Hello, Jie Fen – CH27

Chapter 27: A Dog That Has Chi Wang Written All Over It

Chi Wang moved into his new place but had some trouble sleeping the first night.

He hadn’t expected to be particular about the bed.

After thinking seriously for a while, Chi Wang blamed it on the bed—it was too soft; he was used to sleeping on a hard mattress.

So he got up, removed the mattress topper, and remade the bed. Now he felt comfortable all over and quickly fell asleep.

Xie Sicheng’s room was right next to Chi Wang’s, very close. At first, he heard some noise, but then it quieted down. Knowing that Chi Wang had fallen asleep, he left his room.

Zuo Qianxing came over to deliver Xiaomi, bringing along the dog’s bed, toys, and dog food.

He was quite reluctant to part with Xiaomi. Actually, Xie’s home wasn’t here. Since he wasn’t going abroad anymore, he’d have to return home after graduation. By then, if he wanted to see Xiaomi, he’d have to take a flight.

He didn’t really understand why Xie suddenly wanted to raise a dog. Could it be that he was enchanted by Xiaomi? Did Xiaomi have that ability?

Unable to figure it out, Zuo decided not to dwell on it.

After delivering Xiaomi, Zuo was about to leave when Xie called him back and asked, “Does he shed?”

Zuo was momentarily stunned and replied, “You mean Xiaomi? He doesn’t shed much. I’ve been taking care of his coat—brushing him twice a day. His diet is also particular. I’ve written a booklet and printed it out; it’s in his dog bed. You can read it yourself.”

Xie acknowledged with a nod.

Zuo reluctantly said goodbye to Xiaomi. Xiaomi was smart and understood the situation, so he didn’t chase after him.

Xie carried the dog bed into the living room, set up the food and water bowls, and opened a can of dog food for Xiaomi.

Before coming over, Xiaomi had already been fed by Zuo and wasn’t hungry, so he didn’t touch the canned food that Xie offered.

Xie looked at him, frowning slightly. After a moment, he relaxed, bent over, picked up the food bowl, walked over to Xiaomi, and set it down.

Xiaomi stood up and turned away.

Xie: “…”

His face was cold and didn’t look happy.

He picked up the food bowl again, walked over to Xiaomi, and set it down.

Xiaomi sniffed it. Just as Xie’s frown was beginning to relax, Xiaomi lifted a paw and—with a “smack”—swatted the bowl away.

Xie: “…”

Xie looked at Xiaomi, his dark eyes showing no emotion, but he seemed on the verge of losing his temper.

In the end, he said nothing, walked over to pick up the bowl, dumped the canned food into the trash, and turned to pour a bowl of fresh water for Xiaomi, placing it in front of him.

This time, Xiaomi didn’t walk away. He lowered his head and extended his long tongue to lap up the water.

Xie reached out to pet his head. Xiaomi raised his head slightly but didn’t resist.

Lowering his eyes to watch Xiaomi drink, Xie said coldly, “You can move around in the living room and the yard. You’re not allowed upstairs or into the rooms.”

He knew Border Collies were intelligent, so he wanted to establish some rules.

But Xiaomi, being a dog, didn’t understand human language and refused to accept Xie’s rules.

Xie assumed he agreed.

After leaving the dog aside, he picked up the “Xiaomi User Manual” from the dog bed and sat on the sofa to read it expressionlessly.

As he was reading, the sofa sank a bit. Xiaomi had climbed onto the edge of the sofa and, as if no one else were around, sprawled out on it.

Xie’s brow twitched, his whole body tensing up. He reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose to calm himself.

After pinching for a while, he coldly ignored Xiaomi and continued reading the manual.

Xiaomi, pushing his luck, tentatively placed a white paw on Xie’s thigh.

Xie: “…”

Xie stood up and walked straight upstairs.

At the corner of the stairs, he glanced back to see the dog stretched out, lying comfortably on the sofa, having quickly adapted to the new environment and treating it as his own home.

Whether human or dog, adaptability was strong.

*

After a few days, Chi Wang had gotten used to living at Xie’s place.

The meals suited his taste. Xie had hired a chef to cook, matching his preferences. Even the meat dishes were well-prepared without any gaminess, which he was quite satisfied with.

Although they lived together, they didn’t see each other much. Apart from spending more time together during study sessions, their schedules were different, making it hard to spend time together even if they tried.

Chi Wang knew that Xie was still struggling with insomnia, but there wasn’t much he could do to help.

One evening, when Chi Wang was heading out for his tutoring job, Xie wanted to drive him, but Chi Wang refused. It was reasonable to be afraid of being driven by someone with insomnia, right?

While in the car, his phone rang. Chi Wang looked at it; it was Kong Tianxi.

