Did he dare move?
He didn't. He absolutely didn't dare move.
Yan Junye squeezed his eyes shut and resigned himself to it all.
His final conclusion was that being a dog was hard; whether shit was hard to stomach, he didn't know.
"Done." Chang Yu's hand rose and fell, finishing the trim swiftly and neatly.
Otherwise, he was afraid Xiaotu wouldn't be able to hold still any longer, and then they'd have a real problem. He didn't particularly want to keep staring at that spot, either.
Actually, he hadn't thought much of it at first, but with Xiaotu constantly screaming inside his head, some of his attention had inevitably been drawn there.
Yan Junye's tail, which had been held upright the whole time, could finally relax and droop.
In a single night, that spot had endured far too much unbearable scrutiny.
He was so mentally exhausted. He had a feeling even his dreams tonight wouldn't be peaceful.
His legs felt weak the moment he started walking, so he had to lie down by the bathroom door and rest for a while.
He watched as Chang Yu, rather than immediately washing his hands, thoroughly cleaned the bathroom from top to bottom before finally starting to wash them.
-Keep washing and you'll scrub your skin right off.
Yan Junye silently snarked.
-Still, making a clean freak like you wash my butt and trim my fur really was asking a lot.
Chang Yu felt he hadn't had any other choice, either. He dried his hands, took out some hand cream, and asked as he rubbed it in, "Still feeling bad?"
At that, Yan Junye felt aggrieved all over again. "Awoo, awoo~"
[Yes, I feel awful. I can't even get a cup of hot water. Sob, sob, sob (╥╯^╰╥).]
Chang Yu remembered that he had spotted Xiaotu by the kitchen door earlier. He got up and headed to the kitchen. "Have some hot water if you're feeling bad."
Humans saw hot water as a cure for everything anyway, so saying that wouldn't make Xiaotu suspect anything.
"If you're still feeling bad tomorrow, I'll take you to the hospital for a checkup."
Yan Junye shook his head frantically, signaling that he absolutely refused to go to the hospital.
He still remembered taking his own Chinese rural dog to the hospital. Whether the vet was taking its temperature or doing certain other examinations, they always poked something up the dog's butt.
He couldn't let an object take his little flower's innocence.
At the very least, he had to find a handsome guy first.
Otherwise, he wouldn't rest in peace even in death!
Just looking at those puffed-up cheeks, Chang Yu could imagine what Xiaotu was thinking. Holding back his laughter, he set the hot water on the table. "Drink up."
"You can only eat bland food for the next few days. Get better first, or I'll take you to the hospital."
For the sake of his little flower's innocence, Yan Junye wouldn't dare eat recklessly even if it killed him.
After drinking the water, he jumped off the stool and prepared to go to sleep.
He had been in too much of a hurry to notice when he'd rushed out to use the bathroom. Only now did he discover that Chang Yu's pajamas were still on his bed.
When he stepped on them, they felt ice-cold, and suddenly his own bed lost its appeal.
To keep himself from getting chilled again and being dragged off to the hospital, Yan Junye wagged his tail and followed Chang Yu.
"Want more hot water?"
Yan Junye sat back on his haunches and shook his head, then rubbed his head against Chang Yu's leg and lifted a paw to point toward Chang Yu's bedroom.
What he wanted to express was already perfectly clear.
-I want to sleep under the same covers as you.
Chang Yu: "..." He wanted to sleep with him?
"Didn't you complain that I disturbed your sleep? Go sleep in your own room."
His germophobia wouldn't let him accept a dog on his bed, much less sleeping under the same covers as one.
Yan Junye immediately refused to have it. Instead of sitting obediently, he raised his front paws and pawed at Chang Yu.
Standing up now, he could reach Chang Yu's chest, making him thoroughly threatening.
It looked as though he would knock Chang Yu down right there in the kitchen if he didn't agree today.
-I'm perfectly clean, and you washed me yourself. Are you doubting your own professional skills?
