Chapter 34 Mad Dog Hotel

Normal people don't treat their pets as lovers.

Lu Qi was holding a water glass, with her notebook spread out on her lap.

Lulu sat to her right, a magazine spread out on her lap, turning a page every now and then.

Lu Qi lowered her eyes, hid her left hand behind her back, and lightly scratched the sofa with her fingernails, making a sound.

Lulu immediately turned to look at her.

Lu Qi ignored it and turned another page of his notes without realizing it.

Lulu observed her for a few seconds, and after confirming that she had no intention of interacting, she turned her head and flipped through the magazine again.

Pretending to do the same thing is a common way for dogs to start socializing.

This method is typically used between dogs that are not very familiar with each other.

Lu Qi wondered, were they not very familiar with each other?

According to the socialization process of dogs, they do indeed get stuck at the second step, "sniffing the enhancer," but this is not a delicate surgery, so is it necessary to be so strict?

Lu Qi speculated that perhaps it was because Lulu hadn't socialized properly.

Due to parvovirus, he was never able to interact with other cats and dogs after being thrown out at one month old until his death.

He had no experience whatsoever, like a novice entering the kitchen for the first time, and insisted on following the recipe step by step.

Thinking about this, Lu Qi felt uneasy.

If Lulu had met someone financially independent instead of a high school student, she would have had the opportunity to become friends with other dogs that had recovered from parvovirus; at the very least, other owners would have spent more time with her than a high school student.

She felt sorry for it and knew she owed it something, not having given it a better life.

This isn't how a girlfriend treats her boyfriend; this is how a parent treats their child.

The relationship between owners and pets can be that of family, partners, or collaborators, but it should never be that of lovers.

After confirming Lulu's identity and tentatively believing that the ghost story had nothing to do with him, Lu Qi began to struggle with his relationship with Lulu.

"Lulu." Lu Qi spoke, and Lulu immediately looked over.

Lu Qi recalled, "When we were dating, you said that we 'could' be a couple."

“It sounds like being lovers isn’t your first choice,” she asked Lulu. “What kind of relationship did you originally want with me?”

"Why are you suddenly asking this?" Lulu asked, puzzled. "Don't you like your current relationship anymore?"

"I was just asking casually." Lu Qi hadn't yet decided whether to make the first move.

She was willing to believe Lulu, to believe that he wasn't an evil spirit that harmed humans, but after all, they were in the midst of a ghost story about vicious dogs.

What a coincidence!

A faint doubt lingered in Lu Qi's mind, causing him to hesitate.

She forced a sheepish smile. "I want to know you a little more."

Lulu's eyes curved into crescents.

He sensed a hint of suspicion, but Lu Qi was smiling at him.

Her smile is so beautiful.

“I’m willing to be anything as long as I can be by your side,” he answered honestly. “But it seems that only lovers can kiss. If possible, I hope to be your lover.”

Those round eyes with sparse whites stared at Lu Qi.

She only noticed these inhuman eyes yesterday—

It was simply that his gaze towards her was too tender; his stern black pupils were filled with love, warmed, and softened, losing all trace of their former terror.

He loved her deeply.

Without a doubt.

“Why…” Lu Qi lowered her head, “I’ve never given you anything good.”

They live crammed into an old house of less than 40 square meters every day.

"We haven't spent much time together."

Lu Qi has to leave home at 6:50 every morning and doesn't get home until 10:30 at night.

Excluding sleep, they only had a brief two hours to see each other each day, and even those short two hours couldn't last three years.

In just over two years, Lulu has been unable to enjoy delicious food, and she has never taken Lulu to run on the grasslands, swim at the beach, or even play frisbee freely.

Their past was shrouded in a gloomy, sickly atmosphere, utterly depressing. There wasn't a single glimmer of light.

"You must have met many people, so why did you choose me?"

His current words and actions are no different from those of a human. In the years that Lu Qi was unaware of, Lulu must have seen the outside world.

He should have realized how simple and impoverished those three years they spent together were.

Lulu sensed sadness and assumed it was Lu Qi's emotion. However, upon closer inspection, she discovered that part of it emanated from herself.

The taste was the same as the emotion he felt when he saw her going against the current, fearlessly rushing towards the Shiba Inu.

She was reckless and didn't care about herself at all, showing even less will to live than he had been given countless death diagnoses by doctors when he was young.

