17.
At first, when I moved in with Lu Củ Niên, I was a little hesitant, but he was so easygoing that I gradually got used to it.
Although he still occasionally switched bodies with Lu Tiểu Hà, luckily they always switched back in time, and nothing went wrong.
I have to say, living with Lu Củ Niên was really fun.
After work, I didn’t have to cook, someone else would even fight me for the housework, and I had someone to eat dinner and chat with. I could even pet the dog.
You could say this was the happy life I’d always dreamed of.
After dinner, Lu Tiểu Hà ran around the house, hopping excitedly.
Lu Củ Niên got out the leash, and the dog immediately understood and slipped into it.
He bent down to leash the dog, then turned to ask me as he stood up, “Want to go for a walk?”
Lu Củ Niên’s dinner was so delicious that I’d eaten a little too much. Besides, this was a great chance to spend time with him, so of course I wasn’t going to miss it. I hurriedly nodded.
Lu Tiểu Hà had been cooped up inside all day, and the moment the dog got outside, it bounced around joyfully.
Lu Củ Niên held the leash, dressed in ordinary clothes, and followed behind.
I walked slowly, so I fell a little behind.
The collie seemed to notice something. It suddenly stopped, and the man and dog turned around and waited for me.
In the quiet, peaceful dusk, the streetlights in the neighborhood had come on. Their cool white light fell on Lu Củ Niên and Lu Tiểu Hà, making the two of them seem to glow.
In college, I loved dogs and cats. I even joined the campus animal welfare club, which had a few dogs on its roster, and I was occasionally assigned to take them for walks.
As I walked, I often caught people looking at me with suspicion, admiration, or curiosity, but I was genuinely happy.
One day, I happened to run into Lu Củ Niên after class. I was about to take the three puppies home when he looked at me, slightly surprised.
“I’m a member of the animal welfare club.”
I blushed as I explained.
He smiled. The three little dogs weren’t afraid of strangers and crowded around his feet.
Lu Củ Niên had a faintly cold air about him, but little animals adored him. I’d even seen the proudest cat on campus block his path, demanding to be petted.
He bent down and gently stroked the dog’s head.
“Is your club still taking new members?”
I paused. “I don’t think they’re recruiting anymore.”
“I see.” A flicker of disappointment crossed his face. “I like dogs, too.”
“Or… or maybe I could ask you to come along every time I take the dogs for a walk?”
I spoke so quickly I nearly bit my tongue.
“Sure.” He nodded, taking me at my word. “Then remember to ask me whenever you take the dogs for a walk.”
“Definitely. I definitely will.”
Lu Củ Niên walked the dogs home with me, and we chatted along the way.
“I’ve always wanted a dog, too.”
“What kind do you want?”
“I want…” I rolled my eyes as images of countless little dogs flashed through my mind. “A collie!”
“All right.”
The corners of Lu Củ Niên’s mouth lifted into a faint smile. His voice grew deeper, sounding almost indulgent, almost like a promise. “Then we’ll get a collie.”
After that, I graduated from college and went abroad to study. Lu Củ Niên and I gradually lost touch. By the time I returned after graduating, he’d gotten a collie before I did.
My dream of growing old with the person I loved also included raising a collie together.
Now, it seemed that part of that dream had come true.
I smiled and ran up to them, as if I were running into the dream I’d had as a girl.
18.
Lu Củ Niên and I took Tiểu Hà around the neighborhood three times, then finally reached a small plaza set aside for dogs to play. Dogs of every kind were romping together in the yard. As soon as Lu Củ Niên let go of the leash, Tiểu Hà raced off to play with its friends.
The dog owners stood to one side chatting. When one of them spotted Lu Củ Niên, he waved. “Little Lu, out walking Tiểu Hà?”
Lu Củ Niên nodded. “Uncle Lý.”
The middle-aged man noticed me standing beside him and looked a little surprised. “And who might this be…?”
The woman beside him gave him a gentle nudge. “You really aren’t very perceptive. Look how well those two suit each other. Who else could she be? I even saw them going out together this morning.”
Uncle Lý immediately caught on. “So she’s your girlfriend! Little Lu, why’d you only just bring her out with you? The young woman across the street asked me for your number yesterday.”
“We’re not…”
I started to explain, then realized I couldn’t.
If we weren’t dating, why had I walked out of his house?
The more you try to explain, the worse it sounds.
I exchanged a glance with Lu Củ Niên, silently begging him for help.
Our telepathy failed. Lu Củ Niên looked at Uncle Lý, ignoring my pleading gaze. He didn’t deny it or clarify our relationship; he just smiled and changed the subject.
Uncle Lý was about to say something else to Lu Củ Niên, but the woman beside him pulled him away. Her expression said it all: So tactless. Don’t meddle in their love life.
I watched them walk away, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
Lu Củ Niên led me over to a bench.
The night breeze was cool. In the distance, a pack of dogs played together, with Tiểu Hà bounding around more happily than any of them.
“Why didn’t you explain?”
I asked.
Lu Củ Niên froze, then looked a little apologetic. “Does it bother you? I’m sorry. Since she said she saw us going out together, saying we were just coworkers might have started some unpleasant rumors, so…”
Oh, I see.
I couldn’t tell whether I felt more disappointed or more relieved.
“It’s okay,” I said, forcing a smile. “Actually, the more you explain, the worse it sounds. It’s better not to explain.”
Lu Củ Niên gave me a somewhat probing look, but before I could study it, he quickly looked away.
“Lu Củ Niên,” I said. The night was still a little chilly, and I wasn’t dressed warmly enough. Goose bumps prickled along my arms. “Do you remember how we used to walk dogs together when we were in school?”
“Of course I remember.”
The young man looked at the dogs playing in the distance, his eyes and brows full of tenderness. “On Friday and Saturday evenings, you’d text me, and I’d wait for you outside Building Five. Then we’d walk around Huating Lake, and sometimes we’d sunbathe together on the grass.”
“I remember. There was a dog named Huahua who was especially attached to you. It was always hanging around you.”
“Huahua?”
I was a little surprised. “Wasn’t it really attached to you?”
“Was it?”
“Whenever we took it for a walk, it was the first dog to run up to you.”
“Whenever we sunbathed, the other two little dogs would play off to the side, but it was always hovering around you, trying to get your attention.”
Lu Củ Niên smiled. “Whenever you talked to me for a little too long and didn’t pay attention to it, it would bark really loudly.”
Really? How come I didn’t remember any of that?
I was just about to speak when I realized something was wrong. Lu Củ Niên was leaning forward as if he were about to topple over, and I quickly caught him.
The young man in my arms tried to struggle free, but didn’t put any strength into it. I looked toward the dogs in the plaza.
The little collie was stuck in the middle. It suddenly stopped moving and stared rigidly in my direction.
It and I stared at each other.
Lu Củ Niên, surrounded by a pack of dogs, looking flustered.jpg.
Laughing right now was admittedly a little unkind, but I honestly couldn’t help myself.
“Hahahahaha.”
Tiểu Hà was a little restless when I held it back. It still wanted to run out and play, so I laughed and kissed it on the chin.
The collie, frozen in place in the middle of the plaza, immediately came to life again and raced around.
I let go of Lu Củ Niên and covered my face, afraid I’d laugh too loudly.
Suddenly, a jacket still warm from someone’s body was draped over my shoulders.
I lowered the hand covering my eyes and looked at him in surprise.
Lu Củ Niên smiled helplessly.
“Go ahead and laugh if you want. I’m not mad.”
For some reason, I heard a hint of indulgence in his voice. I smiled.
“Thank you.”