The Early Spring - Chapter 66

Chapter 66 - A Mutt 

Luan Nian had never guarded against Shang Zhitao. If anyone in Lingmei had the power to finish him off, that person could only be Shang Zhitao. If Shang Zhitao casually pulled out their chat records and reported him to the company, he would instantly plunge into a career crisis.

Shang Zhitao was Luan Nian’s soft spot, but she was also someone he trusted implicitly. He wanted Shang Zhitao to enter the planning department through the normal competitive selection process, just not right now.

Right now was not the right time.

Dony was a man dispatched by the board of directors, representing the ongoing power struggle between two factions within the company. Luan Nian refused to attach himself to any powerful patrons; he had climbed up entirely on his own merit. One faction on the board believed capability was paramount, while the other insisted on placing their own people. Luan Nian remained unperturbed on the surface, driven by one core principle: he didn't care if he left this job voluntarily, but he would never let anyone else push him out. When it all came down to it, he was a deeply competitive person. Yet he wanted nothing more than to keep Shang Zhitao out of the crossfire.

Holding that bottle of water named "Of One Mind," Shang Zhitao brought it up to her lips, only to set it back down in the end.

Luan Nian watched her.

She was no longer the fresh graduate she had been two years ago. Having witnessed the superficial gloss of the corporate world, she had a rough idea of its treacherous undercurrents. She always listened to Luan Nian, doing whatever he told her to do, because she knew that Luan Nian had never once harmed her.

"I'm not thirsty. I won't go to the planning department—at least not until you win your battles. You don't need to worry about whether I'll betray you either; I won't." Shang Zhitao unscrewed the bottle cap, retrieved Luke’s little water basin, and poured water into it. "Luke, come here!"

Luke was parched and scurried over to drink. Shang Zhitao picked up the bottle Luan Nian had drunk from, tilted her head back, and finished the remaining half, then told him, "That counts as being of one mind."

The corners of Luan Nian’s lips curved upward. He gazed out toward the mountain front, his hand resting over the back of Shang Zhitao's hand. Shang Zhitao flipped her palm upward to meet him, interlacing her fingers with his. Neither of them spoke. A gentle mountain breeze drifted past, and the snow-white Luke darted back and forth all around them, vanishing into the green patch of grass before a patch of white peeked out again moments later, immediately followed by the puppy bounding out from the foliage. Neither of them could properly define the status of their relationship; they both joked about being friends with benefits, yet deep down they shared an intimate closeness and profound trust.

Shang Zhitao's Saturdays were typically spent walking the dog at Luan Nian's place, after which he would drive her and the dog back home. Then she would head out to study languages, have meals with Sun Yuanzhu, Sun Yu, or Yao Bei, followed by another dog walk and study sessions. Sundays were generally dedicated to walking the dog, studying, eating, taking an afternoon nap, studying again, walking the dog, and having dinner. Occasionally, she went on short trips with Sun Yuanzhu and the others—to Bashang, Baiyangdian, or Yanxi Lake, all within the surrounding vicinity. She had grown accustomed to this routine of a weekend.

Yet this weekend was different. Having agreed in a daze to follow Luan Nian up the mountain, she simply stood there letting the mountain breeze wash over her while Luke ran with unbridled joy through the underbrush. The two of them had wandered down a narrow footpath, and Shang Zhitao had picked a few nameless wildflowers along the roadside. She loved weekends like this.

The two of them lingered on the mountain until dusk, then took Luke along to eat fish. Luke went absolutely wild with excitement the moment it saw the fishpond, plunging headfirst right into the water. Terrified out of her wits, Shang Zhitao let out a piercing shriek, "Luke!" convinced the puppy was about to drown. Instead, Luke was dog-paddling frantically through the pond, growing ecstatic when it spotted the fish and deciding it needed to catch one.

"You're paying the bill today." Luan Nian glanced at the dimwitted dog, figuring it might actually manage to drag out a couple of fish. Sure enough, it successfully clamped its jaws onto one.

"Spit that out right now!" Shang Zhitao scolded it from the edge of the pond. "Hurry up!"