Two days ago, Kong had learned that Chi Wang had quit his job at the golf course and wanted to find him another part-time job. Chi Wang had declined.

But now it seemed that Kong was still persistent, overly enthusiastic.

Chi Wang admitted that he had bad luck; it was hard for him to find suitable jobs on his own.

His tutoring and online jobs were all introduced by others.

Chi Wang had bad luck in many things, but he was pretty good at making friends. Willing to sweet-talk and genuinely help, with many skills to offer, he often agreed to help friends with their problems, so he had quite a few friends.

Like Kong, who had introduced him to one job he couldn’t continue with, and was still eager to find him another.

Chi Wang could only sincerely decline again and sent him an emoji of a stick figure hugging another stick figure tightly.

“I’ll squeeze you dry next time, Kong Tianxi!”

After looking at his phone for a while, Chi Wang started to feel nauseous again and quickly put it back in his pocket.

Another half-hour passed, and they reached their destination. Chi Wang got out of the car, feeling a surge of nausea. He vomited into the bushes for a while before standing up.

Ever since he had the baby in his belly, his motion sickness had worsened. Chi Wang couldn’t help but wonder if the baby also got car sick like him. If both of them got motion sickness, wouldn’t the reaction be stronger?

Although there was no scientific basis, once he thought about it, he couldn’t help but feel some strange emotions. He couldn’t quite figure it out, but it didn’t feel bad.

After two and a half hours, Chi Wang finished tutoring his student. As per usual, he played a few rounds of games with the student before wrapping up the day’s lesson.

He went downstairs to the bus stop to wait for the bus.

Not far away, a red sports car approached and stopped right in front of him.

Chi Wang didn’t think much of it at first. After all, there were so many wealthy people in H City; you could always see luxury cars on the road. If you paid attention to every one, you’d be overwhelmed.

At that moment, the car window rolled down, revealing a familiar face—it was Xiao Fu. He smiled at Chi Wang, his teeth gleaming. “Hey, waiting for the bus? Want me to give you a ride back to school?”

Chi Wang was slightly surprised but smiled and said, “Sure! What are you doing here, bro?”

As he spoke, he walked over, opened the car door, and got in.

Xiao Fu said, “Just a coincidence. We must be fated.”

Chi Wang agreed, “Seems like it.”

It was almost nine in the evening, and he had arrived precisely five minutes before his next bus was due.

The possibility that Xiao Fu had come specifically to wait for him was as high as fifty percent.

Xiao Fu asked with a grin, “It’s still early. Want to go have some fun? I’ll take you.”

Chi Wang replied naturally, “No, thanks.”

Xiao Fu said, “Every time I ask, you say no. Do you think I’d eat you or something?”

Although Xiao Fu was smiling as he said this, and his tone seemed normal, Chi Wang sensed a hint of displeasure.

He couldn’t help but scratch his head. “Bro, the school has dorm checks. If I’m not in the dorm, they’ll deduct points.”

This was a lie. Since he had arranged to live off-campus, dorm inspections didn’t concern him.

But Xiao Fu didn’t know that, so Chi Wang said it confidently.

Unexpectedly, Xiao Fu said, “Aren’t you living off-campus now? What dorm checks? You’re lying to me.”

Chi Wang: “!”

Could this be one of those scenarios where someone says, “Secretary X, I want all the information on Chi Wang”?

He thought this world was like a novel, but he didn’t expect to become a protagonist whose information was being sought.

Chi Wang didn’t feel particularly violated, but he had to put on a show. He said incredulously, “How did you know?”

Seeing his expression made Xiao Fu’s smile more genuine. “You have no secrets from me, understand?”

As if he had Chi Wang in the palm of his hand, he said pleasantly, “Come hang out with me, and I’ll tell you a secret you definitely don’t know.”

Chi Wang asked, “What secret?”

Xiao Fu said, “I told you, come with me and I’ll tell you. Why are you asking? How did you get into a top university with that brain of yours?”

Chi Wang: “… Bro, your tone is too harsh. I’m scared. You’re not going to kidnap me and dump me at sea, are you?”

Xiao Fu: “…”

He found a place to park, then turned to look at Chi Wang. This guy was just saying things, but his face didn’t show any fear.

This made Xiao Fu feel more at ease.

At the same time, he felt something was off. Despite Chi Wang not giving him any face, he still wanted to get closer to him.

Could it be that he really was gay?

Xiao Fu’s expression suddenly darkened. Impossible.

Not wanting his expression to scare Chi Wang, he curved his lips into a smile again. The silver stud at the corner of his mouth glinted under the car’s interior light. “You’re so timid. In today’s law-abiding society, what could I possibly do to you? I’m a good citizen who follows the law. Search for news from June two years ago—I even saved a woman who was nearly drowning. I’m a great guy, got it? Don’t be afraid of me.”

