Chapter 88: Zong Qiuqiu
[Translator’s Note: “Qiuqiu” literally means “little ball” or “round ball.” It’s often used as a cute or affectionate nickname.]
During his senior year, Zong Mo didn’t have many classes and devoted more time to his acting work.
After being carefully taught by professional teachers and with several years of performance experience, he finally became a qualified actor.
He also learned that actors are divided into two types: the experience school and the performance school. According to the teachers, his previous method of immersing himself in the role and finding empathy in real life belonged to the experience school.
The performance school, in short, was the technical type of actor. They used superb skills to control the role, rather than personally immersing themselves in it.
The experience school was often more moving, but the drawback was that the actor could easily get too deep into the role and couldn’t get out. Zong Mo thought to himself that Lu Bo, who could get in and out of a role in a second, probably belonged to the performance school.
This distinction was also mostly due to nature and talent, and was difficult to change later in life. Zong Mo had been an unwitting experience school actor since he first started acting. After being taught by the teachers, the degree of his immersion became even deeper.
However, most of the time, he was acting in some nonsensical and light-hearted comedies. He was happy acting, and the biggest influence was probably that he became more and more talkative, his emotions became richer, and he could even transform into a drama queen from time to time.
…And a part of it was definitely influenced by Ruan Chi!
When he was nearly thirty, he devoted more of his energy to serious dramas, trying to transform.
This time, he starred in a soft sci-fi movie.
The general content was that the male lead repeatedly traveled through time to save his dying lover. He tried his best, but in the end, he found that it was all just a dream fabricated by high-tech equipment for a terminally ill cancer patient.
He had never had this lover, and had never even been loved.
For a period of time after the filming ended, Zong Mo couldn’t get out of it. He would always wake up in the middle of the night and cry his eyes out, holding onto Ruan Chi.
Losing face was something that was strange at first, but familiar the second time.
He unceremoniously wiped his tears and snot all over Ruan Chi.
Ruan Chi was so tormented by him that he had no temper at all and switched between the roles of an old father and a lover every day.
“Don’t you dare cry.”
“I don’t want to cry either, wuwuwu…”
“How are you living backwards?” Ruan Chi said helplessly. “Can you even raise a child like this?”
Zong Mo was stunned. He suddenly remembered the matter of adopting a child, and it was he who had proposed it several years ago.
Even if he couldn’t help but cry, it didn’t stop him from firmly believing that he could be a peerless good father!
And the matter of adopting a child was not yet on the schedule. Zong Mo first received an invitation from a university friend.
[My dog gave birth to five little cubs. I remember you like puppies very much. Do you want to come and see? If you like, you can take one back to raise.]
He might not have enough ability to raise a human cub for now, but raising a little puppy would definitely not be a problem!
This classmate was raising a Corgi. Zong Mo’s heart melted at the sight of a plump, short-legged little furball. A Corgi’s size was not small when it grew up, but after all, its legs were short and it was short, so it wouldn’t scare his CEO Ruan.
Zong Mo, without any scruples, acted first and reported later, and brought a yellow and white little puppy back. The moment he got home, he immediately showed it off, “CEO Ruan, look! Isn’t it cute!”
Ruan Chi was silent for a few seconds, with not much reaction, and just asked, “You want to raise it?”
“We’ll raise it together,” Zong Mo said. “I’ve already named it. It’s called Qiu Qiu, Zong Qiu Qiu.”
Ruan Chi: “Mm.”
Zong Mo: ?
He had thought that Ruan Chi would fight with him for the dog son’s surname right, but not only did he not fight, his attitude was also so cold?
“…You don’t like it?”
“It’s very cute,” Ruan Chi said. “But since you’ve decided to raise it, you have to be responsible for it, take good care of it, and not give up on it casually.”
Although he had never raised any pets, Zong Mo of course knew that he had to be responsible for the little life he had brought home for a lifetime. He replied loudly, “Of course, this is our big son!”
Ruan Chi was noncommittal and let him be fully responsible for the dog son that had his surname.
Zong Mo didn’t think that raising a two-month-old little puppy could be that difficult.
He prepared all the dog supplies, including a cage, but he couldn’t bear to lock his dog son in an inhumane cage.
And then, he found out how fast a two-month-old little puppy could run, and how it would jump up and down and disappear in a flash.
Zong Mo had just gone to the bathroom, and when he came back, the dog was gone!!
A short-legged little puppy couldn’t possibly climb to the second floor, but just the huge first floor was enough for him to search.
Zong Mo searched everywhere but didn’t see the dog in any conspicuous place. He bent down and conducted a carpet search, and finally found a chair leg with a piece of leather chewed off.
This… should be quite expensive, right?
