Hello, Jie Fen – CH16

Chapter 16: I Don’t Know How to Coax

In the end, Xie Sicheng still ended up with a dog, but only between 8 p.m. and midnight.

It was a well-bred Border Collie, still young and not very big. Even people who didn’t know much about dogs could tell at a glance that it was an excellent specimen—delicate and beautiful, perfectly aligning with human aesthetic standards.

Although its name was “Shuanzi,” that was just a nickname. The dog had an official name: Zuo Xiaomi.

So when Xie Sicheng handed the dog over to Chi Wang, he gave him the name “Xiaomi.”

Chi Wang couldn’t help but complain internally: Why do they all give such casual names to their dogs, and they’re all food names!

Even Xie Sicheng couldn’t escape this trait.

Xiaomi wore a large gold pendant around its neck. Chi Wang glanced at it and asked, “Senior, should I take this off?”

Being from a wealthy family, he understood—it was definitely pure gold. Better not lose it.

“No need,” Xie replied.

“Alright then,” Chi Wang said, deciding he’d keep an eye on it.

He put the leash on Xiaomi and took him outside.

The Husky was quite enthusiastic toward Xiaomi and didn’t show any discomfort, but Xiaomi was aloof and ignored the Husky.

Chi Wang frequently had to pull the Husky away to prevent him from bothering Xiaomi. After doing this multiple times, he felt exhausted.

He realized that walking two dogs wasn’t as easy as he thought.

Even worse, when Xiaomi pooped, the Husky tried to eat it right after. Startled, Chi Wang rushed over to snatch Xiaomi’s poop away from him.

He grabbed it through a plastic bag and threw it into a trash can, thus saving Xiaomi’s poop.

It was truly a scene of “chickens flying and dogs jumping.“[^2]

After walking the two dogs, Chi Wang felt mentally drained. He returned the Husky to the senior and then went to return the Border Collie to Xie Sicheng.

Although Xie lived in the same community, rich people naturally could afford single-family homes. Of the only two standalone villas in the neighborhood, Xie occupied one.

It was spacious but not extravagantly decorated—very minimalist and quite empty.

Chi Wang didn’t go inside; just like with the Husky’s owner, he handed over the dog at the door.

After walking the two dogs, he went back and slept deeply. When he opened his eyes, it was already 6:50 a.m., almost seven.

“Darn it, what’s going on!”

His morning run was completely ruined. At this hour, what was the point of running?

Resigned, Chi Wang went to buy breakfast. He no longer ate buns; actually, he felt the vendor used subpar ingredients and forbade Luo Lianyun and Shu Tingyu from eating them too.

So for breakfast, he bought them corn rolls and soy milk.

For himself, he got a bowl of thick porridge and a pack of spicy pickled mustard greens—something he hadn’t liked before but was now really into.

His bouts of nausea and vomiting had significantly improved and weren’t frequent, not affecting his life, so he didn’t think much of it.

But, to be honest, Chi Wang felt a bit strange. His energy wasn’t as good as before, an unprecedented situation.

This troubled him because it was affecting his studies and part-time jobs.

He felt sleepy while studying and during tutoring sessions; even naps couldn’t replenish his energy.

He couldn’t discuss this with Luo, who was like the UC Shock Department, similar to Baidu—search any illness, and it tells you you’re dying.

So Chi Wang spent his own money to buy astragalus and codonopsis, brewing them in his water bottle daily. The effect was remarkable; Chi Wang was full of energy again!

“Nothing is difficult in the world” was his motto.

As the midterms approached, the weather became cooler.

The remnants of summer gradually dissipated; autumn had firmly set foot in the city.

The air conditioning in the classroom was turned off. Although it was still a bit stuffy, it was bearable. With doors and windows wide open, the breeze made it quite comfortable.

Chi Wang changed his occupied seat to one near the window.

As midterms loomed, kind-hearted teachers would highlight key points for students, while cold and ruthless ones would provide a broad scope—no key points, not even leaking a single question.

