The Twenty-Fifth Night (1)
While Feng Jing was lost deep in thought, He Zhiyuan had helped Jiang Ran bring her luggage into the building.
Feng Jing was hesitating whether to go down to find Jiang Ran or not. She has only just returned, surely she must be very tired. She would probably prefer to have a meal first.
Although he was not too happy that she went out for dinner with He Zhiyuan, the guy did help her take care of Er Huang, whether logically or emotionally, she had to invite him for a meal.
Never mind, I can always go find her after she returns!
After going upstairs and placing her luggage down, Jiang Ran grabbed her bag and went out with He Zhiyuan. Er Huang wanted to follow her, it took a while to persuade the dog to stay put.
The hot pot restaurant they reserved seats at was not too far away. Jiang Ran was a regular there. When the shopkeeper saw her come in with a stranger, he teased her for about two sentences.
Jiang Ran was a little embarrassed and after explaining the circumstances to him, took a seat. Perhaps because she was thinking of Er Huang, or she was just too tired, she stuffed food in her mouth as if she wanted to finish the meal quickly and hurry back home.
“Do you have anything urgent up tonight?” He Zhiyuan looked at her and asked.
Jiang Ran’s hands holding the chopsticks paused slightly, and then she said, “No, but the goods piled up at home need to be sorted, and the customers are waiting for me to send them.”
“All right.” He Zhiyuan nodded but still said, “You have just returned and are also tired, don’t push it too hard. Better to get up early tomorrow than to stay up late.”
“Thanks, got it.”
The meal was over shortly after. After getting the bill, Jiang Ran did not let He Zhiyuan send her back, saying that she wanted to go for a stroll because she had eaten too much. He did not say much and drove away by himself.
Jiang Ran walked for twenty minutes and returned to the community where she lived. When she walked towards her building, she looked up subconsciously and glanced towards the 15th floor — Is Mr. Feng home?
When she made it up, she could hear Er Huang barking at the front door even before she could open it as if detecting her presence. Walking in, she found him squatting right before the door.
“Er Huang!” Jiang Ran called out.
Er Huang happily twined around her legs. Jiang Ran put on her slippers and walked into the living room, the dog followed her all the way plopping its tushy on the cushy.
“One week without seeing you and you seem to have grown fatter. Hmm, have you eaten too well at He Zhiyuan-gege’s house?” Jiang Ran squished its cheeks with both hands and was promptly amused by his chonky appearance.
Letting go of Er Huang’s face, she glanced at the two suitcases in the living room. “Nevermind,” Jiang Ran sighed, stood up, and said, “I’ll unpack tomorrow, so tired.”
She walked back to her bedroom, sat at the computer desk, and switched on the computer. On the website version of WeChat, she poked at Feng Jing’s chat box and sent him a message-
【Da Keke Purchase: Mr. Feng, I’m back [cute] when will you take away your facial masks?】
Feng Jing had been meaning to send her a message. Unexpectedly, just when he opened WeChat, she had sent a message to him first. He smiled.
【If it’s convenient now, I will come to your house.】
【Da Keke Purchase: Ok 】
【Feng: OK】
Quickly putting away his cell phone, donning a face mask and a cap, he went out.
Jiang Ran opened her backpack and took out the facial mask and snacks. She had bought a lot of snacks at the airport. In addition to eating it herself, she had planned on giving them to friends and relatives as a present.
“Woof, woof.” Er Huang, who had been following her, suddenly ran out and barked at the door twice.
Jiang Ran guessed that Mr. Feng was arriving. Just when she left the bedroom, she heard the doorbell ring.
“Er Huang, your nose is really good.”
“Woof, woof.” As if he understood Jiang Ran’s praise, Er Huang wagged his tail happily.
Jiang Ran opened the door for Mr. Feng. The first sight she saw was his black face mask and baseball cap.
“Mr. Feng, please take a seat, I’ll go get your things.” Jiang Ran turned around and paused, seemingly thinking of something again she walked over and opened a large pink suitcase. “Oh, I bought new slippers. You can wear them for now.”
