On an early autumn morning, the day was barely breaking.
Zhou Sheng’s family had already finished packing their belongings and was ready to set off. Sitting in the lead vehicle were Zhou Sheng, Su Chengkang, along with Zhou Sheng’s grandfather, grandmother, and maternal grandfather.
The second vehicle carried Zhou Sheng’s parents, Su Chengkang’s parents, and Su Chengkang’s younger female cousin. The last vehicle held Su Chengkang’s youngest uncle and aunt, Zhou Sheng’s childhood friend Chen Liming, and Chen Liming’s girlfriend Su Kexin.
The three vehicles slowly drove out of the base gates, with Zhou Sheng’s Earth-type superpower clearing the path upfront, and Chen Liming’s Wind-type superpower bringing up the rear.
After waking up, Xi Yue lazed in bed for a while before getting up to wash her face, apply her skincare products, change into the new clothes she had bought yesterday, and head out the door.
She knocked on Shen Yu’s door, but there was no sound; he had probably already gone downstairs. What a hardworking employee!
Humming a tune, she reached the lobby. Three little kids were sitting side-by-side on the sofa watching cartoons, with four cups of drinks placed on the table. The Jiang father and son had teamed up with Fang Guohua to head out today, while He Ru stayed behind with the three kids to watch TV.
Looking around the lobby, she didn’t spot Shen Yu. Xi Yue walked over to the sofa, greeted them, and asked, “Have you seen Shen Yu? The new employee from yesterday, the tall, slender, and handsome guy.”
Qian Lele held his cup, took a sip, thought for a moment, and said, “When I came down with Grandpa this morning, I saw a tall brother standing near the entrance.”
Xi Yue patted his head and walked outside the door. Seeing no sign of Shen Yu, she followed the small path around to the back garden. She saw Shen Yu standing there with his back to her, wearing a black pullover hoodie and gray sweatpants.
Seeing that he had changed his clothes, Xi Yue assumed he had already been outside earlier in the morning and didn’t overthink it.
“What are you standing here looking at?” Xi Yue asked curiously as she walked over.
“Do you think that’s a dog?” Shen Yu pointed to a black-and-white furred animal sleeping on the plot of land ahead, its head tucked into its belly, curled up into a ball.
Xi Yue craned her neck to look. The animal on the ground looked quite large. “Probably not. Can dogs grow that big? When did it get in? We didn’t even notice.”
Xi Yue turned her head to glance at Shen Yu and said helplessly, “Why didn’t you tie up your hair? Doesn’t it feel uncomfortable like this?”
“It’s pretty uncomfortable, but I don’t know how. You weren’t awake yet when I got up, and I didn’t want to disturb your sleep.” Shen Yu pursed his lips slightly, looking almost aggrieved.
Xi Yue pulled a hair tie out of her pocket and said, “Bend down.” Facing Xi Yue, Shen Yu bent at the waist and leaned his head forward.
Xi Yue smoothed out the hair at his forehead and tied it into a small ponytail just like yesterday, exposing his delicate brows and eyes. After finishing, she patted his shoulder. Shen Yu straightened up, and Xi Yue stared into his crystal-clear, striking pupils, saying, “Your eyes are far too gorgeous! They look great at night, but even better during the day!”
Shen Yu touched the little ponytail on his head and sighed softly, “Yet the owner of these eyes has to work for Boss Xi for a lifetime. Boss Xi can look at them by day and look at them by night.”
Shen Yu watched with great amusement as the girl’s expression shifted from envy to shock, and finally to bashful, speechless annoyance. He fought to suppress the rising corners of his lips.
Xi Yue glared at him and turned her head away unnaturally, only to lock eyes with a pair of ice-blue eyes belonging to that animal.
The animal raised its head, revealing three flames of fur marked above its brows. It curled one corner of its mouth at them, casting a thoroughly mocking glare. It was as if it were saying: *You two, disturbing my sleep.*
Looking at the Siberian Husky across from them that was as large as an ox and sporting a sarcastic face, Xi Yue was at a loss for words.
