After seeing Dahei getting increasingly irritated by the noise, Xia Sisi gently patted his little head to calm him down.
At the same time, she picked up a fried chicken drumstick, tore off pieces of meat and skin, and fed them to him bit by bit.
“You can’t eat too much of this. You still need to eat boiled meat and proper pet food. Otherwise, too much salt will make your fur fall out—then you’ll become a bald dog, and all the little female dogs will avoid you!”
Dahei didn’t even lift his head while eating. Only after finishing did he look up at Xia Sisi, his droopy eyelids conveying a clear message—I want more!
Alright… everything she just said had gone in one ear and out the other.
Before going to bed that night, Xia Sisi took out her Tibetan knife and practiced a set of martial arts moves she had learned before the apocalypse. After just a short while, her arms and legs felt sore and weak.
Her current body was far too frail.
Starting tomorrow morning, she would run. She would train. She would practice martial arts!
Just before sleeping, she received a message from Lin Yi. It was full of affectionate, sentimental words—reminiscing about the past few years and talking about how he was looking forward to their upcoming engagement.
To avoid arousing suspicion, she had already removed him from her blacklist. But reading the message now almost made her nauseous.
“Who knows what disgusting things he’s doing in Hao Rou’s arms right now!”
In her previous life, Xia Sisi had eventually realized how she had been schemed against.
Hao Rou was the real mastermind behind Lin Yi.
Lin Yi himself had bad intentions but lacked brains—Hao Rou was the one giving all the ideas behind the scenes.
So if she hated Lin Yi, she hated Hao Rou even more—the venomous, manipulative “green tea” white lotus!
Not wanting to get entangled, Xia Sisi simply replied: “Got it. Let’s talk another day. I’m tired today.”
Lin Yi replied gently with a “Good night.”
Xia Sisi rolled her eyes. What a great actor.
Meanwhile, Lin Yi was lying in Hao Rou’s arms, frowning at the reply.
“Xiao Rou, what do you think she means? Why do I feel like she’s becoming distant?”
Hao Rou also couldn’t quite figure it out. She reassured him briefly, then got up and called Xia Sisi.
When Xia Sisi saw Hao Rou’s call, anger surged through her—but then it was quickly doused with cold reason.
Since her rebirth, aside from stockpiling supplies and raising her dog, all she felt toward this cheating pair was hatred.
Or rather, a ruthless hatred carried over from her previous life.
She had wanted to chop them into pieces.
But thinking about it now, that kind of reaction was irrational.
She took a deep breath, sniffed lightly, and answered the call.
“Sisi, I heard from Lin Yi that you two argued? What happened?”
Hao Rou’s concerned voice came through the phone.
Xia Sisi sneered inwardly, but outwardly sounded calm and pitiful.
“Hao Rou, you’re my best friend, and you know Lin Yi well. Tell me… does Lin Yi even like me?”
She clearly sensed a brief pause on the other end before Hao Rou responded in a slightly scolding tone:
“Sisi, what are you saying? As an orphan, it’s already a blessing for you to receive favor from the Lin family! If Lin Yi didn’t like you, why would he accept the engagement? Do you know what kind of family the Lin family is?”
There it was again—manipulation.
Xia Sisi sniffled again deliberately.
“But… I heard that when someone likes you, they can’t help wanting physical contact. Why does Lin Yi always avoid it?”
Of course, Lin Yi wanted physical contact.
But Hao Rou didn’t allow it.
Xia Sisi said this on purpose—to stab at Hao Rou.
Sure enough, Hao Rou fell silent for a moment.
When she spoke again, her voice trembled slightly:
“Sisi, that’s because Lin Yi respects you! He wants your wedding night to be perfect… Where can you find such a good man? How could you become so… so improper, thinking about things like this?”
There it was again—more manipulation.
“I—I’m sorry, I overthought it. I just… sometimes want to hold hands or kiss, like other couples. But Lin Yi always avoids me.”
In truth, Xia Sisi was lying.
Lin Yi had kissed her—more than once. And now it made her feel sick just thinking about it.
But in Hao Rou’s eyes, kissing was absolutely unacceptable.
Xia Sisi said this deliberately to make Hao Rou believe everything was under control.
Sure enough, Hao Rou’s tone became noticeably lighter.
After a few more words of “comfort,” Xia Sisi pretended to sob before hanging up.
Once the call ended, Xia Sisi snorted coldly.
Good. Keep thinking I’m still that fool. That way, when I deal with you, it’ll be quick and clean.
After hanging up, she noticed Dahei staring at her with his head tilted, looking puzzled.
Her fake crying must have confused him.
Xia Sisi suddenly found it amusing.
“Human emotions… a simple little dog like you wouldn’t understand.”
She reached out and gently patted his head.
Overall, the day had gone well. That night, she wiped Dahei down and let him sleep on the bed with her.
At first, he seemed uncomfortable—unaccustomed to the soft bed and being held.
In the middle of the night, even after Xia Sisi had fallen asleep, he jumped down and returned to his dog bed.
She didn’t force him, thinking that bonds take time to build, and went back to sleep.
But the next morning, when she woke up, she found that Dahei had somehow returned and was sleeping soundly beside her.
The moment she opened her eyes, he immediately woke up too, staring at her with his large eyes.
“Good morning, Dahei.”
She hugged his big head and planted a firm kiss on it.
Dahei frowned slightly, his face drooping again—like a cold, aloof scumbag.
But it didn’t matter. Xia Sisi had a good mindset and ignored his attitude.
She got up, washed up, and took Dahei out for a run and a walk.
After that, she brought him to nearby breakfast shops to browse and place orders.
Soup dumplings, tofu pudding, soy milk, sweet fried cakes, chewy sesame balls, thin-skinned meat buns with generous filling, soft boiled corn, fragrant millet porridge, and savory preserved egg and lean pork porridge.