Wen Ci held Yeye’s lead while Zhou Wu picked up the rubbish bag she had tied into a tight knot with a red face earlier.
The two of them and the dog entered the lift together.
After travelling down only one floor, the doors opened and the residents below stepped inside.
They were an elderly woman and a middle-aged woman who appeared to be mother and daughter.
Because of the good habits he had developed, Yeye automatically moved into the corner when he saw someone entering.
He sat beside Wen Ci’s feet, closed his mouth and even stopped sticking out his tongue.
The elderly woman yawned twice.
The woman beside her noticed and asked with concern, “Mum, you’ve looked tired all morning. Did you not sleep well last night?”
“No.”
The elderly woman sighed.
“I was woken several times.”
“What noise woke you?”
“Didn’t you hear it? Around eleven or midnight, there were several bursts of noise. They didn’t even bother lowering the volume. It kept happening over and over. I couldn’t stand it.”
Yeye felt the lead in Wen Ci’s hand tighten.
He looked up in confusion and saw her guilty, evasive gaze.
Remembering the sounds she had made the previous night, Wen Ci unconsciously gripped the lead more tightly.
She instantly felt as though she were sitting on needles.
“No. I didn’t hear anything,” the middle-aged woman said in confusion.
“How could you not? It was so noisy…”
The elderly woman turned towards the young couple behind her.
“You must be the residents who recently moved in upstairs. Did you hear anything last night?”
The elderly woman had not slept well.
When she turned with a frown, her expression seemed almost accusatory to the guilty party.
Zhou Wu looked relaxed and was about to answer when the person beside him had already bowed to the elderly woman.
“I’m sorry.”
Wen Ci’s ears were bright red as she apologised sincerely.
“We—we’ll be more careful in future. We won’t disturb you again.”
The elderly woman:
“?”
Zhou Wu:
“…”
After several seconds of silence, the elderly woman took a cautious step backwards.
“Did you call the police car here last night?”
Wen Ci froze.
“What?”
“The police car. It kept driving around downstairs in the middle of the night, with the siren sounding several times.”
The elderly woman continued, “I hadn’t closed my window, so it woke me repeatedly.”
Wen Ci:
“…”
Wen Ci could no longer speak.
Zhou Wu answered, “It wasn’t us.”
The elderly woman looked bewildered.
“Then what were you apologising for?”
Wen Ci:
“…”
Wen Ci did not say another word inside the lift.
After they left and parted ways with the mother and daughter, Zhou Wu finally could not hold it in.
He lowered his head and looked at Wen Ci’s face.
“What did you think she heard?”
Wen Ci was on the verge of collapse.
She stared straight ahead and refused to look at him.
“…Nothing.”
Zhou Wu laughed for a long time before finally stopping.
His tone was far from proper.
“Don’t worry, Ms Wen. That flat has excellent soundproofing. Apart from me, no one heard you moaning.”
Yeye barked.
“Woof!”
“You aren’t a person,” Zhou Wu told him.
“………………”
Wen Ci’s face nearly turned into a tomato.
Holding the lead, she hurried forwards and stopped walking beside Zhou Wu.
“Yeye, let’s walk faster…”
Zhou Wu had only casually teased her, yet for the next ten minutes, Wen Ci walked ahead with the dog and did not look at him once.
She was easy to tease but could not tolerate being teased at all.
When they passed a small shop with a sausage grill outside, the Samoyed followed the smell, sat directly in front of the entrance and refused to move.
He was already heavy.
Wen Ci could not pull him and genuinely did not dare use force.
Finally, she turned and looked helplessly towards his owner.
Zhou Wu approached with both hands in his pockets and nudged the dog with his knee.
“Stop pretending. Get up.”
Yeye did not move.
He even began lowering himself to the ground, preparing to throw a tantrum.
Zhou Wu took out his phone and pretended to make a call.
His voice was lazy.
“Qin Yun, haven’t you always wanted my dog? When should I send him over?”
Yeye resigned himself to his fate and stood.
With heavy steps and deep sorrow, he left the shop.
“Does he know Qin Yun?” Wen Ci asked.
Zhou Wu hummed.
“He hates him. Qin Yun accidentally stepped on his tail once.”
Wen Ci nodded.
She watched Yeye’s back for a while, then turned her head and whispered, “He looks very disappointed.”
“He’s pretending,” Zhou Wu whispered in reply. “He’s trying to trick you into going back and buying one for him.”
“Oh,” Wen Ci said.
After walking several more steps, the Samoyed’s tail still drooped.
He had even stopped whining.
Wen Ci’s heart softened again.
“Can he genuinely not have one?”
Yeye had used this pitiful act countless times.
Zhou Wu had never fallen for it once.
He glanced at Wen Ci’s expression.
After a while, he lazily said, “He can have one.”
…
Beneath a tree, Wen Ci sat on a wooden bench.
Her dress was as white as the Samoyed’s fur.
She bent slightly, holding a half-eaten grilled sausage as Yeye devoured it.
His eating amused her.
“Slowly, Yeye.”
Zhou Wu leaned against the back of the bench in a relaxed posture.
After watching for a while, he said, “You really like dogs.”
“Mm.”
Wen Ci’s eyes curved.
“I once rescued a dog in high school.”
“What kind?” Zhou Wu asked. “Do you still have it?”
Wen Ci shook her head.
“It was covered in injuries and rather dirty. My family refused to let me keep it.”
