The attendant agreed with a smile and took the golden retriever for a bath.
She had never seen a male dog with balls here before, so she was certain this was the golden retriever's first visit.
"We'll set up a file for your pet to make future consultations and record checks easier. What's your pet's name?"
Yan Junye raised his paws to cover his ears. He didn't know whether the man found it embarrassing, but he certainly didn't have the canine dignity to listen to that name.
Chang Yu clearly didn't care what anyone else thought.
A smile played on his lips, making him look warm and gentle, but Yan Junye could see the crafty scheme hidden beneath it.
"His name is Xiaotu. He was only brought to me today. That's always been his name, so I couldn't very well change it."
Yan Junye: "..."
-This bastard really had it all worked out! Weren't you the one who deliberately gave me that tacky name?!
His cheeks puffed up with anger. The young woman kept working at the computer and even praised him. "You're so thoughtful."
Chang Yu deliberately glanced toward Xiaotu and replied with a smile, "Of course."
Yan Junye: "...Heh."
He had given up struggling.
He might as well enjoy a life of slacking off, where he didn't even have to bathe himself.
Chang Yu didn't sit idle while he waited, either.
His mother, Liao Mei, had chosen that fiancée for him.
Not long ago, when Liao Mei told him she had settled on a fiancée, he had his assistant contact the woman, Zhang Yao.
Zhang Yao's family knew Liao Mei had a mental illness. He had told Zhang Yao not to take it seriously and to return the betrothal gifts, but she had flatly refused.
Then she had even cooperated with Liao Mei in widely publicizing their impending marriage.
If Zhang Yao had found another man, that would suit him perfectly and make it easier to clarify that he was single.
Although what he had heard Xiaotu say might not be reliable, there was no harm in checking. It wouldn't take much effort anyway.
He instructed his assistant to contact the residential complex's property manager and check the surveillance footage, paying particular attention to the corners.
Affairs were naturally conducted in out-of-the-way places.
The corners of an ordinary residential complex might be blind spots, but the cameras at Golden Cauldron Residential Complex had none.
Once he finished making arrangements, there was still the fact that Xiaotu had arrived unexpectedly, and he had nothing for him at home.
Chang Yu bought some dog essentials at the pet supply shop.
Money was no concern, so he bought the most expensive of everything.
At the same time, he tested whether distance affected his mind-reading.
He hoped it did. Otherwise, he might snap if his head never got a moment's peace.
When he had walked about ten meters away, the voice lingering in his head, praising the young man nearby for being handsome and gentle, finally disappeared.
He let out a long breath.
By the time he finished shopping, Xiaotu's bath was done too. The vet had also X-rayed his leg and said there was nothing wrong.
Before his paws touched the floor, little shoes were slipped onto all four of them.
Chang Yu was well aware of what he had done, and he understood this two-faced dog too.
He told the veterinary nurse, "Give him the rabies vaccine and the six-in-one vaccine while we're here."
Then he stroked Xiaotu's head. "To save me from needing four rabies shots, you'll have to take these instead."
The corners of Yan Junye's mouth twitched involuntarily, purely from anger.
-So you do have a guilty conscience! I thought you weren't afraid I might accidentally give you a swipe.
He had been planning to arrange a little accident and make the man suffer too.
Now he needed shots himself. The more he thought about it, the harder a dog's life seemed.
Chang Yu chuckled. Gently stroking his head, he told the person beside him, "Find two handsome young men to give him the shots."
Yan Junye: "..." Do not disturb. My heart is dead.
But why did every arrangement this bastard made go against his wishes?
Before he could think further, he was carried into the vaccination room, and a needle gleaming coldly appeared before his eyes.
Chang Yu waited outside the door. The next second, he covered his ears and moved farther away.
"Awooo! Awooo-!"
A piercing howl erupted inside the room. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought they were slaughtering a dog.
Every gaze present turned his way. Chang Yu turned around, putting his back to those curious, spectacle-seeking eyes.
He understood what Xiaotu was shouting.
[It hurts, it hurts, it hurts!!]
Chang Yu shrugged helplessly. All dogs needed shots to improve their immunity. He wasn't deliberately being cruel and tormenting him.
The vaccination room's door opened. Yan Junye lay completely limp on the table. Sharp needles made him faint, but he still had the energy to complain.
-Handsome young men and I are just not meant to be! They even laughed at me for being a coward and making such awful noises! Aaaah!
It was his first time being a dog, too.
He had lost every last scrap of dignity.
He looked resentfully at the person standing in the doorway again.
-I can't walk. You figure it out.
People came and went through the shop, and they were all dog lovers. He didn't believe this bastard would dare torment him.
Seeing how pitiful Xiaotu looked, Chang Yu didn't keep bullying him.
He reached out, putting one hand around the dog's waist and supporting his bottom with the other.
A golden retriever around a year old weighed roughly thirty-three kilograms, and his looked about the same.
He picked the dog up effortlessly.
Yan Junye was still complaining inwardly.
-He looks skinny. Who knew he was so strong? Still, he definitely doesn't have the strength of my stud-dog waist.
No one could beat a male dog worked up in spring.