Both Luo and Shu were average in their studies. Forced to study hard in high school, they now leaned more toward enjoying life in college—commonly known as coasting through days.

So they weren’t in a hurry; if there were key points, they’d memorize them; if not, it didn’t matter. They had a great attitude.

Even if they failed, it was no big deal. They could retake the exam, and retake questions were usually easier.

Chi Wang was very serious; when it came to studying, he believed you should either be number one or not stand out at all.

He couldn’t get the National Scholarship; although sophomores could apply, it was extremely difficult and required honors like competition awards. He spent his time working, so specializing was hard.

But he could try for the school’s Special Scholarship; he had heard that it could award up to tens of thousands of yuan.

Actually, he also wanted the school’s “Inspiration Scholarship.” The subsidy amount at H University was much higher than in middle and high school, but he knew it required stamps from the village and community offices to prove financial hardship, which he couldn’t obtain.

“Damn, I’m genuinely poor!”

“Uh, actually, maybe not now?”

He now had some savings.

That night, after returning from walking the dogs, Chi Wang took a shower. When he washed his abdomen, he suddenly felt something was off. Looking down, he found his abdominal muscles had blurred.

Chi Wang: “…”

“Too harsh! I haven’t exercised for just a few days, and my six-pack abs are gone??”

After his shower, Chi Wang went out and called to Luo and Shu, “Hey, do I still have abs?”

Luo turned to look and exclaimed in surprise, “You’ve gained weight!”

Shu examined him closely and agreed with Luo, “Yeah, you’ve put on a bit of weight; your abs aren’t very defined anymore.”

Chi Wang: Little Shark Stops Thinking jpg.

He started pondering, “I’ve just slacked off on exercising lately.”

Moreover, he hadn’t been eating much; he had no appetite, so there was no chance of overeating.

Luo felt a sense of balance in his heart. He had said all along that maintaining a six-pack wasn’t that easy!

He consoled, “Looks like you’re also the type that gains weight easily. If you didn’t exercise every day, you’d gain weight too!”

Chi Wang retorted, “No way I’m the type to gain weight easily; I’ve never been fat since I was a kid.”

Thinking it over, he came up with a reasonable explanation, “It must be because of eating spicy food.”

Chi Wang would never consider it was his own issue; he’d equally blame others or external factors.

He made up his mind, “I won’t eat spicy food anymore.”

Luo said, “I don’t think that’s the reason…”

Chi Wang insisted firmly, “It must be a dietary problem—those so-called ‘technological tricks‘ or whatever.”

He genuinely felt that indulgence was unacceptable.

He also needed to resume his morning runs!

However, at 5:30 the next morning, Chi Wang was still: zzzz.

When he woke up again, it was already seven o’clock.

Chi Wang: “…”

His biological clock was completely messed up.

With no other choice, after buying breakfast, he did push-ups in the dormitory.

After doing a hundred push-ups, he felt a faint pain in his stomach and had to stop.

He touched his abdomen and realized that recently, whenever he did intense movements, his stomach would hurt a bit.

Chi Wang found this odd because his pain threshold was very high; he barely noticed physical pain. Otherwise, he wouldn’t always be getting injured—since he didn’t feel pain at the time, he wouldn’t avoid harm.

But lately, his stomach had been faintly aching. Although it was minor, for Chi Wang, it was a strange experience.

Maybe it wasn’t even pain? Chi Wang’s description of pain was vague. It felt like something was scratching him from the inside, a feeling of heaviness pressing down.

He had a bad premonition. Actually, he knew that having a dull sense of pain was dangerous, and he was quite unlucky…

But since it had been a faint ache for so long, it probably wasn’t a big deal. With only three days until midterms, he’d set it aside for now.

Chi Wang requested leave from all three of his part-time jobs.

Walking dogs and being a caddie were paid daily, but for the labor job, if you dared to take leave, they’d really dock your pay—more than the average daily wage.

Forget it; exams were more important.

