Page 48

"Woof~"

The little dog looked like a white dandelion puff, and its babyish whine made anyone's heart melt.

Even more eye-catching was the enormous pink bow tied around its forehead, clearly marking it as a gift.

Yu Qing looked at the little dog, then at the bow, then at the housekeeper, who seemed very serious and wore no expression.

"...You, me, it..."

Yu Qing didn't know what to say.

She wanted to ask if the person selling the dog had really come with that bow.

Who else besides a pet shop would go out of their way to buy a bow and tie it on a puppy's head? What a mystery.

"..."

It was obvious the dog was being given as a gift, but did they really have to buy such a huge, pink bow?

Yu Qing also wanted to say that she didn't want a puppy. Xiang Changge had said she was buying one to eat Yu Qing's leftovers, and Yu Qing didn't want a puppy eating her food.

Although she had already prepared herself for the possibility that Xiang Changge might suddenly show up in front of her with a puppy, she had only prepared herself mentally. She hadn't said anything to Xiang Changge yet.

If she happily accepted the dog Xiang Changge had suddenly brought her, wouldn't that make her seem like a hypocrite who didn't mean what she said—and leave her with no dignity?

But, but the puppy was so cute, and its little whines made her heart go soft. Even if she only had to say no, it was still so hard to refuse.

Yu Qing tried to struggle a little longer. She turned her eyes away and attempted to refuse. "I..."

The words wouldn't come. She looked at the puppy again, then remembered something and tried to refuse. "I don't..."

"Don't you like it?"

Xiang Changge suddenly asked.

Her voice was calm and composed, as if she felt nothing at all. Yet, for some reason, Yu Qing heard a trace of disappointment in it.

Didn't she like it?

Didn't she like puppies? Didn't she like the gift Xiang Changge had given her?

Yu Qing picked at her bathrobe and lowered her gaze. "Can it not eat my leftovers?"

The puppy was so cute. How could it eat someone's leftovers? Couldn't Yu Qing just eat a little more and give it something fresh?

Was the puppy only there to eat her leftovers?

The system, paddling desperately because it only wanted Yu Qing to pick it up: "..."

It looked back at Xiang Changge, yapping in her mind. "Of course not! Tongtong is happy to eat Baby Yu Qing's leftovers!"

Xiang Changge: "..."

Xiang Changge looked at the system dog, then at Yu Qing, and finally settled on a compromise. "...You can give it some of your food before you eat."

Then it wouldn't be leftovers.

"But dogs aren't supposed to eat salty food, are they? It'll lose its fur." Before picking up the puppy, Yu Qing tried her best to negotiate with Xiang Changge.

Xiang Changge, meanwhile, seemed utterly unfeeling. "It's fine. It's a native dog, so it's hardy. You could even feed it mice."

It was a system dog. What couldn't it eat?

Yu Qing: "..."

The system, getting tired from all that paddling: "..." Could you stop talking? What are you two blabbering on about? Just toss me into Baby Yu Qing's arms already! What are you waiting for?

Yu Qing looked at the puppy again, her conflicted reluctance plain to see.

She clearly liked it, but still wanted to act as if she didn't.

Just as she made up her mind and reached out to take the puppy from Xiang Changge—and the system dog was already grinning in anticipation—Xiang Changge suddenly pulled her hand back, drawing the puppy closer to herself.

Yu Qing: "?"

System: "?"

Meeting Yu Qing's confused gaze, Xiang Changge looked at her earnestly with her light-colored eyes and asked, "Do you like it?"

If she liked it, she should say so. If she didn't, she should say that too. Being stubborn could make you lose things.

Yu Qing: "..."

Hadn't she been telling Xiang Changge all along that she didn't like it?

She'd said she didn't like it, and Xiang Changge had still brought the dog back. If she said she didn't like it now, would Xiang Changge actually take it away?

What did this mean? Did Xiang Changge think that every time Yu Qing said she didn't like something, she was actually saying she did?

The same answer as before caught in Yu Qing's throat, and she couldn't make herself say it right away.

She wasn't sure whether, if she said she didn't like it this time, Xiang Changge really wouldn't give her the dog.

"Isn't this... my gift?"

Yu Qing looked at Xiang Changge and answered with a question of her own.

The rain was still falling, as if it meant to drown the whole world. Inside, a cool breeze drifted through the room. One woman sat and the other stood, with a little caterpillar-like puppy between them.

