7
The three of us took Lục Tiểu Hà back to the countryside. My grandmother’s mother helped put me in touch with a famous spirit medium in the village.
Half an hour later, Lục Từ Niên, Lục Tiểu Hà, and I—two people and a dog—stood by the roadside in the countryside, pondering our lives.
The spirit medium said this wasn’t a curse or anything sinister. When the time came, it would undo itself.
I asked when that would be. The spirit medium smiled mysteriously and said, “That depends on your fate.”
Lục Từ Niên didn’t understand a thing. My heart was pounding.
The mysterious-looking woman met my eyes, a mischievous glint flashing in hers. I paid attention to her choice of words.
Created by “you.”
She meant me.
It seemed my own carelessness had landed Lục Từ Niên in this predicament.
I let out a long sigh and put my hand on his shoulder.
Lục Từ Niên looked at me in confusion.
I said solemnly, “I’ll take responsibility until the very end.”
Lục Từ Niên looked doubtful. He was usually a cold, stoic man who rarely showed much emotion, but the strange events of the past few days had suddenly made his expressions far more varied.
“Thank you.”
I covered my forehead, unable to meet his bright eyes.
“Then I’ll be relying on you for the time being.”
The trip hadn’t been a complete waste. The spirit medium had given each of us a red string, saying that it would react whenever Lục Từ Niên changed—and...
She winked. “Nhiếp Khê can help you. As for how...”
“You know.”
What was it, that the Frog Prince needed a princess’s kiss to break the curse?
I stamped my foot in frustration. Why couldn’t she just tell us outright?
So Lục Từ Niên could keep living his life, I had to stay by his side until the “curse” was broken.
That way, if he suddenly turned into a dog, he wouldn’t lose his human rights.
I understood all too well the fear of social death before physical death. Driven by regret and compassion, I thumped my chest and promised to stay by his side the whole time.
The man’s expression softened a little, though his brow remained furrowed.
I felt terribly conflicted.
I told him I’d pick him up for work the next day, then took the opportunity to say goodbye so I could make another trip to the temple.
I spent a fortune on fine incense, then sincerely bowed three times before the Buddha statue in the temple, earnestly praying to the Buddha to grant Lục Từ Niên a peaceful life.
I may have lost my temper and cursed my capitalist boss, but I really didn’t mean for anything like this to happen.
8
I didn’t know whether the Bodhisattva had heard my prayer, but either way, things hadn’t gone as I’d hoped.
My phone woke me early in the morning. Still half-asleep, I answered, only to hear a dog barking on the other end.
I woke up completely.
The red string on my wrist began to glow, too.
I hurried over to Lục Từ Niên’s house.
As before, the shepherd dog opened the door for me, its glossy black eyes gleaming with detached indifference.
My eyes lit up.
“What’s wrong...?”
Could it be my fault...?
I followed Lục Từ Niên inside. Tiểu Hà, still borrowing his body, was asleep.
The shepherd dog sat beside its food bowl, ears drooping and eyes half-closed. It looked miserable.
My heart softened, and I couldn’t resist petting it twice.
The dog trembled all over, then opened its eyes wide. I could see its disbelief in them.
“I’m sorry, but you’re just too cute.”
Once again, I reached out with my “sinful hand.”
Lục Từ Niên tried to run, but couldn’t get away. I pulled him into my arms, and he whined.
I sat down on the sofa with the dog in my arms, stroking its fur as I comforted it:
“It’s okay, it’s okay. Even if you turn into a dog, you’re still adorable. If you can’t go to work today, you can just take the day off and relax.”
Lục Từ Niên couldn’t speak, and once I had him in my arms, he stopped struggling. He only let out the occasional soft whine. I couldn’t tell whether he agreed with me or was protesting my embrace.
I set him down and headed to the room to look for Lục Tiểu Hà.
The shepherd dog silently followed me.
The room was a little messy, with Tiểu Hà’s toys scattered everywhere. He was lying on his back on the bed, breathing evenly.
I couldn’t help laughing as I walked toward the bed. But I wasn’t watching where I was going. I tripped over something, slipped, and pitched forward before I could stop myself.
I landed right on top of the sleeping Lục Tiểu Hà.
My lips happened to land on “his” neck. Our skin touched, and I panicked, trying to pull away at once. I braced my hands on the bed, but the person sleeping there suddenly opened his eyes and looked at me with clear, almond-shaped eyes.
I froze for a moment.
“Lục Từ Niên?”
“Mm.”
The man’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he stiffly uttered a single word.
I immediately realized something was off and hurriedly pulled away from him.
“How did you turn back into a person?”
“I don’t know.”
He thought for a moment.
