Chapter 166 Nian Nian Can’t Find Yuan Yuan
"Let's go home first." Shi Guilin said, "It will take a while, and it's hard to explain anyway."
Nian Nian kept quiet in the back seat with her mouth shut, looking out the window at the street scene to relieve the depression she felt on the road.
The car slowly backed into the parking space. Shi Guilin parked the car, took out the car keys, and asked them to get out.
The team of four passed through the fence gate outside the villa and moved towards the main villa at a snail's pace.
As soon as they entered the door, Xi Zimu, Ji Shuhe and the other two felt like they were at home, and they threw their schoolbags on the sofa together with Nian Nian.
There was a series of ding-dong and bang-bang sounds, and Shi Guilin fell one step behind them. While changing his shoes, he hung his car keys on the solid wooden hook on the wall at the entrance.
To show that Yuan Yuan was still strong, before he even went any further, Shi Guilin shouted at the top of his voice, "Yuan Yuan! Yuan Yuan, where are you? Come out quickly, Nian Nian and the others are here to play with you!"
Nian Nian and the others stood in the most conspicuous position in the center of the living room waiting for Yuan Yuan to appear.
No movement.
Shi Guilin didn't believe it and called Yuanyuan's name loudly several times.
Still no movement.
Nian Nian stood there anxiously, twisting her hands nervously.
Shi Guilin glanced at the three of them and said soothingly, "Maybe they're playing upstairs. I'll go up and take a look."
As soon as he finished speaking, Shi Guilin strode up the stairs with big steps. The solid cement made a dull sound under his feet, as if it was about to fall into dust.
Shi Guilin pushed open the door of Nian Nian's bedroom and asked, "Yuanyuan?"
No.
Next was the bedroom of Shi Jianfeng and his wife: "Yuanyuan?"
Neither do I.
Finally, it was his own bedroom: "Yuanyuan?"
Also no.
"Where has this gone..." He looked around in confusion, left the bedroom, and planned to go downstairs to look for it.
When he reached the last step of the stairs, Shi Guilin's eyes were still searching every corner.
Nian Nian saw him coming down, but there was no familiar figure following him. Her voice was weak: "Dad, where's Yuanyuan?"
"Maybe he went out to play." Shi Guilin pulled up a half-smile, but his eyes froze when they touched Yuanyuan's dog bowl in the corner of the wall.
He walked to the corner, squatted down, and stirred the bowl full of dog food, and his heart skipped a beat.
This is what he poured for Yuanyuan this morning.
Aunt Wu, who was in charge of the kitchen, happened to be walking by with a broom. Shi Guilin immediately stood up when he saw her, stretched out his arm to stop her, and asked politely but anxiously, "Aunt Wu, did Aunt Yang take Yuanyuan out for a walk?"
"Oh, I didn't notice that." Aunt Wu said, "But I remember, sir, didn't you ask to walk the dog in the evening? This isn't the time to walk the dog."
"Oh, yes, I forgot." Shi Guilin smiled politely and let the man go.
He licked his dry lips and looked at Nian Nian: "It must be in the yard. The three of you should go look for it together. Look in the back garden as well."
After he finished explaining, Nian Nian immediately dragged them both out to look for the dog. Shi Guilin watched their backs disappear around the corner and asked in the WeChat group: Has anyone seen Yuanyuan?
Wang Xiulin: I was walking outside and didn’t bring Yuanyuan with me.
Shi Lihan: We are all in the company.
Shi Nanqi: What's wrong, brother? Is Yuanyuan missing? Tell me quickly, don't rush me.
Shi Guilin: Ask, he might be hiding in the back garden, we haven’t found him yet.
Shi Nanqi: So stupid, check the surveillance at home.
Shi Nanqi's message box popped up, and Shi Guilin was suddenly awakened. He hurried to the study to check the surveillance on the computer, trying to find Yuanyuan's shadow on the screen.
Outside, Nian Nian and the other two were in the back garden, searching and crying.
The tears flowed too fast, making Nian Nian's vision always blurry, so he wiped them frequently, and soon the back of his hands and eyelids were red.
"Yuanyuan... wuwuwu... Yuanyuan..." He searched around the villa for a long time, his legs weak from walking, but he still persisted in taking steps.
There's only one last place left to search.
Flower room.
Yuanyuan has loved smelling flowers and grass since he was a child. This is the last but most promising place.
Nian Nian and the other two walked in with hope, but when they came out their hope was dashed and they cried even louder.
As he was crying loudly, Nian Nian's ears twitched and he heard a familiar humming sound. He stopped crying, held his breath, and listened attentively to the source of the sound.