She pulled out the slippers from the suitcase and placed them in front of Feng Jing. Feng Jing glanced at them. Clearly, Jiang Ran didn’t buy this pair of slippers for herself – it looked a lot bigger than the pair on her feet.
As if knowing what Feng Jing was thinking, Jiang Ran explained: “There are no spare slippers here at home. It’s not convenient when people come over, so I bought a pair on the way.”
“It’s fine, thank you.” Feng Jing put on the slippers and looked at her luggage. “You really managed to fill both bags?”
“Yes.” Jiang Ran smiled. “Don’t underestimate the purchasing power of women.”
Feng Jing couldn’t help but smile, Er Huang approached him intending to get rubbed, so he bent down and patted him.
Jiang Ran put the facial masks neatly into a shopping bag and offered them to Feng Jing. “The facial masks you bought are all here. I’ve added a few chocolates and snacks as souvenirs.”
Feng Jing stared at her a little blankly, he did not expect that Jiang Ran would bring him a gift. “Ah, thank you. Last time, you gave me vegetables; this time, you gave me some gifts. I think I should treat you to a meal.”
He admired himself and his wit too much.
Jiang Ran smiled. “You don’t have to be so polite. We are neighbors, and you bought so many things from me, I need to reciprocate somewhat. As for the meal, are you sure? When eating, you have to take off your face mask.”
Feng Jing: “—”
Damn, he forgot about this!
Seeing that Feng Jing had stopped talking, Jiang Ran shoved the chocolate and chips into his hand, and said, “Please don’t be so polite.”
“Alright—” Feng Jing was now remorseful. “There isn’t much left from the advance right, I’ll transfer some money after going back.”
“Ok.”
“You—” Feng Jing didn’t want to go back so soon, he wanted to say something more. In the end, he came up with: “Did you eat hot pot tonight?”
Jiang Ran raised her arm subconsciously and sniffed at her sleeve. “Is the smell that strong1Eating hot pot leaves some greasy smell on the body, like how a barbecue leaves a smoky smell.?”
Feng Jing laughed. “No, it’s just that my nose is good.”
Jiang Ran blinked. “I usually praise Er Huang like this.”
Feng Jing: “—”
“Woof, woof.” Hearing Jiang Ran call out his name, Er Huang barked twice again, then jumped up and to get the chocolates from Feng Jing’s hands.
Jiang Ran quickly grabbed it. “Er Huang, dogs can’t eat chocolate, you will die!”
“—” Suddenly, Feng Jing hesitated, wondering whether he could eat chocolate or not.
“Then, I won’t bother your rest, go to bed early tonight.” He rubbed Er Huang again and left with a large packet of facial masks. After a while, Jiang Ran received a 10,000 yuan transfer from Mr. Feng.
… Mr. Feng is really very rich.
In the evening, after Feng Jing swapped soul with Er Huang, he found that Jiang Ran had fallen asleep. He shook his tail, yawned, and continued to lay on the window to sleep. He didn’t know if it was because the dog had recognized the perks of the window when it woke up every morning, but these past few days he would take the initiative to sleep here. He thought it would not take a long time for it to adapt to a human’s bed.
In the middle of the night, Feng Jing suddenly heard some noise. He moved his ears and opened his eyes.
There was a stranger’s smell in the living room. At once alert, he jumped off the window with agility and trotted lightly to the living room.
[MamaGoose: Introducing to you, dog-nosed ML! Can he whiff his own vinegar from miles away?]
There was a strange man in the living room who was searching through Jiang Ran’s luggage on the floor. The balcony window had somehow been pried open by him, the wind was blowing in.
The man picked something up and put them in his carry-on bag, then intended to go to the bedroom. But as soon as he turned around, he saw a dog standing in the dark. It was watching him without making any sounds.
The man was startled, his whole person shivered subconsciously. But after watching it carefully, he noticed that the dog was not very big, its appearance was not fierce, so he relaxed a little. He looked at the dog vigilantly and felt strange in his heart.
Don’t normal dogs bark when they see strangers? Why does this dog just stare at me without making any sound?
