Page 49

"Okay! Then from now on, Tongtong belongs to Yu Qing!"

Watching the little white fluffball still clinging to Yu Qing, wriggling and rubbing against her and refusing to get down, Xiang Changge furrowed her brows. "It's getting late. You should go to bed, Miss."

Yu Qing still wanted to spend more time with the puppy. Reluctantly, she asked, "What about it? Where will Xigua sleep?"

"It's already been dewormed, bathed, and vaccinated. Let's have it sleep in the little sitting room on the third floor. I bought a pee pad and a little bed for it, too. They're outside."

On top of that, at the dog's insistence, Xiang Changge had bought several toys. They were all neatly arranged in a corner of the sitting room, ready for the puppy to sleep or play.

Yu Qing nodded. Her hand stroked down the puppy's back to the tip of its tail. Lowering her eyes, she asked again, "Was bringing it back why you went out today?"

It wasn't that she was really curious about what Xiang Changge had gone out to do. She was just asking casually.

Xiang Changge nodded, then seemed to remember something. "I also did a good deed."

"A good deed?"

Yu Qing lifted her eyelids a little and sneaked a glance at Xiang Changge before quickly looking away. She still looked very serious as she played with the puppy. "What good deed?"

"It was nothing. I just stepped in when I saw someone being bullied." Xiang Changge made it sound trivial.

Yu Qing could tell she didn't want to say more. She was still a little curious, but in the end, she didn't press her.

She changed the subject. "Can't the puppy sleep in my room?"

Newly arrived puppies were usually insecure. If one had to sleep alone in the sitting room at night, wouldn't it be scared?

At that question, the system in Yu Qing's arms, which was no different from the puppy, suddenly went quiet. It also turned to look at Xiang Changge.

"Of course it can!"

"Why even ask? Tongtong—no, Xigua—I can, I can!"

Xiang Changge: "..."

She couldn't bear to watch.

She really couldn't understand why the system could still speak in her mind when it already had a new body.

So noisy.

But it was good to have the system stay in Yu Qing's room. That way, after Xiang Changge went back to her own room, it could keep an eye on what Yu Qing was doing.

If she sank into another bout of depression, the system could step in.

"If that's what you want, Miss."

Xiang Changge answered.

Yu Qing nodded. "Let it sleep in my room."

After saying that, she seemed to realize something and asked tentatively, "...Will it pee and poop wherever it likes?"

She liked puppies, provided they didn't pee and poop everywhere.

Sure enough, even her affection came with conditions.

Xiang Changge shook her head. "It probably won't."

After all, Xigua wasn't really a dog.

Since Yu Qing wanted the puppy to sleep in her room tonight, Xiang Changge went back to the sitting room and brought in a dog bed shaped like a mushroom cap with its stem removed and flipped upside down, along with a tray holding a pee pad.

She set the pee-pad tray by the door and placed the mushroom-shaped bed beside the floor-to-ceiling window, not too far from Yu Qing's bed.

The bed was cute and cozy. The puppy fit snugly inside, making it look like a giant marshmallow sprinkled with two golden osmanthus blossoms.

As the puppy moved, the two golden blossoms bobbed on its head.

The big bow on the puppy's forehead had already been removed. Yu Qing crouched down, holding one chubby paw in each hand as she lovingly rubbed its head.

"Be a good puppy, okay? Shall I ask Auntie to prepare some goat's milk for you tomorrow?" Yu Qing whispered to it.

"Woof!"

The puppy stuck out its pink little tongue and let out a babyish bark, as if agreeing. Yu Qing's heart melted.

"Okay, let's give little Xigua two bowls!"

"Woof, woof!"

It seemed the girl and the dog had no trouble understanding each other at all.

Xiang Changge: "..."

It was already past ten thirty, so Xiang Changge reminded Yu Qing again that it was time to sleep.

Yu Qing stroked Xigua once more, then got up and washed her hands.

After she lay down, Xiang Changge switched on a reading lamp and lit some incense. Once she was sure the room felt peaceful enough for sleep, she turned to leave.

Yu Qing stared at her back for a moment, then asked without thinking, "No bedtime service tonight?"

Xiang Changge paused and looked back at Yu Qing. "I want to get a late-night snack."

Yu Qing: "?"

