Tension filled the air, and a major battle was on the verge of breaking out.
Instigated by Snowball, Little Fish, who was normally not one for trouble, was successfully lured over to their side of the faction.
Several large dogs that had previously suffered from Snowball’s attitude quickly closed in, forming a tight circle.
In the center, Little Fish arched its back, its four paws planted firmly on the lawn, its muscles taut. The white fur all along its spine stood completely on end, its eyes sharp and fierce while a warning low growl rumbled in its throat.
Meanwhile, Snowball hid securely behind Little Fish like a villain relying on a powerful boss, talking smoothly and spitting out words that made everyone’s blood boil. It certainly knew how to put on a formidable front by borrowing someone else’s authority.
Jiang Yu muttered inwardly that things were about to go south.
This was the prelude to a full-on dog fight.
She had just promised Qi Yin not long ago to take good care of Little Fish, and she couldn’t let Little Fish become the target of a group beating today.
Glancing at Snowball, who was still looking for trouble and stoking the flames, Jiang Yu scolded, You heartless little menace!
Seeing the atmosphere intensifying by the second, Jiang Yu didn’t have time to overthink. She grabbed the whistle hanging around her neck and blew two sharp blasts, pointing straight at Little Fish’s direction and shouting at the top of her lungs, What do you think you’re doing?! No fighting!
Jiang Yu raised her voice by several decibels, piercingly loud and filled with commanding deterrence. Combined with the two sharp whistle blows, it successfully shattered the Golden Retrievers’ focus.
Putting on her gloves, Jiang Yu hurried over, pulled Little Fish and Snowball away to the side, and reprimanded them loudly again, No fighting allowed! Anyone who tries this again is going in solitary confinement! With that, she gave Snowball a light smack on the head. Especially you!
Little Fish remained silent. Snowball shrank its neck from the smack, knowing it was in the wrong, and kept quiet too.
As for the group of large dogs that Jiang Yu had just scolded, their spirits instantly wilted. Their tails and ears drooped, looking pitiful as they stood there without making a sound.
Jiang Yu was a reasonable person after all; this whole incident hadn’t really been their fault to begin with. Seeing their pitiful, aggrieved expressions, any remaining anger melted away, so she went around patting each of their heads and smoothing down their fur.
Once everyone had calmed down, Jiang Yu simply drew a boundary line, refusing to let this group of dogs, who had almost come to blows, stay together in one area.
Alright, you guys just play right here by me, she patted Little Fish’s back, then pointed to a different section for the Golden Retrievers. Go on over there, there’s a slide.
After zoning out the areas, Jiang Yu grabbed Snowball by the scruff of the neck and walked toward her chair, bringing Little Fish along.
Little Fish was fairly well-behaved, following Jiang Yu obediently, but Snowball was a completely different story.
Uncomfortable with the way Jiang Yu was holding it, Snowball kicked its four legs wildly, trying to regain its freedom.
After thrashing around in Jiang Yu’s grip to no avail, Snowball finally gave up.
Once she sat down, Jiang Yu tossed the unruly Snowball aside and looked down at it with a scrutinizing gaze. Speak. What is actually wrong with you?
Having been dragged the entire way by the scruff, Snowball was unhappy. It let out a huff and turned its face away, refusing to look at Jiang Yu.
Hey, Jiang Yu chuckled at Snowball’s reaction and asked, Are you going to be reasonable at all?
What did I even do… Snowball muttered under its breath.
What an interesting question. It did something wrong and immediately started acting like the victim.
Jiang Yu glanced at Little Fish sitting quietly to the side, raised her chin, and said, Come, come. Let your good comrade Little Fish tell you what you did.
Starting trouble, Little Fish unexpectedly took the initiative to say in a very cooperative tone.
When Little Fish finished, Jiang Yu nodded in strong agreement and turned back to poke the unrepentant Snowball. See? Even your good comrade doesn’t agree with you. You dragged an innocent bystander down with you.
Snowball glanced sideways at Little Fish, who looked like a sturdy stone pillar, and retorted, Ungrateful backstabber!
