A heartless boss really was heartless to the bitter end. He would rather have died outright than become a vegetable.
Where would his parents find the money and energy to keep caring for him in a vegetative state?
And to think he had believed his parents could receive a sizable compensation payment, so raising him all these years would not have been for nothing.
In his current condition, he could do nothing. Going home would only burden his parents further.
His fury would not subside. Instead, it burned so fiercely that he was losing all reason, and he lunged forward to tear into the man with his teeth.
Gu Hongzhuo saw the golden retriever get up and charge toward him. His pupils contracted, but he did not forget to turn tail and run.
Unfortunately, he could not outrun the dog with its strange gait and was tackled straight to the ground.
The assistant had been investigating Gu Hongzhuo on his computer. Seeing the golden retriever take off again, he immediately sprinted over to catch him.
A few more days of watching this dog, and his sprinting speed would qualify him for the Asian Games.
He finally caught the golden retriever before anything irreversible happened. Chang Yu also received the report and came downstairs to check.
Xiaotu might have had a sharp tongue and held nothing back when cursing people out, but he clearly was not very brave.
Otherwise, he would not have chosen to act cute and obedient in front of him.
He picked up the dog straddling Gu Hongzhuo and turned to ask the assistant beside him, "What happened?"
Since the boss had brought the dog to the company, he must have been fond of him.
The assistant worded his answer in Xiaotu's favor. "This gentleman said something that seems to have upset Xiaotu."
Gu Hongzhuo felt that the golden retriever had crushed him hard enough to cause internal injuries. Now, anger had practically given him another set.
Inside, he cursed furiously. Had this dog actually become a spirit that could understand human speech?!
Upset?
Clearly, you people are all in cahoots, pinning the blame on me because I have neither power nor influence!
Yet he could only clutch his chest, unable to lose his temper.
After all, Liao Mei was his practice's only major client, and she was very fond of this son of hers.
If he offended Chang Yu, his counseling practice would lose a substantial amount of income.
He struggled to his feet and even waved a hand with a forced smile. "I'm fine. I'm fine."
Chang Yu had not cared whether he was fine in the first place.
But since Gu Hongzhuo said he was fine, Chang Yu insisted on saying he was not.
"Since my dog knocked you down, of course I can't let you suffer for it." Chang Yu turned to someone beside him. "Xiao Li, take him to the hospital for an examination."
Gu Hongzhuo shook his head frantically and insisted there was no need, but the sturdy man dragged him away without mercy anyway.
Once he was gone, Chang Yu looked down at the dog in his arms.
Xiaotu had been glaring at the man, too angry even to make snide remarks. Chang Yu had not heard any inner thoughts from him.
Having failed to keep an eye on the dog twice in a row, the assistant guiltily handed his findings to his boss.
Only after setting Xiaotu down did Chang Yu have a free hand to take the documents.
Gu Hongzhuo had opened his psychotherapy practice a long time ago, and no major incidents had occurred there before.
Two days earlier, an employee named Yan Junye had suffered sudden death at his workstation at two in the morning and was still receiving emergency treatment in the hospital.
There was a strong possibility that he would ultimately be left in a vegetative state.
Seeing the name Yan Junye, Chang Yu glanced at the fuming golden retriever.
Was it him?
"Look into this employee." With the person himself present, he did not say Yan Junye's name aloud.
The assistant nodded in acknowledgment.
Chang Yu put away the documents, and the familiar voice appeared in his mind. It seemed he had recovered.
-"I should've just lifted my leg and rewarded him with a stream of piss without another word!"
The more Yan Junye thought about it, the more he felt he had failed to perform properly. Knocking the man down had not been nearly enough to vent his anger.
-"If Gu Hongzhuo's thing weren't so disgusting, I would've bitten it already and ended his family line!"
At the thought, his canine legs tried to charge out again uncontrollably. Chang Yu reacted swiftly, crouching down and grabbing the golden retriever by the scruff.
His large hand stroked the dog's head reassuringly, and he lowered his voice to ask, "Has he bullied you before?"
Yan Junye's big, round eyes filled with grievance. He had thought he would never have anywhere to tell anyone about the wrongs he had suffered, yet Chang Yu had actually asked.
He let out several tearful barks.
[Even after I died, Gu Hongzhuo wouldn't leave me alone. He got a doctor to treat me into a vegetative state... He wouldn't even let me die in peace.]
Chang Yu lowered his head and messaged Xiao Li, who had just left for the hospital, specifying the hospital where Yan Junye still lay and asking him to focus on investigating the doctor who had treated Yan Junye at the time.
Yan Junye knew Chang Yu would not concern himself with his affairs.
His head bobbed up and down in anger, his nose twitching as he sniffled, until a snot bubble escaped.
