As night fell and a gentle breeze blew, Chu Fang and his family of three strolled along the street, looking quite content.
For some reason, since returning from the team building event, Zhong Tingyue seems to have slowed down her pursuit of her career. She no longer works overtime all the time, but goes to get off work and leaves on time. In the evenings, she would take leisurely walks with Chu Fang and Zhong Rou.
Although he didn't know the reason, Chu Fang was very happy, as all he wanted was a simple and peaceful life.
It doesn't matter how much money you have, because nobody has as much as him anyway.
A gentle breeze ruffled Zhong Tingyue's hair, which Chu Fang tucked behind his ear. He said sincerely, "Ms. Zhong, you are so beautiful."
"Mr. Chu, you are really ugly."
"???"
You're not playing by the rules, are you?
Do you have any conscience?
Zhong Tingyue pursed her red lips, a faint smile on her pretty face.
The two sat on the steps by the riverbank, admiring the spring water. Zhong Rou stood upright with her hands on her hips, staring at the tabby cat Lily, and commanded, "Squat down, sit down, do a somersault."
As if she understood, Lily obediently and adorably followed her instructions.
Zhong Rou looked around, pointed to a tree, and instructed, "Climb the tree."
Lily rushed toward the tree, then suddenly stopped, looking up at the tall, imposing tree. For a moment, she felt a little insecure. She turned to look at Zhong Rou, her eyes seeming to flicker with doubt: Are you serious?
"Go!" Zhong Rou shouted with high spirits, but Lily, squatting under the tree, didn't follow her command. She walked over and gave her a light kick. "You climbed trees all the time back home. Don't play innocent in front of me. Throw that ten yuan down from the tree, and I'll treat you to some sausages."
As soon as she finished speaking, Lily climbed up the tree and threw down the ten-yuan note that was stuck in the branches. Zhong Rou picked it up immediately, overjoyed. Noticing the stares from those around her, she put the money in her pocket and said, "Mine."
The surrounding crowd smiled calmly.
A short while later, Zhong Rou and Lili walked out of the supermarket, each holding a sausage, complaining, "The cost of living in Shanghai is too high! A sausage costs me five yuan. Why don't you just rob a bank? Just you wait, when I grow up, I'll rob you."
Zhong Rou sat on the steps, tore open a sausage, broke off half and gave it to Lily. Lily swallowed it in one gulp, then her gaze fell on the other half. She looked at Lily and asked, "Do you want some?"
The tabby cat's greenish eyes flickered.
Zhong Rou uttered a single word: "Get lost!"
Just as she was about to enjoy her sausage, she suddenly noticed someone... a dog watching her.
A stray dog was seen crouching in the grass not far away. It was small and delicate, like a fluffy ball of fluff, with small ears that stood up slightly, like two little elves.
It was clearly a newborn puppy, a breed commonly found in China called a "native dog" or "Chinese rural dog".
Upon seeing Zhong Rou's gaze, the puppy wagged its tail, seemingly overjoyed. Zhong Rou walked up to it, holding a sausage: "Want some?"
The puppy's eyes were bright, and it nodded in a human-like manner.
"No way!" After saying that, Zhong Rou stuffed half a sausage into her mouth, her mouth puffed out. While chewing, she said, "You're a stray dog, you shouldn't eat so well. You should stay hungry to cope with the hardships ahead. I'm doing this for your own good, understand?"
The puppy seemed to understand her words, wagging its tail happily.
"Wow, you seem to be very smart." Zhong Rou was surprised by this. After thinking for a moment, she said, "Here's what we'll do: follow my instructions and do the actions correctly. If you do them right, I'll treat you to a sausage."
"Stand up, squat down, shake hands, lie down, lie like a dead dog, lie like a lazy dog..."
To the astonishment of those around them, the stray dog actually followed the commands and performed various actions.
Zhong Rou squatted down and said, "Call me Father."
The puppy's eyes held a clear look of confusion.
"Hahaha..." Seeing this, Zhong Rou laughed. "You're wrong. I can't treat you to sausages. It's fate."
“... ..."
Chu Fang remained silent.
My sister-in-law is really something else; she even manages to fool a dog.
The stray dog seemed to sense Zhong Rou's joy and pounced on her, looking happy, little did it know that it had been tricked by Zhong Rou.
Chu Fang couldn't stand it anymore and said, "Zhong Rou, buy it some sausages."
"I have no money."
“... ..., here you go.”
"Okay."
Listening, Zhong Rou dashed off to the supermarket like the wind, returning shortly with several sausages. She sat down beside the puppy, feeding it as she said, "Young man, I'm treating you to sausages today. Remember to repay me; you must know how to be grateful..."
They chattered on and on.
It was already late at night when they finished feeding the stray dogs, and the three of them headed home, with the little puppy following behind them timidly.
Upon reaching the residential area, the three looked back. The puppy hadn't gone inside; instead, it was squatting at the entrance with its mouth slightly open, looking quite happy.
Moved by compassion, Zhong Rou looked up at Zhong Tingyue and said, "Sister, why don't we adopt it? It's so cute."
“No!” Zhong Tingyue refused.
"Why?!" Zhong Rou pouted and ran to the puppy's side. The puppy was very affectionate towards her, burying its head in her hand. She smiled and said, "Yo-yo, oh, you're so good. Give my sister a performance."
After saying that, she started directing the puppy to do various actions.
"Sis, it's so well-behaved." Zhong Rou looked up at the tabby cat next to her and added, "Much better-behaved than Lily."
Zhong Tingyue gave the same answer as always: "No."
"Why?"
Zhong Tingyue crossed her arms and said slowly, "Do you remember the pets you adopted? After bringing them home, you neglected them, and they all died. Stray animals have a chance to survive, but following you means certain death."
Zhong Rou is a kind-hearted little girl who often adopts pets, but the only result is death.
She kept flying squirrels, which starved to death; she kept goldfish, but when she put a grass carp in, the goldfish was killed; she kept rabbits, but seeing how well-behaved they were, she couldn't resist cooking them... In short, none of her pets had a good ending.
Chu Fang smiled, thinking that his sister-in-law was a real pet killer.
Zhong Rou pouted: "I was young and ignorant back then. Now I'm all grown up and I won't make the same mistakes again."
Zhong Tingyue insisted on her principles: "That won't do either."
She couldn't let a life perish, so she decided to let the puppy roam the streets, where its chances of survival would be higher.
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