Letting out a whimper, Luke paddled over to the bank and spat out the fish, which flopped frantically against the ground. The owner chimed in, "Well, that one can't be thrown back..." Before the words even finished fading, Luke dove right back down.

Pointing at Shang Zhitao, Luan Nian told the owner, "She's settling the bill."

By the time Luke hauled out four fish from in and out of the water, Luan Nian genuinely didn't pay for the meal, and even went on to sneer at Shang Zhitao, "Fish caught by a dog you raised ought to taste better than the rest."

Shang Zhitao cradled a large plastic bucket containing three fish—the fourth having just been stewed by the owner. Since none of the three remaining fish were small, Luke circled the bucket, letting out a series of zhi zhi zhi whimpers as if showing off its prowess. Asking the fish restaurant owner for a bath towel, Shang Zhitao wiped down Luke's fur all over again, nagging it the entire time: "Is a fishpond somewhere you just jump into whenever you feel like it? Have you ever even learned how to swim? What would you have done if you drowned?"

"Other dogs are terrified of water the moment they see it—how come you just plunge right in headfirst?"

"You jumped in, fine—why on earth did you catch fish? Is there something wrong with your brain?"

Luan Nian chimed in from the side: "You've finally realized your dog has a screw loose."

Luke was unlike any other dog; how should she put it—it was a bit blockheaded. Whenever the doorbell rang at Luan Nian's place, it got more excited than anyone else, dashing out the door to welcome whoever arrived. Anyone hoping to rely on it as a guard dog was completely out of luck.

"There is nothing wrong with Luke!"

"Wasn't it just you saying otherwise a second ago?"

Looking at Luke's dopey expression, Shang Zhitao felt a mild headache coming on. Raising a dog was ridiculously expensive; if she hadn't brought it to the fish restaurant, she probably could have saved a bit of cash. The moment they got home, Luke collapsed straight onto the floor and crashed; it was so utterly exhausted that it wouldn't need a special walk tonight.

Luan Nian dug a bottle of wine out of the storage cabinet, poured himself a small measure, and told Shang Zhitao, "You really ought to practice your driving skills. When I wanted to drink a bit while eating fish earlier, there wasn't a single person around who could drive for me."

"I drive just fine."

"Have you even driven once since you crashed my car last time?"

"No."

...

Smiling ingratiatingly, Shang Zhitao stepped closer to cadge a drink from him. "Can I have a glass?"

"No."

"My alcohol tolerance is great now."

Luan Nian glanced at her and poured a mere drop at the bottom of a glass for her. Disgusted by the meager amount, Shang Zhitao downed it in a single gulp. "Pour me more."

Luan Nian poured a slightly larger amount into her glass, watching her take a small sip before asking, "Did you deliberately train your tolerance?"

"Mmhmm~"

"Why?"

"A person's got to know how to drink a little, right? Otherwise, if I run into an occasion that requires drinking and I don't know how, how awkward and un-fun would that be?"

"What kind of occasion requires drinking?" Luan Nian asked her.

"Like dealing with clients? Or hanging out with bosses?" Shang Zhitao was just teasing Luan Nian; she would never actually drink with clients, knowing full well that young women easily got taken advantage of in those settings. She only wanted to drink with Sun Yu, Lumi, and Yao Bei—having the girls gather together, sipping a little wine, and swapping stories sounded wonderfully cozy. Luan Nian's face fell, the atmospheric pressure plunging to freezing lows as he demanded, "Do you remember what I told you after that business dinner in Guangzhou?"

"I remember. You said, if you can't hold your liquor, never drink at all."

"Can you manage that?"

Luan Nian kept a tight rein on Shang Zhitao because he never wanted to see her go with the flow and compromise herself. Shang Zhitao nodded. "I can. So I guess I won't be drinking with any bosses either!" She pushed the wine glass back across the bar toward him.

"Thinking of me as your boss now?"

"I suppose I don't have to."

