Saving the Boss From a ‘Dog Blood’ Novel - Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Silence is the Puppy Tonight

Wu Lianniang’s ancestral home was on the mountain. Ten years ago, she had relocated to the village during the poverty alleviation resettlement. Before her mind grew hazy, she went back often; her family and her husband’s entire household were buried on that mountain.

She was a woman of bitter fate. A flash flood took her family when she was young. Raised by her uncle until she was fifteen, she was married off in a daze before finishing junior high. Fortunately, her husband was an honest man, and life was peaceful for a while, by twenty, she was a mother of two.

But the good times didn’t last. At twenty-one, a major illness of her father-in-law drained the family fortune. Her husband met with an accident while working away from home, was paralyzed in bed, and passed away soon after. She shouldered the family’s livelihood alone, struggling to raise the two children. When the children reached eighteen, they repeated their father’s fate—one died on a construction site, the other under the wheels of a vehicle.

By the age of fifty, she no longer had a single family member in the true sense. She became a recipient of the minimum living allowance and a key focus for the village committee during holidays.

Of course, Ye Li knew none of this. He was currently huddled inside Lu Mingtang’s jacket, engaging in philosophical reflections on heaven, earth, and the universe.

He actually had plenty of reason to suspect he had traveled to a parallel world. The only reason he didn’t commit to that theory was simply that he didn’t believe the “him” of a parallel world would be a dog. This was even more terrifying than the idea of Lu Mingtang being a kind-hearted person.

Soft-heartedness ruins things. This was what the man had told him personally, so why was he suddenly practicing “martial virtue” behind his back?

Therefore, he must be in a strange dream. A dream where Lu Mingtang smiled gently and was full of warm-hearted hospitality.

The rain showed no signs of stopping. Thunder rumbled outside. Ye Li was startled awake by the moisture pressing close to his body.

He instinctively reacted defensively, but only a “yipe” sound came out—

A small puppy paw with white fur entered his vision.

Tsk, not a dream.

He lowered his paw in frustration and looked up, only to collide with Lu Mingtang’s startled gaze. The man seemed to have only just remembered there was an extra dog here.

What’s with that look? You’re not going to abandon the dog, are you?

Ye Li was wary, but it was meaningless. He was scooped up into a wet embrace:

“Almost forgot you. Starving, aren’t you?”

He didn’t know if he was unaccustomed to the man’s tenderness or if he felt a bit nostalgic for it.

He pressed his head against the man’s thick chest. A wave of heat surged upward. Lu Mingtang was soaked to the bone; rainwater dripped incessantly from his pant legs. The thin undershirt outlined the solid, full contours of his chest.

The puppy’s paw unconsciously pressed against it. The feel was top-tier. He couldn’t resist pressing again, but Ye Li snapped back to awareness and immediately maintained the integrity of a puppy.

A shop empty for a year had nothing to eat. After rummaging through cabinets and drawers without success, Lu Mingtang came up empty-handed. Fortunately, someone else had considered this and rushed after him:

“Brother Lu, why didn’t you stay for a meal? It was too dangerous just now. The mud on the slope was so wet, how could you go up? My mom sent me to see if you’re hurt!”

Lu Mingtang waved him off: “I’m really fine. Tell your mom not to worry. If I had fallen, how could I have walked back?”

Ah Feng clearly didn’t believe him. If he were a bit bolder, he would have reached out to strip the clothes off to see for himself. But in the end, he was a coward and muttered:

“You’re back alone. Don’t start the stove, I’ll bring you food these next few days!”

For the sake of the meal, Ye Li felt the boy showed some charm. He stared intently at the steaming roast duck in the boy’s hand, his stomach rumbling like thunder.

“Where did this dog come from?” Ah Feng asked, then gave a silly laugh. “Is it your dog, Brother Lu?”

Try saying the word “dog” one more time and see what happens?!

Ye Li let out a loud sneeze. Lu Mingtang used his clothes to rub the puppy’s fur dry.

“Don’t know whose house it ran away from. Help me ask around when the rain stops.”

“Sure! Brother Lu, you eat your meal. I’ll clean up the shop; it’ll be quick.”

“I’ve already cleaned it.”

But Ah Feng wouldn’t listen. He simply snatched the broom and swept the floor again, so meticulously he practically tried to dig the dust out of the floor cracks. While digging, he kept staring at the shop owner with a heavy air of “suspicion.”

“Are you staking me out?”

