Lou Jiu chopped up the fresh ingredients and poured them into the beef bone soup. The rich aroma quickly filled the entire room. Zuo Ning, who was playing with pebbles on the ground outside, wiggled his nose. Mm, so fragrant… Too bad he could smell it but not taste it.
Suddenly he spied something with his sharp eyes. A slightly milky white stone. It was a little translucent, not pure white but mixed with a touch of red. It looked very beautiful. The key point is that the stone was slightly heart-shaped. Even the edges were rounded.
Zuo Ning quickly used his paws to pull out the stone and carefully lay on the side of the pool to wash it with the hot spring water.
As he looked up, he saw Lu Chenghe heading towards the dining room. He looked at the stone for two seconds and then rinsed it with water again. Then he lowered his head to bite the stone and used all four paws to rush towards Lu Chenghe.
Lu Chenghe had sat down when he saw Little Pudding running over. Lou Jiu said, "Does your Pudding eat noodles? If so, I'll cook him a bowl. Beef bone soup, no seasoning.
Lu Chenghe nodded, "Alright. He can have a bowl."
Zuo Ning stood up and placed his front paws on Lu Chenghe's thigh. He used a paw to grab Lu Chenghe's hand. "Mmph."
Lu Chenghe rubbed Little Pudding head twice and discovered that he was holding something in his mouth. So he extended his hand and a little heart-shaped stone dropped on his palm.
Lu Chenghe was slightly startled. Then smiled. "Is this for me?"
Zuo Ning wagged his tail. "Woof!" Correct! For you. Are you moved?
Lou Jiu walked over curiously. "This stone is pretty. This is the first time you're receiving a stone as a present right? It's even in a heart shape. Can your dog recognise shapes?"
Lu Chenghe smiled. "Coincidence."
Zuo Ning immediately woofed twice. It wasn't a coincidence, it was his confession!
Lu Chenghe kneaded his ear and wiped his paws with the tissues on the table. "You played in the water again?"
"Awoo." I didn't. I was washing your stone. Otherwise, I wouldn't have put it in my mouth.
Zuo Ning realised that he had gotten Lu Chenghe's trousers wet and guiltily tried to wipe it with his paw.
Lu Chenghe brushed his paws off. "Look at you. You've gotten so dirty after only a short amount of time."
Zuo Ning snorted and got down from Lu Chenghe's body. When he saw Lu Chenghe put the small stone in his pocket, he smiled in satisfaction.
Lou Jiu brought a bowl of noodles over and gave it to Lu Chenghe. "Are you going to feed him or let him eat by himself? Dogs don't usually know how to eat noodles."
Lu Chenghe cut the noodles so they were shorter and then blew on them for a while. Then he put the bowl on the table and patted the chair. "Up."
Zuo Ning jumped up easily and then lowered his head to eat.
Because a dog's mouth is relatively large, it was a bit difficult to eat things like noodles but it didn't bother him. If he couldn't scoop it up with his tongue then he would just suck it up. Although there was no flavour, the beef bone soup was still fragrant. He had always eaten specially formulated dog food. Occasionally changing flavour was pretty good.
After they had ended yesterday, the other two probably continued to drink in their rooms so they were hungover and only woke up at noon. They soaked in the hot spring for a while to wake up their mind. In the afternoon, Lou Jiu casually prepared a few dishes and after eating the group were preparing to go down the mountain when the snow stopped.
It didn't stop snowing at all last night and the snow was a little thick. As soon as Zuo Ning took a step, half his paw was buried. Although he struggled to walk it was pretty fun to leave behind holes while walking. He wasn't even playing around.
But Lu Chenghe always had a different opinion. When Zuo Ning wanted to walk by himself, Lu Chenghe had to come over and picked him up.
Lu Chenghe was practically carrying him in a princess hold. But when he wanted to change positions he was ruthlessly suppressed. "If you continue to move, I will throw you down the mountain."
Zuo Ning stuck out his tongue and wagged his tail. He turned his head. Whatever. You can do whatever you want. You're the boss. What you say goes.
They walked to the lobby area where everyone's chauffeur was already waiting. Nie Yong waved his hand at them. "We'll just leave here. My mum and I are going to Europe in two days. We probably won't return until after the new year. Let's get together then."
Shen Tao had arrived with Nie Yong so they would naturally also leave together. After they left, Lou Jiu reached over to pat the dog which was, as usual, in Lu Chenghe's arms. "Bye bye Little Pudding. Come, wave bye bye~"
Zuo Ning twisted his head to look at Lu Chenghe. Even though Lu Chenghe didn't give any sort of clue, he still lifted up a paw. "Awoo." See you.
Lou Jiu laughed. "Little Pudding is getting smarter every day. Chenghe, leave one of Little Pudding's puppies for me in the future. A pup born from it will definitely be very smart."
Zuo Ning, who was still waving his paw, retracted it instantly. What puppies?! Not gonna happen!
