A Chuunibyou Young Man and a Dog

"Do debt collection companies start work this early? Do they even treat people like human beings?"

Shen Heng shook his head, a slight headache throbbing.

Although he had gone to bed a little after eleven last night, all sorts of noises had kept harassing him. He had tossed and turned for two or three hours before finally drifting off, meaning he had only slept four or five hours by now!

Shen Heng shook his head, trying to clear it a little, then got out of bed.

He was already awake. Going back to sleep now would only make him more irritable.

Get up, wash up, have breakfast, then walk over. I should get there around nine thirty... Shen Heng planned.

He got up and dressed.

Click!

The bedroom door swung open.

Shen Shuning was sitting in the living room.

Shen Heng glanced at her, then his ears twitched slightly. He heard nothing else. It seemed his mother had already gone to work, just as he remembered.

She left a little after four every morning to help at a breakfast shop until after ten, then hurried to another restaurant, where she stayed until she finished work at ten at night.

Right, once I officially join the Supervision Bureau, I need to find a chance to tell Mom to work less, or stop working altogether. But...

Thinking of the debts attached to his current identity and the original owner's character, Shen Heng felt that convincing Xu Yuqin probably would not be so easy.

He shook his head, stopped dwelling on it, and looked toward Shen Shuning.

She was wearing black track pants and a white jacket. The long hair that had hung loose over her shoulders yesterday was now tied into a ponytail at the back of her head, and faint traces of sweat were still visible on her face.

According to the original owner's memories, she goes for a morning run every Sunday, then buys a bun and soy milk outside for breakfast... Shen Heng recalled.

Shen Shuning had seen Shen Heng as soon as he came out, but she had no intention of acknowledging him and continued taking bites of the meat bun in her hand.

"I'm making an egg pancake. Want one?"

At the clear voice, Shen Shuning's hand paused slightly. She glanced at Shen Heng again, then quickly turned her head back.

"No. Just make your own!"

Shen Heng nodded without asking further and went straight into the kitchen.

He deftly picked up a pan and made an egg pancake. After taking care of breakfast with that simple meal, he went into the bathroom to wash up.

By the time Shen Heng finished washing and came out, Shen Shuning was no longer in the living room. Presumably, she had returned to her own room.

Leaving her alone, Shen Heng went straight back to his room to get ready again, then came to Shen Shuning's door.

Knock, knock-knock!

A moment later, the door opened, and that cool face appeared before Shen Heng once more.

"What is it?"

"I'm going out today and might not be back. There's still food left from yesterday. Just cook some rice later and heat up the dishes, and you can eat!" Shen Heng told her.

He waited a moment. No reply.

"What, you don't know how to cook rice? Then I'll go get it ready first. You can just press the button later!" Shen Heng spoke again.

"No need. I know how!" Shen Shuning finally spoke.

"All right, I'm off, then!"

Shen Heng nodded, then turned and headed for the front door.

With a bang, the front door closed again.

Shen Shuning stared at the tightly shut front door, her brows drawing together slightly. Then she turned, closed her own door, and returned to her desk.

She opened her phone, opened the browser, and brought up the keyboard.

How much water do you add when cooking rice?

9:13 a.m.

No. 3 Dongxing Road, Kaiping District.

Shen Heng stood on the street and looked ahead. Before him lay an enormous complex, its name carved into the wall beside it-the Linhai City Public Security Comprehensive Services Park!

After confirming he had the right place, Shen Heng lowered his head again and walked into the complex while playing on his phone.

It took him a little more time to locate Building 9.

The building stood in a relatively secluded part of the complex, surrounded by trees and separate from the other buildings. It looked something like a gymnasium. It was not particularly tall, but it seemed to cover at least several tens of thousands of square meters.

A large sign hung beside the entrance-the Public Security Supervision Bureau!

Before he even entered, music drifted out from inside.

"Amaterasu (one of Sasuke's skills in Naruto)..."

"Woof, woof-woof..." (displeased)

"Dahuang, quiet. Do you want a taste of Amaterasu too?"

"Woof-woof..." (angry)

"Kusou (damn it), in that case, I'll grant your wish!"

Bang!

Someone seemed to have slapped the desk and stood up.

"Amaterasu..."

"Grrr..." (a low warning, ready to bite)

"All right, all right. There's just no dealing with you, Haji Huang. Just wait, I'll put on some dog videos for you!"

"..."

The words coming from inside the building made Shen Heng's steps falter slightly. Uncertain, he checked the number plate hanging on the building.

"It is Building 9!"

After a moment's hesitation, Shen Heng went inside anyway.

The entrance opened onto a spacious reception hall, with a reception desk directly opposite the front door and two rows of seats to the right.

At that moment, two figures, a man and a dog, were sitting behind the reception desk.

The man looked to be in his twenties. The dog was a purebred Chinese rural dog, yellow all over except for a little white around the muzzle.

The dog was watching a phone, his mouth slightly curled, seemingly quite satisfied with what was on the screen.

I wonder if those are the dog videos I just heard about... Shen Heng thought reflexively.

The young man whose phone had been commandeered looked around in boredom. When he spotted Shen Heng at the entrance, he paused briefly, then raised a hand and lightly patted the big yellow dog on the head.

"Stop watching, Haji Huang. Our 'sen'yū (comrade-in-arms)' is here!"

After that reminder, the young man immediately stood and waved at Shen Heng.

"Hi! Konnichiwa (hello)!"

Shen Heng's gaze lingered briefly on the young man's hands. Layer upon layer of bandages wrapped around both hands, leaving only two joints of each finger exposed.

An air of chuunibyou hit him square in the face...

"Hello. Director Wang Hai sent me!" Shen Heng walked up to the reception desk.

"Yeah, I know. The captain told me about you. Hang on, I've already called him. He'll be down in a moment!"

The young man nodded, then extended his right hand toward Shen Heng and introduced himself.

"My name's Wei Leyang. My ability is B-rank Thread Control. Tier 2!"

Tier 2?... Shen Heng raised his hand and shook Wei Leyang's. Since he did not know whether his newly awakened status made him Tier 0 or Tier 1, he could only introduce himself by saying:

"Shen Heng. My ability is F-rank Hearing Enhancement. Just awakened!"

"Woof-woof..."

The dog beside them barked twice at just the right moment. Taking the hint, Wei Leyang gestured toward the dog and introduced him.

"This is Haji Huang!"

"Grrr..." Haji Huang bared his fangs at Wei Leyang.

"All right, all right, all right. Dahuang, Dahuang!" Wei Leyang corrected his form of address for the companion beside him. "This is Dahuang. He's our comrade-in-arms too!"

"A Calamity Beast?" Shen Heng looked at Dahuang. That thoroughly satisfied doggy face from a moment ago had left quite an impression on him, and his hand unconsciously rubbed his left arm.

At Shen Heng's words, Dahuang shuddered, clearly knowing what Calamity Beast meant.

"Relax! Relax!" Wei Leyang said with a smile. "Dahuang isn't a Calamity Beast that invaded from another world. He's Old Li's dog. He's older than the otherworld invasion itself!"