By the desk near the window, where a birdcage sat, a tall and muscular German Shepherd stood rigidly with its ears pricked up straight. It rested its head steadily on the desk, its long tongue lolling out to one side from its large mouth.
A little white fluffball approached, stretching out a claw to poke at its teeth. After a few prods back and forth, it simply opened its beak. Its gray-black crested head bobbed up and down as it pecked nonstop inside the dog’s mouth.
Even after being bullied like this, the three-year-old German Shepherd police dog named Whirlwind showed no sign of temper. It remained perfectly still in place.
Whirlwind’s owner was a baby-faced young man named Qian Jin, who had only recently joined the force. He wore an expression of sheer terror as he clutched his beloved dog’s collar tightly, fearing that it might snap and swallow the little white fluffball—who had utterly disregarded its dignity by pecking around in its mouth—in one gulp.
Not daring to shoo the bird away directly and unable to pull his dog away, he could only seek help from his superior.
“Captain… Captain Yan, is this the legendary Divine Bird Tangyuan with an IQ of 180? What… what is it doing right now?”
The hell with Divine Bird Tangyuan and IQ 180? Yan Tuo had never imagined that his little pet’s fame had spread so wildly, evolving from a beloved fluffball straight into some mystical family fantasy plot.
He inwardly grumbled at the exaggerated rumors, but he couldn’t deny that since its rescue that morning, it had once again shattered his expectations of its intelligence. His trust in the little guy had reached an all-time high.
Though he still couldn’t figure out how the bird, which had been cowering in fear just moments ago, had suddenly dared to hop around inside a police dog’s mouth, that didn’t stop him from forming a subjective judgment: Tangyuan would never attack unprovoked. It must have a reason for doing this.
After racking his brains without coming up with a way to salvage his pet’s dignity, Qian Jin had already filled in the blanks on his own. His face lit up with sudden realization. “Oh, I’ve heard of toothpick birds that clean crocodiles’ teeth. Can Tangyuan do that too?”
Yan Tuo shot Qian Jin a sidelong glance but said nothing. His expression remained profoundly inscrutable, though inwardly he felt gratified by his subordinate’s vast knowledge of animal behavior.
With tremendous effort, Bai Yiyi finally extracted the tiny fishbone stuck in Whirlwind’s teeth.
The exertion was minor compared to the real issue: the stench inside that dog’s mouth was downright nauseating. This pup’s hygiene left much to be desired.
Bai Yiyi flapped over to the trash bin, spitting out the bone with evident disgust. He hurried back to his cage, rinsed his beak thoroughly in the water dish, and finally suppressed the queasy feeling.
The system chimed in immediately: “Yiyi, Whirlwind says thanks. Satisfaction up by 5 points—now at 55.”
At least the effort hadn’t been wasted. Bai Yiyi felt relieved. Whirlwind, standing nearby, visibly perked up, huffing and puffing as it wagged its tail enthusiastically at him.
Come to think of it, he was something of a fur enthusiast himself. Especially his dream dog—a mighty, muscular police dog now gazing at him with a fawning look. Ah… his claws itched. He wanted so badly to reach out and ruffle that dog head.
What he thought, he did.
Leveraging his status as the bird who had just resolved Whirlwind’s plight, Bai Yiyi spread his wings and flew right onto the dog’s head. He landed gracefully, then ran his claws along it, thinking to himself, Good boy.
Whirlwind, who fancied itself the boss, proved remarkably good-tempered. It didn’t mind the white fluffball perched on its head. It even sensed his position, swiveling its ears slightly to shield him more securely, lest he accidentally tumble off.
The sight of the two little animals getting along so harmoniously was utterly adorable. Yan Tuo watched for a moment before stepping forward and scooping up his own fluffball. “Alright, that’s enough bullying Whirlwind. It has real work to do.”
Qian Jin, standing to the side, finally breathed a sigh of relief. The size difference between the two was just too vast. If things turned sour and they fought, how could he ever make amends if the precious Divine Bird Tangyuan got hurt?
Yan Tuo instructed Qian Jin, “Go get back to work. Be thorough. If nothing’s out of the ordinary, send me a copy of the standard police dog training regimen when you have time this afternoon.”
The baby-faced officer snapped to attention with a crisp “Yes, sir!” He led his dog away on their errand.
As they reached the door, Whirlwind glanced back reluctantly and let out a low, wistful “Awoo,” bidding farewell.
Yan Tuo ruffled the white fluffball in his hands and chuckled. “Look at how busy you’ve been this morning—saving a life, stuffing yourself with snacks, making a new friend. Heh, don’t worry. If all goes well, you two will have plenty of time together from now on.”
With that, he returned the little guy to the birdcage. “I’ve got work to do. You be good. If you’re tired, just take a nap.”
Hearing this from his owner, Bai Yiyi did feel a wave of fatigue wash over him. His head, still throbbing from the earlier collision, began to buzz again.
But he had resolved to keep a close eye on his owner, to protect him properly. How could he go back on his word?
He burrowed into his nest to conserve energy, his eyes fixed unwaveringly on the man working outside.
Within moments, his eyelids began drooping against his will, clamping shut tight.
Bai Yiyi lost all awareness, sprawling in his nest and sleeping like the dead.
