Chapter 26 Three Men Bullying a Dog "Qin Jin, you did this on purpose!"...

"This is a Zhiquan dog?!"

After leaving Princess Yu'an's residence, the two carriages traveled one after the other to a four-courtyard mansion in Yong'an Lane. Following Qin Jin into the mansion, they found several peach trees planted under the corridor in the backyard, which were in full bloom, their branches lush and beautiful.

Three servants were grooming a large black dog in the corridor. It lay on its side in the spring sun, its tail swaying leisurely, its plump limbs spreading out its glossy fur, and its heavy, round belly lying flat on the ground.

This black dog is easily the size of two dogs of the same age.

Xue Rongyue stared in disbelief: "How can it be so fat?"

Qin Jin frowned: "It's not fat, it's just grown up and is more plump and round."

After saying that, he whistled.

The dog, who had been drowsy, suddenly pricked up its ears, sat up, looked around, and when it spotted Qin Jin, it immediately turned and ran over.

Unfortunately, its thick body slowed it down, and when it ran, its flabby body jiggled, making it look like a rolling ball of fur.

Isn't she fat?

Xue Rongyue's lips twitched.

Zhiquan pounced on Qin Jin, its front paws gripping his clothes as it stood upright. Qin Jin picked up its large body and bounced it up, and even though its face was completely covered by the dog's belly, he still reiterated to Xue Rongyue, "It's really not fat. It's been hot lately, and it hasn't had much of an appetite, so it's become quite thin."

Xue Rongyue: "..."

She wanted to remain silent on these words, but she couldn't help but ask, "Do you know that when you pick it up, its flesh sags layer by layer?"

Qin Jin lowered his eyelids, pretending not to hear, and tried to cover Zhiquan's ears to prevent it from hearing.

The dog, which was nuzzling against Qin Jin, raised its head as if it had smelled something. Suddenly, it broke free from Qin Jin's embrace, its tail wagging even more happily, and pounced on Xue Rongyue like a frolicker.

Xue Rongyue couldn't withstand its pounce, and immediately fell to the ground along with the dog. The dog's fluffy head rubbed against her enthusiastically. Xue Rongyue struggled several times, but she couldn't push away this mountain of flesh. She could only resign herself to lying half-reclined on the ground, tilting her head back to glare at Qin Jin.

This is what you mean by not being fat!

A gentle breeze stirred the peach branches, and the crimson blossoms of spring scattered across the ground. A few fresh red petals adorned Xue Rongyue's dark hair, perfectly complementing the translucent jade hibiscus hairpin at her temple.

A slight smile played on her lips. Though her round, almond-shaped eyes held a hint of embarrassment and anger, she was clearly not truly annoyed. Her slender, white fingertips continued to lovingly stroke Zhiquan's fur.

Meeting Xue Rongyue's angry gaze, Qin Jin curled his lips and whistled again to rescue her.

Zhiquan reluctantly stepped back from Xue Rongyue's embrace, then suddenly wiggled his rear and rushed into the house.

Just as Jingnu was about to step forward to help Xue Rongyue stand up, Qin Jin had already walked up to Xue Rongyue and stretched out his arm to her.

His tall figure completely enveloped Xue Rongyue. He stood against the backdrop of the garden full of spring colors, the bright sun shining on his handsome face. His clear and elegant eyebrows held a slight smile, and his pair of shimmering peach blossom eyes were fixed on her, which, under the melting sunlight, were surprisingly gentle.

Xue Rongyue was slightly taken aback.

She wondered to herself, "Has this been my chance?"

Physical contact is also a method in the strategy guide, and now Qin Jin has taken the initiative to deliver this opportunity to him.

Seizing the opportunity, Xue Rongyue made up her mind. Instead of placing her hand on Qin Jin's arm, she boldly grasped the back of his hand, which was covered in prominent veins.

This was something Qin Jin hadn't expected, and his breath hitched.

The fingertips, smooth as cream, were slightly cool, like fresh snow falling on the back of my hand, sending a shiver down my spine.

The moment their skin touched, his knuckles stiffened. The faint floral scent lingered around his nose, and he could clearly feel the light touch left by her fingertips as they brushed against his skin.

Her delicate, boneless hand, without restraint, grasped his hand and gently pressed down. Qin Jin's eyelids trembled, and he subconsciously wanted to shake off her arm, but he couldn't help but recall the rainy night yesterday, and his evasive action stopped.

...She must have done it unintentionally.

Qin Jin pursed his lips and lowered his eyes to gaze at the two people's clasped hands.

Her hands were painted with peach-pink nail polish, as flawless as white jade; beneath her soft palms lay the back of his hand, where the veins bulged...

With a slight bob in his Adam's apple, Qin Jin hastily averted his gaze.

Without looking at Xue Rongyue again, he used his slender wrist to lift Xue Rongyue up from the ground. Once Xue Rongyue was steady, he immediately withdrew his arm.

Xue Rongyue's scrutinizing gaze remained unrestrained.

...Qin Jin actually blushed.

Looking at Qin Jin's bright red ear tips, Xue Rongyue was surprised and excited by this discovery.

Does this mean that physical contact is an effective tactic?

While she was pondering, Zhiquan rushed out carrying a cloth dog made of brocade, placed it at Xue Rongyue's feet, and excitedly circled around Xue Rongyue.

"This is a cloth dog I sewed for you."

Xue Rongyue squatted down and picked up the worn-out cloth dog. Looking at the familiar stitches on it, she was taken aback.

She was skilled at embroidery. When Zhiquan was first brought to her side, she enthusiastically sewed a silly-looking cloth dog for it. Zhiquan loved it very much and often carried the cloth dog around. It would also hold the cloth dog in its arms when it slept.

