☆, Chapter 19: Ah Hua
Because Hao Ren’s hands were injured, that guy Hao Yi enthusiastically took on the important task of feeding her, treating her completely like a disabled person. If it weren’t for the difference between genders, that guy probably would have wanted to take care of her bathing as well. Hao Ren didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but she was helpless.
The dog she had picked up insisted on not entering Hao Ren’s room, citing that it was dirty. Fortunately, it was summer now, so sleeping outside at night was not a big deal. Thus, Hao Ren kept it in the garden. The wound on its face had already scabbed over and should be fine. Hao Ren had also checked the injury on its leg; the bone wasn’t hurt, so it would probably be fine after a period of rest.
Perhaps it really hadn’t slept well for several days. After drinking some water and eating a little, the little guy actually fell asleep with its head buried in its food bowl. Afraid of waking it, Hao Ren could only let it continue to lie on the food bowl. At the same time, she didn’t forget to instruct Daizi to keep a close eye on it and not let it run away.
Hao Ren’s premonition was correct. The next morning, she heard a noise outside her window. When she opened the window, she indeed saw Daizi confronting the dog she had picked up yesterday.
“I’m fine now, let me go.” Although the dog’s condition looked much better than yesterday, its eyes were still dim.
“You can’t go. From today on, you are my dog.”
“Your dog? You really want to adopt me?” The dog was shocked, its eyes showing a look of disbelief. Then it suddenly lowered its head. “But I bit you. Dogs that have bitten people are all to be put down.”
Only then did Hao Ren realize that it had been prepared to die at that time. Remembering the hellish scene from yesterday, she felt her chest tighten again. She quickly walked over and hugged the dirty little dog in her arms. Perhaps because it had just given birth, this poor dog was skin and bones. Hao Ren could clearly feel its bones. Coupled with the fact that its original size was only a little larger than a Shih Tzu, it looked even more pitiful and miserable.
“Just don’t bite in the future.” Hao Ren gently rubbed the long, matted fur on its head and said softly.
After accepting Hao Ren’s comfort, the dog finally decided to stay. In the following days, it began to intermittently talk about its past experiences. It was unclear whether it was summarizing its life or if, besides memories, it had nothing left.
Hao Ren’s premonition was correct. This was indeed a dog with a story. For a dog, its life could definitely be described as full of ups and downs.
Its mother was a pampered, purebred Shih Tzu who lived in a house as big as the Hao family villa and ate high-end dog food and delicious fresh packs every day. Its birth was an accident. Its mother’s owners were staunch pureblood advocates, so little mixed-breeds like it and its siblings naturally became a thorn in their side. Not long after they were weaned, they were eagerly sent to relatives in the countryside. Although life in the countryside was not as comfortable as in the city, it was free from worries about food and clothing. It played with the village dogs every day, and its life was quite happy.
Unfortunately, one day, a group of dog traders secretly entered the village, and it and many of its little friends were unlucky enough to be caught. When it woke up, it was already in the back kitchen of a dog meat restaurant. It watched helplessly as many of its little friends were slaughtered like chickens and sheep by humans, but it was lucky enough to escape due to a moment of carelessness by the chef. From then on, it became a stray dog that didn’t know where its next meal would come from. Although the life of a stray dog was hard, compared to dying in the back kitchen, this was already the best ending. It managed to survive on the kitchen scraps discarded by humans, only occasionally missing its owners in the countryside.
Later, it fell in love with a mixed-breed dog that was also a stray. Their similar fates made them cherish each other even more. Unfortunately, their happy life did not last long. Its boyfriend was beaten to death by humans in a dog-catching operation while protecting it when it was pregnant. It managed to survive with its pregnant body and finally gave birth to four healthy children, only to encounter such a thing again…
Although it had decided to stay, no matter how Hao Ren tried to persuade it, it was unwilling to enter Hao Ren’s room, just lowering its head and repeatedly reiterating that it was dirty and would dirty Hao Ren’s room. Hao Ren was helpless, but because of its physical condition, she couldn’t give it a bath right now, so she could only let it be for the time being.
“Can you call my name?” One day, when Hao Ren once again asked it to come into the room, it suddenly blurted this out.
It had mentioned its name during the introduction before. Its name was Ah Hua. It was said that the little master in the countryside had given it this name. The little master was very good to it, always saving the bones for it when he ate meat, and sometimes even giving it half a sausage, even if it meant getting a knock on the head from the old master. Ah Hua would walk the little master to school every day, only turning back at the village entrance with a dejected look on its face.
“Ah Hua!” Hearing this simple request, Hao Ren quickly called out to it with a smile.
