The connection went through. It looked like an indoor setting with very dim lighting—barely recognizable as a piano room—but no one was in sight.
Su Yi waited with a smile. After all, this was a client who had dropped a one-million-yuan tip. She could afford to wait a bit!
After a flurry of rustling sounds, a young boy wearing sunglasses appeared on the screen.
A “Kid Boss”?
“Sister, please look! Ask our Doudou what’s wrong with him? What kind of illness does he have? We’ve been to all the best hospitals and done so many tests, but they can’t find anything wrong. They say he’s perfectly healthy, but he keeps dry-heaving and can’t even stand up!”
The boy was extremely anxious, his voice bordering on tears.
The Toy Poodle he was holding up to the camera was exactly as he described: limp, listless, with droopy eyelids. Every so often, it would heave as if trying to vomit, letting out little whimpers.
“Hello, Invincible Ultraman. Don’t worry, let me talk to Doudou first,” Su Yi said in a gentle voice. She paused before asking, “Does your mom or dad know you’re connecting with me?”
“…My mom doesn’t believe anyone can talk to animals, but I do!” Invincible Ultraman’s voice faltered for a second before becoming as firm as a vow.
Su Yi’s smile froze.
She’d been careless; she didn’t see that coming. Young people these days had no “martial virtue”—coming here to sneak around and trick a twenty-four-year-old elder like her.
Su Yi felt a wave of “eye-sweat.” She began to hallucinate scenes of parents forcing streamers to refund money after finding out their kids had spent a fortune on games or tips. It was a painful thought.
Looking at the 300,000-yuan deposit already in her account, she felt even worse. She wasn’t even as wealthy as this kid…
【This little poodle looks really bad. The streamer isn’t talking… is it a goner?】
【I’m really not used to seeing a Toy Poodle—usually the kings of chaos—this weak. Little Su, hurry up and save him!】
【He looks legitimately sick. Get him to a hospital! Little Su just understands animal language; she’s not an actual vet.】
【The kid said the hospital found nothing. If he’s physically healthy, is it a psychological issue? Family, my gossip-radar is pinging. Anyone else? Waiting with bated breath.】
【The dog really looks seriously ill, like he could go at any moment… Those of you only thinking about gossip, have some humanity. Streamer, say something!】
“…Sister? Why aren’t you saying anything? Is it too serious? Is he beyond saving?” The young lad started to cry.
Su Yi snapped out of it. “No, no, don’t worry.”
If she had to refund the money, so be it. Saving a dog’s life is worth more than building a seven-story pagoda. She wasn’t that kind of profit-seeking person~
She looked at the lethargic poodle. “Hello, Doudou. Where do you feel uncomfortable? Does your tummy hurt? Did you eat anything strange before you started heaving?”
Invincible Ultraman lowered his head, lifted his sunglasses to wipe his tears, and hurriedly said to the dog, “Doudou, hurry up and tell this sister.”
Doudou the poodle let out a few weak barks. “I’m finished, I’m dying, waahhh… By the way, gorgeous, can you really understand me?”
Su Yi nodded. “Yes, I can.”
Hearing this, Doudou seemed to experience a final burst of energy. He struggled to lift his head and stared at Su Yi. “Great! Gorgeous, hurry up and tell my second brother—oh, my second brother is this little idiot wearing sunglasses indoors—tell him I was murdered by my big brother!“
Su Yi: “?”
“What happened? Tell me everything.”
Doudou shed his frail persona, suddenly sitting bolt upright and nearly falling out of Invincible Ultraman’s hands. He began barking furiously.
He barked for five minutes straight without stopping, sounding full of vigor. The worried and heartbroken Invincible Ultraman was stunned.
【There it is! That’s the poodle I know. Look at that attitude.】
【The streamer is incredible. Just a few words and a dog on death’s door is fully recharged. Is she the “Old Master of Traditional Chinese Medicine” of the vet world?】
【That’s one angry poodle. Is he swearing? Based on my years of experience fighting with my own dog, that sounded very foul-mouthed.】
【So Doudou felt wronged but had no way to say it, so he made himself sick with stress?】
【I can’t take it! Little Su, you really know how to handle the “viral traffic formula.” You know exactly how to tease us. Can’t you translate sentence by sentence? AHHH!】
Doudou finally stopped his frantic barking. “That’s how it happened, gorgeous. You must tell them everything I’ve suffered. My mom and second brother must avenge me, waahhh…”
Seeing him look like his energy was spent and he was about to collapse again, Su Yi spoke firmly. “Don’t worry, Doudou. You won’t die. Your second brother said the doctors did many tests and found nothing, which means your big brother was just scaring you. That diamond bracelet never went into your stomach.”
The halfway-collapsed dog jolted. “What! But I really feel terrible! My stomach feels heavy like I’m carrying a rock, I’m nauseous, I want to puke, I’m cold all over… Isn’t that because of the cold diamond in my belly?”
Su Yi gave a kind, motherly smile, gazing at the little poodle who had nearly scared himself to death. “That’s all because you were too terrified at the time. You only felt something enter your mouth and assumed you swallowed it. If you really had swallowed a bracelet, the doctors would have found it long ago.”
“Woof woof woof! Ahhh! Why didn’t I think of that? I didn’t swallow anything! I’m not dying! I, Doudou the Third, am back!” Doudou was so happy he started doing a little tap dance on the table.