Turning his face away, Qin Jin said calmly, "When I found it, it was carrying this cloth dog in its mouth. I saw that it liked it, so I never threw it away. It's just a pity that it accidentally tore the back. I asked an embroiderer to sew it up, but it didn't like it and would always deliberately tear it. Now there's still a rotten piece on the back."

Xue Rongyue turned it over and saw that the cloth dog's belly was ripped, and the cotton was showing: "When you sew it up, you should embroider a butterfly on the ripped part, so that it won't tear the patch. It likes butterflies."

"This one's worn out, I'll sew it a new cloth dog outfit in the next couple of days..."

Halfway through her sentence, Xue Rongyue suddenly stopped, staring blankly at the dog that was restraining itself from pouncing on her. A sudden lump formed in her throat, and she almost burst into tears: "It brought this cloth dog over, does that mean it really remembers me..."

She initially thought it was an exaggeration in the original story, since Zhiquan had only been raised by her for two years when he was taken away, and now six years had passed. She never expected that Zhiquan would actually still remember her.

Qin Jin squatted down and rubbed Zhiquan's head: "It always remembers you. After I picked it up, it tried to run back to the Xue residence to find you several times, but General Xue was there at the time, and everyone in the residence was chasing it away with sticks. It was beaten several times before it stopped running away and has been very obedient ever since."

“Until four years ago, I saw that its cloth dog was dirty and old, and I wanted to find an embroiderer to sew a few identical ones for it to play with. It probably thought I was going to throw the cloth dog away, so it chased after me and bit me.”

Qin Jin rolled up a section of his sleeve, revealing a tooth mark on his left arm. It must have been a deep bite, for even though several years had passed, the faint mark remained.

With a glistening tear in her almond-shaped eyes, Xue Rongyue bent down and hugged Zhiquan's head, nuzzling it affectionately and praising, "Good dog."

Qin Jin: "...?"

Something about that doesn't sound quite right.

Xue Rongyue reached out and rubbed Zhiquan's head.

Not only does it remember her, but four years ago, when she and Qin Jin were locked in a fierce battle, it was able to bite Qin Jin hard to vent her anger. It truly deserves to be the dog she chose; it's excellent.

After their long separation, Xue Rongyue spent a full hour playing with Zhiquan in the courtyard.

Qin Jin bought many toys to amuse Zhi Quan, whose favorite was the ceramic rattle.

Jingnu threw the clay ball forcefully, and Xue Rongyue and Zhiquan chased after it to retrieve it. Jingnu not only cheered her on from the side, but also secretly helped Xue Rongyue. After getting close to the clay ball, she casually kicked the ball towards Xue Rongyue.

The spring breeze lifted Xue Rongyue's peach-pink shawl, and her green embroidered butterfly skirt with pearls rippled with the girl's cheerful steps, filling the entire courtyard with joyful and charming laughter.

Qin Jin never imagined that the mansion he used as an inn could be so lively.

To him, the Ding'an Marquis's mansion was nothing more than a cage filled with pain and bloodshed. He bought the mansion to give himself a place to live, but whenever he stepped into the mansion and looked at the empty and quiet courtyard, he couldn't help but feel lost.

He seemed to be all alone forever. Every year at the end of the year, listening to the laughter and joy outside, he could only share his New Year's Eve dinner with his mother's cold memorial tablet.

These days seemed endless, and gradually, he became unwilling to even approach the mansion. Countless times he stepped into the mansion only to hastily retreat.

"Qin Jin!"

The girl's exclamation interrupted his thoughts. He caught a tatami ball flying toward his neck with lightning speed.

Xue Rongyue breathed a sigh of relief, and then winked at Qin Jin.

"Throw it over here."

Xue Rongyue hid from Zhiquan and winked at him.

Leaning against the vermilion railing, Qin Jin looked at her casually, tilting his head as if he didn't understand her meaning.

"oops!"

Xue Rongyue thought he was stupid, so she took two steps forward and, speaking slowly and deliberately, opened her mouth wide: "Hurry up and throw it over here."

Qin Jin tossed the ball up slowly and deliberately, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

Xue Rongyue was anxious and blurted out, "Qin Jin, throw it over here! You did this on purpose!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he raised his hand and swung the ceramic ball in his palm. The ceramic ball drew an arc in the courtyard and was thrown straight towards Xue Rongyue.

Xue Rongyue was overjoyed and reached out to take it—

The tao ball landed steadily in her palm.

With a triumphant smirk, Xue Rongyue was about to turn around and show off to Zhiquan when she was bumped into by Zhiquan, who was rushing over, and the pottery ball rolled away from her fingertips.

Zhiquan reacted extremely quickly, taking off after the ball, leaving Xue Rongyue standing there stomping her feet in anger. But unexpectedly, Zhiquan suddenly stopped when he was very close to Tao Xiangqiu.

It turned its head to look at Xue Rongyue, its tail gently sweeping across the ground, gesturing for Xue Rongyue to get the ball.

Xue Rongyue was overjoyed and ran to pick up the ball.

Despite being bullied by three people and even forced to back down by the dog, Xue Rongyue remained unfazed. She triumphantly raised the terracotta ball in her hand and loudly proclaimed, "I won this time!"

Jingnu was a little embarrassed and stuffed two pieces of broken bone into Zhiquan's mouth.

Pushing aside the peach branch blocking his view, Qin Jin met Xue Rong's bright, almond-shaped eyes and lazily congratulated her: "Congratulations, you narrowly defeated a dog."

Xue Rongyue glared at him: "You can't expect anything good to come out of a dog's mouth!"

Qin Jin lowered his head and chuckled.

Author's Note: ----------------------

Next chapter preview:

The fiancé really showed up this time! The sneaky couple is about to embark on their adventure together!