Being stared at made Lu Mingtang feel uncomfortable all over. He felt as if there were two dogs under this roof—one big and one small.

That kid clearly had something on his mind. Lu Mingtang was being watched so closely he couldn’t even eat properly, but when he asked, the boy stubbornly refused to speak.

Cold rice and cold oil congealed in his belly, blocking his stomach like a lump of cold iron. He endured the churning nausea in his chest with an expressionless face. Glancing at the puppy looking up expectantly at his feet, his heart suddenly softened. He pushed the lid of the lunch box over, piled with half the roast duck and half the rice:

“Eat.”

“I wiped the stove. I’ll go next door to borrow a pot and heat the rice up before you eat it.” Finally realizing the food was cold, Ah Feng said hurriedly.

Lu Mingtang shook his head. He pulled out a cigarette with a fluid motion, but before the lighter could spark, the creature at his feet snapped its head up. He curled his lip and put the cigarette down—

What a young master of a dog.

“No need. I ate before I came…By the way, how’s the school? It’s not leaking, is it?”

He couldn’t smoke and couldn’t eat, so he could only change the subject.

Ah Feng answered exceptionally loudly, sounding even more like he had a guilty conscience:

“No! You gave instructions before, after all. There are daily inspections. The village plans to use the primary school as a temporary emergency shelter this time. The sturdiest house in the village is right there.”

“Your house isn’t flooded, right?”

“Just a little. It’s fine as long as the goods didn’t get soaked.”

“Then what are you doing squatting here? Go back. Your mom can’t manage alone.”

“Can’t. My mom told me to watch you finish the meal and then bring the bowl back.”

Lu Mingtang was amused and annoyed. He pushed all the remaining rice in front of the puppy and handed the empty bowl to Ah Feng:

“How old are you, and you’re still being managed so tightly?”

Ah Feng stared at the rice-eating puppy:

“Brother Lu, doing this will get me hit by my mom.”

“Solve it yourself. Go back.”

Seeing him still dawdling, Lu Mingtang’s tone softened:

“Do you want me to fight a dog for food?”

Ye Li: …You’d best pray you never find out who this dog is.

Ah Feng just gave a silly smile: “How could I? I’ll bring you another bowl.”

Lu Mingtang was out of options, so he asked:

“How’s your mom’s waist?”

“Much better. The doctor said not to overwork, nothing major.”

“And you? Aren’t you going to take the self-study exam? Are you prepared?”

This question hit Ah Feng’s “death point,” and he went silent instantly.

Ye Li rested his chin on his two paws, watching the scene with great interest. Although it was all domestic trivia, it was something he had never seen. He didn’t have such simple-minded people around him—emotions written on the face, delivering food like a secret agent. If this were his house, he would have been beaten senseless by his mother long ago.

“Why haven’t you rolled back to study? Doing it on purpose, aren’t you!”

Yet Lu Mingtang could actually endure it, and even seemed used to it. This shouldn’t be. He was clearly the most efficiency-obsessed guy in the world; wasting a single second during a report would earn a major demerit. A brainless type like Ah Feng would have been sent to the eighteenth level of hell in the Mingde Company.

“Brother Lu…are you really going to sell this place?” He finally asked. Ye Li instinctively pricked up his ears—sell what?

Lu Mingtang gave a hum of affirmation.

“The situation at the company…is it very serious?”

“Someone in straw sandals worrying about someone driving a Land Rover. Worrying over nothing. It’s just a temporary cash flow issue; it’ll be fine in a while.”

Lu Mingtang let out a scoff. But soon, Ah Feng’s hesitation turned into a struggle. He said in a low voice:

“I’m not taking the exam anymore.”

The air went still.

A cold light surfaced in Lu Mingtang’s eyes. The smile was long gone from Ah Feng’s face. His guilt was obvious, but he was still pushing through:

“Well… the shop earned some money these past few years. My mom and I thought we could pay you back a little first…”

“What about your mom’s medical treatment? Didn’t you say you wanted to get into C University, study neuroscience, and come to the company to work for me?”

Those were indeed the grand words of a few years ago. Ah Feng viewed Lu Mingtang as an idol, worshiping him to the point he didn’t even dare to dream of becoming the next Lu Mingtang—at most, he wanted to be his right-hand man.

To him, Lu Mingtang was omnipotent, a giant tree grown from this small village capable of holding up the sky alone. If he leaned even slightly, the sky would fall. This was something Ah Feng could not tolerate.

