After a busy afternoon, Lu Chenghe had just stepped into the living room when a white furball ran at a flying speed toward him, probably wanting to stop just before him. However, it miscalculated its ability to brake and even after a few steps, it still hadn't stopped. Seeing that it was about to crash into him, Lu Chenghe quickly picked it up in one swoop [1].
Zuo Ning, who was being held in Lu Chenghe's hands, was trying hard to stick out his tongue and wag his tail. It was necessary to let Lu Chenghe feel the warmth of home and to let him get used to and moreover, like this new family member.
Although the success of Zuo Ning's objective was unknown, toward the little thing who was still full of enthusiasm after being separated for a day, Lu Chenghe was still rather satisfied. He placed the dog in his arms and ran one of his hands along its fur. Seeing it being obedient, not noisy, and not troublesome, he liked it a bit more in his heart.
The steward who was standing at the door waiting for him to return home said: "Young master may want to call its name more often. This will help to improve the relationship between master and pet, and it will also make it more familiar with its name."
When Lu Chenghe wasn't home during the day, the steward and the servants were especially located outside of where Little Pudding was active except when putting food out into the hall for mealtimes. At all other times, they looked after it from a distance, not getting closer and also not calling its name in fear that it would get confused since it was so young.
It would be good for Little Pudding to recognize its own master when it grows up so now is the time to cultivate the relationship between master and pet.
Hearing these words, Lu Chenghe automatically thought of the extremely greasy words "Little Pudding" and then looked down toward the little puppy in his hands. Zuo Ning looked up at Lu Chenghe at the same time and saw Lu Chenghe looking at himself. At once, he fawningly stuck out his tongue, revealing a warm signature smile.
Lu Chenghe looked at its foolish jet black eyes and after a pause: "Little Pudding." The voice sounded very nice to hear but the tone was rather calm. Not even the slightest bit of emotion could be heard and when calling its name, there were absolutely no feelings.
However, Zuo Ning, who was a dog living under his roof, could only cheerfully respond: "Ang~~"
Lu Chenghe nodded after confirming that this little thing remembered its own name and only then did he begin to walk toward his bedroom, carrying it with him. The steward showed a pleased smile from behind him as he had watched over Chenghe from when he was young. When the master was still present, the young master was still cold but he could still feel a bit of personality from him.
Following the unexpected death of the master, the young master would only become slightly warmer when facing the madam. After all, the young master was still young and the pressure of shouldering the entire Lu family wasn't small. Coupled with the fact that more people these days had ulterior motives, wanting to find a friend who you could open your heart up to was extremely difficult so having an obedient pet was really the better option.
Lu Chenghe put Zuo Ning on the sofa, took a shower in the bathroom, and changed into a set of leisurewear. As soon as he came out, he saw the fat little dog holding onto the edge of the sofa. Just as he was about to go over and catch it, the result was that he was a step too late. With a bang, the fat little dog hit the woolen blanket on the floor and its four paws faced up for a while before it sat up.
Seeing Lu Chenghe standing at the door of the bathroom, he quickly stood up as if nothing had happened and slowly walked to the spot in front of Lu Chenghe before rubbing against him.
Lu Chenghe gazed downward for a moment, slightly disgusted: "Short little legs."
Zuo Ning was stunned. Pretending that he couldn't understand, he threw himself onto Lu Chenghe. He had originally thought that Lu Chenghe who had already taken a shower wouldn't hug him, but he had assessed his character wrongly. Not thinking that it was a sign of affection to throw himself onto him, the result was that he was picked up by Lu Chenghe who didn't think that he was dirty or that his fur had too much bacteria.
Slightly gratified, Zuo Ning had a better opinion of Lu Chenghe. It seemed that although this man looked cold, it was likely that he didn't show his emotions but had a warm heart!
Without Lu Chenghe being there during the day, Zuo Ning could only move about in a fenced area. Although there was a very luxurious dog house and there were a pile of dog toys for him to bite, he felt that he had no freedom.
Now that Lu Chenghe was back, Zuo Ning suddenly felt much more free, and could even go onto the chair when eating.
Today, Lu Chenghe's dinner was Chinese cuisine. Regardless of the region, the important part of Chinese cuisine was to smell, look, and taste great. As dogs have extremely sensitive noses, compared to using their sight, dogs were better at using their sense of smell to differentiate the world. As a result, when all kinds of dishes that smelled, looked, and tasted great were brought up, for Zuo Ning who has been eating flavourless pet food without any fragrance, it was simply inhumane torture.
He had originally thought that after saying goodbye to the dog food, his days would be better. He didn't expect that his torture would also be upgraded.
Raising his nose up, Zuo Ning ignored the refined food in his food bowl. His two front paws laid on Lu Chenghe's thighs as he wagged his tail and grumbled pitifully.
In accordance with what his mother entrusted him to do, Lu Chenghe had placed Zuo Ning onto the seat beside him when eating which made it convenient for it to beg for food. However, he couldn't even give it shrimp without seasoning to eat. Thus, during today's dinner, even without asking, Lu Chenghe knew that he definitely couldn't give his food to the dog.
Pointing at the food bowl placed on the side: "Go over and eat. That is your dinner."
Zuo Ning immediately started to curry favour: "Ao~~ Ao~~" He only wanted to taste it. The life of a dog was really difficult.