With the experience of the chair leg, he successfully caught the little villain who was grinding his teeth on high-end furniture under a cabinet.
Zong Mo: …
He silently put Zong Qiu Qiu in his arms, continued to check, and found a wet spot on the carpet.
The carpet was dark-colored, so he couldn’t see what liquid it was.
But, next to this wet spot, there was also a brown, unknown object…
Zong Mo could only put Qiu Qiu in the cage first and rushed upstairs to ask Ruan Chi for help.
“Let the auntie clean it,” Ruan Chi was not very concerned. “You can put it in the cage and let it move freely after it’s been trained to go to the toilet at a fixed point.”
“I don’t want to lock it up, and I don’t have time to watch it all the time…” Zong Mo said. “Can you take turns taking care of it with me? Hmm, if you’re busy… then shall I ask the auntie for help?”
“Zong Mo,” Ruan Chi said seriously. “You’re the one who wanted to raise it.”
Zong Mo: …
Yes, he had just promised to be responsible for his dog son a few hours ago.
Entrusting a son who was only a few months old to a nanny was really like the act of an irresponsible scumbag dad.
As a dutiful good father, Zong Mo chose to go downstairs alone, preparing to release his dog son who had been in confinement.
He heard a series of soft whimpers from a distance. Zong Mo quickly walked towards the cage. When Zong Qiu Qiu saw him coming, he immediately became quiet and just stared at him with a pair of pure and innocent black eyes.
Zong Mo: …?
He tried to turn around and pretend to leave, and behind him came intermittent whimpers, “Ying, ying, ying.”
…How can a dog whimper? Shouldn’t it be woof woof woof?
It was hard not to soften at such a pitiful cry. Zong Mo came back and squatted in front of the cage. Zong Qiu Qiu immediately propped up his short, fat body and pawed at the metal cage door with both his paws.
—Let me out QAQ
Zong Mo instantly understood him.
He decisively opened the cage and released the dog. Zong Qiu Qiu, having regained his freedom, ran off like a swift arrow, leaving behind a yellow and white afterimage.
Zong Mo sat down on the sofa to rest, helpless.
He didn’t hear the sound of the dog digging or grinding its teeth, and he was slightly relieved. But the pattering sound of Zong Qiu Qiu running around was incessant. After a while, that sound gradually got closer.
Zong Mo looked down and saw Zong Qiu Qiu dragging a shoe over, and was even shaking his butt and tearing it in front of him.
Zong Mo: …
Zong Qiu Qiu would whimper when he was locked in the cage, and would run around and cause trouble when he was outside. Until it was time to go to bed at night, Zong Mo still couldn’t think of a good way. He had no choice but to put the dog in the cage and bring it into the bedroom, watching it through the cage.
Ruan Chi: …
Zong Mo explained, “It will whimper when it’s locked in the cage. It can only be quiet when it sees me.”
Ruan Chi said with great experience, “It’s because it sees you that it calls out, because it wants you to let it out.”
Zong Mo: ?
Zong Qiu Qiu: “Ying ying…”
“You think it’s pitiful to be locked in a cage, but a dog doesn’t have this feeling. It’s just not used to it,” Ruan Chi said. “Let it get used to living in a cage and treat the cage as its den. It will actually feel more secure. Let it roam freely after it has finished teething and has learned to go to the toilet at a fixed point.”
“Hmm…” Zong Mo nodded with some confusion. “But it’s still very pitiful?”
That night, Zong Qiu Qiu had full freedom in the master bedroom of the villa.
After the lights were turned off, Zong Qiu Qiu did not whimper but just pattered around on the wooden floor.
Zong Mo turned on a light, and Zong Qiu Qiu immediately stopped and lay down on the spot. When the light was turned off, he continued to make noise.
Ruan Chi was a lighter sleeper than Zong Mo and naturally did not sleep well.
“On the first night in a strange environment, this is very normal,” Ruan Chi said. “Some puppies will even bark all night. It’s already quite quiet.”
Zong Mo nodded vigorously and praised, “CEO Ruan, you’re really a good father!”
Ruan Chi saw through everything, “Don’t even think about handing it over to me.”
Zong Mo: …
When he was six months old, Zong Qiu Qiu was used to living in a big mansion, had finished teething, had passed the awkward shedding period, and had finally grown into a little angel dog.
But there was still a troublesome matter.
As a half-year-old teenage dog, Zong Qiu Qiu still only whimpered and did not woof.
Zong Mo patiently and repeatedly trained him, “Qiu Qiu, woof once!”
Zong Qiu Qiu tilted his head and stared at his master in confusion.
“Qiu Qiu, you have to be like your dad and bark like this—woof woof woof!”
“Qiu Qiu, woof!”
