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Gu Bai, who suffered from difficulty getting up syndrome, finally got out of bed. By the time he finished breakfast, it was almost time to leave for the airport.

The driver carried the luggage to the car. Mocha kept a close eye on his own luggage, following right beside the driver to supervise, afraid that his luggage might be left behind.

He was also the first to get into the car, leaping onto the back seat in a flash.

Mocha sat between Gu Bai and Chu Zeshen, sprawling brazenly across Gu Bai's lap while his tail swept against Chu Zeshen's thigh every so often.

Gu Bai cupped Mocha's face to check his appearance. Eye discharge tended to build up in the morning, but Mocha's face was clean. Someone had clearly groomed him already.

Mocha wore a bib around his neck, Uncle Li's handiwork. It seemed Uncle Li had already tidied up the furry child.

Gu Bai had gone to bed a little late last night and felt somewhat sleepy now, so he closed his eyes to rest on the way to the airport.

After trying a few times to engage Gu Bai without success, Mocha turned to pester Chu Zeshen instead.

The man and dog had forged a deep friendship over Frisbee, along with the morning wake-up service on someone else's behalf. Mocha already regarded Chu Zeshen as another owner.

Mocha raised a paw to touch Chu Zeshen's hand, then sat up and rubbed against him.

Chu Zeshen did not understand what Mocha meant. This was also the first time he had made out Mocha doing this gesture to him.

Seeing that Chu Zeshen remained unmoved, Mocha repeated the sequence.

Chu Zeshen thought Mocha wanted to be petted, so he raised a hand to rub his head. After just one stroke, Mocha shook his head away.

Chu Zeshen's hand stopped in midair.

A soft chuckle suddenly came from beside him. Chu Zeshen looked at Gu Bai, whose eyes were closed but whose lips had curved upward.

"Enjoying the show?"

Gu Bai kept his eyes closed. "It's quite entertaining."

Mocha turned to glance at Gu Bai. Seeming to sense it, Gu Bai hurriedly said, "He wants a belly rub."

Gu Bai was very sleepy. He could enjoy the show, but he did not want to attend to Mocha, so he had to get someone else to wait on this little lord.

Chu Zeshen rubbed Mocha's belly, and Mocha promptly lay down.

Both Gu Bai and Mocha rested well on the way. Gu Bai had more or less recovered his energy, and Mocha went without saying. He had not gone for a walk that morning and was now brimming with energy.

They were taking the Xie Family's private plane today. The original plan had been a trip for four, but now there were eight. It would be a lie to say Xie Wen did not mind, but those four were from the Gu Family and the Chu Family. Apart from grumbling a little in their private group chat, he had said nothing else. After all, they would be doing their own things anyway.

The airport staff took their suitcases to be checked in. After completing check-in, Gu Bai and Chu Zeshen took Mocha to the private lounge.

On a private plane, there was no need to check pets into the hold. They could board directly.

When they reached the lounge, Xie Wen and Lu Shengfan were eating breakfast.

Xie Wen raised an eyebrow in greeting. "Good morning."

Gu Bai nodded. "Morning."

Lu Shengfan asked, "Have you had breakfast? Want some?"

Gu Bai shook his head. "No, thanks. We've already eaten."

Chu Zeshen spotted the clue at once. "You two came together."

Xie Wen ate a small wonton. "My place is almost an hour from the airport. I moved my luggage to A Sheng's last night and stayed over."

Gu Bai and Chu Zeshen sat down beside each other and unclipped Mocha's leash. As though he had never eaten, the dog circled Xie Wen and Lu Shengfan.

Xie Wen whistled to tease the dog. "You two ate, but you didn't feed our little cutie, did you?"

Chu Zeshen glanced at the breakfast on his table. "He had a more lavish meal than you."

Xie Wen: ...

Lu Shengfan laughed mercilessly.

By the time Xie Wen finished breakfast, the other four still had not appeared. Wiping his mouth, he said, "Those four are pretty self-aware. They know we..."

Before he had even finished speaking, the lounge door opened. Who knew what had gotten into the two young ladies and two young masters, but they had arrived at the same time.

All four wore sunglasses. Gu Jiazi and Chu Hanjin each carried a limited-edition handbag, looking every bit like haughty young heiresses heading off on holiday.

After entering, the Gu Family and Chu Family members automatically split into two camps. They might have said the four of them were traveling together, but in truth, none of them thought much of the others.

Gu Jiazi was the same age as Chu Zeshen and the others, so she merely nodded at them in greeting. The other three were younger and politely greeted them, keeping up appearances.

The youngest of them, having married the person with the most say, was enjoying being greeted by everyone else.

Seeing so many people arrive, Mocha grew excited too and circled around them.

When Mocha brushed against Chu Hanjin's shoe, she could not help exclaiming, "Why did you bring the dog too? My shoes can't get wet."

Gu Bai called Mocha back to his side and secured his leash.

"You're not something he likes to eat. He won't drool over you."

Chu Hanjin glanced at Chu Zeshen beside Gu Bai, still apprehensive and lacking confidence. "I'm a little scared of dogs. I was just saying."

Gu Bai said nothing.

Chu Zeshen took the leash from Gu Bai's hand. "Give it to me."

Seeing Chu Zeshen holding Mocha's leash, Gu Jiazi walked over to him and teased Mocha a little. Mocha gave her a disinterested glance and ignored her.

Gu Jiazi said, "Mocha is so cute. There's nothing to be afraid of. When you travel with a pet, contact is inevitable. You'd better get used to it."

"It's better to keep your distance from Mocha." Chu Zeshen moved a little closer to Gu Bai. "And don't tease him casually. He might not be able to control his strength while playing. Better to avoid getting hurt."

Mocha never opened his mouth while playing and knew his limits, yet Chu Zeshen had made him sound like a disobedient dog.

Hearing Chu Zeshen's words, Xie Wen and Lu Shengfan could not help muttering inwardly. Who was it who had accepted a red envelope at their very first meeting as pocket money to buy Mocha treats?

When they boarded the plane, the eight of them naturally sat apart. For the moment, none of them wanted to have anything to do with the others.

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