Was a late-night snack more important, or was her bedtime service?

Though she thought the bedtime service wasn't necessary in the first place, how could someone work so inconsistently, doing something for three days and then giving up for two? Didn't Xiang Changge know how to stick with it?

Yu Qing fell silent for a moment, then asked hesitantly, "You haven't had dinner yet?"

It was so late. Had Xiang Changge really forgotten to eat while out buying her a puppy?

"No."

Xiang Changge answered honestly.

Yu Qing tugged at the blanket. Her voice sounded muffled, perhaps because Xiang Changge was a little far away. "Why didn't you eat first?"

She could have bought the puppy later.

"I didn't have time."

Listening to her, Yu Qing felt something strange in her chest. Her lashes trembled as she was about to say something else, but Xiang Changge continued, "I only had two and a half burgers, a fried chicken, and a Coke."

Yu Qing pulled the blanket up, completely hiding her face. This time, her voice was truly muffled. "Get out and close the door."

Go ahead and eat. She didn't feel like listening to her lecture anyway.

"..."

After the room had been quiet for quite a while, Yu Qing finally poked her face out from under the blanket. Her eyes were even redder from the stuffiness.

She looked toward the floor-to-ceiling window.

Once her eyes had adjusted to the dim light, she could make out the objects in the room.

By the window, the puppy was curled up in its bed, its chin resting on the edge. It faced her and slept obediently, its two ochre-yellow ears tilted slightly to either side.

This puppy was far too well-behaved.

It didn't bark or fear people, and it didn't run around or chew things. Yu Qing had no idea where Xiang Changge had found it, and it was so cute, too.

Yu Qing lay on her side, hugging the blanket as she gazed at the giant mushroom a short distance away. Her heart felt as though something had filled it, leaving it aching and swollen.

A puppy. Her puppy. The puppy Xiang Changge had given her.

For the first time in a long while, Yu Qing felt a strange sensation spreading from her heart through every limb.

It was like a warm current.

Xiang Changge went downstairs for a late-night snack. Since Yu Qing was going to sleep, the system sensibly closed its eyes and went to sleep too, acting like a good puppy that wouldn't disturb its owner.

—It was just that it kept making a la-la-la sound in Xiang Changge's mind.

"What a pity. I thought I was supposed to make a spectacular, earth-shattering entrance."

The system muttered to itself regretfully.

But Xiang Changge had said the puppy couldn't be sealed inside a gift box. And if they carried it in a cage, Yu Qing would spot it right away, ruining the surprise.

So after thinking it over, the system had made its entrance in a mysterious way that suited a puppy.

It was raining, after all. A plastic bag was perfect.

After Xiang Changge refused to budge, the system had managed to keep at least one thing: a bow to make it look like a present.

"Just getting to make an entrance is good enough."

It had cost 400 points. Xiang Changge had worked hard for days and earned only 10. With the system deducting the cost, she was now 390 points in debt.

She had busied herself with tasks, only to find herself still in the red.

But Xiang Changge didn't mind. She hadn't had any points to begin with, so what did it matter if she owed some? You couldn't be afraid of losing your shoes when you were barefoot.

And if the system could prove useful, then the points were well spent. Looked at another way, she'd basically gotten the benefit for free.

Xiang Changge had it all figured out.

After finishing the late-night snack in the kitchen, Xiang Changge didn't take the sightseeing cart. She carried a cup of freshly squeezed watermelon juice and walked toward her little villa under an umbrella, sipping as she went.

The rain had eased from a downpour to a steady shower. Puddles dotted the ground, and when Xiang Changge stepped lightly into one, ripples spread across the surface.

Raindrops beat against the umbrella with a dull patter.

Thinking of Shangguan Min, whom she had beaten up, Xiang Changge found herself thinking for the first time that the rain in City A wasn't so unpleasant after all.

The next day was overcast and rainy again. The weather forecast showed rain for the next three days.

When Xiang Changge woke up, she broke her usual routine and lingered in bed for two extra minutes.

After mentally going over what she had to do, she got up, washed, and exercised.

A person's body needed to be maintained, just like a machine. It wore down with use, but if left idle, it became sluggish.

Although she was now in a place where order was stable, Xiang Changge had no intention of letting herself become an ordinary person.