Inside the Asia Pet Expo venue.
After Tang Ning’s sharp, clear command rang out, it felt like time itself paused for a full second.
Sunlight poured down from the high dome of the venue, casting pillars of light across the indoor space. Dust motes danced in the beams.
Tang Ning stood in front of Jian Wei, one hand still raised in mid-air.
From Jian Wei’s low angle looking up, she could see her boss’s long, straight legs and the somewhat delicate ankles exposed beneath. There was no wind in the venue, yet the hem of Tang Ning’s trench coat swayed gently.
And that Samoyed—the one that had just charged through like a wrecking ball destroying everything—seemed to have been hit with a spell. It froze right in front of Tang Ning.
Jian Wei held her breath and counted in her heart: one, two, three—
The dog finally reacted, as if snapping out of a daze. It slowly sat down, tilted its head…
And rubbed its face against Tang Ning’s palm.
Jian Wei took a deep breath: “…”
She had survived the ordeal.
Sitting on the ground, she stared up at her boss’s towering back, her eyes exploding with fireworks of pure admiration.
The farce was over, but the crowd of onlookers didn’t disperse right away. They stood there, quietly muttering among themselves:
“Whose dog is this? How come no one’s watching it? Don’t they have any manners?”
“I think it belongs to some influencer. That dog is super well-behaved online, but damn, it’s acting wild right now.”
“Which influencer is so irresponsible? There are so many people here and they didn’t even put a muzzle on it. Even if it’s a pet, it’s a large breed…”
“But that girl is pretty badass. First time I’ve seen someone who can actually train dogs… Do all dog trainers look this good?”
…
Sheng Xinglai was stunned too. By the time she came back to her senses, Fu Caicai had already anxiously pushed through the crowd and was standing in front of them in her tiny high heels: “S-sorry, this is my dog.”
Her voice was small and soft, eyes full of apology: “I’m really sorry, I didn’t hold onto her properly… Here, let me take her.”
As she spoke, she reached out to take the leash.
But Tang Ning didn’t even glance at her.
She crouched halfway down, trying to scratch under the Samoyed’s chin. The dog was super friendly, rubbing its fluffy white fur all over her hand, tail spinning in happy circles like a propeller.
So Tang Ning smiled too, scratching here and there, but not saying a single word.
She’d come to the expo lightly today—dressed simply. Yet there was an elite aura about her that could silence people without even speaking.
Fu Caicai inexplicably felt suppressed by her and didn’t dare make a sound for a long while.
The more Tang Ning stayed silent, the guiltier Fu Caicai felt.
Finally, she mustered the courage to try again: “Um, about the dog…”
“Who are you talking to?” Tang Ning cut her off.
She still didn’t look up. Her tone wasn’t harsh, but the corners of her lips curved down in clear displeasure. Fu Caicai felt the pressure immediately.
Now she suspected this old classmate hadn’t even recognized her. Thinking back to how she’d waved first earlier, she felt even more awkward. She bit her lip and took the initiative to introduce herself: “Th-this dog is ‘Puchi’.”
—Puchi, the name of that famous internet-famous little dog.
“Miss, are your ears not working well?” Tang Ning still showed no real emotion, calm and unruffled. She slowly lifted her gaze to look at her. “I’ll kindly repeat myself one more time: who exactly are you talking to?”
“I-I’m talking to you…”
“Your dog just ran into who?”
Both Fu Caicai and Jian Wei were stunned.
The dog had charged straight toward Jian Wei, but it hadn’t only hit her. That huge fluffy ball had barreled through, knocking over tons of equipment in the venue. Several booths had been flipped, and the staff seemed used to this kind of chaos—they were already quietly picking up scattered bags and brochures from the floor.
The crowd hadn’t fully dispersed yet. More and more people were recognizing Fu Caicai. She had only intended to let her dog scare someone a little, but she never expected things to blow up like this. Feeling a bit embarrassed, she took a step forward and mumbled to Jian Wei: “I’m sorry.”
Jian Wei was about to respond when Tang Ning spoke up coolly: “Is that the attitude of an apology, miss? If you really don’t know how, would you like me to teach you how to behave like a person again?”
Fu Caicai gritted her teeth and quickly bowed: “I’m sorry!”
Jian Wei was a little surprised, but given her boss’s attitude just now, she kept a straight face, said nothing, and put on an expression that screamed “don’t mess with me.”
Tang Ning was finally satisfied. She patted the Samoyed’s fluffy white fur and stood up: “Remember to go apologize to all those vendors you knocked over just now too.”