Squeezing into the narrow space between him and the bar counter, Shang Zhitao cupped his face in her hands. "I'm going on a business trip. One of my roommates is heading to the Northwest for a month or two to test autonomous driving vehicles, and my other roommate is going to Pingyao for market research."

"Right, and?"

"Can I leave Luke at your place?"

"You can send your stupid dog to a kennel."

"I can't... I'd miss it too much..."

"If you leave it here, I'll turn it into a stew."

"Then you'd better stew me first, and stew Luke second." Shang Zhitao knew Luan Nian was all bark and no bite; when he put Luke in a headlock earlier, he hadn't even used any actual force—the puppy had simply thought they were playing!

"You don't even taste good."

"Are you sure about that?" Shang Zhitao stepped a fraction closer, pressing her shoe down right on top of his foot. Luan Nian tapped her on the forehead with his fingertip. "If it pees indoors, I'm beating it; if it chews up my things, I'm beating it."

"Whatever you say."

Having finally secured a boarding arrangement for Luke, Shang Zhitao was in a fantastic mood. The truth was, she couldn't bear the thought of sending Luke to a commercial kennel; she had heard horror stories about boarding facilities beating dogs. She couldn't bear the thought of Luke getting hit.

When the time for her business trip arrived, she grabbed her suitcase and left, genuinely dumping Luke into Luan Nian's care. Back at the company, Luan Nian chaired a management meeting. Dony, having just assumed his new post, was radiating sharp ambition, proposing at the meeting that they adopt fresh design elements as the overarching direction for the year, boasting about aligning with international standards. This completely upended the strategic plan Luan Nian had formulated the previous year.

Everyone in the room turned to look at Luan Nian, eager to gauge his response. Last year's strategy had suffered zero flaws, yielding stellar market performance and winning full endorsement from clients. Yet Luan Nian merely spread his hands in a gesture of surrender: "It's nothing more than A/B testing; no single strategy is ever 100 percent correct. I support Dony."

Dony matched Luan Nian in both age and credentials, showing zero stage fright in such a setting as he simply replied, "Thank you, Luke."

"Don't mention it. I'm thrilled to have you lighten my load." With that, Luan Nian began packing up his laptop. "Shall we call it a day then? Since Dony just returned to the country, why don't you head out and explore after clocking off? Beijing is quite a fun city."

He walked out of the conference room with a smile, leaving no one able to decipher his true thoughts. Luan Nian's logic was remarkably simple: Dony had to report any strategic revisions back to the board of directors, meaning the board would inevitably bicker amongst themselves—what did that have to do with him? Engaging in a pointless turf war during a meeting was a waste of time; he'd rather go home and walk his dog.

He rushed home by car, harboring lingering anxieties that Luke might wreak havoc in his home. Upon unlocking the door, he found the apartment shrouded in pitch darkness and eerie silence. Flipping on the light switch, he discovered the scene before him looked like a disaster zone: flower pots lay shattered across the floor, and Luke had even chewed up his rug.

Where was Luke? It bounded over to welcome him home, its paws acting as if fitted with microscopic springs as it leaped up and down, over and over again. Luan Nian instinctively snatched up a slipper to give chase. As for the puppy, it let out a sharp woof at Luan Nian and scattered at a dead sprint. One running, one chasing, man and dog turned the entire household upside down.

Growing exhausted from the pursuit, Luan Nian dropped onto the sofa and gestured toward Luke. "Get over here."

Tilting its head with its tongue lolling out, Luke barked: Woof! No way.

"I said get over here."

Woof! Absolutely not!

Digging out the dog treats Shang Zhitao had left behind, Luan Nian tossed one onto the floor and coaxed in a gentle tone, "Come here, you stupid dog."

Luke stood zero chance against that kind of temptation, scampering over to Luan Nian's feet in a few bounds to lower its doggy head and snatch up the treat, only to be pinned firmly in place by Luan Nian's hand. "Still want to run? You really think you can match wits with me?" Raising a hand in a mock threat, he saw that familiar pair of round eyes blinking up at him in utter bewilderment—bearing an uncanny resemblance to its dimwitted owner. Dropping his hand onto its head, he rubbed it fiercely and muttered through clenched teeth, "If you tear up the house again tomorrow, I'm turning you into a stray!"