Chi Wang was genuinely a bit surprised. “Really? You’re so brave, bro?”

Xiao Fu: “Heh, of course it’s true. I’m full of righteousness.”

Chi Wang took out his phone. “Let me look it up.”

“…,” Xiao Fu frowned in displeasure. “You really need to look it up? You don’t trust me?”

Chi Wang blinked innocently. “I’m just verifying boldly, bro. After all, I’m a science student. Forgive me.”

Xiao Fu: Fine.

Chi Wang searched for a while and finally found it. The news didn’t show Xiao Fu’s face, only mentioning that the rescuer left in a red sports car.

Wait, a red sports car?

What?

Looking closer, the car was the same brand.

Alright, it really was Xiao Fu. The body shape matched too.

Chi Wang regarded him with newfound respect. “I didn’t expect this. Bro, you actually pulled off something big without saying a word!”

Xiao Fu smirked. “See? Believe it now? People who smile often can’t be bad.”

Chi Wang: That’s not necessarily true.

He vaguely recalled that this guy was a potential candidate for the prison system.

Xiao Fu, amused by Chi Wang’s reaction, decided to casually reveal the secret he initially wanted to use to corner him. “Here’s a secret for you: you’re not your parents’ biological child.”

Chi Wang froze.

Xiao Fu added, “Want to ask how I know? I investigated you. I dug up your entire history.”

Chi Wang: “…”

After a moment, he asked, “How detailed was this investigation? Did you find out how old I was when I stopped wetting the bed?”

Xiao Fu: “?”

Who investigates that?

*

Chi Wang didn’t let Xiao Fu drop him off at his actual place, asking to be let off at the school gate instead.

Although Chi Wang suspected Xiao Fu knew about his connection with Xie Sicheng, he didn’t confirm it, and Xiao Fu didn’t bring it up either.

What Xiao Fu told him wasn’t earth-shattering news. Chi Wang took it rather calmly. He only asked how Xiao Fu found out. The explanation left him speechless—Xiao Fu said, “There’s no such thing as a mother who doesn’t love her child,” which raised his suspicions. He deduced that Qiao Yuzhen couldn’t possibly be his biological mother.

Chi Wang had been brought into the family as an adopted child, appearing suddenly. After years of infertility, Qiao Yuzhen claiming him as her own left many clues behind. Investigating was time-consuming and laborious, but Xiao Fu had a financial “bagman” to foot the bill. Why save money when you can use “money power” to dig deeper?

Chi Wang: Thank you, at least you didn’t find out I wet the bed until I was seven.

The revelation left no lasting impact on Chi Wang. At his age, who still harbored fantasies about parental love? Whether it was true or not made little difference.

But Xiao Fu’s comment—”There’s no such thing as a mother who doesn’t love her child”—hit a nerve.

Chi Wang: Sorry, but some mothers really don’t love their kids.

If proven wrong in the future, he’d take back what he said.

Chi Wang returned to Xie Sicheng’s house. He now had a key but still lacked a sense of belonging. However, he valued rituals, so he decorated the keyring with a panda charm he’d crocheted from yarn.

When he unlocked the door, Xiaomi darted toward him but didn’t jump up, stopping just short and wagging its tail while pawing at his pants.

Chi Wang suspected Xiaomi had gained sentience. The dog’s actions seemed oddly protective. He asked seriously, “Do you know I have a baby in my belly?”

Xiaomi nodded.

What the—he nodded!?

Chi Wang almost shouted for someone to come and witness the magical creature.

But he was composed, managing to suppress his shock. He patted Xiaomi’s head and said, “Good boy, I’ll get you a can of food.”

After opening a can for Xiaomi, Chi Wang went to check on Xie Sicheng. It wasn’t out of concern—more like checking on a plant he was cultivating.

Xie’s door was open, and as Chi Wang peered in, their eyes met—Xie’s were dark and intense.

Chi Wang: “…”

He smiled, his expression casual yet tinged with a leader-like warmth. “You’re not asleep yet?”

Xie was getting dressed. The black shirt he was putting on, made of exquisitely soft fabric, slipped over his pale skin, making it look even fairer.

He meticulously buttoned the shirt all the way to the top before responding, “I can’t sleep.”

Chi Wang asked, “So, are you getting up to walk the dog?”

Xie Sicheng: “Mm.”

Chi Wang said, “Wait a bit. I just gave Xiaomi a can of food; let him finish eating first.”

Xie Sicheng had nothing to say about the fact that Xiaomi only ate the food Chi Wang served.

Xiaomi’s whole demeanor screamed: Chi Wang’s dog.

Xie understood and respected that.