing at Xu Nanxiao’s pant leg, snarling as if determined to protect its two companions with its life.

Xu Nanxiao suddenly realized that Juanjuan had forgotten him.

It made sense—it had been over two years.

The feeling wasn’t so much sadness as it was a kind of sour ache. In his entire life, the only being Xu Nanxiao truly felt he’d wronged was this little dog.

In the beginning, he’d treated it as a plaything to pass the time. Later, he used it as a tool to humiliate Ying Yusheng.

Ying Yusheng was allergic to dog fur, so he insisted on keeping it. Ying Yusheng wanted to be loved, so he deliberately showered Juanjuan with affection, making Ying Yusheng feel he was less than a dog. He’d even encourage Juanjuan to bite Ying Yusheng, rewarding it with jerky when it succeeded.

Juanjuan was just an innocent little dog who understood nothing, yet it had become the vessel for their hatred. Even when Xu Nanxiao escaped, because seeing it reminded him of those days locked up, he cruelly abandoned it.

Xu Nanxiao let the little dog vent until it was exhausted, then picked it up, stroked it for a moment, and softly said: “Juanjuan, take a look—who am I?”

The little dog suddenly froze, its round black eyes looking at him hesitantly. Then its nose sniffed at his fingers, as if it suddenly recognized who he was. It looked at him in disbelief, then lowered its head to sniff him seriously again.

Then, the little dog let out a whimpering cry and began burrowing desperately into his arms, as if releasing all the grievance of the past two years, crying out that he had heartlessly abandoned it.

Xu Nanxiao carefully cradled the dog’s belly and bottom, gently patting and soothing it. The little dog trembled less in his arms. Its warm little body pressed against his chest, its fluffy head resting in the crook of his arm as it timidly licked the base of his thumb.

But dogs don’t know how to hate. A dog still loves you, so very, very much.

“Juanjuan, good dog,” he said, genuinely praising it.

Xu Nanxiao temporarily brought Juanjuan back to the repair shop. The little dog’s cute, clueless demeanor quickly won over the hearts of the trio.

“Oh my goodness, Juanjuan, give your auntie a kiss!” Ye Qiaozi’s heart was melting. She clutched her chest and kept taking photos of Juanjuan.

“Juanjuan, do your little goose-step for your big brothers and sisters again!”

Juanjuan raised its two front paws high and marched forward with a “tap-tap-tap,” its little chest puffed out proudly, its short tail sticking up like a tiny flagpole behind its rear. As it walked, its right hind leg and right front paw accidentally moved out together. It paused for a second, then quickly corrected itself.

“Holy shit! An angel of cuteness has descended upon us!!!!”

“Juanjuan, awesome! Juanjuan, awesome!”

“Xu Ge!” Ye Qiaozi suddenly turned to Xu Nanxiao, her eyes sparkling. “Let’s keep it! The repair shop can afford to!”

Xu Nanxiao sighed impatiently. “Don’t joke around. This isn’t my dog.”

“How is it not your dog? You were the one who adopted it back then.”

“It’s not my dog anymore.” Xu Nanxiao said to Liang Sihua, “Find Ying Yusheng’s number and tell him to come pick up his dog.”

So Liang Sihua reluctantly got Ying Yusheng’s contact info from his little niece. After making the call, Ying Yusheng showed up in just over ten minutes.

“Mr. Liang, thank you so much.” Ying Yusheng had a thin sheen of sweat on his forehead—he must have been truly panicked when Juanjuan went missing. “How can I repay you?”

“Ah, it was Nanxiao who found it, not me.” Liang Sihua waved his hand awkwardly.

Ying Yusheng picked up the dog and paused at those words.

He looked into the depths of the repair shop. Xu Nanxiao was sitting at the workbench, his back to them, eating instant noodles. The afternoon sunlight fell on his back, as if separating him from them into two different worlds.

Ying Yusheng carried Juanjuan over and stood beside Xu Nanxiao. After a moment of silence, he smiled and said, “Thank you, Nanxiao.”

“…”

“It’s been a while. Do you… want to hold him?”

“No.”

Ying Yusheng said nothing more, just smiled again, but his eyelids dropped slightly.

Xu Nanxiao ignored him and took a few more bites of his noodles. Just as the cup was nearly empty, he asked out of the blue: “Does it still bother you?”

“Judging by his energy, he seems fine—it probably doesn’t bother him…”

“I’m not talking about Juanjuan.” Xu Nanxiao paused. “I’m talking about you.”

Ying Yusheng’s eyes widened slightly, and he froze.

“The dog fur allergy—does it still bother you?”