Chapter 26 The Invisible Dog: A Man's Tears, A Woman's Aphrodisiac...
After the call connected, Cheng Guo didn't beat around the bush and asked Ruan Ning directly, "Did you know that Shen Zhui wasn't a poor student?"
Ruan Ning was walking her dog outside, panting heavily. Upon hearing this, she first laughed breathlessly before saying with particular delight, "You finally know?"
They had been looking forward to this for a long time.
“…Tell me what happened.” Cheng Guo pulled a pillow behind her back.
"Oh, actually it's just that the year I asked you to meet the chat partner for me, the other party had changed."
"..."
This story goes back to January two years ago. At that time, Cheng Guo had been working for six months after graduation. Yu Muying had strong opinions about her pursuing a master's degree, and even stronger opinions about her entering general surgery after graduation. The mother and daughter had almost reached the point where they no longer communicated even though they lived under the same roof. The pressure of starting her career, coupled with the estrangement from her family, plunged Cheng Guo into unprecedented confusion. She didn't know if her decision was right, and she lived in a daze, barely holding on like a puppet.
Ruan Ning had a regular chat partner at that time, a humorous and witty person who was a great emotional buddy. After spending a long time with him, she learned that he was a freshman at the Film Academy. Although he came from a poor family, he was a good person, and she also knew that he was quite good-looking.
The other party said that the play was going to hold an event and asked her if she wanted to come. He also generously told her what he would be wearing that day and what he would be responsible for, giving her the initiative to decide whether or not to meet.
Ruan Ning knew that although Cheng Guo had never been in a relationship, she was a true sucker for good looks. She had never revealed her personal information when communicating with her chat partner. Seeing her best friend looking like she was on the verge of death, Ruan Ning immediately suggested that Cheng Guo go in her place.
“Let me tell you, although there’s only a few years difference, the men’s college is much younger than the teachers at our school. They’re full of energy and vigor,” Ruan Ning said, praising the other party. “If they like you, we can even have a relationship.”
Cheng Guo naturally disagreed. She had only ever seen such stories online about best friends figuring out a man's background and then "forwarding" it to her.
“I have absolutely no feelings for him, don’t worry,” Ruan Ning assured him, patting her chest. “Just think of it as a trip to clear your head.”
Cheng Guo still did not agree.
In the end, Ruan Ning cleverly found an excuse, and Cheng Guo still went.
She was never short of suitors. After noticing the way the other man looked at her, she subtly explained that she wasn't someone he contacted regularly, giving Ruan Ning a plausible excuse.
Later, perhaps by fate or perhaps by Shen Zhui’s own will, they met a few more times. Shen Zhui didn’t mention asking for her phone number again, and simply nodded to her as a greeting. During this time, Ruan Ning often mentioned Shen Zhui’s roommate, Zhou Nanyu, as if she had already put Shen Zhui, who had once kept her company, aside.
"Zhou Nanyu is the first person you were supposed to meet?" Cheng Guo realized.
The other side responded with a long laugh.
Cheng Guo hung up the phone, and Ruan Ning immediately called back to gossip: "Will you dump him?"
It's upsetting.
Cheng Guo hung up the phone again, and Ruan Ning sent a message: "A man's tears are a woman's stimulant!"
"..."
Although he was very provocative, she had never seen Chen Zhui cry before.
*v*
Chen Zhui held the small sticky note, pondering Cheng Guo's current mood.
Yesterday, Li Jierui said that someone was decoding him in the comments section of a gossip post, but it was deleted shortly afterward. He didn't pay attention at the time, but now that he thinks about it, Cheng Guo probably saw it.
Li Jierui's probing gazes were fixed on him, but Shen Zhui ignored him and shooed him out of the room. Just before closing the door, he was reminded, "Brother, the doctor said you can't take a shower for the next few days."
Shen Zhui closed the door, glanced at the time. Cheng Guo was on the day shift today, and it was time for her to get off work, but she hadn't replied to his messages. He didn't know if she hadn't gotten off work yet or if she had blocked him. He nervously dialed the number, and felt a little relieved when he heard the dial tone waiting for the call to be connected.