The sweet scent of milk filled the room, wafting softly into their noses and bringing a warm, cozy feeling.

The puppy nestled in Xiang Changge's palm, soft as a marshmallow. Apart from its yellowish-brown ears, its whole body was snow-white. Its tiny black eyes glistened, and its four short legs were plump and soft, like little pillars.

It was a beautiful White Tusong.

It looked pitifully at Yu Qing, almost as if it were asking her too, "You really don't like puppies?"

"Then do you like this gift?"

Xiang Changge's voice softened, like it had little hooks attached. It brushed against Yu Qing's eardrums, teasing them relentlessly.

The rosy color on Yu Qing's face deepened, and the blush at the corners of her eyes grew more pronounced.

Was the air conditioning turned up too high? Why did she feel so hot?

Yu Qing tugged at the bathrobe on her shoulder, trying to let some air in.

When she looked up, the puppy's black bead-like eyes and Xiang Changge's gray-brown eyes were both fixed on her, waiting for her answer.

Yu Qing felt awkward, forced to face what she truly felt. She felt as if her whole body were burning—with embarrassment, unfamiliarity, and a little unease.

Why did it feel as if saying she liked the gift would mean she liked more than just the puppy? As if the person who'd given it to her were included too?

Xiang Changge was patient. She waited like a snail carrying a heavy shell, cautiously sensing whether there was danger outside before slowly emerging from her shell and revealing her soft feelers.

At last, someone lowered her eyes and quietly voiced her true feelings. "I like it... Thank you for the gift."

Xiang Changge smiled with satisfaction and plopped the wide-eyed, soft little bundle into Yu Qing's arms.

"You're welcome, Young Miss."

"Woof, woof, woof!"

The puppy looked as sweet as could be, and it made the most of its charms. The moment it landed in Yu Qing's arms, it burrowed around everywhere.

Then it rubbed its head this way and that, until it reached Yu Qing's chin. It stuck out its little pink tongue and started licking her with a happy pant.

"Ah, Baby Yu Qing! It's Baby Yu Qing! Tongtong's touched a living, warm Baby Yu Qing! Mmm, you smell so good, so good! You smell like milk! Let me sniff, let me lick!"

Xiang Changge turned her eyes away, unable to watch the data dog's clingy antics.

Yu Qing, meanwhile, had been teased out of her earlier embarrassment by the affectionate puppy. She held it and stroked its back again and again.

Its fur felt so soft, and it was so clean. Had Xiang Changge taken it for a bath and a trim before bringing it home? Why was its coat so smooth, and why did it smell faintly sweet, like watermelon?

"Puppy, puppy..."

Yu Qing remembered something and awkwardly pinched the puppy's yellow ear. After it gave her a little flick, she smiled and asked Xiang Changge, "What's its name?"

Xiang Changge answered without hesitation. "Lick Dog."

Yu Qing: "?"

System: "Woof?"

Sweet Dog? That worked too. Tongtong really was sweet.

Author's note: [Yellow Heart] [Orange Heart] Little skit [Orange Heart] [Yellow Heart]

Young Miss: "Oh."

Steward Xiang: "Oh? Oh? Fine, then. If you want it, you can have it."

This sweet wasn't that lick, and that lick wasn't this sweet. The system, already too overwhelmed with happiness to think straight, didn't catch the meaning behind Xiang Changge's words, but Yu Qing did.

Yu Qing understood what Xiang Changge meant, though the system was already so giddy with happiness that it couldn't tell the difference between "sweet" and "lick."

She lowered her eyes to the affectionate puppy, which wasn't afraid of strangers at all, and smiled faintly as she rubbed its head with her palm.

"How can you call a puppy that?"

Xiang Changge raised an eyebrow and said nothing, though she still thought her choice of words had been quite apt.

When it came to a name, Yu Qing thought for a moment. "How about Watermelon?"

It was sweet and refreshing, and it had come into her life in summer. Watermelon was also one of the first things that came to mind when she thought of summer.

It was a very fitting name for a puppy.

"Watermelon?" Xiang Changge smacked her lips, looking thoughtful. "It tastes better chilled."

Yu Qing: "...?"

The system dog—also known as the Tusong that had cost Xiang Changge 390 points—had officially received a new name. It was a name that sounded sweet and juicy: Watermelon.