As it turned out, Luke's head was unexpectedly fun to pet, covered in soft, velvety fur. While Luan Nian rubbed its crown, Luke simply rested its furry face right against his kneecap, tilting its ears to make it easier for him to pet. First the left ear, then turning its head to offer the right—it was every bit as well-behaved and endearing as Shang Zhitao.

Did pets really end up resembling their owners? As Luan Nian ate his dinner while watching Luke, he realized the puppy was a dead ringer for Shang Zhitao, sporting that same comical, monkey-like grin as if it had just stumbled upon something endlessly amusing.

He happened to have a head of Chinese cabbage in his fridge, so he sliced off a couple of leaves, blanched them in a skillet, and watched as Luke sat right beside him with drool pooling from its jaws, desperate for a taste. Since when did dogs care for cabbage? Luan Nian tossed a piece to it, and it swallowed the leaf whole before begging for more. Piece by piece, it managed to wolf down half a head of cabbage.

Late that night, right after stepping out of the shower, Luan Nian heard Luke letting out a series of restless, whining whimpers. With a deep frown, he asked, "What's wrong with you, you stupid dog?"

Staring unblinkingly at Luan Nian, Luke suddenly squatted its hind legs and proceeded to... experience a severe bout of diarrhea right then and there... Luan Nian gagged, choking back a dry heave before he could even process it, only for Luke to let loose a second round. Just like that, Luan Nian's pristine home was utterly ruined.

He whipped out his phone and called Tan Mian: "What causes a puppy to get diarrhea?"

"If it's a young dog, it could be parvovirus, which is fatal. You need to take it to a pet hospital. Did you get a dog?" Before Tan Mian could finish his question, Luan Nian had already hung up, scooped Luke into his arms, and sprinted out to his car.

Hate it as he might, it was still a living creature; if it actually died on his watch, he'd never hear the end of it from Shang Zhitao. Racing to a 24-hour veterinary clinic, they ran blood tests and a battery of diagnostics until the vet finally reassured Luan Nian, "Checked the results—it's not parvovirus. It just ate something it shouldn't have and got an upset stomach. What did it eat?" the vet asked.

"Cabbage."

"How much?"

Luan Nian paused to think. "Two leaves."

"Well, that shouldn't have caused this." The vet prescribed some medication for Luke and instructed Luan Nian on how to feed it upon returning home.

That single midnight excursion set him back two thousand yuan. And to think Shang Zhitao is dirt poor yet still dares to raise a dog, Luan Nian muttered inwardly. Back home, seeing that the helper had already finished cleaning up and was preparing to leave, he handed her an extra five hundred yuan tip.

After all that frantic chaos, both man and beast were utterly exhausted. Luke lay slumped in a corner looking thoroughly dejected; dogs were simple creatures, and the puppy assumed Shang Zhitao had abandoned it, making it feel deeply melancholy whenever it crossed its mind. By the time Luan Nian headed out for work the next morning, it was still listless and drooping.

Feeling that the poor thing deserved some sympathy after its bout of diarrhea, Luan Nian spent his downtime during the day looking up online recipes for homemade dog kibble cakes. During his lunch break, he went out to purchase the raw ingredients, figuring that commercial kibble looked like scorched rice crusts—smelling decent enough, but probably tasting foul. He minced meat into a fine paste, finely chopped carrots, apples, cabbage, and sausage, mixed them together with flour, kneaded the dough into individual round balls, and steamed them in a pot. Luke sat patiently beside him the entire time, waiting. Once the treats were finally done, he fed the puppy a piece, which it swallowed in one gulp before obediently sitting back down to wait for more.

It gave him a surprisingly strong sense of accomplishment.

Leaving the office early for three consecutive days caught Tracy's attention. Just as he was in the middle of feeding Luke, Tracy called him up: "Are you perhaps dissatisfied with the recent headquarters appointments?"