In that half-asleep, half-awake state, I heard the sound of an alarm ringing in my ears. Although my mind was still blurry, I knew it was time to get up.
I had agreed with Ouyang Jing to have breakfast together at eight. Thinking of this, I turned over in bed. A few minutes passed, and the room, with the air conditioner set to a lower temperature, remained dry and still carried a slight chill.
I pulled my legs back into the warmth of the blanket, picked up my phone from the nightstand, and checked the time—7:30, just the right time to get up and get ready.
After lying there for a while, I took off my nightgown and began putting on my undergarments.
Once I fastened the clasps, I looked up and saw the Czech Wolfdog at the foot of the bed, with its back turned to me. For a moment, I froze, then the events of last night came rushing back.
In the middle of the night, I had woken up to give it some water and interacted with it for a while.
I got dressed, pulling my long hair out of the high-neck sweater, and then I got out of bed, walked to the foot of the bed, and squatted beside the dog. "Good morning, good boy," I said, making sure I was fully dressed.
The large dog turned its head to look at me, as if responding. Seeing such a well-behaved dog, I couldn't help but reach out and give it a gentle rub. After that, I went to the bathroom to freshen up.
After finishing in the bathroom, I reached for my glasses, only to find they weren't on the nightstand. I searched everywhere, but I couldn't find them.
I thought to myself how convenient it would be if glasses had a tracking feature like phones—just call, and they would show up. Maybe they had fallen under the bed? I crouched down, peering underneath the bed.
Suddenly, my calf was nudged. I carefully pulled my head back, only to see the large dog with my glasses leg in its mouth. I happily took the glasses from it, and to my surprise, there was no saliva on them.
"You're amazing. Where did you find them?" I praised the dog. The words were more like a mutter to myself, but it seemed to understand, as it nodded its head in the direction of the pillow.
I put on my glasses, and with my vision now clear, I began to pet its head. "Lie down, let me check your injury."
It obediently lay down, and aside from the area protected by its tail, I could touch anywhere else. At first, it might not have been used to my touch, but now it seemed to have accepted it.
This dog was highly obedient to commands, didn't bark unnecessarily, and didn't have the boundless energy to cause chaos. It seemed the housekeeper really knew how to raise a dog.
Though it might be because it was injured, which is why it hadn't caused any trouble, I thought to myself as I began to part its fur. The wound that had been visible yesterday had already scabbed over today.
The dog's self-healing ability was astonishing. I applied some iodine to the injury again, and with this progress, it seemed that in just two days the scab would fall off, and the wound would be healed. There didn't seem to be any need to mention the injury to the housekeeper after all.
I went downstairs for breakfast, and of course, the dog needed to eat too, though I didn't have any dog food here. I thought for a moment—maybe I should take it to its owner soon, since it wouldn't be right to keep someone else's dog for too long. I didn't want the owner to think it was lost.
After leaving the room, I brought the dog with me. I had initially worried that it would be hard to control without a leash, but the dog followed me all the way to the restaurant, without barking or being distracted by anything else.
It just calmly walked alongside me, all the way to the restaurant on the third floor. I couldn't help but feel the urge to praise it.
When Liu Mei saw us coming, she pointed in surprise. "Hey, where did such a big dog come from?"
"Wow! This dog is so handsome! And it's really big, even bigger than the housekeeper's dogs!" Ouyang Jing was also clearly surprised. She wanted to pet the dog but hesitated, unsure because she wasn't familiar with it.
But seeing their reactions, I sensed something was off. "Meimei, Xiaoqing, isn't this the housekeeper's dog?"
"Not at all!" Both of them answered in unison.
This time, it was my turn to be shocked. I looked down in disbelief at the dog sitting next to my leg, and a sense of late-arriving fear crept up on me.
So, this is a stray dog? No owner? The resort is near the mountains, could it have come down from there?
I had initially assumed it was a pet dog, large but smart and obedient, with a good adaptability to humans.
But now I was being told it wasn't the housekeeper's dog?
I silently took a step back, creating some distance between myself and the dog. Noticing my slight movement, the dog's ears twitched, and its tail, which had been hanging low, gave a little wag.
Ouyang Jing asked, "Isn't this the dog you found?"
"I thought it was the housekeeper's dog, so I let it into the room last night. I'd seen it before at the barbecue and even fed it," I replied, trying to stay calm, though I was feeling uneasy. I adjusted my glasses on my nose as I spoke.
Liu Mei glanced from the dog to me and said, laughing and crying at the same time, "Azhi, you sure have guts. You should've at least told us!"
"I did mean to mention it. It came onto my balcony in the middle of the night, and it seemed well-behaved. It was cold outside, so I let it in. But you both were asleep in the group, so I didn't say anything. Now, looking back, I realize I was too careless."
As I replayed the events of last night, I couldn't help but wonder if the dog might be carrying any germs. Fortunately, I had resisted the temptation to let it onto the bed, and I definitely didn't let it lick me.
"But it really does seem so well-behaved, and it's so beautiful! The fur color is incredible. Can we pet it? Have you petted it?" Ouyang Jing asked, her curiosity growing.
Liu Mei said, "Don't pet it. Let's go eat breakfast first, or you'll have to wash your hands afterward."
Her words quickly extinguished Ouyang Jing's enthusiasm. I looked at the dog again, still amazed that it had such good manners, even though it wasn't a pet.
Though, when I first saw it, I did notice a certain wildness in its eyes.
It was a contradiction—an educated stray dog.
"The restaurant doesn't allow dogs. What about it?" Liu Mei pointed to the dog.
Having spent the whole night with it, I thought for a moment. "You two go ahead into the restaurant, and I'll take it back to the room."
Ouyang Jing asked, "Should we let the front desk know? It might belong to another guest."
"Good idea, I'll go tell them now."
I had initially thought it was the housekeeper's dog, so I planned to return it, but now I realized that wasn't the case.
I took the dog to the front desk, and after talking to the lobby manager, he agreed to keep the dog there temporarily. He even took a picture and sent it to the work group, asking if anyone had lost a dog.
"Miss Yuan, don't worry, we'll take care of the dog for you."
"Alright, thank you. It hasn't had breakfast yet—do you have any dog food?"
"We do. Since our boss has dogs at home, we have a lot of premium dog food here."
After leaving the dog at the front desk, I figured my responsibility ended there. I reminded the manager to keep an eye on the dog's injury as well.
I'd done what I could.
I walked away a few steps but couldn't help looking back. I had expected the dog to be reluctant to let me go, but instead, it was interacting just fine with the lobby manager, following every command without fail.
I thought to myself: "..."
How should I put it? There was a faint sense of betrayal.
A dog is just a dog.