Chapter 108: Bad Humans, Good Dogs
Xu Youyou didn’t take the words seriously and instead asked, “Do you know Guai Guai’s owner? I found it near the trash bins in the neighborhood. I even asked the property management, but no one reported a missing puppy.”
Lu Jingyao looked at the dog closely and thought it resembled Ah Huang. “It looks like the one I lost in Gusu.”
Gusu was over 170 kilometers from Hucheng. Lu Jingyao figured he must have been mistaken. No matter how smart Ah Huang was, there was no way it could have traveled that far.
However, Guai Guai had already noticed Lu Jingyao and tilted its head, letting out a low bark.
“Woof woof! Looks kinda familiar! Seems like that human who abandoned me! Not sure, let me check again!”
Xu Youyou listened to Guai Guai and turned to Lu Jingyao with a puzzled expression. No matter how she looked at him, he didn’t seem like the type to abandon a puppy.
Guai Guai scrutinized him for nearly three minutes before suddenly barking loudly:
“Woof woof! It’s him! He’s the one who abandoned me! Bad human, good dog! You’re not allowed to play with him!”
The dog’s loud barking made everyone in the room cover their ears.
Xu Youyou patted Guai Guai’s fluffy head. “Big King, stop barking, I’m begging you.”
Guai Guai stopped the intense barking but instead whimpered pitifully. “Woof woof! This human abandoned me! You should hit him for me!”
Xu Youyou said, “Maybe you misunderstood?”
“Woof woof! Pick me or pick him?” Guai Guai demanded.
Xu Youyou looked at the dog with a troubled expression. On one side was the puppy, on the other was a walking ATM. She refused to answer the question.
Seeing her silence, Guai Guai’s wet eyes looked at her pitifully, then it huffed in disappointment, turned around, and wiggled its chubby little butt, pretending to ignore her.
Song Zhibai, who had never interacted with a dog before, asked in a whisper, “Is it mad at you? Can it really understand what you’re saying?”
Xu Youyou forced a smile. “It has a bit of a temper, but it’s really well-behaved and does understand human speech.”
Song Zhibai reached out, wanting to pet Guai Guai’s head, but the dog dodged and turned its face away.
“Woof woof! You play with the bad human, so I don’t like you either!”
Song Zhibai felt like the dog was insulting him.
Xu Youyou gently patted the dog’s head. “We should be polite, don’t randomly bark at guests.”
Guai Guai tilted its head and pretended not to understand.
Lu Jingyao, who couldn’t understand dog language, had been observing for a while. Seeing Guai Guai act just like a pouting child, he became certain: “This is Ah Huang! Ah Huang, come here!”
In response, Guai Guai bared its teeth and barked loudly at him.
“When Ah Huang threw a tantrum, it always barked like this,” Lu Jingyao added. “Ah Huang also loves salmon slices. Does Guai Guai like them too?”
Xu Youyou admitted, “It does!”
She had already figured out that Guai Guai was Ah Huang but didn’t want to make the dog sad, so she asked Lu Jingyao, “Why did you leave the dog in Gusu instead of bringing it to Hucheng?”
Hearing this, Guai Guai’s little ears perked up, and its body slightly leaned toward them, clearly listening intently.
Lu Jingyao rubbed his nose awkwardly. “When I left Gusu, it was for an urgent business matter. I thought I’d go back to get the dog later. But in just one day, it went missing.”
Guai Guai immediately turned around and barked angrily at him.
“Woof woof! Liar! You left me with that horrible woman! She didn’t even give me dog treats! She hit me, yelled at me, and said you didn’t want me anymore!”
Xu Youyou quickly comforted the dog, patting its head. “Guai Guai, don’t be sad. You’re a good baby, the best little dog in the world.”
Hearing her gentle reassurance, Guai Guai slowly quieted down. Forgetting it was supposed to be sulking, it snuggled against Xu Youyou, completely dependent on her.
Lu Jingyao found this unusual. Back in Gusu, he had never seen the little rascal so obedient.
Xu Youyou subtly signaled him with her eyes.
Not understanding at first, Lu Jingyao checked his phone and saw a message from her. After some hesitation, and ignoring Song Zhibai’s confused stare, he walked over, crouched down, and said softly, “Ah Huang, I’m sorry. I didn’t take good care of you.”
Xu Youyou covered her mouth, laughing quietly. This was the third time today that Lu Jingyao had apologized—probably more than he had in the past few years combined.
Guai Guai let out a heavy snort, but its attitude softened.
Lu Jingyao was surprised that this actually worked—at least Guai Guai had stopped barking at him.
Xu Youyou spoke up. “When I moved into this neighborhood, I found Guai Guai by the trash bins. Its fur was dirty and matted, and it was so thin that it was practically skin and bones. It walked unsteadily, probably exhausted from traveling from Gusu to Hucheng. I almost thought it was a newborn pup.”
Lu Jingyao felt a deep sense of guilt. “You must have had a hard time traveling so far.”
Guai Guai was still mad at him, but its little head subtly stretched toward him.
Catching Xu Youyou’s signal, Lu Jingyao reached out carefully and gently stroked the dog’s head.
Guai Guai didn’t resist.
Xu Youyou sighed. Even though the dog could be temperamental, it was so easy to coax.
Thinking about the abusive caretaker in Gusu, she asked, “Who was taking care of Guai Guai in Gusu?”
Lu Jingyao answered, “A housekeeper at the villa. She was introduced by my grandmother’s relatives—said to be a hardworking woman.”
Xu Youyou couldn’t reveal that she could understand dog speech, so she hinted, “Most of the time, Auntie Liu took care of Guai Guai. She always said the dog was well-behaved, listened to commands, and never ran off.”
Lu Jingyao was sharp. He immediately caught on. “You mean… the housekeeper in Gusu was the problem?”
Xu Youyou nodded slightly. “For a dog to travel all the way from Gusu to Hucheng, it must have either thought it was abandoned or been mistreated. Either way, that housekeeper is suspicious.”
Lu Jingyao gently stroked the now-soft fur of the dog and asked, “Did the housekeeper really mistreat you?”
Guai Guai whimpered, gazing at him pitifully.
Lu Jingyao’s expression darkened. Turning to Xu Youyou, he said, “I’ll send someone to Gusu to investigate. I won’t let Ah Huang suffer injustice.”
Xu Youyou felt relieved, but at the same time, she was conflicted. The housekeeper had been cruel, but the fact that Lu Jingyao had hired someone specifically to care for the dog showed he cared.
Plus, the dog had been a gift from his grandmother, meant to bring him good fortune—a sign of a grandparent’s love.
Technically, Lu Jingyao was the real owner.
But after taking care of Guai Guai for so long, she didn’t want to give it back.
