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

  Masanori Suzuhara usually contacted her classmates and seniors in Japan using Line, but she’d started using Wechat after coming to China. School hadn’t started yet, and she only had a few Wechat contacts, including the counselor and Zhang Zian.

  She went back to the international student’s residence, and set up a cozy spot for Snoopy. Pets weren’t forbidden in the residence, but otherwise she would have to rent a room outside. Rent in China was cheaper than Japan and there was no need to pay unnecessary money. Still, she wanted to get to know more Chinese friends during her limited days in the country.

  Although she’d taken care of former Snoopy in the lab for a long time, technically this was still her first time owning a pet of her own. She didn’t know that beagles often annoyed the neighbors and she started to grow anxious after remembering the conversation between Zhang Zian and Qian Bowen.

  This Snoopy was well trained by Zhang Zian at the pet shop, and only barked once or twice since it had arrived at the residence. She remembered Zhang Zian’s advice and resisted the urge to look back at it. She stared at her phone, and didn’t even turn her head when it barked.

  She received lots of Line greetings from her lab seniors, asking her how she was doing in China, what it was like around her, and if she was being mistreated by anyone.

  Masanori Suzuhara read the messages and smiled. Before coming here, all she knew about China was through TV news and costume dramas, which easily could have exaggerated the way things actually were. The seniors’ worries were understandable.

  Snoopy barked two more times, but she continued to ignore it. After that, it stopped barking, and sniffed around the room the explore the new territory.

  Masanori Suzuhara had been paying attention to its movements, and felt reassured after seeing that it had finally stopped barking. The former Snoopys were kept in a lab that had good sound insulation, and even then, nobody was there during the night time. Nobody cared how much they barked. But the residence was different.

  She responded to all of the greetings from her seniors, and tried her best to clarify their misunderstandings about China, telling them not to worry as she tried to adapt to her new life.

  In addition, some of her close girl friends were asking her if she’d been eating properly, and if she could ever get used to the food in China. They told her to take more local products from Japan with her the next time she travelled back.

  The most frequently asked question, from either her seniors or classmates, was asking why she hadn’t updated Twitter in such a long time, and if she had run into any difficulties or trouble.

  Regarding this subject, she just told them it was a long story. She wanted to complain, but she wasn’t able to actually say anything.

  After answering all of the greetings, she asked her seniors about the biomedical device company that had been cooperating with the lab, along with inquires about their contact information.

  The seniors did some research and sent her the company’s information.

  Her phone vibrated. The delivery man had arrived at the international students’ residence, and was calling for her to pick up her stuff. The cage she ordered from the pet shop had arrived.

  Masanori Suzuhara put aside her other business, picked up the cage downstairs, paid for the courier, and then started to set up a cozy space for Snoopy. She was following Zhang Zian’s advice. It was necessary to use a cage before Snoopy was fully trained.

  She put an old blanket in the cage, and put another layer of waterproof cloth on top, in case Snoopy peed or pooped while inside. The old blanket was actually only a few days old.

  After that, she put a pair of old gloves on top of the old blanket. According to Zhang Zian, when she was not in the room, it would be better to let Snoopy keep on smelling her. It would calm the dog down, so it wouldn’t panically bark for its missing owner.

  The shopping bag from the pet shop was on the table, and the QR code was too glaring to be ignored. She took out another item from the bag. It was the last resort to stop the beagle from barking; a dog mask. The dog couldn’t open its mouth once it was on, thus preventing it from making any noise. However, she didn’t want to use this unless she had to.

  The dog mask was much different from a shock collar. It was defensive, practical, and useful.

  When Zhang Zian recommended the dog mask to Masanori Suzuhara, he took the time to educate her about the reality of China.

  When walking a dog outside, no matter how friendly the dog was, if it was not as obedient as a police dog, it would always be better to use a mask. Apart from preventing bad situations of biting and barking, the mask could also prevent the dog from eating unknown food. Every year, many dogs died from poisoning after eating random food from outside.

  If some person hated either the dog or the owner, they could place poisonous bait in their residential areas. The dog would die as soon as it consumed it, leaving no time for medical aid. If a regular dog had not been fully trained to resist this type of food, it was necessary to put on a mask when it went outside, before something terrible happened.

  She was horrified after hearing this, and immediately agreed to buy the mask.