Dogs did bark at strangers. But inside Er Huang’s body was Feng Jing, and he was obviously thinking more than a dog. Usually, a thief who entered a house stealthily in the middle of the night would not hurt people as long as they were not found. But if he woke Jiang Ran up, the thief might hurt her.
Originally, Feng Jing had intended to pretend that he did not spot the thief and return to the bedroom stealthily. However, he didn’t expect the thief to turn around suddenly. And now the situation was awkward.
The thief observed it for a while and saw that the dog still did not bark. Then the thought to go to the bedroom returned to his mind. Normally, valuables such as mobiles and computers would be placed in the bedroom. Just in case, he took out a knife from his pocket.
When Feng Jing noticed the knife in the thief’s hand, his eyes narrowed slightly. In this case, it was impossible for him to let the thief go to the bedroom.
Cautiously, the thief walked and tried to get around the dog, not anticipating the dog to keep blocking his way. Originally, Feng Jing had intended to let the thief go. After all, such a thief would not just steal in one house. If people here found him, he would have to stop. But this thief was obviously not as wise as he thought. He not only did not give up but also stabbed toward him (FJ) with the knife.
“Woof!” Feng Jing barked instinctively, quickly avoiding the man’s sharp knife. The dog’s body was relatively more flexible to start with and combined with how he had previously learnt some martial arts, his reaction speed was quite fast.
But facing this man, Er Huang’s body still had no advantage. If Feng Jing had been in his original body now, this man would have already been knocked down by him.
After such a big din, the thief also threw all caution to the wind and once again stabbed Er Huang with the blade. Feng Jing jumped up and fiercely bit the thief’s hand that held the knife. The man howled in pain and fiercely kicked Feng Jing’s body.
This kick was so severe, that Feng Jing was kicked off directly. He crashed into the table, making another big noise.
Jiang Ran was suddenly awakened by fright. She opened her eyes in a daze, and saw that Er Huang was not on the window, so she called subconsciously: “Er Huang?”
Her voice was very low, but the man standing in the corridor still heard it. Feng Jing saw him preparing to go to the bedroom, he got up the ground trembling and bit the thief’s calf again.
“You bloody dog!” The man cursed and used the knife to stab it. Feng Jing dodged, the blade of the knife sliced a bloody hole on its front leg. But Feng Jing was still biting onto the thief fiercely, preventing him from going into the bedroom.
At the moment the man was irascible, ready to swing the knife down at once – but amidst a loud ‘bang’, the man’s eyes rolled up and he fell to the ground.
A pan in hand, Jiang Ran stood there still badly shaken. A customer had ordered the pan, and she had placed it in the bedroom when tidying the goods at night. Never had she expected it to come in handy this way!
[MamaGoose: Geez, Rapunzel, save your chameleon!]
She took a deep breath, turned on all the lights in the room, and saw Er Huang lying on the ground with a bleeding leg.
This scene suddenly reminded her of the first time she saw Er Huang. The fear from that time plus the current panic suddenly turned her eyes red. “Er Huang, are you ok?”
“Woof, woof.” Feng Jing licked her hand as if he were comforting her. Just then he had been kicked, crashing right into the table. His whole body seemed to fall apart; in comparison, the knife wound didn’t feel as painful.
Jiang Ran touched it, glanced at the thief lying on the ground, quickly went to the bedroom to get a mobile phone and call the police. She then called the property management company and security guards. Fearing that she hadn’t hit him hard enough and the man would wake up halfway, she fetched a packing tape from the storeroom and bound his hands and feet.
Once done, she exhaustedly sat on the floor of the living room. Feng Jing moved closer to her side and nudged her. The presence of the warm fluffy dog beside her relieved the girl a little. She wanted to bandage his wounds but felt that her legs were too weak making it impossible to stand up.
She still held the mobile phone firmly in hand, palm dripping with cold sweat. She didn’t know when the police and the security guards would arrive. Now, every second felt like an eternity in her eyes.
She picked her phone up and logged into the WeChat of Da Keke Purchase for the first time with her phone.