With that, she turned and walked away.
She didn’t spare Fu Caicai a single extra glance.
The onlookers finally started to scatter. Fu Caicai froze for a moment, suddenly feeling humiliated: “Tang Ning!”
Tang Ning stopped, imitating Jiang Linye’s cold, punchable tone: “Hm?”
“You recognized me from the very beginning, didn’t you!”
“So what?”
“You…” Fu Caicai choked up instantly.
Back in high school, she hadn’t been close with Tang Ning at all. She only knew her as the arts committee member from the next class, with a bright, unforgettable face. But she instinctively disliked this girl she’d barely met—not just because of Jiang Linye, but because of that aura Tang Ning carried: the confidence of someone who’d been spoiled from childhood, fearless about everything.
Even she hadn’t expected their reunion to happen here, like this.
Fu Caicai gritted her teeth: “Don’t you want to know how my dog died?”
Tang Ning found that odd: “What does that have to do with me? I didn’t feed it to death.”
“But your feeder lost power!”
“Little sister, I advise you to watch your words carefully.” Tang Ning actually laughed. “We already brought in a third-party investigation. The results matched our internal checks—there was nothing wrong with the product. But you seem to be in a bit of trouble yourself. Up to now you still won’t cooperate with the company involved in the incident, and you haven’t even shown any photos of the little dog’s death. What if in a couple of days the public opinion accidentally flips to ‘Influencer Fu Caicai abused her dog to death and tried to pin it on TJ’? What are you going to do then? Seriously, take some advice from an old classmate—take a few sponsorship deals with your 500k followers already. That’s enough for at least a couple of good meals.”
“You…” Fu Caicai’s face turned pale then flushed, cycling through colors.
Tang Ning was actually starting to get bored.
She hadn’t expected this Fu Caicai to be so fragile. A few sentences and the girl was already on the verge of tears, unable to retort, almost spinning in place going “ying ying ying” and crying on the spot.
Walking out of that exhibit area together with Jian Wei and Sheng Xinglai, the cold-hearted capitalist Tang Ning came to a conclusion: “Sure enough, she’s just a crybaby.”
Sheng Xinglai mercilessly punctured her: “But you’re the same age as her, and you’re also a woman.”
Tang Ning froze.
Wait…
Yeah…
Why was she so good at lecturing people?!
“I wasn’t like this before!” she protested. “It must be Jiang Linye’s influence! That bastard!”
—Meanwhile, Jiang Linye, who had been secretly watching everything from afar through the video call, couldn’t hold back when he heard that. He let out a loud, violent sneeze.
He rolled his executive chair forward, expressionless, and looked down at his phone.
He wasn’t sure if Jian Wei had forgotten about the video call or done it on purpose. She was holding the phone in her hand, so Jiang Linye couldn’t see the scene over there, but she was standing close to Tang Ning, and his little wife’s voice came through crystal clear.
He had listened to the entire lecture.
Most of the time she was curt and unyielding, but even her silence carried pressure. It was definitely her style.
But…
He couldn’t help wondering again.
When exactly had Tang Ning started becoming like this?
Even with her memory loss, these five years had still left marks on her. He guessed she still coldly dealt with disobedient employees without changing expression, still smashed proposals against the wall when angry.
Lost in thought, Chen Liangjun knocked and entered.
“President Jiang, we’ve already contacted the Asia Pet Expo organizers. We told them their irresponsible, tactless security system that only knows how to let pets in without considering the safety of exhibitors can go fuck itself and die.” Chen Liangjun kept his head lowered obediently, repeating robot-like what he’d already said half an hour ago. “Do you have any other instructions?”
“Get ready and prepare the car.” Jiang Linye suddenly changed his mind—he wanted to go see Tang Ning. He loosened his tie and stood up. “For the CEO summit this afternoon, I’ll go with my wife.”
Tang Ning had left the main exhibition area but didn’t immediately exit the venue.
The sun was blazing outside today, easily ten or more degrees hotter than inside. She decided to stroll around the venue while waiting: “Jiang Linye doesn’t even need to attend the summit. What’s he coming for?”
“Maybe he misses you…”
“Misses what? Misses me holding his hand while he gets a free ball-cutting surgery?”
Jian Wei slowly typed out a: “?”
Her call had never been hung up, but it seemed like Jiang Linye on the other end had already stopped listening.
She was still wondering how to respond to Tang Ning’s wild remark when suddenly she saw her boss’s eyes light up green. No idea what she spotted, but Tang Ning got so excited she started jogging like an eighteen-year-old girl: “Whoa, whoa, they actually have this here?!”