Su Yi laughed and promised, “Don’t worry, Doudou. I will relay your words exactly to your family so they can stand up for you. You won’t suffer in vain.”
The poodle, dancing with the joy of a survivor, instantly welled up with tears. “You are a true judge of justice!”
In just a few minutes, Doudou had gone from death’s door to being lively and energetic. The conversation between the human and the dog was still a mystery to the boy, especially the part involving the “big brother.”
Invincible Ultraman, bursting with questions, asked impatiently, “Sister, what did Doudou say?”
【Yeah, what did he say?! Little Su, you’ve learned bad habits; you’re getting better and better at keeping us in suspense! [Going crazy]】
【This dog is killing me—he can dance! He dances better than my son. P.S.: My actual son, who learned five moves for ten thousand yuan at a training class.】
【You guys can’t figure it out? Doudou’s big brother bullied him, tricked him into thinking he swallowed a diamond bracelet, and scared him sick. Poor Doudou. That big brother is a mean dog—wait, why would a dog make it hard for another dog?】
【Wait, Invincible Ultraman is the ‘second brother.’ So is the ‘big brother’ a dog… or a human?】
【Am I the only one who noticed the key point? The diamond bracelet…】
“Young lad, you—”
“Junjun, what are you doing?! Do you want to kill your mother with anger? The specialist from out of town is here, but Doudou is gone. I knew you hid him! Do you have any idea how serious the situation is? Do you want him to die?!”
Su Yi had only said a few words when a loud bang came from the screen. The lights flared bright, and the voice of a middle-aged woman full of fury echoed through the room.
“Mom, look! Doudou is better!” Invincible Ultraman shouted excitedly.
“Mom! Look at me, I’m cured!” Doudou hopped and skipped cooperatively to prove he was indeed healed without medicine.
“What?” The woman was incredulous, then ecstatic. She scooped up the energetic dog and called him every pet name in the book.
After the mother and sons had their moment of joy, Su Yi coughed twice to remind Invincible Ultraman of her presence.
“Mom, let me tell you, this sister talked to Doudou for a bit, and then he got better! She’s the one I told you about, the one who can talk to animals—”
“What nonsense? Junjun, what are you—AH!” A face flashed past the camera. “A livestream? You’re on a livestream with someone?! Did you expose our family’s privacy?! Turn it off! Turn it off now!”
In an instant, the woman’s scolding, the child’s explanations, and the dog’s barking blurred together, making one’s head spin.
Su Yi raised her voice before the connection could be violently cut. “Madam, wait! I have something to say! Your eldest son is dating his ex-aunt—that is, your former sister-in-law, your brother’s ex-wife!”
That single sentence froze the hand that was inches away from the screen. The emerald bracelet on the woman’s wrist swayed gently.
Su Yi: Clickbait titles have their day, too. (︶3︶)
Without giving them time to react, Su Yi spoke at lightning speed, recounting the “Adventures of Doudou.”
Doudou’s big brother was a human, not a dog—though he acted more like a “dog” (scumbag) than an actual one.
He had fallen in love with his ex-aunt, who was seven years older than him. Ignoring all ethics, he was determined to pursue a relationship where he could tell his cousin, “Cousin, let’s keep our ranks separate: I’ll call you ‘brother,’ and you’ll call me ‘dad.'”
After a long pursuit, he finally moved his ex-aunt’s heart. But because he had spent too much money previously, his bank cards were frozen. How could he date without money? He set his sights on his own mother.
He had stolen jewelry several times without being caught. Only his “third brother,” Doudou the dog, had discovered everything. But Doudou’s mom didn’t understand his heart; when he barked and jumped in distress, she even suspected he was mentally ill.
This time, Doudou vowed to protect his mother’s property and catch him in the act! However, while he was wrestling with the big brother over the diamond bracelet, the bracelet suddenly disappeared.
“Doudou’s big brother lied to him, saying Doudou had swallowed the bracelet. Doudou was terrified, which led to the persistent dry-heaving and lethargy. He wasn’t actually sick. I’ve already talked Doudou through it, so you don’t have to worry,” Su Yi said with a consoling smile.
On the other side, aside from Doudou’s excited barking, there was dead silence.
【”Don’t have to worry”… Streamer, that is NOT the main point here!】
【Uh, she’s an ex-aunt. Once you’re divorced, there’s no connection to the previous family. Love is free, and there’s no blood relation between a nephew and an ex-aunt.】
【Wake up! The ex-aunt and the uncle have kids! My god.】
【Hahaha, ‘let’s keep our ranks separate: I call you brother, you call me dad.’ The movies have become reality!】
【It’s one thing for the big brother to chase his cousin’s mom, but why is he stealing from his own mother? And if stealing wasn’t enough, why terrify the little dog? The dog is good; the human is bad.】
“Your ID is ‘Heaven Above, Hangzhou Below,’ right? You are maliciously spreading rumors and defaming us. Expect a lawyer’s letter!” Doudou’s mom finally spoke, her voice tight with rage.
Su Yi was delighted. “Really? That’s great! I was just running out of toilet paper. Thank you for the gift, Doudou’s Mom~”
“You!”
The screen flashed, and Invincible Ultraman cut the connection.