To her surprise, the dog in front of her actually burst into tears at this ordinary address. Hao Ren had never seen a dog cry with her own eyes. Daizi was too strong and had never shed a single tear, even before he died in her past life. She had only seen photos of crying dogs online and had never thought that a dog could cry so miserably.
“Wooo wooo wooo… I’m Ah Hua… I’m Ah Hua again…” A name is just a code for humans, but for a dog, it is a symbol of identity. Only a dog with a name is cared for. Only a dog with a name has a home.
Looking at the dog’s tear-streaked face, Hao Ren felt a pang in her heart and couldn’t help but go forward and hug the dirty dog tightly again, assuring it in a firm tone, “That’s right! From now on, you have a home again!”
In the first few days, Ah Hua would often cry out in her dreams. Her miserable whimpers in the middle of the night would often wake Hao Ren from her sleep. Later, Daizi and Lucky took turns entering her dreams to comfort her, and she gradually began to get better.
A few days later, the wound on its face was completely healed. Hao Ren didn’t wait for her own hands to heal. She directed Hao Yi, who had returned from school, to throw it into the bathtub and give it a thorough wash. Because of its fur color, although it looked much cleaner than Mantou had at first, it was only when it was actually washed that they discovered that Mantou was nothing compared to it. Not only did the dirty water flow for a long time, but a large number of fleas of various species were also washed out, causing Hao Yi to cry out in alarm from time to time. Fortunately, Hao Yi had prepared a large number of deworming medicines of various brands, so the fleas did not become a disaster.
After being washed and sprayed with deworming medicine, Ah Hua finally stepped into Hao Ren’s room for the first time. This one was much shyer than the naturally familiar Lucky. Even after entering the room, it only dared to curl up on the floor by Hao Ren’s bed. For a dog with such a difficult fate, Hao Ren was already very satisfied that it could take this step. There was still a long way to go.
Although the bones weren’t injured, Hao Ren’s hands healed very slowly. Fortunately, with Hao Yi as an enthusiastic free laborer, life was not too difficult. What frustrated her was that one day, this free laborer of hers suddenly went on strike. Not only did he go on strike, but he also pointed at her nose and cursed.
“Unlucky Ren, you peeping tom!” The way that guy pointed at Hao Ren was just like a young wife who had been molested by a hooligan. “Tell me, do you often sneak into my room? Oh my god, you haven’t done things like rolling around on my bed and secretly sniffing my clothes like a pervert on TV, have you? God! You pervert!”
When Hao Yi entered, Hao Ren was lying comfortably on her bed reading a novel. She was stunned by his accusation for a long time. This accusation was simply too outrageous, and his ability to imagine things was even more outrageous. As expected of the young man who had once kissed a frog.
“Are you running a fever again?” Other than his brain being burned out, Hao Ren couldn’t think of a second explanation. Looking at his flushed face, he did look a bit like he was running a fever.
“Don’t deny what you’ve done. If not, how could you be so familiar with my guitar?” Hao Yi said, then menacingly threw his tablet at her. “The feeling you give off in the video, it’s definitely not the first time you’ve used that guitar. Other than you secretly sneaking into my room, is there a second explanation?”
Hao Ren looked closely and saw that the tablet was playing the video of her playing Hao Yi’s guitar and singing “The Road is Always There.” Hao Ren was instantly frozen on the spot. This question was really hard to explain. She couldn’t possibly tell him that she had been reborn and that one day in the future, he would give her this guitar.
After a moment of struggle, she could only admit her “crime” with a wry smile…
“Alright, you found out. I do often sneak into your room. Let me declare beforehand, I’m not as dirty as you think. I just occasionally go into your room to play your guitar. As expected of a guitar that costs tens of thousands, the sound quality is extraordinary!” Fortunately, Hao Yi was her own brother. Otherwise, she would have felt too ashamed to face anyone ever again.
“You’ve really been in my room?” Although he had been murderous when he entered, with a “the culprit is you” expression, upon hearing Hao Ren’s admission, Hao Yi’s expression became a little strange. Well, it was quite strange. Not only did his face turn redder, but he was also a little flustered.
Hao Ren nodded and continued, deadpan, “Anyway, that guitar is a waste in your hands. Why don’t you just give it to me!”
“No! I’ll die before I give it to you! If you have the guts, keep sneaking into my room! Hmph!” After a cold snort, the door was slammed shut.
That guy left in a hurry, and his tablet was still on Hao Ren’s bed. Before he could react, Hao Ren crawled over to the tablet and unceremoniously began to operate it with her toes.
It was one thing not to look, but when she did, she was startled.