Chang Yu, whose strength had just been outdone, lowered his eyes to inspect the golden retriever in his arms.
How could a dog who got tired at the drop of a hat shamelessly claim to be stronger?
And now he felt that the way the golden retriever talked and all that... seemed more human?
Had this dog become a spirit?
Frowning, he turned and went back into the pet shop. "Give him a full examination, especially his head. Skip the blood tests."
He was afraid another needle would ruin Xiaotu's vocal cords.
Yan Junye: "..." He kept feeling this was a roundabout way of calling him stupid, but he had no proof.
Chang Yu studied the examination report carefully but couldn't find any problems.
After leaving the shop, he put the dog in his arms into the back seat. He had just fastened the seat belt when his assistant called.
"Mr. Chang, the surveillance footage did capture evidence, but property management says that, for privacy reasons, we can only copy footage where the faces aren't clear."
The assistant's eyes drifted uncontrollably back to the surveillance footage. He had never seen the woman in it, but he had seen the man beside her.
Still, after working for Chang Yu for so long, he knew not to say what shouldn't be said.
Otherwise, he would look like he knew too much and get killed to keep him quiet.
Chang Yu replied, "Copy the footage and give it to me when you come to the office tomorrow."
He wasn't filing an appeal anyway, so it didn't matter if the video was blurry.
As he spoke, Chang Yu studied the dog in the back seat, thinking that Xiaotu was useful after all. His fiancée in name really was cheating.
In a good mood, he opened a can of dog food for Xiaotu when they got home.
After being put through the wringer all day, Yan Junye still hadn't eaten a bite. He really was hungry.
He sniffed the canned food in front of him. He still thought malatang, hot pot, Sichuan food, Hunan food, grilled fish, and roast duck tasted better.
But his dog's body seemed to prefer the canned food in front of him now.
To keep himself from starving, he worked up his courage, lowered his head, and licked the food.
Then he began wolfing it down. After turning into a dog, his tastes seemed to have adapted to a dog's. This canned food was pretty tasty.
Would he start wanting to eat shit when he saw it, then?
Yan Junye fell into thought.
He swore that if he ate shit, he was a dog.
It was getting late. After finishing the meal delivered from a five-star hotel, Chang Yu went to clean the room Xiaotu would live in.
A dog crate would be too unsightly at home. He might as well clear out a room for Xiaotu. There was no shortage of rooms anyway.
Watching the man clean so diligently, Yan Junye felt that his depression seemed quite serious. His moods were extremely unstable.
He had been incredibly irritable that morning, but now he seemed quite gentle.
People like that were the scariest.
He shook his canine head. He wouldn't be staying here long anyway.
He sat down and began licking his fur. Now he could finally lie flat and do nothing with a clear conscience.
Back at home before, he would definitely have been scolded if he didn't do chores or clean his room.
Now no one would scold an adorable big dog.
He could even wander around the house with perfect justification.
From the moment he entered the residential complex, he could tell its residents were either rich or influential.
His current home hadn't disappointed him either. It even had two floors, covering roughly a hundred and fifty square meters.
He had nearly finished his inspection when the man finished cleaning and came out to call him, wiping sweat from his forehead.
"Xiaotu, this will be your area from now on."
With a full stomach, Yan Junye gave two friendly barks to show he understood, then obediently entered the prepared room on his own.
The room had everything he needed. It was even more luxurious and refined than the room he had lived in as a human.
He sniffed with his canine nose. No mistake-it was a solid wood bed!
There was a sofa, an automatic feeder, a water dispenser, and some toys in the room.
How was this a dog crate? This was clearly his dream home!
Yan Junye was very satisfied. Only now did he feel he had entered a rich person's home. Sure enough, even a dog's life had to start bitter before turning sweet.
Chang Yu instructed Xiaotu as he went inside to look around, "You're only allowed to move around in this room. No going into the other bedrooms, and absolutely no getting on the beds."
His germophobia couldn't tolerate a dog on his bed at all.
Yan Junye nodded obediently and even rolled around on the bed to show how much he liked it here. Still, he had to admit, the mattress was so soft.
Meanwhile, he continued complaining inwardly.
-Once you're asleep, I'm going to leave a paw print on every bed in every room tonight!
Chang Yu: "..." So what if he understood human speech? It still couldn't stop a rebellious golden retriever.
-When you're out, I'm definitely going to get on your bed and roll around like crazy! That'll teach you to turn your nose up at me!
-When you find out, I'll act cute and argue my way out of it. Then you'd better get so angry that you give me to another gentle, rich owner!
Chang Yu decided to lock this ill-intentioned dog in the room tonight.
Otherwise, he feared everyone in the residential complex would hear the dog's howls the next day.
That would be bad for both man and dog.
As for giving him away, that was currently out of the question.
After all, being able to hear his thoughts could be helpful to some extent.
Hearing the lock turn, Yan Junye realized he had been locked in. He howled curses inwardly, using the foulest language imaginable.
Fortunately, the home was big, and Chang Yu simply chose the bedroom farthest away to rest in.
Otherwise, if even his sleep was disturbed, he would make sure this foul-mouthed dog never saw the next day's sun.