Li Xingnan had just exchanged a couple of casual words when he attempted to leave, only to feel someone tug at the hem of his shirt the moment he turned around.
He turned back, surprised that someone who was now revered wherever he went, with people calling him “Jiao Shen” with admiration, could behave so childishly. He raised an eyebrow.
“Leaving already?”
Bei Jiao stubbornly held onto his clothes, even increasing the force slightly, as if hinting, “Your dog is still on the sofa.”
He’s monopolizing my wife.
Though he didn’t say it out loud, Li Xingnan perfectly understood the message. He thought this human-shaped dog was indeed clever, instantly sensing something was off.
Unfortunately, it was already too late.
Almost smiling at the situation, he reached out to brush away the dog’s paw from his sleeve and said with a smile, “It’s your dog now, no need to be so polite.”
“?”
Bei Jiao turned around to see the large dog successfully squeezing onto the couch with Jiang Ran, leaving no space for him to sit down. He wore a rare expression of confusion.
He knew that ever since Qiu Nian got pregnant, the dog had been glaring at Li Xingnan like a criminal. During Qiu Nian’s ten months of pregnancy, he hadn’t slept in a proper bed for nearly ten months.
At that moment, he was gloating, never expecting that this righteous dog would end up at his house.
…He had assumed Li Xingnan was just walking the dog and happened to pass by.
“What do you mean?”
“Bei Jiao, I’ve been sleeping on the couch and in the study for ten months,” Li Xingnan lowered his eyes, “Let me have some peace for a few days.”
Bei Jiao was taken aback by his rare display of humility, but in that brief moment, Li Xingnan slapped his hand away and quickly disappeared behind the door.
Bei Jiao looked at the door that had been slammed in his face, blinked in confusion, and turned around to see how the dog, now abandoned by its owner, would react—surely it would at least whimper in sadness—but there was nothing.
The dog didn’t even lift its head as its owner left. Jiang Ran was watching TV, and the dog simply stared at her with its wet, puppy-dog eyes, wagging its tail happily.
…This was a righteous, male-hating, and conscienceless dog.
Bei Jiao stood beside the couch for a while, gazing down at the gray dog. After half a minute, he felt that the large dog’s head resting on Jiang Ran’s stomach was really getting in the way. He reached out to try to push it away.
However, before his hand even touched the dog, merely hovering over Jiang Ran’s stomach, the dog already growled protectively—”Grrr.”
As a large breed, Alaskan Malamutes usually don’t bark much unless they’re guarding something.
Bei Jiao paused his hand in midair for a few seconds. A moment later, without hesitation, he grabbed the dog’s mouth as it continued to growl softly and pushed it aside.
“Move over, that’s my spot.”
The dog was stunned.
Jiang Ran was also stunned.
…
That night, Li Xingnan finally got to sleep in a proper bed.
In the later stages of pregnancy, things could get a bit more intimate. In fact, it wasn’t just men who felt that way. Qiu Nian, as a woman, had also missed him a little. With the 24-hour biological surveillance finally sent away, Li Xingnan returned home, washed his hands, and carried her to bed.
At 8:30 PM, the dog, along with its food, bed, and even its bowl, was sent via same-day delivery to Jiang Ran’s apartment.
When they checked their phones again at 12:30 AM, Li Xingnan rolled over and pulled Qiu Nian’s sweaty shoulder toward him. Just as he was about to suggest continuing and not looking at the phone, he noticed her shaking.
Li Xingnan hesitated for a moment, instinctively thinking she was crying.
During Qiu Nian’s pregnancy, she had been difficult to please. There were nights when she would cry into her pillow because she suddenly wanted to eat qingtuan (a traditional Chinese food) but couldn’t find any since it wasn’t Qingming Festival yet.
He thought maybe she was upset because he hadn’t pleased her properly just now, or she was tired and feeling emotional, or perhaps she was just feeling weepy for any reason.
Li Xingnan pinched her arm slightly and asked in a hoarse voice, “What’s wrong, again?”
He applied a bit of force and turned her over. When he looked closely, he realized she was laughing.
She was looking at her phone, tears streaming down her face from laughter. She turned over to show him the screen. Li Xingnan glanced at it and saw a short video posted an hour ago by Jiang Ran on a short-video app.
A woman who had been uploading her training videos for months had posted something completely different today—the video showed everyone’s beloved romanticist, the aloof god in the snowboarding world…
arguing with a dog.
The entire video showed a huge Alaskan Malamute being pushed off the couch by a young man using his foot. The moment the dog tumbled to the floor, the man sat down and took the newly vacated spot.
The dog, now forced off the couch, barked furiously at the couch while the man stood with his arms crossed, smirking: “Go ahead, bite me if you can. I’ll just get a rabies shot.”
Knowing the dog couldn’t actually bite him, the dog extended its paw, which was as big as a dinner plate, and started pawing at him.
The dog was strong. It jumped up and pushed him onto the couch with its paws on his chest.