The reason Lu Qi gave up on himself was none other than someone else.

If it weren't for taking him for a walk, Lu Qi wouldn't have met those two men;

If he weren't so weak, he wouldn't have left Luqi;

If Lu Qi hadn't met him in the first place, he wouldn't have been so tired, nor would he have suffered so much when Lu Qi died.

He made her sad.

A warm scent enveloped Lu Qi.

Lulu pulled her into her arms.

“It snowed heavily that day,” she could not see his expression, but she could hear his slightly hoarse voice in her ear, “Now that I think about it, it was just a light snow, only because it was the first time I had ever seen snow.”

Before this, Lulu had never even seen rain.

“I’m standing by the roadside, and you walk past me.”

"I was terrified and wanted to get away, but I wasn't feeling well and didn't know where I was going, so I could only stay where I was."

The pain of the small one is different from that of syringomyelia. It is like a snowfall, not heavy, but fine and cold, seeping into the bones, even gnawing away at the warmth of the bone marrow.

Lulu had never left the cage before; that was his first time venturing outside.

The world was pitch black, and the only white was robbing him of his body heat.

He was in too much pain to be alarmed by the unfamiliar surroundings, so he could only sit in the snow, waiting for his owner to take him home.

Ten minutes, half an hour, an hour, two hours... only the cold snow was caressing his head.

You glanced at me and lingered for a moment.

She picked him up, and the snow on his body melted away with her warmth.

She was all alone, still a minor, yet she gave him a name, gave him a home, and saved him time and time again at great cost.

He tightened his arms around Lu Qi a little. "After that, every time I see you, I can't help but love you a little more."

Lu Qi understood.

She buried her face in Lulu's shoulder and wept silently.

I'm sorry, I'm so sorry...

He had endured so many hardships with such strength, yet in the end, he died on that winter night because of her.

She couldn't protect him...

“I love you, Lu Qi.” Lulu turned her head and licked away the tears on her face. “I love you, I only love you. I don’t care about any status. If you like, I can be a cat too.”

Lu Qi laughed through her tears.

“Let’s stick with the dog,” she said, as he licked the corner of her eye. “Cats have barbs on their tongues.”

She laughed, and Lulu laughed too, "Okay, I'm a dog."

Lu Qi felt relieved and let go of her entanglement with the relationship.

She had nothing to offer Lulu in return, but if he preferred the relationship of lovers, she was willing to go along with it.

No, was he cooperating with her...?

The kiss lingered on her cheek and unknowingly moved to her lips.

Lu Qi put his arm around Lulu's shoulder, and she was pressed down on the sofa by him, drooling in her mouth.

He braced himself with one hand on his side, being careful not to press down on Lu Qi; with his other hand, he tentatively touched her abdomen.

Unlike cats, when a dog lies on its back and exposes its belly, it is inviting its owner to pet it.

Lu Qi did not find it offensive.

She didn't hug Lulu's hand like a cat would, but instead kicked his arm that was touching her stomach with her hind legs;

She didn't react with any discomfort, only flinching slightly at first.

Lulu then placed her palm down, gently and lovingly stroking her chest and abdomen, replicating the way Lu Qi used to touch her belly.

In their inseparable kiss, Lu Qi vaguely recalled the first day she was assigned to 2602, when Lulu massaged her sore legs.

So that's how it is... That was the technique she used to massage his paralyzed hind limbs back then.

The puppy, who had no social experience, gave back all the positive interactions it had ever received to Lu Qi.

Lu Qi smiled.

She accepted his kisses and caresses, just like that night when she lay in bed and tentatively bit Lulu's lips. Lulu's eyes crinkled into a smile.

The phrase "holding a dog's muzzle in its mouth" was the first dog language phrase Lu Qi learned, meaning:

I love you deeply.

Even if you are beneath my sharp teeth, I will not harm you.

Perhaps Lulu was just going along with her in this relationship.

She longed for love, not only to be loved, but also to give love to others.

Family, partners, or even collaborators cannot compare to the close bond of a lover.

Only mutual affection can give life the motivation to continue.

Lulu also longed for a response.

Between kisses, he pleaded with Lu Qi, his eyes still wet: "Lu Qi, touch me... touch me, okay?"

Lu Qi's cheeks were flushed, and she reached out and touched Lulu's face.

Even knowing he was just a clueless puppy, she still couldn't resist when he spoke with that appearance.