Perhaps there really was a communication barrier between humans and animals, because Jiang Yu couldn’t fathom how Snowball had managed to logic its way to that conclusion. How on earth was Little Fish the ungrateful one?
Jiang Yu stared at Snowball, which looked ready to carve the words I am not convinced onto its forehead, patted her own chest, and let out a couple of deep breaths.
A good person doesn’t argue with a cat.
I don’t care about your ‘gains’ or your ‘losses’, but let me tell you, you better behave yourself from now on! Finished speaking, Jiang Yu ignored Snowball entirely, pulled out her phone, and sent a message to Cheng Yao.
Aaa: Come over and take over my shift.
Mutton Stewed Chicken: Isn’t it your shift today?
Jiang Yu bluntly addressed the message on her phone.
Aaa: Yeah, Qi Yin is coming over in a bit. I’m going to take Little Fish downstairs first.
Mutton Stewed Chicken: …You idiot.
Even though Cheng Yao was cursing under her breath, she still came upstairs in the end.
Qi Yin’s daily arrival time was very fixed, usually right after the pets in their shop finished playing around. But today was bad luck; Jiang Yu had overslept. When Cheng Yao arrived at the shop, she realized with a start that the dogs hadn’t been walked yet, which led directly to her herding a cat and a pack of dogs out to play.
Once Cheng Yao came upstairs, Jiang Yu stood up and snapped her fingers. Let’s go, Little Fish. Go wait for your owner. With that, she scooped up Snowball, who was preparing to make a sneaky escape, tucked it into her arms, and took a couple of steps forward.
Did you really think I’d leave a ‘terrorist’ like you behind? Just instigating wars and walking away, in your dreams!
Snowball: ……
Carrying the cat securely, Jiang Yu strode briskly toward Cheng Yao, who had just come up the stairs. Reaching her, Jiang Yu reached out her free hand and patted Cheng Yao’s shoulder. All yours!
Cheng Yao gave her a sour look. Hurry up and get lost!
Gladly, Jiang Yu flashed a thick-skinned smile. Getting lost is easy.
In Cheng Yao’s eyes, Qi Yin had been visiting far too frequently lately. The two of them acting all lovey-dovey in broad daylight, engaging in private rendezvous right inside the shop, made her feel extremely displeased.
Cheng Yao had tested Jiang Yu about this a few times already, only to receive denials every time, leaving her feeling rather bitter and mourning the downgrade of her own status.
After finishing the handover with Cheng Yao, Jiang Yu headed downstairs with a cat in her arms and a dog trailing behind her, walking with large strides.
Downstairs, Jiang Yu closed the gate at the stairwell, raised her hand, and tossed Snowball forward through the air.
Snowball had slowly started getting used to being carried by Jiang Yu, so it hadn’t paid attention. Being thrown into midair gave it a sudden fright, but fortunately, its reflexes were sharp, otherwise it definitely would have taken a nasty fall.
You really are a, It started to say, but caught sight of Jiang Yu’s sharp glare and swiftly changed its words, …genius.
Such a coward, Jiang Yu thought to herself.
She clapped her hands, looked down at Snowball, and said, Just wander around here. I’m not locking you up, so be a good boy. With that, her gaze shifted to Little Fish, who had obediently followed her all the way down, her expression instantly turning fond and gentle.
Let me brush your fur.
Jiang Yu went to the washroom to grab a brush, squatted down halfway, and brushed Little Fish’s coat.
Little Fish looked spirited and shook its body happily.
After finishing the Border Collie’s grooming, Jiang Yu tossed the brush aside and patted the big dog’s back.
Its fur was sleek, smooth, and gleaming.
Pretty handsome, Jiang Yu evaluated.
She stood up, massaged her legs, and led Little Fish back to its enclosure. Wait for your owner here.
After finishing up, Jiang Yu took off her fleece jacket, draped it over the counter, and waited for Qi Yin to arrive.
When Jiang Yu had checked the time upstairs, it was 6:05. After puttering around for a bit, it was roughly 6:20. Theoretically, Qi Yin always arrived before half-past six, so she wouldn’t have to wait long.