Thankfully, I wasn't blocked.
They probably just haven't gotten off work yet.
Li Jierui is someone who can't sit still when he's nervous. He'll either shake his leg, pace around, or talk incessantly. Shen Zhui used to wonder why he couldn't just sit down and wait quietly. Now, as he paces around the room, he suddenly understands.
Silence can amplify emotions.
Cheng Guo was driving home when her phone rang. The journey wasn't long, but the road conditions were bad. She was stuck in traffic a few dozen meters from the traffic light. She put on her earphones and answered the call.
But he didn't say anything.
The pressure was on Shen Zhui. He didn't dare to breathe, his heart was beating as fast as when they were kissing. The thought of Cheng Guo not replying to his message after get off work flashed through his mind, but he didn't dare to ask. Finally, he asked her in a soft voice, "Why did you send all the clothes to me?"
“I didn’t send them all,” Cheng Guo said gently, as if nothing had happened. “I kept the underwear.”
Shen Zhui had only glanced at the box once and hadn't noticed this detail. Just as he was feeling relieved that there was still hope, the other side said, "Hang it on the balcony to ward off thieves and protect the house. Come back and take it yourself."
He hung up the phone after saying that.
Should I leave it to hang on the balcony to deter thieves?
Is it the same as the men's T-shirts she used to hang on the balcony?
Or are you saying you'll break up with him if he goes back?
Chen Zhui panicked and quickly dialed the number back. The cold, mechanical voice told him that the other party could not be reached. He was stunned and switched to WeChat. He tentatively sent a "1". After seeing that he had not been blocked, he immediately tried to make a voice call. The whole process took less than a second, but he was told that "the other party has not added you as a friend and you cannot make a voice call".
Dr. Cheng from his family has incredibly steady and fast hands when performing surgery.
Who can match the speed at which they block people?
After blocking Chen Zhui, the traffic ahead became clear. Cheng Guo drove home, ordered takeout after arriving home, and the takeout arrived just as he finished showering.
The sunflower on the dining table was the one she changed yesterday; its bright color made the corner bright and cheerful. Cheng Guo opened the lunchbox, and her phone rang at that moment.
It was Yu Muying calling, asking her about her doctoral application.
"Mom, I didn't register," Cheng Guo said, looking at the brightly blooming sunflowers, speaking frankly for the first time. "I didn't plan to register this year."
The other end of the phone was quiet. Cheng Guo could hear Yu Muying's breathing becoming heavier. She believed that after more than two years of back-and-forth, this result was not unexpected for Yu Muying. Yu Muying was silent at this moment, just thinking about how to change this outcome.
"Is that Nannan?" an elderly voice called out to her affectionately from the other end of the phone. "Tell her I'm here and ask her to come home for dinner. How can someone be over twenty years old and never have seen their grandmother? She's so insensible."
Grandma's condition is stable but she has difficulty moving around and needs someone to take care of her. Last week, the third year of junior high school started, so Yu Muying had to return to Licheng and bring her grandma with her.
“Grandma never loved her for a single day,” Yu Muying said in defense of her. Grandma said something in her local accent that Cheng Guo didn’t understand. Yu Muying replied in the same accent. Only after Grandma stopped talking did Yu Muying say to her, “I’ll come to your place next weekend.”
After hanging up the phone, Cheng Guo felt heavy-hearted. She barely ate any dinner before leaving it there. She sat down at her desk, turned on her computer, and opened the registration webpage.
Next weekend is the registration deadline, and she happens to have the day off.
I stared blankly at the date for a long time, when a @ mention appeared in my notification bar on Little Red Book.
A fan nicknamed CS posted a picture of two dogs, one black and one white. The black dog is kneeling on the keyboard with its small tail drooping and two noodle-like tears streaming down its face. The white dog stands angrily in front of him with its hands on its hips and a feather duster in its hand.
Image and caption: The puppy knows it was wrong.
Tag: #The world can't live without puppies#Dr. Cheng especially can't live without puppies
What and what?