But Zong Qiu Qiu just tilted his head from side to side, very puzzled, not knowing why the human before him was snatching his own kind’s lines.
Helpless, Zong Mo had no choice but to search online. He learned that this kind of mute dog situation was not an isolated case, and many parents had the same trouble as him.
There were also netizens who said that a dog that originally couldn’t woof suddenly started to woof after its owner brought a second dog home!
Zong Mo had no plans to raise a second little ancestor for now. He thought for a moment, squatted down, and adjusted his posture several times. Because a Corgi was really too short, he could only be at eye level with Zong Qiu Qiu by lying on the ground.
Zong Mo got on all fours, found the right angle, arched his back, and then—
“Woof!”
So fierce!
Zong Qiu Qiu was startled and took a step back, and then, “Ying.”
Zong Mo: …
Pretending to be a dog and provoking had failed. Just as he was about to get up, he looked up and met Ruan Chi’s eyes, who was not far away.
Ruan Chi: …
Zong Mo: “CEO Ruan, wait, wait, let me explain…”
Not long after, Zong Mo proposed to Ruan Chi that it was a pity that the many amusement facilities in the villa were always idle. He asked if they should invite a few friends over to play, and also to introduce their big son to everyone.
After Ruan Chi agreed, Zong Mo immediately started to prepare for the party.
Usually, there were almost no outsiders in the house. At most, it was the driver, the nanny, and the manager and assistant. Zong Qiu Qiu had been held by them in turns when he was a puppy, so he was very friendly to people after he grew up.
But the villa was too spacious, and there was a luxurious large courtyard outside. Zong Qiu Qiu rarely went for walks outside the villa and was actually a dog with a lack of social experience.
On the day of the party, Zong Qiu Qiu was chasing a ball in the living room when he heard the doorbell ring. Zong Mo went to open the door, and then a group of strange men and women rushed in.
Zong Qiu Qiu immediately entered a state of alert, his four fleshy paws clenched, his eyes fierce.
A few centimeters of short legs, yet it had the momentum of a thousand troops!
“Woof! Woof woof woof!!”
Zong Mo: ?
On a summer day, taking advantage of the high temperature and good weather, Zong Mo moved Zong Qiu Qiu’s bathtub to the side of the swimming pool in the courtyard and washed the dog with Ruan Chi.
Every time he washed the dog, he would inevitably be splashed with water. Today was perfect. After washing the dog, he could go straight into the water for a swim.
But, Zong Qiu Qiu, who was not very cooperative even with woofing, was even less cooperative with the unpopular matter of taking a bath.
Ruan Chi was also Zong Qiu Qiu’s half-father, after all. Zong Mo forbade him from being a hands-off boss. It still took a lot of effort for two big men to wash a short but particularly sturdy Corgi.
“CEO Ruan, hold it down,” Zong Mo said, and stood up to get the water pipe, preparing to use the simplest and crudest method to rinse off the foam on Zong Qiu Qiu.
Just as he was about to turn on the water pipe, his phone suddenly rang. On the other end of the line was Manager Yang’s voice, “CEO Mo, there are a few projects recently that need your opinion. I wonder if you have time to come to the company and look them over in person?”
Zong Mo: “I don’t have time today. I’m washing a dog… ah!”
He hadn’t finished speaking when he saw Zong Qiu Qiu, taking advantage of Ruan Chi’s inattention, suddenly break free—
Zong Mo dropped the water pipe, casually stuffed his phone into his pocket, and rushed after him.
“Zong Qiu Qiu! Stop!”
He was afraid that Zong Qiu Qiu would run back into the villa and dirty the solid wood floor, or run into the bushes and get covered in mud, making the bath a waste. But Zong Qiu Qiu did not take the usual path at all and rushed straight to the flowerbed by the wall.
Zong Mo was shocked, “My flowers!”
The courtyard was really too empty, so Zong Mo had planted many flowers and plants.
But raising flowers seemed easy and could cultivate one’s character, but in practice, there were many troubles. If a single sapling could not survive due to not being acclimated to the soil and water, it would be a waste of thousands or tens of thousands. Fresh flowers were even more delicate and might have to be replaced every few weeks.
Now, Zong Mo’s gardening career had made some progress, and it was about to be ruined at the feet of his rebellious son!!
Perhaps because he had a telepathic connection with his own father, the rebellious son Qiu Qiu, with a pang of conscience, suddenly turned and ran to the other side of the courtyard.
And on the other side… although it was not as valuable as the flowerbed, it was also Zong Mo’s hard work!
Zong Mo cried out helplessly, “Ahhh! My vegetables!!”
And if he rolled around in the vegetable patch, this one-hour bath would be a waste!
On the other end of the still-unhung phone, Manager He, who was waiting for the president’s instructions: …?