After everyone had left, Lu Chenghe carried Little Pudding into the car. Zuo Ning already felt relaxed by the mere thought of going home.
Lu Chenghe rubbed Little Pudding head. "Want to have little puppies?"
Zuo Ning looked out the window and didn't bother to respond. Birth what puppies. Don't think about it in this life. He didn't really want to become a dog.
Lu Cheng smiled at Little Pudding's silent protest. "Alright alright. No puppies. Come."
Zuo Ning turned his head and glanced. But didn't move.
Lu Chenghe took out a piece of beef jerky from his pocket. "Want it?"
He hadn't even finished speaking before Little Pudding, who had "I don't want to play with you" written all over his face, rushed over. Lu Chenghe used the jerky to tap Little Pudding's head. "You run so fast when you see food. Looks like dogs really are gluttonous."
Zuo Ning climbed on Lu Chenghe's leg. He sat his butt down on his body and stared at the bag of jerky. And bit it.
They returned home to find Lu Chenghan, the eldest brother, sitting on the sofa. Lu Nianqi stood to one side and seemed to be under interrogation.
Lu Chenghe glanced at the returners and turned back to Lu Nianqi. "Your university course is almost over. The things that should be told to you about our family has already been said. Of course, things don't happen overnight, experience is accumulated daily. Next week you'll be moving into your own house. Every month, the children of the family get a living allowance. If you want to start your own business after graduating, you will receive some start-up funds. If you don't want to start a business, you can also do whatever you like. The fact that you returned to Lu family would make Third Uncle very happen in heaven. But he would hope that you would be happy. The path you take in the future will depend on yourself. Alright. You can go rest now. Come out to eat in a little while."
Lu Nianqi nodded his head, called out to his second brother, and then turned to go to his room. He originally thought he would be able to stay until they celebrated the new year. But it didn't matter, he had already prepared in his heart. It was just a bit early. But now that he couldn't see his second brother on his morning run from his window… he felt a bit reluctant to part.
Lu Chenghe got the steward to give Little Pudding some water and handed their luggage to the maid. He looked toward Lu Chenghan. "What happened?" Although Lu Nianqi would need to move out eventually his mother had already discussed it with him. Since this was the first year he had come back to the Lu family, they would let him stay until after the new year until he officially moves out. But now that the eldest had spoken, he definitely would not argue.
Lu Chenghan beckoned at Little Pudding. "Come Little Pudding."
Zuo Ning looked at Lu Chenghe. Seeing his nod, he jumped on the sofa and sat at Lu Chenghan's side.
Lu Chenghan hugged the dog and rubbed its fur. "That child had a sensitive heart. If he can move out earlier, then just move out. I know you are kind and want to let him stay for a while so he can learn more. But we have already fulfilled our responsibilities."
Zuo Ning looked towards Lu Nianqi's room. Just like this? They had gone to class together for a time and Lu Nianqi even poured his heart out so Zuo Ning had some feelings for him. He felt that they wouldn't see each other often if he moved out now. Probably only during New Years.
Just when Zuo Ning was mourning the loss of a friend to play with he heard Lu Chenghan say, "Let me borrow your dog."
Zuo Ning's fur immediately exploded outwards. How come he got a sense of deja vu from this sentence? However his body moved faster than his mind, he immediately began to struggle away from Lu Chenghan's arms. He ran into Lu Chenghe's arms and stayed put. He stuck his back as closely as possible to Lu Chenghe's chest and released a sigh.
Lu Chenghe directly refused. "Cannot."
Lu Chenghan laughed. "This time it's not for a film. It won't be for long either. Just one day. I'll take him out in the morning and bring him back at night. I guarantee that every hair will be returned."
Lu Chenghe asked, "Do what?"
Lu Chenghan smilingly said, "Chu Hang picked up a reality show. The episode this week was based on dogs. I don't know exactly but it should be about bringing each person's dog to play. Little Pudding's new film was released recently and through word of mouth, it became the dark horse that swept the box office. Any topic that mentions him would skyrocket. So if Little Pudding was on the reality show, Chu Hang would have more appearances and subjects to talk about."
Zuo Ning released a sigh of relief. A reality show, huh? This type was considered one of the most popular types of variety shows. Yet the genre was too saturated and the quality was mixed. Although with Chu Hang's popularity, he would definitely only appear on the most popular one. Rumour was that there were many different routines for a reality show, they all had scripts. If possible, he really wanted to go and see how a reality show was filmed with his own eyes.
However, the always contrary Lu Chenghe continued to reject it.
It wasn't that Lu Chenghan couldn't find a dog. Just Chu Hang's popularity in the entertainment circle would make it trivial to find a clever dog. But who let Little Pudding be not only smart but also came with a bonus, his popularity. So asked again, "Give me a reason for your refusal."
Lu Chenghe carried Little Pudding upstairs and didn't even turn his head. "I'm afraid people will plot to steal dogs."
Lu Chenghan's face was full of question marks. Was the person who said that really his younger brother?