Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

  It was the next day, time to go home again.

  Liu Sanlang felt that thehe ladies at work looked at him differently. It might be his illusion though.

  He left the office as soon as it was time, standing at the reception area to pretend that he was waiting for someone. Shi Shi, Zhao Qi and a few girls left the company together, talking and laughing. Shi Shi didn’t even look at him when she left.

  Immediately he felt as if the sky turned gray. There was nothing left in his heart but sorrow. Did Shi Shi forget about their conversation last night? Is she just joking with him?

  At this time, Ye Yu and Bei Feng walked out of the office together. They looked like they were heading the right direction.

  “Sir, see you tomorrow!” Ye Yu waved at him. He forced a smile as a response.

  He got home, put on his slippers and laid on the couch, sad. He closed his eyes. His body and brain were tired, and so was his heart.

  Umm…?

  He smelled something. What was it?

  The labrador puppy whined.

  Opening his eyes, he saw the puppy was trapped in the corner inside the rails with its nose and mouth sticking out. Its front paws were outside of the rails, waving, showing only one message: it wanted to get out.

  There were layers of old newspapers underneath it. There was some poop here and there, yellowish and soft, with various shapes and smells… Oh no… He didn’t want to smell the poop!

  Sh*t! This dog can sh*t!

  He stood up, feeling exhausted, lifted it up, checked if its paws had gotten any poop on them, and then placed him on the floor carefully. He stepped inside the rails, covered his nose with one hand and picked up the old paper with the other.

  The labrador puppy started running around happily once it got out of the rails. It sniffed as it ran around.

  “Don’t poop on the floor, okay?” he said.

  At this time, someone rang the doorbell.

  “Coming,” he replied. The package he ordered yesterday should arrive any minute, so he thought it was the delivery guy.

  He stepped out of the rails and ran towards the door.

  Shi Shi was standing outside, wearing a knitted hat and scarf which covered most of her face. She was looking around impatiently.

  Stunned, Liu Sanlang stood at the door with newspaper-wrapped dog waste in his hand.

  “Hey, are you going to invite me inside?” Shi Shi asked.

  “P…Please!” He made room for her, “I… I didn’t know you were coming over. I thought you were going out with your besties…” He thought he overheard them when they walked out of the company. Weren’t they going somewhere together? Maybe going to the spa?

  “Oh! Annoying!” Shi Shi took off her hat and scarf and started making her way inside the apartment, “We made a plan and then Zhao Qi blew us off all of a sudden. Watching from the camera, she found that there might be something wrong with her cat so she had to go. Another girl left for a hot date with her boyfriend… She kept saying that guys are rubbish but she left as soon as her boyfriend called her! That’s not fair!”


  Looking at the simple interior, she asked casually, “Do you lease this place? How much is rent?”


  “No, it is not a lease. I bought this apartment,” he followed her, tightly, and said.

  “You bought it?” Shi Shi sounded suspicious.

  Liu Sanlang nodded, “Yeah. Have to pay a mortgage every month. This apartment is going to be my home when I get married.” He emphasized the last sentence.

  Shi Shi replied without thinking. She didn’t seem to care about his implications. Looking at the newspaper in his hand, she asked, “Why are you walking around with newspaper?”


  Astonished, Liu Sanlang realized he had a bag of dog poop in his hand. He hid the paper behind his body and said, “Oh, that’s just some trash. I will throw it out.”


  “Okay. You go throw it out. Oh. Where is your dog? Did you trick me into coming here?” Shi Shi asked.

  “Of course not. Why would I lie to you?” Liu Sanlang raised his voice, “Puppy, puppy, where are you?”


  The labrador puppy heard the sound and came out from the second bedroom, which was temporarily a study. It ran to them happily. Its round big eyes were staring at Shi Shi and its nose started sniffing her. Of course, it didn’t forget to whine quietly.

  Liu Sanlang ran to the kitchen, put the poop in a trash bag, walked back to the door, opened the door, and put the trash bag outside the apartment. He planned to throw that away when he took out the trash at night.

  “Oh… so cute!” Shi Shi squatted down, “Does it bite?”


  “No. it doesn’t bite! I asked the store…” Over-excited, Liu Sanlang almost let himself out.

  “Store?” Shi Shi looked up. From this angle, she looked even smaller and cuter. He couldn’t help but to adore her.

  He took a breath and said, “I meant, when I took it to the vet, there was a pet store nearby. I asked the people at the store and they told me it is a labrador and labradors are very gentle. They don’t bite.”


  “Labrador… I have heard about it…” She held her chin with one hand, thinking deeply.

  She was just the sweetest thing in the world. Liu’s heart melted.

  “If it doesn’t bite, may I pet it?” She asked.

  “Of course, please!”


  Although he said this, he was still watching nervously. If the puppy bit Shi Shi all of a sudden, it would be the end of the world.

  She reached out her right hand, gently rubbing its head. “Oh… It feels like a stuffed animal… and so warm…”


  The puppy was attracted to her swinging bracelet. It raised its head and began licking her wrist.

  “Ha-ha… itchy!” Shi Shi laughed.

  Liu Sanlang wished it was him who was licking her.

  Jealously, Liu Sanlang wished he could turn into a dog just like in some novels…


  Shi Shi took back her hand. The Labrador appeared to love the rub. It stretched its back and lifted up its upper body, its two front paws landed on her knees, and it looking at him, then her. It whined again, a little louder than before.

  “Oh, what is its name? I heard you call it puppy. You didn’t give it a name yet?” Shi Shi asked curiously.

  “Umm… I am not good at naming!” Liu explained, “How about you give it a name?”


  He would not tell her that he was thinking about returning it last night!

  “No, no, no. It is your dog. You have to name it,” Shi Shi waved her hand.

  “A dog I saved,” he corrected her.

  “Well, same thing. Now it is your dog,” Shi Shi pushed, “Come on! Give it a name!”


  He insisted, “If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t even think about taking it home. You should give it a name.”


  Liu Sanlang made up his mind. Once Shi Shi named the puppy, she would get a close tie to it, and possibly to him.

  Shi Shi, of course, didn’t know about all the plans in his head. She thought for a second and said, “Okay. I will name it. What should it be called… hmmm… Did you say it is a Labrador?”


  “Yup!” He was thinking to himself, Labradors eat and poop a lot!

  “How about Xiao La?”