For three days, he holed up in the dormitory, studying intensely.

Soon, the midterms arrived.

The exams lasted two days, and Chi Wang finished them quickly.

After the exams, he felt a weight lifted and could resume working.

That evening, when going to walk the dogs, Chi Wang picked up Egg Fried Rice and then went to get Xiaomi. He found that Xiaomi was already outside; Xie Sicheng had taken him out. The leash was extended long, maintaining a distance of over two meters between Xie and Xiaomi.

Chi Wang was a bit surprised and politely asked, “Senior, are you walking him yourself today?”

Xie glanced at Xiaomi, who had his back to him, and said, “Just taking a walk.”

Chi Wang hesitated, “Should I walk him or will you?”

Xie immediately handed the leash to him, “You walk him.”

Chi Wang agreed, “Alright.”

He looked at Xiaomi and noticed the dog seemed unhappy. He asked, “Did you two have a quarrel?”

Lowering his gaze at Xiaomi, who was getting annoyed by the Husky’s harassment and was baring his teeth to bite, Xie replied, “No quarrel.”

Just mutual annoyance.

Chi Wang pulled Egg Fried Rice away and shortened Xiaomi’s overly long leash. Holding one in each hand, he used his body to separate the two dogs.

After that, he reached out to pet Xiaomi’s head, softly coaxing him. Only then did Xiaomi stick out his tongue, looking a bit happier.

Under the dim light, Chi Wang’s fragmented voice carried a soft nasal tone, making the scene unusually warm.

Xie looked down for a moment and averted his gaze before Chi Wang noticed.

After petting Xiaomi and fully soothing him, Chi Wang straightened up and said to Xie, “Xiaomi is very smart—maybe too smart, so he’s different from other dogs. Senior, you need to talk to him often, coax him a bit; otherwise, dogs can get depressed too.”

Xie understood; Chi Wang was subtly criticizing him.

He slightly frowned but quickly relaxed, “I don’t know how to coax.”

Chi Wang shook his head, “You don’t even know how to coax a dog? Senior, you need to learn. I’ll find some books for you.”

He took out his phone and, within a minute, sent several book titles to Xie in one go:

High EQ Conversation Techniques: Speak and Make People Like You!

Mastering Responses: Being Able to Talk is an Advantage; Being Able to Respond is a Skill

Learn to Express, Understand Communication

Chinese-Style High EQ Dialogue

Xie: “…”

He felt like he was being scolded, and quite harshly.

Watching Chi Wang’s swift actions, Xie asked in a low voice, “Is this your reading list?”

Chi Wang was caught off guard but blinked and smiled naturally, “That’s right, I’m reading these good books myself. I’m recommending them to you now; we can learn together how to have high EQ conversations.”

Xie: “…”

His emotional intelligence was indeed high—scolding someone so tactfully.

—

Translator’s Note:

I have a love and hate relationship for this novel, it takes me hours to just translate a 3000 characters chapter… I really need a dictionary for all of these Chinese slangs… Maybe I’m just too old and not up to date with all of these slangs…

Let me know in these few chapters if you still want me to translate this novel, even though the Chinese version is really good, the English translation is just too difficult to do. X.X

[1]: “Chickens flying and dogs jumping” : An idiom meaning a scene of chaos or turmoil.

[2]: “UC Shock Department” : Refers to sensationalist media that exaggerate headlines to grab attention; similar to clickbait. “Baidu” here implies that searching symptoms online often leads to alarming conclusions.

[3]: “Coasting through days”: A slang term meaning to idle away time without serious purpose or effort.

[4]: “Little Shark Stops Thinking”: An internet meme in China, depicting a small shark with a blank expression, used to convey speechlessness or being stunned.

[5]: “Technological tricks” : A slang term referring to dubious methods or shortcuts in production, often involving additives or techniques that compromise quality for efficiency.

[6]: “Labor job” : Slang for hard, low-paying work where employees are treated like “cattle and horses,” i.e., overworked and underpaid.