Seeing that it didn't listen, Lu Chenghe directly picked it up by the nape of its neck and put it back in front of the food bowl. Knowing that he would be hated if he continued to pester him, he could only lower his head dejectedly and sit there again with his ears hanging down and tail lowered. He ate a bite of his own food before looking up at Lu Chenghe and pitifully pouting, making Lu Chenghe have the misconception that he was abusing the dog while eating his own dinner.
If Zuo Ning knew what Lu Chenghe was thinking, he would surely yell loudly, no, this is definitely not your misconception!
After the difficult task of eating dinner, Lu Chenghe was debating whether he should give it a bath. Although his home was quite clean and he hadn't let it go out much these days, it would be a bit burdensome to hold it if it didn't take a bath.
However, the steward soon came over: "Little Pudding is missing the last shot of a vaccine. Earlier, the veterinarian who had vaccinated Little Pudding called. I have already asked and the veterinarian said that the injection can be given within the next two days. What time does the young master think is appropriate?"
Zuo Ning, who was biting a rubber ball, held the rubber ball in his mouth as he looked at the steward who was talking. He actually has to get an injection, okay, it's for his health, it's for the sake of his short-lived life. Just inject him then, in any case, from when he was small, he had never been afraid of injections.
Lu Chenghe touched the little head that was sitting on him and playing with a ball: "Then how about tonight? Only when its vaccinations have been given will it be allowed to run out and play. If it doesn't go out and exercise, I am afraid that it will get so fat that it can't run." While saying this, he lifted one of its paws and kneaded it, the meaty feeling wasn't mad.
It was only that its fur was standing up. Zuo Ning, who in reality, didn't have a few pounds of meat, felt that he had arrows all over his body!
The veterinarian came very quickly. The place that could let madam Lu adopt a dog without having made any preparations naturally came from the pet owners in the women's social circle. There were specific veterinarians for the treatment of these pets and it can be said that they were specialized in treating the pets of the rich and powerful. To have the opportunity to go to the Lu family, even if the sky were to crumble [2], they would still rush there at top speed.
The veterinarian who came was quite young and his outer appearance was good. He wasn't very handsome but overall, he gave a very comfortable and gentle feeling. Following the steward's lead, he arrived in front of Lu Chenghe and saw the little guy playing on its owners body. Wen Ting's gaze unconsciously softened.
Although Wen Ting was just a veterinarian, after working for many of the circle's ladies, he understood some things about the circle. From numerous rumours, he has heard that Lu Chenghe was a person who was hard to get close to because he was so cold, but his capability when it came to family affairs was first class. In that regard, he was several times stronger than many of the second and third generations in the circle, and he was the ideal son-in-law for many upper-class women.
His initial impression of Lu Chenghe wasn't bad. As he saw a man who still had an outstanding temperament when wearing leisurewear, Wen Ting felt that seeing him in person was better. After making a very polite greeting to Lu Chenghe, there wasn't much to talk about before asking about the dog's physical condition and the state of its excrement.
The steward on the side relayed the data that was recorded in detail everyday. Wen Ting nodded and looked at Lu Chenghe: "How Little Pudding has been raised isn't bad so it can get an injection. I'd like to ask Mr. Lu, would you like to help it get the injection or would you like to let the steward help?"
The steward was just about to step forward and help when Lu Chenghe said: "I'll do it. What do I need to do?"
Wen Ting prepared for the injection while saying: "Just holding Little Pudding is fine. The injection will hurt a bit so you will need to hold Little Pudding tightly as otherwise, it would be difficult to take out the needle."
Lu Chenghe nodded and put aside the rubber ball, extending one of his fingers to point at Zuo Ning's forehead: "Don't move."
Zuo Ning, who could understand people's words, was naturally obedient and didn't move. Wen Ting smiled when he saw this and smiled: "Mr. Lu has trained Little Pudding very well. It's so small yet so obedient so it shouldn't be too noisy when it grows up."
Lu Chenghe only faintly sighed when he saw Wen Ting holding the needle in his hand, then he used one hand to hold Zuo Ning and the other to press its head into his arms. He didn't let it see the needle and asked a question: "After the injection, is there anything I should pay attention to?"
Wen Ting smiled as he approached: "After the injection, its immunity will be a little weak so for the next few days, it doesn't need to bathe and as much as possible, try not to bring it out. After about a week, his condition should stabilize and you can continue to raise it as per usual. " After saying that, he reached out and touched Zuo Ning's bottom. With a very gentle tone: "Little Pudding is so obedient. It'll be over very soon."
Lu Chenghe watched Wen Ting part the fur on the little thing's buttocks and pinch a piece of flesh. At the moment the sharp needle entered, the puppy he was holding in his arms suddenly trembled and whimpered. But even then, there wasn't much of a struggle, making Lu Chenghe unconsciously caress and comfort it.
The injection was quite fast and was finished in minutes. After pulling out the needle, Wen Ting gently rubbed the injection area: "It's done. The puppy is still small so make sure to get its vaccinations every month. After half a year, its immunity will be higher so it will only need them once every three months and adult dogs should get them semi-annually. After a week, it can take a bath. If there are any changes in body temperature over the next two days, contact me."
Lu Chenghe nodded before asking: "Will it being this fat affect its health?"
Zuo Ning, who was trying to relieve the soreness of his buttocks, heard these words and opened his mouth to bite the finger closest to him. The life of a dog was so difficult! Always thinking that he's fat, could he still live his life?!
[1] – 眼疾手快 literally means to have sharp eyes and nimble fingers/agile hands but can also mean to handle matters with dispatch
[2] – 天上下刀子 literally means "knives rain down from the sky" but basically means "even if the sky crumbles"