Chapter 158: The Fate of Two Dogs
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Since he was not clear on whether or not to keep the dog, Liu Sanlang only bought one bag of dog food. If he decided to keep it, he would buy other pet supplies later. He was quite nervous that the dog would pee or poop in the aerated box, so he kept staring at it. Fortunately, the puppy didn’t do anything embarrassing.
Liu Sanlang opened the box and let the puppy out when he got home.
Liu Sanlang was, in fact, a homeowner. His apartment was a small two-bedroom. His parents gave him some money towards the down payment and he was paying the mortgage on his own. He was fortunate that he bought the apartment early, because the real estate market was skyrocketing high at the moment and it most likely would continue to grow. If he hadn’t invested in the apartment back then, he probably would never have been able to afford one. The mortgage was high, but it was worth it.
Like other single gentlemen, Liu Sanlang attended blind dates quite often. Some were out of his own interests, while some were forced on him by his parents. Having a good job and an apartment of his own, he had two incredible advantages in winning a girl’s heart. However, he was quite introverted as a person; therefore, some good-looking girls would not fall for him and the ones who liked him were way less pretty than his desire. Honestly, Shi Shi had always had a special place in his heart. As long as Shi Shi was still single, he would not give up any chance to approach her.
Considering a renovation would be needed before his wedding, his apartment was very basic. There was flooring on the ground, the walls were painted, and the furniture was made of only simple, inexpensive pieces.
The labrador stuck its head out from the box and looked around at the unfamiliar environment curiously. It whined quietly and then looked at Liu. He gently rubbed its head and said, “Go ahead.”
It acted as if it understood his words and stepped out of the box. It started running around with its trembling feet. Firstly, it went to the kitchen because of the smell. Soon it discovered there was no food in the kitchen, so it went to the porch. Its two front feet rested on the rail. Its tail was wagging quickly and its nose was pressed against the glass. The porch was enclosed, so Liu Sanlang wasn’t worried about him falling.
He walked into the kitchen. There was an empty box on the counter from something he had ordered online. He was going to throw it away, but suddenly thought of a use for it.
He took the box to the porch. The puppy turned around and looked at him.
“Come, buddy, come!” He grabbed it and put it in the box.
Placing its front paws on the box, it looked like it wanted to escape. He pushed it back, saying, “Wait a second. Let me take some pictures.”
Pulling out his cellphone and letting go of the puppy, Liu Sanlang quickly took a few pictures before the puppy got out of the carton. The pictures looked great.
“Perfect. Now you can play.”
One of the pictures looked exceptional. The Labrador puppy had its mouth open with its tongue sticking out and looked at the camera with a cute face. Liu found Shi Shi from his contact list, clicked on her profile picture, hesitated for a while and then sent the picture. He sent a comment with the picture: “Someone left a dog at my door. What should I do? I’ve never had a dog.”
After clicking the send button, his heartbeat increased. Sweat came from his forehead and he almost fainted.
He wasn’t sure how long it would take Shi Shi to respond. Putting down the cellphone, he turned around and found a yellowish soft and fresh paste on the clean floor…
“Sh*t! You just pooped on the floor?!”
The labrador didn’t know it had done something wrong. Sitting behind its still-warm waste, it was looking at him as if it needed praise and encouragement.
Looking at the dog poop, Liu Sanlang suddenly felt disgusted and annoyed. This poop was not the most important. The worst thing is there might be more trouble that would come because of this dog. Buyer’s remorse started to kick in.
Maybe I should return it before it is too late?
He wanted to attract Shi Shi with this dog. It might be impractical anyways.
Sighing, he found a piece of old paper and a small shovel, picked up the poop, laid it on the paper and then folded the paper in half. He then wrapped it with another piece of old paper. Next, he found an old rag and cleaning spray to clean the floor.
“No more pooping on the floor!” he warned it, pointing at its nose.
The puppy whimpered. It tilted its head, not really understanding Liu’s words.
“Never mind. I will take you back tomorrow.”
He threw the small shovel and rag into the sink and washed his hands.
While he was washing his hands, his cell phone chimed.
He grabbed the cellphone and unlocked it.
“What?”
Shi Shi had responded, “It is so cute! Why are you so lucky? Who left such a cutie behind?”
His hands were shaking with joy. Immediately, he replied, “But I’ve never had a dog.”
Shi Shi said, “Never had a dog? Then learn how to raise one! You can fix any computer. I am sure keeping a dog is far easier than fixing a computer.”
Unbelievable! Shi Shi just sent him a message that was longer than one line?! For a dog?! That was the longest message she’d ever sent him.
His mind was running at lightning speed. If there was a fan installed in his brain, the fan had to be overheating. He then asked, “I don’t know how to get along with pets… well, never mind, I will put it back where I found it. Maybe some nice people will adopt it… Oh, the weather forecast said there might be rain tonight. The nightly fall rain… it might be cold. I hope someone will pick it up before the rain.”