  After entering the cage, Snoopy barked a few more times. Maybe it didn’t want to be locked up. But Masanori Suzuhara ignored it, opened her laptop, and started writing out an email using the contact information provided by her seniors. The email address they gave her was not an official company address, but the personal email of a business manager whom the seniors knew very well and often had drinks with.

  The seniors asked her what her purpose was when they provided her the contact information. She replied that she had received a favor from a pet shop owner in China, and was trying to do something to return the favor.

  She stated her identity and intentions in the email, hoping that the recipient would make an exception. After all, this company had only been selling their automatic dog washers in Japan, and not in other countries. Transportation was a major issue. An automatic dog washer was heavy and bulky, much bigger than common washing machines used in households.

  After sending the email, Masanori Suzuhara saw that Snoopy had already quieted down, and was staring at her while lying down in the cage. Its eyes looked a bit sad.

  “Good job, Snoopy,” she said, praising it.

  She let it out of its cage, and sat down on the cold floor with it, as part of her old habits. She trained it to sit, squat, and lie down with some treats.

  Snoopy immediately got excited, and played with her happily. However, it wasn’t responding to her training demands. Beagles were often too lively and difficult to train, as they were not obedient. Still, she knew that some beagles were trained as police dogs to detect drugs.

  “Woof!”


  Snoopy jumped to grab the food out of her hands, and barked with disappointment after failing to do so.

  Masanori Suzuhara quickly stood up from the ground and went back to her seat. She noticed that a new email had arrived.

  The business manager replied to her email, saying that the company was not planning on expanding the automatic dog washer business in China just yet. But, the company was going to bring a machine to China to participate in a home technology exhibition. If they didn’t mind, the company would consider leaving the washer behind, the one that was going to be used as a sample for the display. It would spare them the trouble of shipping it back to Japan. However, they needed to discuss the further details of the plan and they also couldn’t offer free warranty services.

  After seeing that its owner was ignoring it, Snoopy heistantly came over, circled her chair a few times around, sniffed her feet, and then stood up to put its two front paws on her leg, asking her to play.

  Masanori Suzuhara was trying to focus on the email. She had to let Snoopy know that barking meant punishment, which included barking from being ignored and being without food or play. She’d heard about the trouble that Qian Bowen had encountered with his beagle. She must pay close attention, in order not to repeat the same mistakes and to avoid annoying others.

  She read the email twice, thought about it, and then texted Zhang Zian. She was only the messenger responsible for relaying the message to Zhang Zian. Zhang Zian had to make the final decision, and see if he was willing to accept a sample automatic dog washer from the exhibition.

  Snoopy barked two more times and scratched her leg to get her attention. But it was only disappointed. The owner was acting like a wooden statue, focused on her work, and not responding to its behavior.

  Zhang Zian replied quicker than she had expected.

  He texted her back and said, he knew about the challenges from shipping, and didn’t mind if it was a display sample from the exhibition. He was willing to buy it at the price of a new machine. As for the warranty, it was a shame, but he couldn’t really do anything about it. The company didn’t have a branch in China, and he understood their reasoning. If the machine broke while using, he was willing to pay for the repairs himself.

  Masanori Suzuhara incorporated Zhang Zian’s reply in her email, and sent it back to the business manager.

  Snoopy laid down by her feet sadly, and looked up at her from time to time. It seemed to have accepted the fact that she did not like to be disturbed while working, and had to wait for her to finish.

  After it had calmed down, Masanori Suzuhara leaned over, placed it on her lap, and combed its hair with a small brush. She said gently, “Snoopy, don’t bark, and don’t annoy other people. Otherwise, I wont play with you.”


  Despite the fact that it was named Snoopy, it was actually a female dog. Female beagles were quieter than the males. The one that Qian Bowen had owned was male, and barked more for that reason.

  Snoopy laid on her lap comfortably and let her brush its hair. It didn’t bark at all.

  The business manager replied to her email again, saying that they appreciated the accommodation of their Chinese counterparts. He also brought along some good news. Since the voltage in Japan was 110V, not compatible with the voltage in China, to ensure a successful demonstration in the exhibition, the company would bring a special voltage converter to China and give it to them with the machine for free after the exhibtion.

  Masanori Suzuhara tapped her forehead, and thanked them for being so considerate. She hadn’t thought of this issue before. If they had gotten the automatic dog washer, but couldn’t use it because of its different voltage, she would have been so embarrased.

  She informed Zhang Zian of the latest news, and successfully fufilled her role as messenger.

  “Great job, Snoopy. You’re being really good,” she said to it gently.