Chapter 5

Bo Ting was hesitating when his phone rang.

The buzzing vibration snapped him back to reality. He lowered his head and saw the pop-up window that jumped onto the screen.

Hm?

Netizens Exchange Forum?

What message could it be at a time like this?

Bo Ting, who had just vented a moment ago, clicked on it without much hope, thinking it was some spam ad or the like. Instead, he saw that under his post, after two days of his one-sided muttering, there was finally a popular reply!

It wasn’t easy.

“—Is this your dog?”

The polite question appeared on the screen.

Bo Ting looked closely and realized it was from that account that had favorited him last night, the one that seemed like a zombie account.

So, this account was actually being used by someone?

Thinking this in his mind, he subconsciously typed a reply.

“Uh, it’s not my dog.”

The young man in the black hoodie glanced at Doudou, who was glaring fiercely beside him, while his fingers kept typing:

“It’s my neighbor’s dog, temporarily boarded at my place.”

Neighbor’s dog?

Xu Qinglai lowered his gaze slightly, a bit surprised.

Bo Ting, as if finally grabbing hold of a netizen with some free time, saw that the other had interest and quickly asked:

“By the way, do you know why it’s been staring at me and barking nonstop?”

The thing had made him paranoid.

Xu Qinglai glanced at his empty balcony and the tattered cardboard box, then at the degree of mutation on the “bone dog” in the picture opposite. He raised an eyebrow and offered a friendly suggestion.

“Maybe it’s hungry?”

“Have you tried feeding it?”

Bo Ting: …

Hungry?

Did this thing get hungry so easily?

Bo Ting was skeptical but held his phone with the fast food ordering page in front of Doudou again.

The next second, he saw Doudou’s pupils shrink. It excitedly lifted both paws, not at all like the furious state from before—its bark even changed.

“Woof woof.”

The big black dog’s eyes stared straight at the phone.

Bo Ting pondered for two seconds.

“Can dogs eat boxed meals?”

“Whatever, I’ll have the Boss Lady make one without seasonings for you.”

A few minutes later, Bo Ting placed a new order. Thanks to the two hundred yuan boarding fee from Sister Han, he didn’t skimp on the dog. He splurged ten yuan to add a meal specifically for Doudou, and didn’t forget to use the discount coupon Wu Ge had delivered last time.

Doudou kept staring at him. Seeing that the human opposite really seemed intent on giving it “food,” it opened its dog mouth wide, holding back its saliva that kept surging into its stomach, burning with unending hunger.

At that moment, red veins faintly appeared in its eyes.

Bo Ting breathed a sigh of relief. After seeing the Boss Lady from Lele Fast Food Restaurant in the group chat confirm receipt, he turned to thank the kind netizen who had reminded him:

“You’re right, it was probably hungry.”

“I wasn’t thoughtful enough. It wandered all night last night without eating, so I just reordered takeout for it.”

“Thanks so much.”

Bo Ting thanked him sincerely with full gratitude.

Little did he know that on the other side of the Netizens Exchange Forum, the man read his reply again as if it were some novel code.

Takeout?

Was this some special secret signal?

The brutal, bloodthirsty bone dog’s half-exposed scarlet eye fixed deadly on its prey, as if one could feel the malice surging from its ravenous hunger. Xu Qinglai lightly turned his wristwatch, finding it quite amusing.

However, prying into someone’s privacy on the first chat wasn’t his habit.

After all, the mysterious netizen opposite hadn’t let down his guard yet.

The thoughtful man suppressed his curiosity and chuckled lightly.

“No problem.”

“I’m off to work. If anything unexpected happens, you can ask me in the post.”

Xu Qinglai gentlemanly bid farewell to this netizen.

A few seconds later, a reply came.

“Okay, thanks.”

Bo Ting had thought the other was just a kind person with free time and dog-raising experience. Seeing he was heading to work, he friendly sent a waving emoji.

The post went empty again, leaving only him.

Bo Ting, who somewhat missed chatting with the netizen, sighed and set down his phone. Turning his head, he saw Doudou pacing restlessly on the balcony, swishing its tail back and forth.

“Stop circling; you’re making my eyes dizzy.”

“We just placed the order; it takes time for them to cook.”

“By the way.”

Bo Ting’s voice paused here as he suddenly leaned in, suspiciously peering into Doudou’s eyes.

“Why are your eyes a bit red now?”

Fine red veins hid beneath the black dog’s murky, yellowish eyes. If you didn’t look closely, you wouldn’t notice. If not for the ample light on the balcony, Bo Ting might not have spotted it.

After pulling at Doudou’s eyes with his hand, he frowned slightly.

“You wouldn’t have rabies, would you?”

Doudou: …

The big black dog threw its head back and howled, its gaze twisting.

Bo Ting’s expression changed, and he immediately smacked it on the head.

“No barking.”

The black dog, which had been about to go berserk, instantly quieted.

Tch, but it didn’t seem like it now.

Rabies probably wouldn’t calm with a pat on the head, right?

Bo Ting mulled it over and decided the red eyes didn’t affect his professionalism as a pet-sitter, so he messaged Sister Han.

“Sister Han, has Doudou had its vaccines?”

“Why do its eyes look a bit red?”

There was no response for a while from the phone. Just as Bo Ting thought Sister Han was busy, she suddenly sent over a vaccine booklet.

“All vaccines are done.”

“Our Doudou is so good for shots, unlike other dogs that bark wildly. It never makes a fuss at the vet.”