-My room is too cold. If I get chilled again in the middle of the night and make a mess at home, how awful would that be? I'm sure you can tell what takes priority.
Chang Yu kept feeling as though he was being threatened.
It was no longer a silent threat, either. It had escalated to threats of force combined with verbal threats.
He wasn't raising a dog at all. He was clearly raising an ancestor he couldn't afford to offend.
He sighed softly. It was all because, when he'd had air conditioning installed at home, he'd only put it in his own room.
"Then don't blame me if you don't sleep well tonight."
Only after hearing his answer did Yan Junye lower his paws and wag his tail, as though saying, "At least you know what's good for you."
At four in the morning, before dawn had broken, the last light in the pitch-dark Golden Cauldron Residential Complex finally went out.
Once the man and dog were lying in bed, the home finally settled back into a sleeping atmosphere.
Chang Yu's covers weren't particularly warm yet, either. Yan Junye edged closer to him, then found a comfortable position and went to sleep.
Chang Yu didn't fall asleep as quickly as Xiaotu. Being brushed by all that fur made it even harder to sleep, especially where it touched his neck.
It kept feeling furry and itchy.
He wasn't used to sleeping with a living creature beside him.
Bored, he reached out to stroke the dog's ears, then his black nose and black paws. Only when an impatient paw swatted his hand away did Chang Yu withdraw it.
The alarm went off on time the next morning, and Yan Junye switched it off at practically supernatural speed. A corporate slave truly couldn't stand even a moment of an alarm ringing.
Chang Yu hadn't slept well after all the disturbances the night before, either, and for once, he didn't hear the alarm.
When he got up and checked his phone, the time displayed-ten o'clock-instantly jolted him awake.
He'd been so occupied with teasing the dog last night that he'd forgotten Xiaotu could turn off alarms.
As he pushed away the dog's paw resting on him, his assistant called.
"I'll be at the office right away."
His assistant had almost thought Chang Yu had gone missing. After all, their boss was rarely late.
Once he hung up, the gossip-loving employees gathered around. "Has Mr. Chang found a handsome boyfriend? And then spent all night in a hot and heavy battle?"
Chang Yu really had sounded as though he'd just woken up, but his assistant didn't dare make careless remarks.
Chang Yu arrived at the Changqing office carrying the soundly sleeping Xiaotu.
He hadn't been over to Chang Liao's side lately, mainly to force Chang Liao to hurry back to work so he could have an easier time.
When it was time for the meeting, Chang Yu went to the conference room, leaving Xiaotu in his office.
When Pei Xinglan arrived, all he saw was a dog lying on the sofa, with a little blanket covering him.
He really was living the good life.
Sensing someone sit down beside him, Yan Junye opened his eyes and glanced over. Once he was sure there was no danger, he turned his head and went back to sleep.
But Pei Xinglan kept persistently pestering him, chattering even more than he did.
"What was Chang Yu doing last night? He was even late this morning. He definitely wasn't up to any good last night. Did you hear anything at home?"
"Did he bring a man home? He's already in his thirties. It really is time Chang Yu found a boyfriend. You'd better vet him carefully, or if the guy mistreats you, you won't have anywhere to air your grievances."
Unable to stand it any longer, Yan Junye raised his head and let loose. "Woof, woof, woof!"
[You're so annoying! Chang Yu didn't bring a man home last night! And what business is it of yours, anyway!]
If they really had to say who Chang Yu had slept with last night, he'd slept with him.
As for what Chang Yu had done last night, it had been nothing more than a series of inspections and washes beneath his tail.
He didn't want to remember any of it.
Pei Xinglan clicked his tongue. "You're a comfort dog. Why do you have such a bad temper?"
Yan Junye maintained that his title of comfort dog was only an empty one. He had never worked a day; he was a dog who lay flat and enjoyed life.
When Chang Yu returned, he found Pei Xinglan arguing with Xiaotu.
He stared into Pei Xinglan's eyes, an unintended seriousness slipping into his voice. "Can you understand what Xiaotu is saying?"