The Husky lay there motionless staring at them. Xi Yue ignored it and went to check on the seeds she had scattered yesterday.
“Look! The seeds I scattered yesterday have already grown this high!” Xi Yue pointed in delight at a cluster of tender green sprouts amidst the black soil, calling over to Shen Yu.
A bunch of tiny sprouts had popped up at the edges of the black soil, but the single plant in the middle was significantly taller than the ones surrounding it.
Xi Yue brought Shen Yu closer to inspect it.
“What kind of plant do you think this is? It grows so fast, and it doesn’t look like a tree either.” Xi Yue leaned down to count the sprouts, then suddenly stood back up.
“Wait, that’s not right! I scattered ten seeds yesterday! Why is there an extra one! Don’t tell me it’s this big one!” Xi Yue knitted her brows.
“It looks like a blade of grass; it doesn’t look like a vegetable. Should we just pull it up?” Shen Yu said, looking at the plant in front of them.
The little sprout seemed to be blown by a gust of wind, its leaves trembling slightly. “How about we move it over to the other side? It looks like it’s growing pretty well, and this plot of land is so big anyway.” As Xi Yue spoke, she prepared to scoop up the soil.
“Let me do it. How could I let the boss do this kind of small chore personally?” Shen Yu pulled up the squatting Xi Yue.
Although this plant looked no different from ordinary grass, if it wasn’t one of the seeds Xi Yue had scattered, it was bound to be a mutated plant. Even though it looked harmless right now, given the mutated plants after the apocalypse, caution was still necessary.
Shen Yu bent down, pinched the plant’s stem between two fingers, pulled it straight out, walked over to the Husky, stared fixedly at the dog for a moment, and then stuck the plant into the soil beside it.
The Husky folded its ears back under Shen Yu’s gaze, while the mutated plant in the soil trembled slightly from the rough handling.
“What should we do about this dog? Given its size, it must be a mutated animal. I wonder when it snuck in. Should we just leave it alone?” Xi Yue actually quite liked small animals. It was just that in the past she often stayed up late drawing manuscripts, with her sleep schedule upside down, unable to take care of even herself, so she had given up the idea.
Looking at the glossy, healthy coat of the Husky in front of her, she imagined it would certainly look majestic standing up!
Xi Yue felt her heart itch. Within the hotel’s domain, she wasn’t afraid of the dog attacking anyone, but she didn’t know if it had an owner or if it was willing to stay.
“Do you want to keep it? You can ask it. Mutated animals are very smart and can understand what you’re saying. Emmm… even though it’s a Husky, it has mutated after all, so it should be able to understand the basics.” Shen Yu pondered, sounding slightly uncertain.
“Awoo, awoo, wuf, wuf, @#$%…” The Husky understood that Shen Yu was calling it stupid. Forgetting its previous fear, it immediately stood up and unleashed a tirade of barks.
“Hahahahaha! Is it swearing? Looks like it really understands! That’s so hilarious!” Xi Yue clutched her stomach and laughed out loud. Shen Yu cast her a helpless glance without saying a word.
“Do you want to stay here?” Xi Yue gestured to the Husky.
The Husky strutted over pompously. As it passed Shen Yu, it made a point to stop, tilt its head up, and give him a sarcastic look before walking over to Xi Yue and flopping down, exposing its belly with all four paws in the air. It even deliberately wrapped its tail around Xi Yue’s hand, as if saying: *Hurry up and pet me!*
“From now on, your name will be Xiao Ha! I need to prepare some food for you, and a doghouse too!” While petting Xiao Ha’s head and belly, Xi Yue picked out items in the system mall.
In the end, under the system’s recommendation, she spent a heavy sum to buy an ultra-luxurious doghouse that was both spacious and comfortable!
Xi Yue had no intention of hiding anything from Shen Yu. After all, having signed the contract, Shen Yu was the only person in this world she could truly trust.
With a light tap on the screen, the luxurious doghouse appeared right at the edge where the field met the path.