Lulu, unsatisfied, grabbed her wrist and pressed it against her chest.

"You like it here, don't you?" Those round eyes were smiling. "You can touch it here, even if you have to touch it hard."

Lu Qi curled his toes in shame.

She really liked touching the puppy's chest, where the fur was thickest. After Lulu turned into a human, her chest and waist also inherited the excellent shape of the dog.

But how could he say such a thing with a smiling expression... like a seasoned gigolo?

She stopped touching it, withdrew her hand to cover her blushing face, and hurriedly changed the subject, "Isn't it almost noon? Should we go check on Miaoying, Zhenyi, and the Shiba Inu in the conference room?"

Lulu's gentle, happy smile faded.

He looked down at Lu Qi beneath him and whispered, "You like dogs with upright ears?"

Samoyeds and Shiba Inus are both rude and unruly.

He hadn't forgotten that when he came back that morning, Lu Qi pushed him away and said that the Shiba Inu was cute.

If anyone else had asked him this, Lu Qi wouldn't have denied it, but since it was Lulu who asked, his tone turned cold.

Lu Qi put aside her embarrassment and said helplessly, "No, I like lop-eared dogs, preferably the kind with long ears, as delicate and cute as a little girl with pigtails."

Lulu was happy.

He didn't want to leave Lu Qi, but the palm of his hand pressed against her abdomen sensed the state of her stomach.

She was hungry; she needed to eat, and eating was very important.

Lulu pulled away from her, and Lu Qi breathed a sigh of relief, sitting up to straighten her clothes.

I've worn this outfit for four or five days, I need to wash it tomorrow, and then I'll wear pajamas for the next two days.

Thinking about their current situation, Lu Qi couldn't help but frown again.

"What's wrong?" Lulu keenly noticed her change in mood.

Lu Qi didn't hide anything: "I'm thinking about when I can get out."

"..." Lulu paused for a moment, "You're in such a hurry to leave, is there something important?"

Hearing his question, Lu Qi gave a self-deprecating laugh, "I didn't."

Thinking about it this way, she really didn't have any reason to leave.

“But others do,” she said. “Everyone is scared and anxious. In just three days, ten people have already died, and so many others have turned into monsters. If this continues, who knows how many more will be sacrificed.”

Lulu fell silent again.

Do you want everyone to leave?

Lu Qi nodded, then looked at Lulu, "What idea have you come up with?"

Since entering the realm of ghost stories, Lulu has remained remarkably calm.

Perhaps because he is a "dog demon" like the BOSS here, he knows some inside information.

Lulu looked away. "No, no."

He was so bad at lying that Lu Qi could tell at a glance that he really had a method.

"Really?" she asked, disbelieving.

“I really don’t know,” Lulu tried to sound sincere, “but don’t worry, someone will leave.”

The last sentence was rather strange.

Whether it's to comfort her or because you've actually come up with a solution, you should usually say, "We will definitely leave."

"Some people will leave" — the reverse is that some people will not leave.

“Lulu,” Lu Qi suddenly said, “do you know why I agreed to date you?”

Lulu tilted her head.

Lu Qi said, "Because you helped me back then, I felt that you were a kind and upright person."

She said earnestly, "I have suffered undeserved misfortune, which caused me great pain. So whether it's pets or lovers, my bottom line is that they will not maliciously harm other lives."

Lulu looked at her.

Lu Qi did not avoid looking him in the eye. She gazed at Lulu solemnly, wanting him to understand her thoughts.

After a while, Lulu lowered her eyes first and softly hummed in agreement.

[The World's Minions] will destroy their homes; they need the negative energy of human fear, sadness, anger, and anxiety to resist the invaders.

His biggest concession was not to kill anyone else.

He also has his bottom line, which he cannot back down from.

"Open the door!"

Suddenly, a sharp shout shattered the silence of the 26th floor.

"Open the door! Open the door now!" A violent banging on the door came from across the street.

Lu Qi and Lulu exchanged a glance and immediately went to the door.

Through the peephole, she saw about a dozen people standing in the corridor, both men and women, each holding a knife or stick-like weapon.

They were right in Lu Qi's line of sight, and the one that got hit was 2603, which was right across from them.

"What are you doing?" Professor Meng's voice came from behind the door.

"Hand over that kobold and his master!" the man pounding on the door shouted. "Hurry up!"