“I secretly brought it home, but while I was asleep, they secretly abandoned it again.”
Wen Ci had assumed Zhou Wu would say something like her parents had acted for her own good or offer a few casual words of comfort.
Instead, he said slowly, “That was heartless of them.”
“Why didn’t you fall out with them?”
Wen Ci froze and honestly replied, “I didn’t dare.”
After a while, she could not resist turning towards him.
The corners of her lips lifted slightly, carrying a trace of pride she had not noticed herself.
“But I found it again later and found a family willing to adopt it.”
“I often secretly visited it after school. My parents never discovered it.”
Zhou Wu lowered his eyes towards her.
A faint smile appeared at his lips as he cooperatively praised her.
“Impressive.”
During their walk, the Samoyed received one grilled sausage, one chicken leg and a carton of yoghurt.
Zhou Wu walked lazily behind the woman and dog.
His initially indulgent expression gradually became grave.
He needed to think of a solution.
Otherwise, how fat would the dog eventually become?
…
After spending the night away, Wen Ci returned home after walking Yeye.
That evening, the family of three sat at the dining table.
Their family had always followed the rule of not speaking while eating.
Only when the meal was nearly over did Mother Wen slowly ask, “What were you doing at Yiqing’s home last night?”
Perhaps it was because she had walked the dog, received a gift, or learned that Zhou Wu had not given Duan Wei his clothes.
Whatever the reason, Wen Ci had been in an especially good mood all day.
The smile on her face paused.
She quickly answered, “Yiqing enrolled in an online course, so I listened along.”
Father Wen commented without emotion, “What effect can a class without interaction possibly have?”
“Didn’t Yiqing say she planned to resign and stop teaching? Why is she taking that course?”
Mother Wen placed a piece of meat into Wen Ci’s bowl.
“I heard from her mother that Yiqing wants to become some kind of independent-media blogger, travelling everywhere and filming videos.”
Dou Yiqing had never mentioned this to her.
However, when Wen Ci thought back, Dou Yiqing had indeed taken many photographs and videos during their trip to Bincheng.
They had all been very good too.
“I don’t know,” Wen Ci said, shaking her head.
“In my opinion, Yiqing is simply too wild.”
Mother Wen criticised her.
“She loves playing and doesn’t want to work, so she claims she wants to change careers.”
“That girl has quite a crazy personality. Don’t let her influence you.”
Wen Ci chewed more slowly.
“Yiqing has always taken everything she does seriously.”
“But those things aren’t proper work. What use is being serious only about having fun?”
Mother Wen spoke slowly.
“What did I say that was wrong?”
“In any case, spend less time with her in future. Create some distance.”
“Eating together occasionally is fine, but you are no longer allowed to stay overnight at her home.”
Wen Ci fell silent and lowered her head to drink her soup.
Mother Wen smiled.
“Spend more time with your other friends. The teachers in your office all seem quite good.”
“And the girl in your group, Yunfei, seems lovely too.”
“You work at the same school and will probably work together for a long time. If you maintain a good relationship, you could become lifelong friends…”
Wen Ci put down her bowl.
She did not use much force, but it still produced a clear sound.
“Mum, I don’t need you to teach me how to choose my friends.”
Her tone remained gentle.
“I know what I’m doing.”
Mother Wen had not expected Wen Ci to answer back suddenly.
She paused and stared at her in astonishment.
Wen Ci said, “I’m finished eating,” then stood and entered the kitchen.
She placed her bowl into the dishwasher.
As she came out, she seemed to remember something and turned back towards Mother Wen.
“And I don’t think there’s anything wrong with Yiqing.”
“She is my friend. I hope I won’t hear you insulting her again.”
Mother Wen blurted, “What kind of attitude is that? Everything I said was for your own good.”
“It isn’t as though I would say any of it in front of Yiqing—”
“No. You’re merely using the claim that it’s for my own good to control me.”
“Stop doing that, Mum.”
Wen Ci’s voice remained calm from beginning to end.
“I’m going upstairs.”
Only after Wen Ci disappeared into the stairwell did Mother Wen recover.
She looked at her husband in disbelief.
“Did you hear what she said? I’m heartbroken.”
“Did I raise her all these years just to hear her speak to me like that?”
“Why didn’t you help me reprimand her?”
…
Wen Ci closed the bedroom door and shut out all of her mother’s words.
Her phone lit up.
Dou Yiqing had sent several consecutive voice messages.
In them, Dou Yiqing sounded full of energy.
“Wen Ci, my online class is finished!!! Are you home yet?”
“By the way, do you know what happened yesterday?”
“My mum gave my WeChat to someone again without my permission. That blind-date candidate added me.”
“The moment I accepted, I sent him an ultrasound scan I found online and asked whether he wanted to become my child’s unrelated father. Hahahahaha!”
“Then my mum called me, and we argued again.”
“I left her so speechless she couldn’t respond at all.”
“That feeling was genuinely—forget it. You wouldn’t understand. I can’t describe it to you.”
Wen Ci listened to each message before holding down the voice-message button.
“I think I understand a little now, Yiqing.”
Wen Ci leaned against the bedroom door.
Her heartbeat remained slightly fast.
The calmness she had forced earlier had disappeared.
A rare, slightly disobedient smile appeared on her face.
Her voice trembled from nervousness.
“…It genuinely felt exhilarating.”
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