Ye Yizhou rose from the back seat and walked to the door. Looking at the tightly closed door before him, he spoke without a trace of warmth. "Open the door."
"Open the door."
Director Ji turned to the driver and asked in some confusion, "Can't you hear him talking?"
The driver felt wronged.
Director, you never said I had to listen to him and do what he said!
The driver suffered in silence and simply opened the door as instructed.
Ye Yizhou got off, slipped one hand into his pocket, and walked step by step toward the big dog in front of the bus, his expression cold.
Everyone was baffled by what Ye Yizhou was doing and got off after him to see what was happening.
The livestream camera followed Ye Yizhou too.
The large husky seemed frightened and froze in place.
Unlike the dopey, adorable look huskies usually had, its eyes were full of wariness. Its constant low growls warned strangers to stay away.
"Oh, don't go over there. Don't."
Seeing how fierce the husky looked, Director Ji nervously called out in a quiet voice for Ye Yizhou to come back.
But Director Ji only called quietly. He didn't dare go over and pull Ye Yizhou back.
Because Ye Yizhou looked no better than the husky at that moment-even fiercer, colder, and more unapproachable.
He didn't dare move at all.
So meek.
As Ye Yizhou drew closer, the husky lowered its body and growled more fiercely, looking ready to pounce and bite at any moment.
What came next would either be the husky pouncing on him and biting him, or Ye Yizhou knocking the dog flat.
They had imagined many possibilities, but never that Ye Yizhou would walk up and slap the husky across the face, leaving both the dog and everyone present stunned.
Well...
Fighting was one thing, but slapping someone in the face? Wasn't that just provocation?
The atmosphere grew tense for a moment. If the man and dog really started fighting, were they supposed to hold back the dog or the man?
That was a question worth pondering.
Yet before they could work out an answer, one side had already backed down, taking two steps back.
The husky's face fell after that slap. It retreated two steps and even gave a couple of seemingly aggrieved whimpers.
"Stupid dog. Do you know you nearly ran into the bus just now?"
Ye Yizhou crouched on one knee in front of the husky, reached out to tug its ear, and pulled it a little closer, speaking through slightly gritted teeth.
"Whimper, whimper."
The husky tilted its head up and gave another two aggrieved whimpers.
"If I hadn't spotted you tearing around the flower bed like a lunatic from a distance and anticipated what would happen, telling the driver to brake early, your doggy life would've ended right here today."
Ye Yizhou scolded it with a cold face, angry and serious.
The more Ye Yizhou spoke, the angrier he became. He picked up one of the dog's legs and half dragged, half pulled the husky over to a wheel of the minibus. "Want to try finding out what it feels like to get run over?"
The husky looked pitiful and didn't quite dare defy Ye Yizhou. It could only tentatively raise another paw and gently pat his arm, signaling for him to calm down.
Ye Yizhou let go of its leg and glared at it. "You're already not very bright. If your legs end up crippled and you can't even run, none of the other little ones will want to play with you. Wouldn't that be miserable?"
The husky seemed to be trying hard to understand Ye Yizhou's words.
Then...
The husky suddenly started walking with both hind legs dragging behind it, as though they really were injured.
After a few steps, it even looked back at Ye Yizhou. It was rather comical.
"Pfft."
Ye Yizhou was both annoyed and amused. He fought to keep the corners of his mouth from rising, coughed twice, and put on a cool, aloof air.
Seeing Ye Yizhou smile, the husky immediately went back to walking normally and bounded happily around him, its tail wagging just as enthusiastically.
Ye Yizhou stood up and ignored it.
But something occurred to him, and he couldn't help adding another reproach. "Didn't I tell you to bring a leash when you go out? Did you listen?"
The dog, which had been happily running in circles, stopped at once.
It suddenly leaped into the flower bed beside them and quickly vanished from sight.
Ye Yizhou frowned slightly but said nothing.
"You know this dog?"
Everyone was stunned by Ye Yizhou's interaction with the husky, and Jiang Chuyu asked curiously.
"I do." Ye Yizhou nodded.
"Is it your dog?" Pei Lan asked curiously too.
Before Ye Yizhou could answer, there was a rustling sound. The next second, the dog jumped out and stopped in front of him.
The only difference was that it now had a leash in its mouth.
It was proving through action that it had listened.
Ye Yizhou took the leash from its mouth, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
It even brings its own leash when it goes out. Impressive.
"And I also told you to walk along the edge of the road. Did you listen to that?"
"Woof, woof."
After barking twice at Ye Yizhou, the husky really did watch the curb and walk along it, perfectly well-behaved.
It had barely taken two proper steps before it began hopping around wildly, each of its four legs going its own way. Paired with its none-too-bright expression, it looked comically ridiculous.
Ye Yizhou's temper vanished at once.
After frolicking around, it obediently returned to Ye Yizhou's side and waited for him to put its leash on.
Ye Yizhou raised a hand to stroke its head. "If you dart around in the road again, I'll break those dog legs of yours."
Unexpectedly, the husky nodded as though it understood.
"It's not my dog. It's a friend's. Probably sneaked out to play on its own."
Only after putting the leash on the dog did Ye Yizhou answer the question he hadn't had time to answer earlier.
"Wow, you're saying you have a friend who lives here?"
Zhong Xi sounded amazed, but his words carried a sarcastic edge, and he gave Ye Yizhou a meaningful look.
"What about it? Who can't have a rich friend or two?"
Ye Yizhou didn't indulge him. In fact, he managed to sound even more sarcastic:
"Don't tell me you don't have any! Then you should take a good look at yourself and ask why I'm popular enough to know a few rich friends, while you aren't!"
Zhong Xi was left speechless by his retort.
[Why is Ye Yizhou so rude? What did our Xixi say wrong?!]
[He must've hit the nail on the head. Ye Yizhou feels guilty, so he's lashing out.]
[Did Ye Yizhou stage all of this himself?!]
[Even the dog's playing along so well. They must've rehearsed this beforehand. Is he trying to build some dog-lover persona? What a joke.]
[Don't doubt it. The fact that Ye Yizhou could parachute into this show proves he has his ways.]
[Ye Yizhou has connections. He gets on this show whenever he wants, and the moment he wants to build a persona, a dog pops out. Doesn't that mean he can do whatever he likes?]
The livestream comments were filled with intense malice toward Ye Yizhou.
[We all know who Ye Yizhou came on this dating show for, right?!]
[My heart aches for our boy.]
Some people were amused by Ye Yizhou's interaction with the husky, but that did nothing to diminish everyone's malice toward him.
Ye Yizhou didn't see the comments, nor did he care.
He took the husky onto the bus with him and sat in the back row.
The moment Ye Yizhou sat down, the dog tried to affectionately leap onto him. He dodged, and it landed on the seat beside him.
Ye Yizhou frowned slightly. "Get down."
Before you continue