At dawn, the fiery red sunlight flooded the little courtyard on Firewood Gate Street.
With his hair looking like a bird's nest, Yang Ge faced the rising sun and stretched. "Aaaah..."
Little Yellow sat by his feet, yawning with sleepy eyes too. "Aaaah..."
After finishing a satisfying stretch, Yang Ge looked down and nudged Little Yellow with his foot. "What do you want to eat today?"
Little Yellow tilted his head and thought it over. "Woof, woof."
"Noodles again?"
Yang Ge scratched his tangled hair. "We've had noodles two days running. Aren't you sick of them?"
Little Yellow grinned and wagged his tail furiously.
"All right, all right..."
Muttering, Yang Ge rolled up his sleeves and entered the kitchen. Thin cooking smoke curled upward, accompanied by the sound of clean water washing the big iron wok.
Before long, the pair were squatting outside the kitchen, their faces buried in earthenware bowls bigger than their heads as they slurped away.
Just then, the sound of the Xie Family shutting their door next door reached the courtyard. Little Yellow immediately pricked up his ears and listened closely.
Yang Ge chuckled. "What, want to go out and play?"
Little Yellow's glossy black eyes lit up. He immediately stood, wagging his big tail, and whined as he leaned in to lick Yang Ge's face.
"Rejected on grounds of ugliness!"
Yang Ge leaned back defensively in disgust. "Your mouth's full of lard..."
Little Yellow couldn't care less. He eagerly thrust his muzzle forward and pushed into Yang Ge's arms.
"All right, but remember, you're the one making a fuss about going out to play."
Yang Ge pushed his big face away and said with a smile, "Don't regret it later!"
Little Yellow's tail wagged so fast it blurred. "Whine, whine, whine..."
A short while later,