Then it stepped on his face with its paw.
Each paw print left a red mark.
The man on the couch swore and tried to hit the dog. He jumped up, grabbed a slipper from the floor, and went after the dog. But the moment he did, the dog immediately jumped back onto the couch and took the spot he had just vacated.
The man threw the slipper away and went to pull the dog’s tail. The dog, clearly in pain, cried out “Yelp! Yelp!” and desperately tried to burrow into the arms of the person lying on the couch filming…
From the filming direction, a slender hand extended into the frame, gently but firmly patting the man’s hand that was pulling the dog’s tail: “Let go, you’re hurting it.”
The man immediately let go as if his hand had been burned, looked up, and gave a very pitiful expression: “Jiang Ran, you’re taking the dog’s side. You don’t love me anymore, do you?”
The video ended there. Jiang Ran added a caption to the video: My husband says you don’t love him anymore 😂
The comments below were filled with “Hahahaha,” “The dog god’s image is ruined,” “Where did this dog come from,” “Isn’t this Li Xingnan’s dog? Hahahaha, I thought he wanted to get rid of the dog, but he sent it to your house,” “Never thought Jiao Shen would be like this,” “You don’t love him anymore, you have another dog now 「Doge」”…
And one comment that stood out: “He’s arguing with a dog for you. Love it, love it, it’s so sweet.”
Regarding this comment, Jiang Ran responded by replying with a question mark to this sweet-hearted fan.
Li Xingnan picked up his phone.
He opened WeChat.
There was a message from Bei Jiao.
“My duck: [Picture]”
On the double bed, Jiang Ran was lying on one side watching her phone, while beside her on the floor was a 120-pound dog. Its head was resting on her stomach in an extremely affectionate and simple manner, gazing at her like she was the apple of its eye.
“My duck: Li Xingnan, you son of a bitch.”
Li Xingnan replied.
“Second car: Welcome to my world.”
Then, smiling, he put down his phone, and as he pulled Qiu Nian into his arms, he felt an even greater joy derived from someone else’s suffering.
…
The next morning, Bei Jiao immediately sensed something was off when he woke up. In his daze, he reached out to touch the side of the bed, thinking, when did Jiang Ran’s leg hair get so long?
Her hair was also almost in his mouth.
Bei Jiao struggled to open his eyes, only to find he was hugging a dog in his sleep. The 120-pound dog was lovingly held in his arms, while his actual wife was on the other side of the dog, sleeping soundly under the blanket.
So Jiang Ran had been pushed aside.
She woke up just as the dream was ending. In her dream, she and Qiu Nian had participated in a game of Squid Game, and she had to get up and leave the apartment before 7 a.m., or the entire building would explode. In the dream, she somehow ended up being the early riser, leading a little boy into the elevator.
While looking at the elevator countdown with only thirty seconds left, she suddenly realized something and said to the pretty little boy she was holding, “Stay here and don’t move. I need to go save your Auntie Qiu.”
Strangely enough, in the dream, everyone she passed had blurred faces, except for the little boy, who was the most beautiful child she had ever seen in her life. He had a bright red mole on his earlobe and obediently nodded, saying, “I’ll wait for you. Hurry back.”
She didn’t have time to think about how a three-year-old could sound so cool, as she rushed out of the elevator, shouting for Qiu Nian to wake up and run. After barely escaping the apartment, she sighed in relief as she watched the building instantly explode. At that moment, Qiu Nian, standing beside her, turned her head and emotionlessly asked, “Jiang Ran, where is your son? Don’t tell me you forgot him?”
In an instant, cold sweat poured from her head to her toes. The feeling of wanting to faint was vivid and real. In her dream, she immediately turned to rush back into the building, which was now collapsing in a gothic, dark, and aesthetic way…
Then she was pushed awake.
When she woke up, her silk nightgown was completely soaked with sweat. It was only April in Guangzhou, with the spring weather being pleasant, and she had been sleeping under a thin blanket as if she had just been pulled out of water.
A sweaty hand, like grasping a lifeline, gripped the person who had woken her up. Jiang Ran opened her eyes to meet a pair of bewildered black eyes.
“What’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare?”
The deep male voice was hoarse from sleep, and he clearly tried to soften his tone as much as possible.
For a moment, Jiang Ran really wanted to cry, and indeed, a big tear dramatically fell from the corner of her eye. Her mind was filled with “Oh no, how do I explain to him? My son is still in the ruins, and I forgot him and ran away by myself!”
“Bei Jiao, I’m sorry, our—”
She choked up, her mind going blank for a few seconds. Staring at the handsome face suspended just inches away, Jiang Ran suddenly became slow to react—she didn’t have a son.
“…”
Oh my god.
Jiang Ran instantly changed from almost crying to a blank expression in the blink of an eye. She hugged Bei Jiao’s neck, letting him carry her in a princess hold from the bed and place her on the couch. As she was placed there, her mind was filled with how she would later scold Qiu Nian in various ways.