Bo Ting: …

How thick was her filter for Doudou?

If he remembered right, Doudou was already infamous in their neighborhood, right?

But she paused, then added as if remembering: “Red eyes might be from fatigue these past few days.”

“Doudou’s been working hard, going out at night to catch rats.”

Did their neighborhood even have rats?

Bo Ting found it odd but figured it made sense.

He read her chat record for a while but got nothing else. Since the vaccines were done, he relaxed.

As for going out at night, which dog didn’t like to play outside?

Catching rats was just a bit weird.

After confirming no rabies, Bo Ting rewarded it by rubbing its ears.

“Good, after eating today, stay home obediently and sleep. Sister Han will pick you up tomorrow morning, and you can go home.”

The big black dog snorted twice from its nostrils, ignoring him.

Ten minutes later, Wu Ge from Lele Fast Food Restaurant downstairs arrived right on time.

Bo Ting looked up at the time—spot on.

It said estimated half an hour, and it was exactly half an hour, not a second off. He didn’t know how Wu Ge managed it.

Curious as he was, Bo Ting held back. As the familiar doorbell rang, he righteously looked at Doudou.

“You’re a pet dog too; you should be able to fetch takeout, right?”

Having often seen dogs acting smart in videos, Bo Ting figured Doudou, spoiled daily, must have some talent.

Man and dog locked eyes, and it probably read his mind.

As the doorbell rang again, Doudou “woofed” and dashed to the door.

Bo Ting used the remote to open the only fancy door in his home and sat in the living room, eagerly waiting for Doudou to fetch his meal.

With a “click,” the door opened. The hallway went quiet for two seconds, and the corridor temperature dropped instantly.

Wu Ge outside held two takeout bags. The moment the door opened, he was about to call “Bo Ting” when he suddenly lifted his head, his neck twisting at an impossibly unscientific 180 degrees.

But the next second, the voice in Wu Ge’s throat choked as he looked up and unexpectedly met a wide-open dog mouth full of fangs dripping saliva.

The ferocious black dog’s head filled his view, and Wu Ge froze stiff.

How was it this ancestor?

He gave an awkward laugh. From the shadows, Wu Ge’s head quietly rotated back into place. He rolled his neck, stepped back two paces.

As the black dog impatiently approached, he had no thought of entering Bo Ting’s home.

He quickly hung the bags on the dog’s neck, calling out loudly while doing so:

“Alright, Xiao Bo, your order’s here.”

“There’s more fast food in other buildings; I’m off.”

Through the security door, Wu Ge’s familiar voice came, sounding a bit distorted.

Bo Ting recalled his own tone before becoming an air conditioner and responded.

After hearing the “slam” of the door closing, he wondered:

“Why does Wu Ge’s voice sound stiffer than yesterday’s, but more comfortable now?”

Doudou stared at the door for a bit. After a “drip” of saliva finally hit the corridor, it bit the bags with its tail? Wait, no—biting the bags—and hauled the fast food over.

The two takeout boxes thudded straight to the floor.

The black dog’s scarlet eyes stared straight at Bo Ting, sending a chill down his spine.

Bo Ting: …

“Why are you staring at me like that?”

“You can’t eat oily or salty stuff, so of course the braised pork rice is mine.”

“As for the plain boiled potato shreds rice…”

“It should be fine for a dog, right?”

Bo Ting casually opened Doudou’s takeout box. Seeing the plain potato shreds, he nodded in satisfaction and pushed it toward the black dog.

“No need to thank me; eat up if you’re hungry.”

Doudou: …???

The ferocious dog face stared at the plain gruel on the floor for seconds, incredulous. It hadn’t even eaten this poorly at home.

And it was so, so hungry.

What to eat?

The human opposite was fair-skinned, with slender fingers. The next second, as he reached for chopsticks, Doudou’s eyes turned fully red. Like possessed, it lunged—but instantly, a hand pinned its head.

Bo Ting’s face was expressionless, somewhat smug.

He might be an office drone, but he was one who exercised. Forget his eight faint abs; his hand strength alone was greater than most.

A little black dog trying to ambush him? In his dreams.

“Alright, no tantrums.”

“I know the braised pork is greasy; you don’t want it.”

“Be good and eat the plain boiled potatoes.”

His pale, harmless fingers lightly pinched the muscles on Doudou’s muzzle, immovable no matter how it struggled—just like during the toothbrushing hours ago.

Doudou’s red eyes widened, and it let out a aggrieved “awoo.” As Bo Ting turned to check if the dog had given up.

Confirming it had, he released his hand, got up, and headed to the bathroom to wash again.

The human’s steps were light, in cartoon slippers. To save power, he didn’t turn on the light in the dim bathroom but hummed an off-key tune, in great spirits, as he twisted the faucet.

The “splash” of water masked the living room sounds.

The black dog, shaking its head, revealed half a terrifying skeletal white bone on its face. Slowly, like a hunter, it approached the bathroom.

Bo Ting had just finished washing when he felt the living room go quiet.

Hm?

Doudou eating?

He glanced at the square peony air conditioner in the mirror a few times, called out “Doudou” calmly just in case.

The next second, turning, he saw Doudou at the bathroom door, instantly fawning with its dog face, smiling very obediently.

The innocent black dog blinked, squatting at the door as if waiting for Bo Ting. When the human scrutinized it, it shivered, couldn’t help tilting its head, and barked in a rough, cold voice.

“Woof?”