“Yesterday... Tiểu Hà licked you once, and I changed back. Today, you...”
I remembered the kiss that had landed on his neck, and a flash of realization hit me.
“Could it be...”
We looked at each other, realizing we’d come to the same conclusion. Both our faces turned bright red.
Ha! So that kiss was what broke the curse.
The bizarre supernatural affair had suddenly turned into a fairy tale, and I felt a little flustered.
Lục Từ Niên noticed how stiff I’d gone and lowered his eyes, hiding whatever he was feeling. “...If you don’t want to...”
“It’s not that I don’t want to!” I blurted out. “I really do! I wish...”
Realizing I was about to say something stupid, I hurriedly stopped myself.
A glint flashed in Lục Từ Niên’s eyes. He pressed, “You wish what?”
If he hadn’t looked so genuinely innocent, and if I hadn’t known Lục Từ Niên was an upright man, I would’ve suspected he was teasing me on purpose.
I suddenly fell silent.
An indescribable feeling stirred between us.
Lục Từ Niên suddenly curled his lips into a smile, his almond-shaped eyes narrowing with warmth and ease.
I stared at him for a few seconds, then quickly looked away and answered irritably:
“Nothing.”
9
The next morning, when I went to pick Lục Từ Niên up for work, the real deal was the one who opened the door.
I was a little surprised and glanced at the red string, but it didn’t react.
“I didn’t transform today.” As if he’d read my expression, he added, “After I slept, I was myself again.”
Could it be that he transformed unpredictably every day, with no fixed schedule?
“Great.” I smiled. “You can go to work today, President Lu.”
When we weren’t at work, I always called Lục Từ Niên by his first name, but when things were formal, I respectfully called him President Lu.
He stared blankly for a moment. “...All right.”
Lục Từ Niên drove to the company building. I followed him up in the elevator, and we went straight to his office so I could report on last week’s progress.
Lục Từ Niên sat in his chair, his suit immaculate and perfectly pressed, his expression calm—nothing like the man I’d seen in bed the other day.
After I finished my report, he began, “You...”
His unfinished words caught in his throat. It was a long time before I got a response.
Looking closely, I realized the man was squinting at me, his eyes suddenly brightening.
My heart gave a jolt. I hurried to the seat before the man could lunge at me, then threw my arms around him.
Lục Tiểu Hà looked up at me, his black-and-white eyes sparkling, his expression innocent and guileless.
Gritting my teeth, I shut my eyes and resigned myself to lowering my head to kiss “him” on the forehead.
I was so stiff it was like two planets colliding. My lips bumped against the man’s forehead. There was nothing remotely romantic about it, yet my heart still pounded.
Afraid he still wouldn’t change back, I held him tightly and refused to let go.
The office fell silent for a moment.
A long while later, I finally heard Lục Từ Niên’s clear voice:
“Nhiếp Khê.”
I let go as if I’d been shocked, then gave him a silly smile to hide my embarrassment.
The man met my eyes. A faint glimmer flashed in his gaze before he smiled gently. “Let’s get to work.”
I hurried out. As soon as the office door closed, I leaned against it, my face burning.
What I didn’t know was that the man inside the office was blushing even more fiercely than I was.
10
That afternoon, there was a knock at the office door. Ân Hiểu Hiểu’s tousled hair poked in as she smiled and called, “Nhiếp, time for afternoon tea!”
Our department always got the best perks, all thanks to our brilliant boss, Lục Từ Niên.
Though he could be a little cold, he often called me during breaks to discuss work. Still, when it came to benefits, he was unquestionably the best boss in the company.
A lot of the women at the company liked him. Sometimes I overheard them chatting in the break room, saying that although President Lu seemed cold on the outside, he was actually a very warm person.
The young woman blushed. “Who wouldn’t want a boyfriend who’s cold to the whole world but gentle with me?”
Right? Who wouldn’t?
I stood beside them holding my coffee, lost in thought for a moment.
Suddenly, I remembered an afternoon many years ago. Sunlight poured through the library window as I dozed off. I jolted awake, and the coat on my shoulders slid off. I glanced across in surprise. Lục Từ Niên set down his book, his gaze gentler than the sunlight streaming through the window.
The young man smiled at me shyly. “You’re awake?”
“I was afraid you’d catch a cold...”
Back then, Lục Từ Niên was just a college classmate I’d recently run into again.
“Thank you,” I murmured, blushing as I handed his coat back.
That was the second year I’d liked him.
The tenderness Lục Từ Niên concealed beneath his cold exterior was like a drug, addictive and impossible to quit.
After all these years, I was still caught up in the sweet little world called Lục Từ Niên, sinking deeper and deeper.
But I was willing.