Ah Feng didn’t dare look at him. His head was bowed low. Under immense pressure, he whispered:

“I’m not cut out for it.”

“Saying you’re no good before you’ve even studied?” Lu Mingtang’s voice wasn’t loud, and he didn’t even open his eyes to look at him, but in that small room, the pressure was suffocating.

This was truly a scene Ye Li had never experienced. In a corner where no one cared, the puppy was as silent as a cicada in winter.

Firstly, the idea of being unable to study due to a lack of money was too far removed from his reality, and shouldn’t appear in this day and age of the new century.

Setting aside all the student aid policies, could Lu Mingtang really not afford to support one student through university?

Impossible… wasn’t he someone who dealt in high-interest loans?

Thinking of this, Ye Li felt inexplicably guilty.

Furthermore, selling the house… what had happened to Mingde that the CEO needed to sell an old house to maintain it?

Moreover, having reached his level, it was impossible for him not to have a single contact to help with cash flow. A company’s lifeline lies first in its products and second in its finances; this was what “CEO Lu” had taught him personally. When he left, Mingde’s financial situation was beautiful. There was no reason for it to fall into ruin after he left.

So who was selling what? Had he misheard just now?

Ah Feng was ultimately a coward. He stammered a few words about not doing well on practice tests and ran off without even taking the bowl his mother had told him to bring back.

Lu Mingtang didn’t call him back. His dark, sunken eyes watched the young man walk away, remaining silent for a long time.

The kid wasn’t wrong; he wasn’t the “studious type.” But if this were two years ago, even if the boy just barely scraped by the passing line, Lu Mingtang could have supported him until graduation and helped him find a decent job. But it had only been a few months, and rumors about him were filling the village.

There were rumors that his project had run into major trouble, the capital chain had broken, and the financial situation was so severe he needed to sell his old family home to alleviate it.

How spirited and glorious Lu Mingtang had been before was exactly how destitute and pitiful he appeared now. Ah Feng’s family was honest, but this was likely eighty percent his mother’s idea.

They were a pitiful widow and her son. The head of the house died early. The woman’s kidney disease meant she couldn’t perform physical labor, and last year she injured her waist; sitting or standing for long periods was a problem. The child still had to study. Their lives were cramped. If not for Lu Mingtang, she almost would have found a pond to drown herself in when she realized she was becoming a burden.

With such a great kindness, this mother and son kept it in their hearts; they would rather sell their own blood to pay him back.

But Lu Mingtang was precisely worried about the mother going to extremes.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t hold on. Whether it was Wu Lianniang or Ah Feng’s mom, or his own mother—his mother had also struggled like this to raise him. She had a strong character and refused help from anyone, suffering until she broke her health, passing away before she could enjoy a single day of happiness.

Back then he was young and could do nothing. Now he was grown and thought he was capable, yet he was like a clay Buddha crossing a river—unable to even save himself.

Ye Li missed another chance to escape, squatting blankly at the bathroom door to keep watch. He didn’t know why, but the floor of this small shop felt like it was coated in glue; every time his paws left the ground, they were pulled back.

The puppy’s keen sense of smell didn’t catch a single scent of warmth. Either the water heater was broken, or it hadn’t been turned on at all.

In this weather, rather than a bath, it was more like water torture. Yet Lu Mingtang washed for a long time. When he came out, his lips were pale and water droplets clung to his body. He hadn’t even put on clothes, simply draping a towel over himself.

Ye Li couldn’t help but let out a bark. That big idiot really was something—the least he could have done was bring a bowl of ginger soup. Lu Mingtang did, after all, just help with the disaster relief.

Likely because the cold was severe, Lu Mingtang picked up the only heat source in the room and huddled into the cold, hard bed with him.

Ye Li didn’t struggle. This person didn’t look well—like a breathing corpse. Yet, in those eyes that were usually cold and deep, there was a trace of a soft smile.

He rubbed the puppy’s head, his voice tinged with weariness:

“Sleep first. I’ll help you find your owner tomorrow.”

Setting aside the “owner” business—could you please dry your hair before sleeping?

Ye Li only knew that cats could lick their fur dry after getting wet; whether dogs had this ability remained to be seen. He hesitated for a moment, stuck out his tongue, and performed an experiment on Lu Mingtang’s wet hair, only to be suppressed by a sturdy arm.

“Don’t play.”

Ye Li was speechless: Where is your cleanliness obsession? Even though you washed this dog yourself, can a bath prove it doesn’t have rabies?