034 I want to sleep next to you

Pei Yan glanced at Xie Yaoyao and dismissed his doubts.

He had met Chi Xiaoman before; she was beautiful and had a great figure, and was the campus belle of the teachers' college.

How could she have been so devastated as to eat herself like this?

Because it's impossible, even doubting it would be a desecration of the goddess.

Xie Yaoyao had something else on her mind, "By the way, what illness does President Huo have?"

In the first few years after she took Huo Yanxi in, he was as thin as a stick.

However, he had a good physical foundation, and after several years of care, he started to grow taller at the age of ten.

Not only is he getting taller, but his face is getting fuller too.

He was always very thin, but he never got sick, and he rarely even caught a cold.

How could he have ruined himself into such a sickly state?

Pei Yan remained tight-lipped, saying, "Teacher Xie, Mr. Huo's health condition is confidential."

Xie Yaoyao: "..."

She forgot that Huo Yanxi's status was no longer what it used to be, and that she couldn't just casually inquire about it.

"Sorry, I forgot. Mr. Huo is a person of great importance, and all information about him is confidential."

Pei Yan sensed a hint of resentment in her words. He smiled awkwardly and said, "Teacher Xie, there are some things I can't say, but since you've moved into No. 22 Taiping Mountain, you'll find out sooner or later, it's just a matter of time."

Xie Yaoyao smiled and said, "What Pei Sheng said makes sense."

If she couldn't talk about Huo Yanxi's illness, she and Pei Yan would have nothing to talk about.

However, although Pei Yan was an upright and honest man, he wouldn't let the atmosphere become dull easily.

He glanced at the night view outside the car window, and the more he looked, the more familiar it seemed. "Teacher Xie, I suddenly remembered something. Mr. Huo's dog is being treated nearby. If you're not in a hurry to go home, I'd like to go and pick up the dog now."

The pet clinic was open until 2:30, and by the time he dropped Xie Yaoyao off at the old tenement building and returned, it was already past 2:30.

He has to come pick me up tomorrow, so I'm a little reluctant to go.

Xie Yaoyao was taken aback. "Is it Mr. Huo's dog?"

“Yes, it’s nearby, it won’t take more than a few minutes,” Pei Yan said.

Xie Yaoyao felt a lump in her throat as she thought of the lost Doubao.

When the houseboat burned down, she was awakened in the middle of the night by Doubao's cries; the fire had already reached the bed.

She caught fire and rushed out of the houseboat to jump into the sea to put out the fire.

After she extinguished the fire and got ashore, she remembered that Doubao was still in the boat house, but the fire was too big and she couldn't get close to the boat house at all.

Over the past five years, she has regretted countless times that she should have jumped into the sea with Doubao back then.

Now, Huo Yanxi has a new life, a new dog, and will likely have a new lover in the future...

"It's alright, since it's on the way, let's pick up the dog first before we go." Xie Yaoyao waved away the bitterness in her heart.

Huo Yanxi is already moving forward, and she should move forward too.

Pei Yan: "Thank you, Teacher Xie, for your boundless love."

Xie Yaoyao forced a smile. "President Huo also keeps dogs? He looks so cold and aloof, he doesn't seem like the type to keep dogs."

"Then you're wrong about Mr. Huo. He's quite kind-hearted; he treats that dog like royalty."

Pei Yan seemed to have thought of something interesting. "Last year, I invited him to go hiking, and he insisted on bringing his dog. As it turned out, the mountain path was rugged, and the dog refused to walk. So, Huo Sheng condescended to carry the dog all the way up the mountain, took a few pictures, and then carried the dog down the mountain. He didn't let the dog walk a single step from beginning to end."

Xie Yaoyao: "That really is a dog ancestor."

Huo Yanxi wasn't like this before.

Ever since she brought the steamed buns back, Huo Yanxi has been arguing with her and won't let the dog into the boathouse.

It rained so hard that day that the dog shed was uninhabitable.

She tried to carry Doubao into the boathouse, but Huo Yanxi wouldn't allow it, and the two had a big argument at the door.

In the end, Huo Yanxi obsessively forced her to choose between the dog and him.

She felt that Huo Yanxi lacked empathy; with the rain so heavy, what if the bean buns got sick from being left outside in the rain?

Huo Yanxi, however, believed that she only had the dog in her heart, not him.

Seeing that she was holding onto the dog and wouldn't let go, he got so angry that he plunged into the rain and couldn't be called back no matter how much he called.

That night, Huo Yanxi did not return.

She waited in the houseboat until dawn and until the rain stopped, but still did not see Huo Yanxi.

Helpless, she put on her coat and went to the place where she had found him, and sure enough, he was there.

Soaked to the bone, he looked like an abandoned puppy.

She walked over and sat down next to him, leaned in and sniffed the air, saying, "Hmm, it's all marinated well."

Huo Yanxi turned to the side, his back to her, and said, "I smell bad, that dog smells good. You go with that dog."

She could tell he was just saying things out of anger, and ignoring how wet he was, she wrapped her arms around him from behind and pressed her face against his cold back.

She could feel that he was tense all over, and somewhat resistant to her intimate actions.

She felt a pang of sadness, but she didn't let go of him. She continued to coax him, "You smell the best. I want to be with you."

Huo Yanxi said angrily, "You were just complaining that I marinated it too well."

"I was just kidding, don't be angry, okay? I was wrong last night, I shouldn't have said those hurtful things to you. Let's go home, okay?"

After she coaxed him with gentle words, Huo Yanxi visibly calmed down. He gritted his teeth and said, "You're not allowed to kick me out again."

"Okay," she replied.

Huo Yanxi pressed his advantage, saying, "Only I can enter the boathouse; Doubao can't."

She: "...Okay."

Huo Yanxi's lips curled up. "Then I don't want to sleep on the floor tonight. I want to sleep next to you."

She: "…………Okay."

"Teacher Xie, we've arrived. Will you wait for me in the car or come in with me?"

Suddenly hearing Pei Yan's voice, Xie Yaoyao snapped back to reality.

She looked out the car window and saw that the whole street was deserted, except for the pet clinic which still had its lights on.

"Let me go in with you."

She couldn't really treat Pei Yan as a driver; he was just giving her a ride home on his way.

Pei Yan unbuckled his seatbelt, opened the door and got out of the car. Xie Yaoyao followed, standing by the roadside and closing the car door.

The car lights flashed twice, Pei Yan locked the car door, and led Xie Yaoyao towards the pet clinic.

There's an adorable dog bone wind chime hanging at the clinic entrance. When you open the door, there are two barks, followed by a "Welcome!"

The receptionist's eyes lit up when she saw Pei Yan. "Mr. Pei, what brings you here all of a sudden?"

Pei Yan leaned against the counter, striking a dashing pose, "Since I'm passing by, I'll pick him up on the way back."

The receptionist nurse knew him well, and after exchanging a few jokes, the nurse went inside and brought out a dog.

Xie Yaoyao was standing by the shelf looking at the cute dog leashes when she suddenly heard a familiar dog bark.

She turned around abruptly and saw that the nurse was holding Doubao, who had been missing for five years.

Her eyes widened, and tears welled up in her eyes. "Doubao?"

When Doubao heard her voice, it first whimpered, and then barked at her.

It cried and struggled to jump out of the nurse's arms, but the nurse held it tightly.

Doubao barked frantically at Xie Yaoyao, fearing she would abandon it again and disappear without a trace.

The nurse was surprised. Doubao was a very calm old dog, and she had never seen it so excited before.

She looked at Xie Yaoyao with a puzzled expression, "Mr. Pei, is this young lady the owner of Doubao?"