Shi Shi replied immediately, “Don’t do that! That is too cruel! It will die from the cold.”
Liu Sanlang’s plan worked. He responded with unspoken excitement, “What should I do then? May I send it your way? Do you want it?”
After a little while, Shi Shi said, “No, I can’t take it. I don’t have the time, and most importantly, my lease stated that I couldn’t have pets.”
Did she dig out her lease just now? Otherwise how come she could be so sure? Liu Sanlang thought. He hoped so. At least that meant that she cared.
He said, “I have time…”
Shi Shi replied, “Because you are a male Otaku!”
Ouch! That hurt, girl!
Liu Sanlang then responded, “I mean, I am quite introverted so I have the time to take care of it… Could you share your knowledge of dogs with me? I will raise it. You only have to tell me what to do.”
The clock was ticking. He looked at the cell phone nervously. All he could hear was his own heartbeat.
The labrador walked around, returned to him and looked at him, full of expectations. It looked like it was saying, “Come! Let’s play!”
“Wait,” He said to it seriously, “The next message is going to determine the fate of two dogs… No! No! No! I am not a dog! Damn! I’ve started to talk like the pet store owner now.”
10 minutes passed. There was still no response from Shi Shi. Liu Sanlang was patient when it came to Shi Shi. The average wait time for Shi Shi’s response was 53 minutes, so 10 minutes was nothing.
His cell phone chimed. The monitor lit up.
Shi Shi said, “I did some research online. You’d better take it to the vet for vaccines because it was a street dog.”
Liu Sanlang paused. The silly pet shop owner told him that the Labrador already had all the vaccines. However, he could not tell her the truth.
He replied, “Okay. I see. I will take it to the vet tomorrow. And?”
Shi Shi, “And you can treat it like family.”
He responded, “Where do I begin with that?”
Shi Shi replied immediately, “Silly!”
He then thickened up his skin and wrote, “I am not that smart. Please tell me.”
Another long wait.
He was patient, but the Labrador wasn’t. It turned around and played somewhere on its own.
20 minutes later, his cell phone chimed.
Shi Shi had replied, “Oh NO! Annoying!”
Looking at her words, he felt as if his heart had dropped through the ice.
So, it was a no-go? Shi Shi never had been passionate towards him anyways. However, this was the first time she had said he was annoying.
Desperately, he threw away the cellphone, lay in bed, buried his face into the pillow and quietly took the hurt alone. Never mind. Shi Shi is out of my reach. In my next blind date, I will take whoever wants to date me. It doesn’t matter how she looks and whether or not I like her. As long as she is a girl, I will take her. Maybe I should forget about Shi Shi like that… he thought to himself, sadly.
His cell phone chimed.
He knew it wouldn’t be Shi Shi. Lying in bed, he was too lazy to move. All he wanted to do was to fall asleep. Maybe in the morning when he woke up, he would find that it was only a heart-breaking dream.
Suddenly, he felt something lick his foot. He sat up, frightened.
It was the puppy! It was licking his foot while looking at him.
“Oh… I forgot all about you…” He laughed, as if he was laughing at himself, “I couldn’t sleep like this. I should take you back to the pet store… I am sorry I am not an owner with pure love to give you. Please forgive me…”
He sat up, and put his cell phone in his pocket.
Thinking about the chime just now, he pulled out the cell phone to check if someone from work needed his support.
Shi Shi, “It is so annoying! It took me so long to type everything and I deleted it by mistake! How about this? Where do you live? I can come to your apartment to show you about dogs.”
Frozen like a statue, Liu Sanlang couldn’t believe a word he saw. He knew every word on the screen, but together, the sentence seemed so unbelievable. He felt like it was the first time he discovered coding. The magnificent magic behind the simple words was astonishing! Shi Shi’s words also had the same power, if not higher!
The phone chimed again. He woke up.
Shi Shi, “What? Is there a problem? Never mind then.”
Whipping his fingers, Liu Sanlang was thrilled. He sent his own address and said, “Sorry, I was looking up vets near me.”
Shi Shi responded, “Oh, you live quite close to me. Just wait there. I may come any day when I have a chance. I don’t need any advance appointment, right? You are a male Otaku anyways.”
He quickly replied, “That’s right. You are welcome anytime.”
Shi Shi stopped talking then. Liu Sanlang was on top of the world.
The distance between desperation and happiness was only one message away.
Looking at his simple apartment, he was so excited. For the first time, a cute girl was going to visit here.
The labrador tilted its head, looking at its new owner who was sad in a minute and thrilled the next, confused.
He rubbed its head. “That’s fine. When you grow up, you will understand the pain of being a damn single dog.”
