After the noon meal, this dog lord crossed his paws and flopped onto the sofa to nap. Meanwhile, she had to buzz around, cleaning up like a little wife.
Finally done with the chores, she gets at most twenty minutes of rest before it’s time to go back to school.
"Sigh, being a little student isn’t easy!"
When Hua Yan finished her tasks, she lay on the sofa like Ge You, idly flipping through a magazine until she felt her eyelids battling against each other.
Just as she was about to drift off, the dog suddenly barked, startling her so much that she rolled right off the sofa.
She glanced up and realized it was time for school. Astonished, she looked back at Doudou: "You can tell time?"
Doudou cast her a disdainful glance, turned his face away, and then saw the sky outside.
Just as Hua Yan was packing up to leave, he ran to a corner of the balcony and pulled out an umbrella for her.
Then, carrying it in his mouth, he brought it to her in front of the shoe cabinet as she was changing shoes. Hua Yan gaped at him in amazement: "What’s the meaning of this? Is it going to rain?"
She ran to the balcony to check the sky, "The sun is so bright,"
Turning her head, he brought the umbrella over again, as if she would regret not taking it.
Hua Yan eyed her water bottle and the folding umbrella, thinking she might as well bring it along. This dog seemed a bit mysterious, so she decided to test if he really had such abilities.
It wasn’t until she got into the elevator that she recalled, "Oh my, could this dog actually be an immortal? I don’t even know where our umbrella is, how does he know?"
Little did she realize that while she wasn’t home, this fellow had already mapped out her house, like surveying his domain, knowing it inside out.
There were only two classes in the afternoon. During the second class, the weather suddenly turned cloudy and even windy, and soon it started to drizzle.
Hua Yan stared wide-eyed at the rain outside the window, her mind blank. Could this dog truly be an immortal descending to earth? He actually predicted it?
When school was over and other students were waiting at the gate for their parents, Hua Yan stood out, opening her umbrella, and walked into the rain.
When someone asked her why she had brought an umbrella, her answer was official.
"The weather forecast said so. I’m just being prepared, after all, no one in my family can bring me an umbrella."
Though Hua Yan said this with a smile, her classmates were aware of her situation, so when she reached this point, no one pursued the question further.
Because she was telling the truth. Back in 2010, WeChat hadn’t been launched yet (January 2011). Parents and teachers relied entirely on phone calls or school communication texts. The news about class reassignment she also learned from her mom’s school communication text.
The rain didn’t let up quickly. By the time she got home, it was still coming down hard. Most pedestrians and commuters got caught off guard, bicyclists looked like drowned rats. In that era, though electric bikes were around, they looked particularly awkward, and bicycles were more common. Of course, buses remained as crowded as ever.
Hua Yan fared relatively well—at least she had an umbrella. But an autumn rain brings a chill; when she got home, her sleeves were a bit wet, and she sneezed several times.
But as soon as she got in, she looked at Doudou, who was still lying on the sofa napping. He only lazily glanced at her when she entered.
"Doudou, you’re amazing. It really rained. From now on, you’re our family’s weather forecast. You better let me know if it’s going to rain, or I’ll be in trouble. Other families have parents to pick them up; I’m all alone,"
As soon as she finished speaking, her phone rang. She checked the caller ID and quickly answered the call.
"Aunt Zhao, yes, it’s raining. I’m fine, I brought an umbrella. Yeah, I’m home now. I didn’t get wet. Thank you, you focus on work, I’m alright."
After hanging up, she waved her phone playfully at Doudou and gave a wry smile.
"See? I have so many relatives, but none compare to my guardian aunt!"
This indirectly confirmed that her initial decision was not wrong.
Hua Yan opened the umbrella and placed it in the bathroom, then went back to her room to change into dry pajamas before sitting on the sofa, scooping up Doudou, and cuddling him, affectionately nuzzling his fur.
"I’ll take you to the pet shop for grooming over the weekend. Tonight, I’ll give you a bath. I’m so lucky. I randomly picked up a treasure. Was my mom so uneasy about me that she specifically sent you, my guardian angel, to protect me?" she wondered, unable to help but laugh at her own words.