Jian Wei and Sheng Xinglai followed. Only when they got closer did they realize it was a booth for a stray animal rescue organization.
North City had many similar nonprofits—some backed by pet hospitals, others by university cat-loving clubs. They captured local wild strays (those yuan-devouring beasts), performed the sacred cutting ceremony, then either released them back into the wild or let capable citizens adopt them.
Tang Ning saw a crowd petting cats and was dying of excitement: “Is the adoption process easy? If it’s easy, I want to adopt one too.”
Jian Wei hesitated: “Wouldn’t it be unsafe…”
She had assumed that even if her boss wanted a pet, she’d go to a proper cattery or pet store and buy a noble little cat that matched her aura—not pick up some random fluffy mystery ball here.
A volunteer guy heard and laughed: “No way, almost all the cats here have been spayed/neutered, vaccinated, and dewormed. They’re very safe and clean. The adoption process isn’t hard—as long as all family members agree. We just do follow-up visits for the first three months.”
Jian Wei didn’t expect him to overhear and felt a bit embarrassed: “I didn’t mean to say they’re bad…”
The guy laughed heartily: “No worries at all.”
Tang Ning had already grabbed a calico and was petting it like crazy.
She had zero requirements for cats—truly zero. Although her smart pet products weren’t specifically for pets, she still paid close attention to these “real clients.” The stray cat population in the city was huge; she’d even heard from her assistant that back in the day, she herself had once considered opening a rescue center.
…But then she got addicted to making money and shelved the idea.
Seeing her so into it, Sheng Xinglai couldn’t help reminding her: “Stop petting. I don’t think your husband will let you keep one.”
Tang Ning was unhappy: “Why not?”
“If there’s already another pet at home, introducing a new one requires quarantine for a while.” Sheng Xinglai muttered softly, “Your husband looks like the super territorial breed type. Feels like quarantine wouldn’t even work no matter how long.”
“…”
Tang Ning thought for half a second, then regretfully let go of the calico: “You’re right.”
She’d have to plan this long-term.
Time was getting late. She stood up, ready to head toward the exit.
She completely failed to notice that a tabby cat had been squatting motionless in the corner the whole time, secretly staring at her—silently spying.
Jian Wei was wearing high heels and couldn’t quite keep up. Tang Ning slowed down to accommodate her: “You’re pretty impressive too. Running in such thin heels.”
“President Tang flatters me.” Jian Wei said seriously. “You used to run much faster than me.”
Tang Ning: “?”
Hard to imagine.
She tsked with complicated feelings, then turned back to the agreed drop-off point where she was supposed to meet Jiang Linye. The moment she stepped outside, she ran into Fu Caicai again—right at the entrance.
This little cannon fodder was being unusually persistent today, but Tang Ning had no intention of entertaining her. The midday sun was blinding. She leisurely pulled out her sunglasses and stepped under Jian Wei’s umbrella.
Unfortunately, Fu Caicai was actually waiting for her here. She stepped forward proactively: “Tang Ning.”
Tang Ning: “Mm.”
It seemed Fu Caicai had spent the time apart mentally drafting a long script, rehearsing every possible way to salvage her dignity. Finally, she smiled at her: “I forgot to mention earlier inside the venue. Before this, your husband also privately contacted me. That’s why I never agreed to meet TJ’s PR team—did he not tell you about this?”
The weather was breezy and pleasant today. Jiang Linye’s car had smooth passage all the way.
He could drive right into the venue area, but when he reached the entrance, he discovered Jian Wei’s phone had died and shut off. He was momentarily speechless.
“…These two really are cut from the same cloth.”
So he walked a little further on foot.
Circling the outer ring of the venue, he quickly spotted the few girls standing under the eaves.
Jiang Linye’s eyes locked onto Tang Ning instantly. She had her back to him, dressed casually, looking just like an ordinary girl browsing the expo.
A bit of relief eased into his heart. Jiang Linye unbuckled his seatbelt and got out. Before he could get close, he heard his little wife’s voice.
Very light and cheerful, laced with laughter, drifting on the wind: “To be honest, there are way too many women around my husband. Even I can’t tell which one he’s calling ‘baby’ when he’s doing indescribable things.”
Jiang Linye: “…?”
Since when had he ever called anyone “baby” during indescribable things : )
“But, what a pity.” Tang Ning was fully in drama mode now. As she spoke, she elegantly took off her sunglasses.
“After he dies—” she enunciated each word, smiling provocatively, “the only one who can inherit the estate… is me.”