Did you think she was a puppy too?
The heavy mood vanished in an instant, and Cheng Guo burst out laughing, wanting to give a thumbs up but then pulling her hand back.
We need to teach him a lesson.
According to the filming schedule of Shen Zhui, filming will be completed in two more days.
She leaned back in her chair, rested her head on the back, and swayed slightly. She had ordered a bouquet of flowers to be delivered the following evening.
The following evening at the same time, CS tagged her again, this time with two little black dogs. The white dog sat on the sofa with its legs crossed, while the black dog knelt on the keyboard in front of the sofa, fawningly massaging her legs.
Or perhaps they are massaging your feet.
There was nothing she could do; the dog's legs were too short, and she simply couldn't tell if they were feet or legs.
Cheng Guo looked at her slender legs and wanted to give CS a bad review, but she held back.
And so, CS continued to update for several days. The black puppy went from kneeling and begging for forgiveness with a leather whip on its back, to serving tea and water to the white puppy, and then to showing its soft belly to the white puppy to touch. The variety of actions could fill a book, but Chen Zhui still did not return.
However, room 301 is occupied.
When Cheng Guo returned home from get off work, she noticed several packages piled up at the door of apartment 301. She glanced at them, entered the last digit of her password, and when she heard the error message, she looked away, re-entered the password, and opened the door.
The few big fans of Shen Zhui on Weibo didn't have any new schedules or follow-up photos of him. They only reminded their fans to turn on the TV on Friday night to watch the variety show that Shen Zhui was recording.
The official Weibo account for the film announced the new third male lead a few days ago, but there have been no further updates since.
Cheng Guo rested her chin on her hand in thought, then opened Li Jierui's WeChat Moments. This was an assistant who loved to post updates. His IP address was in Hong Kong, and he was taking his parents on a trip. Qi Yun had asked him to bring back two cans of milk powder.
Shen Zhui seemed to have disappeared just like that, but he still tagged her every day without fail.
Cheng Guo continued her policy of not replying, and she did not order any more sunflowers.
That night, after throwing away the sunflower bouquet, she didn't rush upstairs. Instead, she ran around the perimeter of the neighborhood and happened to run into her neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Zhang, who were walking their dog. The elderly couple wanted to buy a few things before the supermarket closed, but the Border Collie seemed exhausted. Its rear end was stuck to the ground like a heavy weight, and it wouldn't move even when the leash was stretched taut. Finally, it simply tilted its head and broke free from the leash, running into the neighborhood on its own. Cheng Guo then told Mr. and Mrs. Zhang to go to the supermarket while she chased after the Border Collie.
The clever Border Collie waited for Cheng Guo at the entrance of the community. When she caught up, it ran ahead for a while before waiting for her again. When they got downstairs, it left her behind and went upstairs. When Cheng Guo got to the third floor, the Border Collie was whining and scratching at the door of apartment 301. She glanced over there and calmly beckoned it to come in.
On the day the variety show featuring Shen Zhui aired, Cheng Guo opened a bottle of wine and sat alone on the sofa, drinking and laughing. The show was extremely well-edited, with constant laughs. Her complete lack of chemistry with Shen Zhui was also one of the laughs. Shen Zhui started last with the lowest score, and after reaching the top, he looked back at the person filming him and was stunned. The show's post-production team added subtitles: "Unfamiliar face, right? That's right, they changed two people in the middle."
The live chat was filled with laughter, and someone reminded the production team that next time Shen Zhui comes, they should send more people to follow him.
After the show ended, Cheng Guo turned off the projector, picked up his phone, and found that the internet was constantly trending that night. Apart from posting a promotional blog post in the afternoon, Shen Zhui himself had no other updates.
The CS side was also quiet.
Was he frightened by what she said that day?
Cheng Guo sat for a moment, then went into the bedroom, opened a drawer, took out some things, and went to knock on the door of 301.
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Author's Note: Have you sensed the ending? [Let me see][Let me see]
There are probably three or four more chapters left before it's finished. I'll post it as soon as I'm done.
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