What are you trying to do?

"Of course, we must eliminate the monsters!"

"A monster?" Even through two doors, Professor Meng's voice was full of energy. "She can talk and think. I've lived with them for so many days, and nothing has happened to her."

"Stop talking nonsense and open the door!"

Professor Meng seemed to sigh, "Why put them to death? Did they hurt you?"

“Not now, but maybe not in the future,” a woman shouted. “We’re all unarmed. The way she’s acting is like she’s carrying a weapon. If she doesn’t like someone, she can just bark at the dog!”

Professor Meng compromised, "If you're not comfortable with that, just seal the door shut. I'll watch them and make sure they don't leave the room, okay?"

"The human has grown a dog's head. Who knows if he'll walk through the wall or break down the door next?"

Immediately, someone chimed in, "There's no room for negotiation; we have to get rid of them as soon as possible!"

Lu Qi frowned.

Since they've caught up to Tian Miaoying's door, the meeting room where the Shiba Inu is being held is very likely to have fallen into their hands as well.

Judging from the various rules, the person who created this strange tale must have intentionally created a place where humans and dogs lived in harmony.

Leaving aside the possibility that internal divisions might lead to self-destruction, the very act of attacking dogs—an action that goes against the master's wishes—might incur the lord's displeasure.

Lu Qi gestured to Lulu with his eyes, indicating that they needed to find a way to help Miao Ying out of this predicament.

Lulu didn't intend to let Tian Miaoying leave this strange tale; she was Lu Qi's best friend and had to stay here with Lu Qi.

Suddenly, Professor Meng's laughter rang out from outside the door. "Alright, then try opening the door. But are you really going to do this? I advise you not to come in."

"What?" Before the man could finish speaking, a ferocious bark erupted, high-pitched and violent, each bark eager for slaughter.

The crowd parted instantly, and someone exclaimed, "There's more than one dog!"

"How could this be! There was only one white dog here!"

"It differentiated?"

"Could it be a recording from a cell phone?!"

"It doesn't look like it!"

Amidst the cacophony of barks, Tian Miaoying's voice rang out: "Come in! Come in! Anyone who dares to hurt my dog, I'll slit the veins in its neck and send it to find another owner!"

"Damn, this woman's gone mad!"

"Is she being controlled by the kobolds, just like the crabs that are parasitized by the crab slaves?"

"Holy crap, that T is terrifying!"

"Calm down! Maybe it's just a bluff!"

Of course they knew that it was just Tian Miaoying bluffing.

But nobody wants to be associated with monsters, especially in the current atmosphere. Once you're associated with a monster, you'll be hunted down by others.

The dog's barks were sharp and frequent.

"Why don't we go back first..." a timid person suggested in a low voice, "One dog is fine, but if there are two or even three... we can't take care of them."

"Yeah, the situation is unclear. Why don't we go to the conference room and take care of that Shiba Inu?"

A group of people hesitated and lingered in the corridor for a long time, but in the end they couldn't come up with anything. Unable to resist the barking of the dogs, they went downstairs.

Once they were sure they had left, Lu Qi immediately opened the door.

She took two steps out the door, then turned back and picked up the check-in guidebook.

The A5-sized hardcover booklet was really inconvenient to carry, and Lu Qi had never taken it with her when she went out before. However, because of the blank pages, she decided to carry it with her from now on.

She picked up the manual, knocked on 2603 across the street, and said softly, "Miaoying, Professor Meng, they've left."

After two minutes of silence, the door opened, revealing Professor Meng's face.

Tian Miaoying stood some distance behind her.

The girl's eyes were red, clearly from crying. Upon seeing Lu Qi, she sniffed and uttered a hoarse voice, "Sister Lu..."

"Come in quickly." Professor Meng beckoned Lu Qi and Lulu to enter and then quickly locked the door.

Lu Qi took a few steps forward, hugged the sobbing Tian Miaoying, and patted her back, "It's okay, it's okay."

Tian Miaoying nodded sullenly in her arms, while Huang Zhenyi, who was attached to the other end of her neck, happily pounced on Lu Qi, only to be pushed away by Lulu.

Lu Qi looked around the room. "The barking from earlier..." She also heard a second dog barking.

Upon hearing this, Professor Meng smiled and pointed to himself, "Of course it's me. I can even howl like a wolf and a fox."