Lian Qiao adjusted the light-colored bag on her back and walked through the gate. The place was spacious and had no unpleasant odor. The owner clearly took good care of it. There was no guard at the entrance, so she simply walked in.
Many dogs were in the middle of the spacious grounds, all looking imposing and strong. Lian Qiao stood at the edge, watching them play and tussle or rest in the shade.
After she had watched for a while, a large, valiant-looking dog suddenly walked up to her and sat down, keeping its brown eyes fixed on her.
The big dog no longer looked young. Even its whiskers were turning a little white. But the moment Lian Qiao saw it, she liked it very much.
She tentatively touched the big dog’s ears. When it remained sitting there despite seeming a little unused to it, Lian Qiao grew bolder.
She sat down on the spot, not caring about the dust, and hugged the big dog’s neck, rubbing her cheek over and over against its slightly coarse fur.
The big dog was good-tempered too, letting Lian Qiao fuss over it however she pleased. She stroked its ears. “If you don’t have an owner, come home with me. We can keep each other company. I’ll take you wherever I go.”
The kennel owner, who had come over at some point, smiled. “This is a retired military dog. It doesn’t have an owner at the moment. I think the two of you have a connection, young lady. You can take it straight home.”
Lian Qiao and the dog looked up at the same time, gazing at the kennel owner in perfect unison. He rubbed his nose, amused by the matching expressions on the human and dog.
He was around sixty, and his son was probably only five or six years older than this girl. Seeing such a sweet, gentle young woman, the owner began thinking wistfully of the daughter-in-law who had yet to appear.
“Can I really take it home? Wonderful! How much?” Lian Qiao beamed and immediately stood up.
“No money needed. It only arrived a few days ago.”
“That won’t do!” Lian Qiao glanced at the other dogs on the grounds. “How about this? Consider this dog a gift to me, and I’ll contribute something toward food for the others.”
The owner nodded. “That’s up to you!”
Lian Qiao smiled and took her phone out of her bag. “Shall I transfer the money to you?”
When he saw the amount transferred, the owner’s eyes widened. “A hundred thousand? That’s far too much!”
Lian Qiao stroked the big dog’s head. “To me, it isn’t much at all. It’s like family. How could family be measured in money?”
The big dog rubbed its head against Lian Qiao’s palm. “Please tell me how I should care for them. I’ve never had a dog before…”
Only after questioning the owner for a long time did Lian Qiao finally feel satisfied. She held the leash, and the big dog obediently followed close beside her. The more she looked at it, the more she liked it.
Watching Lian Qiao and the big dog leave, the owner shook his head and returned to his work at the kennel. Come to think of it, he had felt that young woman looked familiar. Where had he seen her before?
His phone suddenly chimed. Glancing at it casually, he saw a notification. Wasn’t the person in the picture the Lian Qiao he had just met? His interest stirred, and he opened the news article to read it carefully.
Lian Qiao was hopeless at naming things, so she simply named the big dog Dahei because of its black coat. With Dahei’s companionship, her life became much more enjoyable.
Every day, she took Dahei out for walks. Sometimes she even raced it. Of course, she always lost, but she never tired of it, because Dahei was happiest when it was running.
Unfortunately, as someone who spent so much time sitting in an office, she often could not keep running after one lap. In the end, Dahei always slowed down to wait for her.
That day was no exception. Dahei bounded ahead while Lian Qiao struggled to keep up. “Dahei, slow down! I can’t run anymore!”
Hearing Lian Qiao’s voice, Dahei slowed its pace. She relaxed a little and ran a few steps to its side. “Dahei, you’re wonderful! Once I catch my breath, shall we run another couple of laps?”
They were at the sports ground near her residential complex, where many people came to run every evening. Lian Qiao had not come before because coming alone felt too lonely.
Now she came both morning and evening, just so Dahei could run. After circling twice, Lian Qiao pointed ahead. “Dahei, let’s head over there. Go!”
Dahei raised its head and shot forward the moment she gave the command. Holding the leash, Lian Qiao hurried after it. She had no attention to spare for anyone else now and simply charged ahead.
Although Dahei was large, it was very agile. The sports ground was crowded too, and Lian Qiao had to be careful not to bump into anyone. But how could that be easy?
At a turn, Lian Qiao collided with someone. If the other person had not reacted quickly and caught her around the waist, Dahei would have dragged her to the ground.
“Dahei, stop. I can’t run anymore.” Seeing that Dahei still wanted to surge ahead, Lian Qiao hurriedly called out. Only when it settled down did she relax.
She stroked Dahei’s head as it came to her side and apologized to the person she had collided with. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t hold my dog back and ran into you.”
The man looked at the woman and dog before him, a flicker passing through his eyes. It was her? He rubbed his chin. “No need to apologize. With those slender arms and legs, how could you control a military dog, even a retired one?”
“How did you know Dahei is a military dog?” Lian Qiao instinctively looked up.
The man smiled. “I used to be a soldier. Ordinary dogs aren’t this well-behaved. Look at how disciplined Dahei is, whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down.”
Lian Qiao proudly wrinkled her little nose. “Of course. Dahei is the best!”
Looking at her wrinkled nose, Tong Hua’s fingers itched to reach out and pinch it. He had moved into the complex only half a month earlier. Going out to exercise was a habit of his, and over the past few days, he had met Lian Qiao and this military dog called Dahei almost every day.
Naturally, he had recognized Lian Qiao, the well-known young businesswoman. Although her life had been rather difficult, she had fought her way up to where she was now.
She usually looked so composed and capable on television, but when she walked Dahei, Tong Hua saw an entirely different side of her.
Her smile was sweet and soft. She would act affectionately toward this big dog called Dahei and talk to it at length, even though it could not answer her.
Watching her day after day, Tong Hua felt himself falling for her little by little. But he could not act rashly. She was too guarded. Over the past few days, other people had approached her, but unfortunately, she had rejected them all.
Tong Hua did not think he would be an exception. How to approach Lian Qiao still required careful planning. With his alertness, if he had truly wanted to avoid her, she could never have collided with him. He admitted he had deliberately let her run into him.
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