It was a nice day. The birds were lively, the sun was shining, and the park was practically empty.
Lanmei strode down the path with leash in hand, and his trusty dog by his side. He wore a light blue oversized sweater embroidered with blueberries, and a pair of equally oversized jeans, also adorned with blueberries. The dog who proudly walked by his side was large and white, and oh so very fluffy. Of course, she also wore a deep blue collar with a little blueberry pendant. Lanmei threw a blueberry high into the air and skillfully caught it on his tongue. Today was a good day. He had been on his way to work, which was freelance odd jobs to get by. Today, he was going to some fancy mansion to help with a weed problem. Once he and his proud dog reached the end of the park, they entered back into town. He looked at his dog,
"Branch, are you hungry? We should have time for a lunch break before I'm supposed to be there." Branch barked happily and wagged her whip of a tail, and the two went on. Once they arrived at the cafe, Lanmei had been about to walk inside when he noticed the "no dogs allowed" sign. His face contorted to show his deep disappointment and exasperation.
"Ah Branch… I have to leave you outside… I promise I will be quick."
Branch barked again, still happily, and stood tall. She trusted him, and he trusted her. So much that he unclipped the leash from her blue harness, and walked into the cafe. Not too long after, he came back with just about every blueberry-related food they had. He walked up to Branch who had been sitting and waiting patiently and smiled.
"Good girl, come."
The two then went off to find a bench to sit on, and began their feast. They ate to their hearts' content, and once they finished, they continued their way to the job Lanmei's been assigned. While walking, Lanmei checked the time on his phone and his eyes widened.
"Oh no. We're late. Hightail it Branch-" He shoved his phone back down into his pocket, picked up the large dog and ran.
Once the two showed up, night had already fallen. The great mansion courtyard stood tall, and lonely before them. Lanmei panted and set Branch down before walking inside the gate.
"Hello? Is anyone here? I've come to cleanup the yar-"
Whoosh, clonk!
A teapot flew, hit Lanmei on the head, bounced off and shattered onto the tile path.
"AHH! Attacker! Attacker! Ahhh!" Screamed a man in red, who ran at Lanmei.
Lanmei was surprisingly fine, and rubbed at the new bruise he'd just received while Branch growled. The man in red ran to him and lifted a fist, still screaming, before it was caught.
"What? No. I'm no attacker- I'm here for the yard work."
The man in red shrugged and blinked, then looked up into the other's blue eyes. "...Oh, oh oh! I see, I see!"
The man jumped back a few feet and immediately dropped down to his knees and began kowtowing.
"A hundred apologies! A thousand apologies! Many, many apologies!"
The many pieces of jewelry that adorned his body jingled as he dirtied his designer long-sleeved shirt and expensive looking pants.
"It's fine. What's your problem anyway?" Lanmei asked.
"Well, my parents waited for you but had urgent business to take care of, so urgent that they had to leave- and left me for when you'd come by."
"I see. Well, then I guess I'll begin" he petted his dog, and then began what he came to do.
Once finished, the man in red continued to apologize and handed him his pay, then Lanmei turned to leave.
"Ah ah ah, wait!" Called out the man in the expensive red shirt. Lanmei turned back to him. "My parents won't be back for a while, and- and- they took the keys! I'm locked out! Please, can I stay with you?"
"Huh?! I don't even know your name." Lanmei's eyes went wide.
"Hua Caomei! And you're Lanmei, right?"
"Ah… yes."
"Okay then Lanmei, please let me stay the night!"
Lanmei groaned as his disgust shone through his face.
"Branch, what do you think?" He looked down at his dog, who growled first but then turned her nose up and away from Caomei.
"...She says fine."
"Yay!" Caomei hugged Lanmei's arm and jumped. "A hundred thanks, a thousand thanks! Many, many thanks~!"