With the dog's help, my burden was significantly lighter. By the time I reached the alley entrance, the car I called through the app had arrived.
I opened the car door with one hand and said to the dog, "Get in."
Even though it was a stray dog, it had a dapted well to city life. It was well-behaved on the bus at the beginning, and now it sat quietly in the backseat of the car.
The driver, seeing my dog, couldn't help but compliment it. He turned his head to glance a few times before starting the engine.
"Hey, girl, your dog's pretty good, but I gotta say, it looks way too much like a wolf."
The dog sitting next to me didn't lean its entire weight against me but just wanted to sit close. Upon hearing this, its fluffy ears twitched.
I turned to look at it. It was indeed quite handsome, and when it wasn't trying to act cute, its overall demeanor was more on the cold and aloof side.
"It's a Czech Wolfdog, it's mixed with wolves," I casually explained. In reality, I had no idea what the ratio of wolf to dog was, or even what type of wolf it was mixed with.
"Oh, I think I saw this breed on a video. It costs several tens of thousands, right?"
The driver's tone carried a bit of envy, as if he were admiring a rich woman. I just chuckled lightly and didn't respond.
Other than when it barked at the resort lobby manager at noon, it seemed like the dog turned into a mute again for the rest of the time.
The dog's breath sprayed on my ear, its damp nose pressed against the side of my head, and it stealthily extended its tongue to lick my earlobe.
I shrugged uncomfortably and patted its head. It wasn't sure whether I was encouraging or stopping it, so it stopped licking and tilted its head to look at me.
"Good boy~"
I gently coaxed it.
It was kind of amazing to think about—it was only last night around 8 or 9 PM that I met it for the first time, and now I was already taking it home.
I suddenly understood how people who get married quickly might feel? Well, they're getting married, and I'm just picking up a dog.
The dog found along-term meal ticket, and I found a "knight." From now on, when I want to take a walk alone at night, I'll walk it and see who dares to approach or follow me.
But I can't let my dog become an unstable factor; I'll definitely take good care of it.
When we parked in front of Building 8 in the neighborhood, I got out with the dog. "Good boy, I'm taking you home now. After today, you'll know which building and which apartment is yours."
I pointed at the living room window of Apartment 301, and as it followed my finger, it looked up,seemingly committing it to memory.
We climbed the stairs to my apartment. Once inside, I threw the two bags onto the living room floor and changed into slippers. I fetched wet wipes to clean the dog's paws.
The dog, which had intended to enter the house, stopped when I gave the command to sit. It sat down obediently.
"Left paw."
It placed its left front paw into my hand. I gently massaged its paw pads, and after I finished, I wiped it down with a wet wipe.
I noticed that its claws were quite sharp. But during the cleaning, it retracted its sharp claws, making sure not to scratch me.
After all, even the slightest pressure from those sharp claws would easily cut through skin.
After I finished cleaning its paws, I started to show the dog around its new home. The dog gave me a sense of intelligence and composure, so I kept thinking that if I told it something, it would understand.
I first took it to the bathroom, showing it that this was the place for baths and where it should go to the bathroom at home. I also told it that if we went out, I'd be ready with a bag to clean up after it.
I had read online that dogs might urinate to mark the irterritory, so after showing it the bathroom, I waited to see if it would do that. However, the dog didn't do anything like that. Instead, it just looked up at me, as if asking why I stopped introducing things.
The apartment had one living room, one bathroom, a balcony, and two bedrooms. One of the rooms was my master bedroom, and the dog could definitely tell the difference with its keen sense of smell.
All the windows in the apartment were fitted with invisible security screens, so I wasn't worried about it jumping out of the window.
After the tour, I took out a new toy I had bought for the dog, and filled up a new bowl with food and water.
Its tail hung low, but when it wagged, it did so in a way that almost seemed like a propeller spinning. It didn't seem to particularly like the dog food, but it wasn't picky either; it ate whatever was given to it.
After finishing the food, it drank some water and then stared at the little bear toy I gave it,seemingly lost in thought. Did it not know how to play with it? Did it need me to show it?
I waved the toy in front of it, and the dog glanced at me but didn't react much.
Suddenly, I thought about the business card Dr. Meng had given me for his wife. This was my first time raising a dog, and I knew I'd have a lot of things to learn, so I quickly pulled the card out of my down jacket pocket.
After adding her contact information, I sent a greeting to Dr. Lü. She was probably still busy and didn't reply immediately.
I waved the toy around in my hand for a few minutes, but the dog still didn't play with it. I began to suspect that it didn't know how, since it was a stray.
"Good boy, this is a toy. You can bite it, paw at it—it's for playing," I said.
Thinking my dog was smart, I found a video of a dog playing with a toy on my phone to show it.
After watching the video for a few minutes, the dog's gaze shifted from the phone to the little bear toy. This time, it opened its mouth,revealing its sharp white fangs, and sank its teeth into the stuffed toy.
The bear's stomach was punctured, and the cotton stuffing inside spilled out, looking quite tragic.
The dog realized it had caused damage and looked at me first, as if to gauge my reaction.
I concealed my surprise and maintained a calm exterior. I didn't scold it right away. Instead, I picked up the bear to examine it.
It was definitely its teeth that had punctured the bear—not a fault with the toy's quality. I looked at the dog. "Open your mouth, let me see your teeth."
The dog lowered its ears, sitting up straight, and opened its mouth for me. I leaned in to take a closer look, and its teeth seemed even larger and sharper than a wolfdog's.
Curiously, I reached out my hand to touch its teeth, but the dog a voided my movement, giving me a somewhat reproachful look.
It seemed to be telling me not to make any sudden moves that could accidentally hurt me, and I couldn't help but feel how understanding it was.
I stopped focusing on its mouth and calmly extended both my hands toward the dog. "Come here, let's hug. Congratulations, you have a home now, and I have a dog."
The dog: "…"
It hesitated for a moment, but then it leaned in, resting its head on my neck. I could rest my entire weight on it, enjoying the soft fur and the warm temperature of its body.
It felt so good.