Why did she bring up pregnancy for no reason !!!!!!!!!!
She gave birth herself but insisted on dragging someone else along !!!!!!!!!!
Now my heart is racing !!!!!!!!!!
What’s wrong with her !!!!!!!!!!
In Bei Jiao’s eyes, the person sitting on the couch had a dazed look, clearly not yet recovered from the nightmare. In an instant, he forgot about his grievance of bringing an extra dog home.
He personally helped Jiang Ran wash up, even thoughtfully holding her while she brushed her teeth, letting her lean on his shoulder.
Then the two of them sat on one chair and had breakfast together.
Today, since Jiang Ran had been clingy since she got up, going downstairs to buy breakfast became a bit difficult. Bei Jiao took out some frozen dumplings from the fridge to cook, and also prepared milk and avocado toast for Jiang Ran.
The toast was golden and crispy, even the crusts were carefully removed, which was exactly what Jiang Ran liked.
However, today when the food was brought to her lips, the woman’s long eyelashes fluttered slightly. She glanced at the handsome face that she had once thought she could never get tired of seeing, and suddenly felt like throwing up.
…Just as she was shocked and confused, thinking, “Oh no, I must really not love him anymore, since seeing him makes me want to throw up,” she suddenly realized—it was just a physical reaction.
…Purely physiological nausea.
She pushed the food away from her lips, turned her head, and very politely and subtly let out an empty burp, suppressing the nausea.
“What’s wrong? Not hungry?”
A pleasant voice sounded in her ear. Jiang Ran instinctively turned her head and leaned into his arms. From a place where he couldn’t see, she let out a silent sigh of relief, thinking, okay, no big deal, I still love him.
“I don’t have an appetite right after waking up. I’ll order takeout when I get hungry later,” she said, “You eat. Let me hold you for a while.”
Bei Jiao’s grumpiness from the previous night instantly vanished.
What more could he ask for? She was already this clingy.
He placed a silent smile on his lips as he nuzzled his chin against the top of her head, “Okay,” he murmured, and then devoured both portions of food on the table.
After breakfast, Bei Jiao needed to go to school.
He looked at the clock on the wall, then at the woman curled up in his arms, clearly emotionally overwhelmed. He hesitated whether to ask her what was wrong, but seeing her listless expression and unwillingness to speak, he swallowed the question that had reached his lips.
At that moment, his phone on the table lit up—
[Zhao Liang: I’m at the lab, no one’s here? Is it haunted today? Why hasn’t Bei Ge arrived yet?]
Bei Jiao calmly shifted his gaze from the phone.
Jiang Ran also saw Zhao Liang’s message. She mumbled in a low voice, “You should go to school.”
As she spoke, her body honestly held his neck even tighter.
Bei Jiao’s arms rested on her waist, softly murmuring, “Okay,” as she curled up, as if she wanted to be stuffed into his pocket and taken away.
“Go.”
Her voice sounded pitifully weak.
As Bei Jiao considered whether to just take her to the lab and place her there like a decorative vase—after all, today he was just going to organize past data…
At that moment, the person in his arms let go of him and slowly got up and returned to the couch.
The dog quickly jumped onto the couch and snuggled beside her.
Jiang Ran hugged the fluffy dog’s head with one hand, pinched its soft ears, and looked up at the man standing a little distance away with his hands in his pockets, “Go,” she said, “I’ll watch some TV.”
Bei Jiao walked over and tugged at the dog’s jowls.
“Call me if anything happens,” he said, “I won’t have my phone on silent today.”
That meant she could disturb him anytime.
Jiang Ran nodded and gave him a rather forced smile.
Bei Jiao finally left.
…
The sound of the door opening echoed in the hallway, followed by the sound of it closing.
The moment the door shut, Jiang Ran threw the dog’s head aside and jumped up, standing on the couch, and sent a message to Qiu Nian.
[Who’s My Little Duck: Where are you!!!!!!]
[Who’s My Little Duck: Come to my place!!!]
[Who’s My Little Duck:…]
[Who’s My Little Duck: Never mind, don’t move around, little pregnant lady. I’ll come to you! I’ll go to your place!]
[Who’s My Little Duck: You find an excuse to get rid of Li Xingnan.]
[Who’s My Little Duck: Then order me a pregnancy test on Meituan.]
She calmly and honestly typed the last line with trembling hands.
A few seconds later.
Qiu Nian replied with a “whoosh.”
But what came through was Li Xingnan’s deadpan, unchanging deep voice—
“It’s too late, Li Xingnan has already seen it.”
…
“Just a pregnancy test? To confirm the accuracy of the result, maybe you should get a couple of test strips too?”
…
“I’ll cover the cost, no need to thank me.”
The calm voice barely concealed the delight…
Even Iron Man witnessing Captain America being beaten by the Winter Soldier couldn’t have felt more schadenfreude than this.
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