He slept for several hours straight. When he opened his eyes again, it was already 5 p.m.
He fluttered down to the cage floor for a drink, pecked twice at the fishbone wind chime, then hopped onto the Autumn swing, swaying idly.
His owner heard the noise and turned. Spotting him awake, Yan Tuo rose to his feet and approached in two strides, extending his palm once more. “Awake? Come on out, then. I’ll take you for a walk.”
A walk?
He could stroll the internet just fine; no need to venture outside. This bird was a century-level homebody. Besides, wasn’t his owner still on duty?
Bai Yiyi pretended not to understand.
The open palm didn’t waver. “Be good and come on. We’re going to see your friend Whirlwind.”
That was a tempting offer. Bai Yiyi recalled the majestic German Shepherd from that morning, and his claws itched again. He hadn’t gotten enough petting time before his owner had separated them.
Interest piqued, of course he would go. But being cradled in the palm felt too intimate. After a moment’s thought, he decided perching on the shoulder was safer—and the epaulet provided a solid grip.
His choice proved spot-on.
Perched on Yan Tuo’s shoulder, Bai Yiyi exited the office. He gazed around curiously the whole way, as colleagues respectfully greeted them left and right: “Captain Yan! Captain Yan!”
Only then did he realize that this vantage point matched his human height almost exactly.
His human proportions were so ideal that people often mistook him for a tall model over 6 feet, but he was really just 177 cm—average, leaning slightly tall.
It had been nearly twenty days since becoming a goldfinch, and now he finally recaptured that human sensation. It felt comfortable and familiar, plus an inexplicable thrill of standing on a giant’s shoulder. Pure bliss for a bird.
Ten minutes later, the bliss came to an abrupt halt.
In the spacious training field behind the city bureau, before Whirlwind even appeared, his owner pulled out a sheet of paper and solemnly announced the police bird training plan to him.
Police bird? What nonsense was that? A goldfinch this noble and ornamental shouldn’t be coddled and pampered?
Helping with investigations was fine—even without being asked, he’d do it. But formal training under the blazing sun, executing stand-stay-sit-fly on command?
No way in hell was he doing that.
Training was impossible, utterly impossible in this lifetime. If such basic commands required training, wouldn’t that insult this Divine Bird’s superior intellect?
Bai Yiyi had completely forgotten his recent regret over failing to enter police academy. He struck a pose of utter sloth and resistance.
But his owner seemed to know him all too well. After a few ignored calls, he switched to bribery: “See, Whirlwind’s coming over. You do the commands I just gave you—once through, that’s it. Then you’re free to play with it. Sound good? Half an hour?”
Bai Yiyi followed his owner’s gaze. There was Qian Jin trotting across the field with Whirlwind. He really did want to play with the dog—to stand on its head and let it dash around like the wind.
…Hmm, just once through? That wasn’t so bad.
He chirped “Cheep-cheep!” in agreement, compromising.
Qian Jin helped Yan Tuo set up the training area, watching his boss train the bird with keen curiosity. Yan Tuo gestured with his hand and commanded, “Perch on Pillar 1.”
Qian Jin found it amusing. Talk about different trades being worlds apart. Captain Yan’s commands were so unprofessional. Pillar 1 or whatever—how could a little bird tell them apart? Even highly intelligent dogs needed ages of training to distinguish such things.
Training animals always started with the simplest basics, repeated patiently with lures and guidance.
The amusement hadn’t yet reached his eyes when it was swiftly replaced by astonishment.
No sooner had the captain spoken than the little white fluffball zipped cleanly to the top of Pillar 1 and perched there, replying with a crisp “Cheep!”
“Fly from Pillar 1 to Pillar 2. Hold steady and squat.”
A white blur streaked by. On Pillar 2, the fluffball settled into a squat, its beady eyes sparkling beneath its crested head.
“Pick up the paper roll with your beak and drop it in Bucket 3.”
The fluffball got it instantly—but instead of using its beak, it grabbed the roll with its claws and tossed it in, looking somewhat disdainful?
Qian Jin’s eyes nearly bulged from their sockets. IQ 180 for real? A goldfinch achieving this level?
Now for the main event. Yan Tuo lined up two dozen identical sealed boxes on the ground—all matching in color and size—then ordered, “Tangyuan, one of these boxes has something inside that smells different from the rest. Find it.”
Qian Jin watched as the little white fluffball hopped along, circling each box. He clenched his left fist in tension while Whirlwind, at the end of his right leash, seemed to sense the excitement and fidgeted eagerly.
Among this row of boxes, only one contained the item Captain Yan had just instructed him to borrow from the evidence room—a small bag holding three grams of narcotics.
After placing it inside and giving the boxes a quick shuffle, even he couldn’t tell which one it was hidden in anymore. This was the final phase of a narcotics detection dog training course. It had taken Whirlwind a full year to master it, and even then, it offered no guarantee of being completely error-free.
This… wasn’t this an impossibly devilish challenge for a little bird?
Had Captain Yan gotten all cocky just because it nailed that one string of commands? Did he really think his pet canary had turned into some kind of spirit beast?
But what happened next made it clear he was lucky to have kept his grumbling locked away in his head, without betraying even the slightest hint on his face. Otherwise, that tiny pet bird would have slapped him right across the face at lightspeed.