However, even by the time Cheng Yao brought all the large dogs back down, Qi Yin still hadn’t arrived.
Jiang Yu felt a little surprised and glanced down at her phone screen, it was already 6:50.
Cheng Yao locked up each of the dogs in turn, then looked up at the lonely-looking Jiang Yu, raising an eyebrow. Did your goddess already leave? So early?
Jiang Yu didn’t say anything.
Cheng Yao had just asked casually to make her presence known, not caring whether Jiang Yu answered or not. Having spoken her piece, she turned around and retreated into the back room to curl up on the sofa.
Jiang Yu frowned slightly.
She hadn’t left; she hadn’t even arrived yet.
Because Qi Yin visited right on schedule every single day, suddenly missing her today left Jiang Yu feeling a hollow space in her chest.
She really wasn’t used to it.
Was she not coming today? Or something came up?
She unlocked her phone and checked WeChat, no messages.
Jiang Yu clicked her tongue and refreshed the screen, still no messages.
With both thumbs resting on the screen, Jiang Yu refreshed a few times back and forth without receiving a single new notification, unsure what to make of it.
Even if she doesn’t come, that’s fine, but I hope nothing went wrong… Jiang Yu muttered softly. Fearing some kind of accident, she hesitated for a moment before starting to type, she decided she had to ask.
Aaa: Not coming today?
Just as she sent the message out, a human figure cast a shadow against the glass door outside.
The person at the entrance paused for some reason, then suddenly reached a hand into their pocket.
From the looks of that movement, it somewhat resembled, taking out a phone!
Jiang Yu jumped in surprise, quickly lowered her head, and tapped frantically on the screen, managing to recall the message just before Qi Yin could see it.
Aaa recalled a message
Qi Yin lowered her head, looking at the notification on her screen with a puzzled expression.
Yu: ?
After a moment, Qi Yin looked up, her gaze meeting Jiang Yu’s through the glass door of the room.
Through the glass, Qi Yin raised an eyebrow, put her phone away, and pushed open the door to enter.
What did you send? As she spoke, Qi Yin unzipped her down jacket all the way to her chin and flipped her hair out from underneath it.
Recalling the silly stunt she had just pulled, Jiang Yu gave a couple of light coughs and said with a completely straight face, Nothing, sent it to the wrong person.
Qi Yin glanced at her, nodded, and didn’t press any further.
It wasn’t until Qi Yin placed two transparent jars onto the counter that Jiang Yu suddenly noticed she had been carrying something in her left hand the whole time.
The jars placed on the counter were filled with a thick, yellow, translucent, and crystal-clear substance.
It was honey, looking very fresh and of exceptional quality.
Jiang Yu looked at the honey, then looked up at Qi Yin.
Qi Yin’s expression remained neutral as usual. Seeing Jiang Yu’s inquiring gaze, she explained, I brought this back for a relative. Her lungs aren’t very good, but she bought too much, and I don’t care for honey.
The unspoken implication was that it was for Jiang Yu.
Looking at the honey, Jiang Yu felt a fresh wave of admiration for what a genuinely good person Qi Yin was.
Not only did she let her relatives stay over, but she also helped them run errands and buy things.
However, Jiang Yu still felt a bit shy about accepting more things from Qi Yin. Just as she opened her mouth to decline, she heard Qi Yin add:
If it sits around too long, it’ll expire and go to waste.
Cheng Yao, who had been taking a nap in the back room, walked out while giving a big yawn. Glancing at the two extra jars of honey on the table, she said offhandedly, Did you finally reach your breaking point with those panda-level dark circles of yours?
What? Jiang Yu asked.
The honey, Cheng Yao pointed at the glass jars, looking at Jiang Yu’s perplexed expression. Did you forget that honey has a calming effect? Why else would you buy it?
Qi Yin brought it, Jiang Yu paused for two seconds, …She had too much at home and was afraid it would expire.
No way? Cheng Yao exclaimed in disbelief. Honey has a two-year shelf life. How much of it does she have at home, is she a wholesaler?