Chang Yu was afraid Yan Junye would plant a paw on his private parts.
Yan Junye could only lie down obediently. He did his best to ignore the sensation behind him and closed his eyes, trying to get sleepy.
Chang Yu worked quietly for a while and felt his legs going numb under the weight.
He looked down at the sleeping dog but did not wake him.
He stood up, picked Xiaotu up, and put him on his bed.
Yan Junye felt as though he had suddenly been moved from somewhere warm onto a block of ice. The cold made him shudder.
He curled up for warmth, unwilling to open his eyes, his mind busy.
-So cold. Someone hurry over and warm my bed.
-Chang Yu's bed must be warm. Let me sleep under his covers for a bit, or this dog is going to freeze to death.
Chang Yu, who had not yet made it out the door, looked helplessly at the shivering golden retriever.
Warming his bed was out of the question. He found the dog bed distasteful, and besides, he could not fit on it.
He took off the coral fleece pajamas he wore around the house, bent down to drape them over Xiaotu, then covered him with the blanket. That would keep him warm.
At the comfortable temperature, Yan Junye soon put aside the idea of crawling into Chang Yu's bed for warmth.
Chang Yu went out and shut the door, but this time, he did not lock it.
Yan Junye woke up once in the middle of the night.
He would never wake without a special reason. Tonight, a slight stomachache had woken him, and he did not know what he had eaten to upset his stomach.
It could also have been because he had gotten chilled today.
This time was different from the last. Last time, he had simply eaten too much. This time, he had diarrhea, the kind that could not wait another second.
Luckily, Chang Yu had not locked the door. He could not even wait to call Chang Yu to take him downstairs and rushed straight to the bathroom himself.
He could use a human toilet. The only reason he had not used it before was that Chang Yu's germophobia made him find it disgusting.
He clutched his gurgling stomach and pooped until his whole canine body felt drained.
Dogs did not need to wipe their butts. Feeling a little better, Yan Junye jumped down and pressed the flush button.
He looked left and right. Everything was perfect. Chang Yu would never be able to tell he had used the bathroom.
He dragged himself weakly to the kitchen, wanting some hot water to warm his stomach, only to discover that he could not pour it himself.
Yan Junye decided not to wake Chang Yu.
Otherwise, with Chang Yu's powers of observation, he would definitely discover that Yan Junye had been up to no good in the middle of the night.
His paws touched the floor lightly as he came out of the kitchen, running straight into Chang Yu, who had just reached the kitchen doorway.
"..." What a coincidence.
Yan Junye tried to pretend he had not seen him and run back, but Chang Yu grabbed him.
"I was wondering why the house stank so badly. Turns out you've been running around covered in shit."
Yan Junye: "..." The way Chang Yu put it made him sound like an unhygienic, filthy dog.
-What are you talking about? I clearly pooped in the bathroom. How was I running around covered in shit?
Chang Yu turned on the light. "Go look in the mirror yourself."
Yan Junye huffed, stood in front of the mirror, and lifted his tail.
Good lord, when had that yellow stuff gotten onto his golden fur?
That was one downside of being a long-haired dog. The fur around his little flower easily picked up dirty things.
Even Yan Junye was speechless. Luckily, he had not lain down on his bed just now. Otherwise, how would he sleep tonight?
"Come into the bathroom." Chang Yu put on gloves and a mask, picked up a pair of scissors, and called out to Xiaotu, who refused to face reality.
Yan Junye entered the bathroom with his tail down and his head drooping.
He could already imagine Chang Yu spraying that spot with the showerhead. Unfortunately, he had no right to refuse this time.
After all, he did not want to sleep with that stuff on him either.
Before one wave had subsided, another rose. His sigh was still caught halfway up his throat when he heard Chang Yu say, "Lift your tail."
Yan Junye felt that the little flower he had spent countless days painstakingly defending among the dogs would ultimately not survive unscathed.
A dog's life was hard.
Covering his nose, Chang Yu nearly laughed at the way Xiaotu looked as though he were heading for the execution block.
He said deliberately, "How am I supposed to wash you if you don't lift your tail?"
After a long internal struggle, Yan Junye reluctantly lifted his tail.
Although he was a dog now, and lifting his tail to expose his little flower was perfectly normal.
His human mind still found it particularly humiliating.
It was like going to the hospital for an examination when he was sick.
The doctor told him to take off his pants and stick his butt up, while he knew the doctor was staring intently at his little flower. It was that kind of humiliation.
Especially since Chang Yu was wearing a blue medical mask, making him look even more like a doctor.
Yan Junye wanted to cry but had no tears. His paws dug desperately into the floor, or he feared he might die of shame and indignation.
"Relax. I'm just giving you a bath, not doing anything else." Just by looking, Chang Yu could tell that every muscle in the dog before him was tense.
Hearing the rush of water made it even harder for Yan Junye to relax.
-Can we negotiate? Don't spray water directly on me there. We could-
Yan Junye trembled as he awaited the baptism of warm water, but what touched his butt was a broad, warm hand.
Unlike the earlier pats, this time it rubbed and kneaded gently, like flirting.
And why was a germophobe like Chang Yu using his hand to wash him?
He had not expected it at all. Startled, Yan Junye sprang far away and curled up in the corner by the door, looking every bit like a poor dog who had been violated.
Chang Yu: "..." Weren't you the one who said not to spray water directly on you?
Why such a huge reaction?
He had not poked anywhere he should not have.
"Come over here on your own."
Yan Junye knew Chang Yu was calling him. He closed his eyes, steeled himself, and consoled himself inwardly.
-It's okay. Just pretend this is a dream, and I'm doing hospital roleplay with Chang Yu in it.
Hearing that, Chang Yu's mouth twitched. It was just a bath. How had it become hospital roleplay?
As though he had done something.
Xiaotu came over, and Chang Yu held his breath, quickly cleaning him with his gloved hand.
Never mind Yan Junye crossing his psychological boundaries. Was Chang Yu not doing the same?
In all his life, he had never washed the butt of any living creature other than himself, let alone wiped away its shit.
The things he and Xiaotu had done together really were beyond anyone else's imagination.
After Yan Junye had been washed clean and fragrant, Chang Yu even thoughtfully blow-dried his fur. The instant the hair dryer was put away, he could no longer resist the urge to flee this bathroom full of unforgettable memories.
Before his paw could step outside, he was grabbed.
Chang Yu picked up the scissors, looking perfectly calm. "Let's trim the fur around your little flower."
That way, it would not get on him next time, and he would be spared another wash.
Yan Junye turned to stone on the spot.
-Scissors are dangerous things. I advise you not to make any rash moves, or my whole dog life will be ruined!
Mostly, he just did not want his little flower stared at.
And shaving his fur? That was not something a human with no special kinks should have to experience!
-It's over. I feel even more like a dog now. What am I supposed to do?
At first, Chang Yu did not understand that remark, but its meaning slowly dawned on him.
For a moment, he did not know how to express what he was thinking.
He was better off concentrating on the task at hand.
Taking advantage of Xiaotu's daze, he held his butt still. "Don't move, or you can't blame me if I snip somewhere I shouldn't."