One step, two steps, three steps... Nian Nian slowly walked to the back of the flower room.
"Niannian, there's a wall behind that." Xi Zimu reminded him.
Ji Shuhe poked him, put his palms together, and measured the distance: "There's such a wide open space behind, it can hide a dog."
The two looked at each other and hurried to keep up with Nian Nian's pace.
Nian Nian has already reached the back of the flower room.
No one usually passes by that place, and it has been overgrown with weeds over the years.
He sniffed, bent down and pushed aside the overgrown weeds, and saw Yuanyuan lying on the ground, dying, with a sandbag so old that it was fraying under his front paws and head.
For the first time, Nian Nian realized that Yuan Yuan had truly aged. The flesh around his mouth was flabby, his eyelids were drooping, his fur was dull, and the whole dog seemed to have lost all its energy and vitality overnight.
In an instant, it was as if a spring had been pressed on her eye sockets, and water gushed out in large streams. Nian Nian blinked desperately, trying to clear her vision as fast as the fog in front of her eyes.
He stretched out his hands, as he had done thousands of times before, in front of Yuan Yuan: "Yuan Yuan, I've been looking for you for a long time, can you please come out?"
Yuanyuan breathed out through his nose and hummed for a long time before he rubbed the rough and scratchy wall behind him to gain support and stood up. Holding the sandbag in his mouth, he struggled out of the dark corridor and leaned into Nian Nian's arms with a whine.
Nian Nian caught it steadily, and kept touching its neck and head with both hands: "Yuanyuan, are you going to die? Why do you have no strength? Why did you hide..."
Xi Zimu and Ji Shuhe sobbed softly.
After checking the surveillance footage and determining Yuanyuan's exact location, Shi Guilin ran over panting. Seeing Yuanyuan's sad eyes, the man in his early thirties couldn't help but tear up.
He immediately picked up Yuanyuan and said repeatedly: "Let's go to the hospital, let's go to the hospital, Yuanyuan, you will be fine, you will be fine like last time..."
The man, who was over 1.8 meters tall, walked with big strides and occasionally jogged, and Nian Nian and the others followed him at a jog.
Shi Guilin had to devote some of his attention to them, "Mumu, can you two just wait for us at home? Yuanyuan's condition isn't optimistic, and I'm afraid your uncle won't be able to take care of you in the hospital."
Xi Zimu and Ji Shuhe stopped, their worried eyes fixed on Yuanyuan. Without hesitation, they said, "We're at home. Uncle, you and Nian Nian should take Yuanyuan to the hospital."
The few of them said no more. Shi Guilin took Nian Nian into consideration, called the driver, and drove all the way to the pet hospital.
Perhaps it was fate that the doctor who performed the examination was the same doctor who had performed surgery on Yuanyuan many years ago.
After the complicated and tedious examination process was over, Shi Guilin took Nian Nian to sit across from the doctor in the office and asked nervously, "Does my Yuanyuan have cancer?"
"No," the doctor in a white coat said, holding several medical reports and analyzing the data. "It's organ failure caused by old age."
Shi Guilin said excitedly: "How could it be organ failure? Doctor, you must be mistaken, Yuanyuan has been able to run and move all the time. Yesterday, yesterday, it helped me carry apples. It was so energetic, it..."
"How could it suddenly stop working..." Shi Guilin buried his face in his hands. Nian Nian hugged his arms and cried softly.
The doctor, who had seen many separations and deaths, sighed, "Quantitative change leads to qualitative change."
After a few minutes, Shi Guilin put down his hand, raised his face, which was full of pain, and said in a hoarse voice, "Do you have any recommended treatment methods?" At the end, he added, "Don't worry about the money."
"We can only keep him alive with medicine and nutrient solution. We can't say for sure how many days he can last," the doctor replied.
"Use the medicine." Shi Guilin looked up at the ceiling blankly, "Start using it from today."
"Okay, Mr. Shi. Also, if you decide to use medication, considering your dog's physical condition and convenience, I recommend that you arrange for hospitalization for your dog..."
He didn't hear a word of the rest of the conversation. He took Nian Nian back to the ward in a daze, staring blankly at Yuan Yuan who was being controlled and given injections on the bed.
"Dad..." Nian Nian called him helplessly.
"Niannian," Shi Guilin half embraced Niannian and wiped away his tears, "Don't cry in front of Yuanyuan. From today on, we must be at our best every day to accompany Yuanyuan. Can you do that?"
Nian Nian choked up and nodded: "I can do it."
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