Gong Lu was playing with the eight-year-old dog in the yard.
The dog’s name was Egg Yolk, and it was a Tugou[1]. It was said that as a dog continued to live with humans for a long time, it would become smarter and more spirited. Egg Yolk was an example.
It sat on the ground and stared straight at the bone in Gong Lu’s hand. From time to time, it would use its gaze to signal to him to place the bone on the ground.
It never took food from people’s hands directly. It would only eat when the food was placed on the ground or in its bowl.
It was probably afraid that its teeth would accidentally knock against someone’s hand.
Yan Zhengchen sat under the eaves of a veranda and watched Gong Lu play with the dog with a cup of hot tea in his hand.
“If you like dogs so much, why don’t you keep one?” Yan Zhengchen couldn’t help but ask when he saw that Gong Lu was in such a good mood.
“I don’t have time to take care of it. I go on business trips frequently, so I don’t have time to accompany it,” Gong Lu said indifferently.
Yan Zhengchen wanted to say that he could get a nanny to take care of it for him, but on second thought, if the nanny was the one taking care of him, the dog would acknowledge the nanny as its master. That would be a different story.
“We can have a dog in our villa in White City.” Yan Zhengchen took a sip of tea calmly. “I can help you raise it.”
Gong Lu placed the bone in Egg Yolk’s food bowl and turned to look at him. “I thought you didn’t like these furry things.”
“People will always change.” Yan Zhengchen’s gaze landed on Egg Yolk. “Egg Yolk is quite cute.”
Gong Lu was confused.
He still remembered that Yan Zhengchen’s first words when he saw Egg Yolk were:
—What the hell is this? Why is it so ugly?
“When we return to our place after the new year, I’ll buy a dog. What breed do you like? That whatever Labra-something is good.” Yan Zhengchen smiled at him.
“What do you mean by our place?” Gong Lu walked to his side and sat down. “That villa belongs to you alone. Also, there’s no Labra-something. You’re probably talking about Labrador.”
Yan Zhengchen’s lips twitched.
He really didn’t like these furry things usually. He always felt that those little things had too fragile lives.
He didn’t like anything fragile.
Therefore, he had never tried to find out about dog breeds.
“Then, let’s raise a Labrador.” Yan Zhengchen paused for a moment before turning his gaze to him. “Do you like it?”
“It sounds pretty good.” Gong Lu nodded.
“What do you think of what the Old Master said just now?” Yan Zhengchen changed the topic all of a sudden.
“Since 117’s people have come knocking on our door, they won’t stop until they have achieved their goal.” Gong Lu frowned. “Recently, more and more crimes have been committed by Espers. If this continues, there will be big trouble sooner or later. If 117 wants to invite Grandpa and Grandma out from the mountains, they must have encountered a very difficult problem.”
“Grandpa and Grandma have already left the organization for so many years. Why do these people from 117 seem like milk children who haven’t grown up yet? Why did they have to come back to get help from the old after being bullied?” Yan Zhengchen said with a frown.
“117 was founded by Grandpa and Grandma. The two of them were the backbone of the organization when they were still there. Now that they have left, they are still gods in the eyes of many people.” As Gong Lu spoke, he took out a cigarette and lighter, lit one, and placed it in his mouth.
Upon seeing this, Yan Zhengchen frowned even more. He pinched the cigarette from between Gong Lu’s thin lips and placed it in his mouth. “Your throat is not good, so you should smoke less.”
Gong Lu pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and glanced at him. “Did I ever tell you that you manage me more than my own mother?”
[1] A general name for several dog breeds in China