Chang Yu took out the handkerchief he carried and wiped him clean. His voice was low and firm. "Don't worry. I won't let him get away with it."
Only when Xiaotu stopped crying did Chang Yu stand. Even with a crowd surrounding the two of them, man and dog, he did not get angry and merely clapped his hands.
"Everyone, get back to work. Break it up."
The crowd dispersed, but the voices grew much noisier than before.
"Seeing the doggy cry is so heartbreaking. I'd give my life for that adorable doggy. And President Chang was so gentle when he bent his head to talk. Somehow, I really think they're such a good match!"
Never mind the onlookers-even Yan Junye, the dog involved, felt that Chang Yu had been as gentle just now as when they first met.
He just did not know whether it was an act for the employees or a genuine display.
He shook his canine head and stood up. Either way, a human and a dog had no future together.
He had only taken one step toward the entrance when a pair of long legs blocked his way.
"Woof, woof, woof."
[I need to use the bathroom.]
Chang Yu handed Xiaotu back to the assistant. As someone with a cleanliness obsession, he could not handle picking up poop.
The assistant had started pressing his palms together in supplication to the dog. "Please don't run around this time."
He could not afford to compensate for losing him.
"He won't get lost." Chang Yu looked at the golden retriever, who appeared obedient but was actually rebellious to the bone and possessed a human soul. "He knows the way."
Yan Junye only wanted to say that he actually did not know the way. He had a terrible sense of direction.
By the time he went outside, Gu Hongzhuo was nowhere to be seen. He wandered around until he found a place where no one passed by to relieve himself.
The person who had brought him out kept watching him, so he hid behind a thick tree to do his business.
When he emerged afterward with his furry head held high, the assistant still had to cover his nose with one hand and use a plastic bag to pick up his poop with the other.
Being a rich family's dog really was better.
At noon, everyone in the Changqing Building was having lunch. Fragrances filled the air, and Yan Junye thought they smelled much better than dog food.
Just as he was about to wag his tail and beg for a meal, the assistant led him into the elevator.
They went to the floor where Chang Yu worked, but he still did not get to enter the office. Instead, he was led into a room on the other side.
Inside, Chang Yu seemed to be discussing work with the person sitting across from him.
The man opposite him wore a refined suit, had gentle features, and showed a dimple on his left cheek when he smiled.
Yan Junye had already set his sights on the man with the dimple.
Once the two finished talking, he wagged his tail and rubbed against the dimpled man's trouser leg, doing his utmost to sell himself.
-"One look tells me you're rich and gentle. Does your family need a dog? What do you think of me?"
-"I'm very obedient. I don't rummage through trash, eat poop, or wreck the house."
Chang Yu cast a casual glance at his disloyal dog, who had not forgotten to take a dig at him in passing.
Wasn't he rich? Wasn't he gentle?
It was Pei Xinglan's first time meeting a dog that was affectionate toward him. His family's dog was only close to his mother and showed no affection whatsoever toward him or his father.
He asked Chang Yu with keen interest, "Where did you get this dog?"
"Xiaotu is an emotional support dog." A smile that was not particularly well-meaning curled Chang Yu's lips. "If he's approaching you, he most likely thinks you have depressive tendencies and is doing his best to comfort you."
Pei Xinglan immediately withdrew the hand that had nearly reached the dog's head and even rolled his chair farther away.
"He might have misunderstood. I don't have depression, and I'll never get depression in my life."
He had seen firsthand how frightening Liao Mei looked when her depression flared up. He did not want to develop that kind of tormenting illness.
"..." Yan Junye's raised head drooped, and he looked at Chang Yu with resentful eyes.
Why did Chang Yu keep telling such blatant lies?
-"I'm just an emotional support dog. I can't see the future!"
After tonight, the Chang family's glory might cease to exist.
As a sensible dog, of course he would stop adding to Chang Yu's troubles and take the initiative to find his next owner, someone who would let him slack off.
-"With that mouth of yours spouting nonsense, when will I ever find a truly gentle, rich owner?!"
Once he was certain he would not be taken home, Yan Junye stopped acting cute.
He slapped his tail against the floor in anger and walked over to the table, his canine nose sniffing at Chang Yu's lunch.
There was no mistaking it. It was the grilled fish he loved.
He turned his backside toward the two men behind him, shielding the table in front of him with his body, and began clumsily working out how to open the lunch box with his paws.
His appetite had been thoroughly whetted. He did not dare eat too loudly or make any noise, so he could only praise it in his mind.
-"Boo-hoo, grilled fish really does suit my tastes best. And there aren't even any bones. Five stars."
Hearing this, Chang Yu turned his gaze toward the sneaky golden retriever.
The meeting room had thick carpeting. His footsteps made almost no sound as he approached lightly, and it was only three or four steps away.
Looking down at him, he spoke without warning. "Is it good?"