Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Shen Ju fell silent, not uttering a sound for a moment.

"Think about your task energy bar, host." Bro 996's voice dropped to a whisper, yet he still reminded, "For some reason, the task energy bar has been rising quite slowly these past couple of days—it's almost come to a standstill."

Pei Yan's eyes flickered with an unreadable expression.

Shen Ju finally seemed to snap out of it, letting out an "Ah."

"I know, Bro 996, don't worry."

"I'll be more careful from now on!"

Bro 996 expressed temporary relief.

"Alright, just remember—whatever you do must achieve the opposite effect."

But since the words were already spoken, there was no taking them back now.

Shen Ju thought for a moment, then put on an obsequious smile for Pei Yan: "Even though I don’t like dogs, it’s my fault that Brother Pei got hurt, so I’ll definitely see it through to the end."

Telling a dog owner you don’t like dogs—probably not something anyone would want to hear.

And with that fawning expression, seemingly trying to please, but actually just being a little sycophant.

Pei Yan looked at the smile on the little sycophant’s face.

He really wanted to ask if Shen Ju knew how much he resembled Ms. Qin Suxi—that delicate, petite face, almond-shaped eyes, large and round, dark and bright, with long lashes, a small nose, like a BJD doll. When he put on what he thought was an obsequious smile, it actually came off more like acting cute and seeking favor, making it impossible to stay angry.

Even if he hadn’t overheard Shen Ju’s conversation with the system—

Pei Yan thought it over carefully—maybe, just maybe, it would still be hard to truly get angry?

With looks like that, he should have been a pampered little prince since childhood.

Others' kindness toward him was to be expected.

Seeing that Shen Ju seemed to be waiting for his reaction, Pei Yan arched an eyebrow and said, "Sure."

He replied noncommittally.

Shen Ju and Bro 996 were momentarily stunned: "Huh? That’s it?"

Once again, both human and system chimed in unison: "Brother Pei is such a good person."

He didn’t even get angry after hearing something like that.

After cementing the "good guy" image once more, Pei Yan put on a warm expression and said, "Then I’ll count on you to come help me walk the dog tomorrow."

"I’ll go with you. Even though I can’t overexert myself, I can still take a walk outside."

............

Shen Ju returned to the neighboring house alone.

On the way back, he kept muttering to himself about how Brother Pei was truly a good person.

Yeah, kind-hearted and good-looking.

He decided to go over bright and early the next morning to help walk the dog.

But before going to bed, he asked Bro 996 again about the progress of the task energy bar.

5.7%.

Compared to before, it really was rising slowly.

What’s going on?

Shen Ju soul-searched, determined to perform well tomorrow.

And so, the next morning arrived—

The garden at Yujin Residence was spacious enough, with a section cordoned off—a rubber running track, wide stone-paved paths, even divided into two lanes, clearly showing how ample the space was.

There were plenty of people walking their dogs in the morning.

Lately, a video of dogs pulling their owners on wiggle racers had gone viral online—the owner sits on the wiggle racer while the dog pulls them along, freeing both human and dog, killing two birds with one stone. So even at Yujin Residence, some had bought wiggle racers to try it out. These past couple of days, the garden track often had scenes of dogs pulling people along.

Shen Ju didn’t have that in mind, but he found it quite novel.

Before he left yesterday, Pei Yan had given him the gate password so Shen Ju could come right in the next morning.

Shen Ju thought Pei Yan was worried he might not wake up in time, hence giving him the code in advance. But when he arrived the next morning, Pei Yan was already up, dressed, and ready.

So considerate.

Shen Ju thought admiringly, becoming even more eager to please toward Pei Yan.

Like a little sycophant, he held the leash and asked if Pei Yan was tired, suggesting he sit and wait on a bench by the path.

Actually, after a night, Pei Yan felt pretty much fine.

His physical fitness had always been strong—the diagnosis was one thing, but his body’s ability to heal was another.

Still, that didn’t stop Pei Yan from continuing to keep up the act.

But Pei Yan was equal parts amused and exasperated—how had this kid become so full of energy overnight?

Was completing the mission that important?

Important enough to make himself look bad?

"Brother Pei, you don’t need to follow me. I can manage by myself, no need to worry. But you—you must be tired from walking this far. Why don’t you sit and rest? I’ll handle walking Little Stone."

Self-absorbed, presumptuous.

No tact and completely self-important.

Even words meant to show concern came across as unpleasant.

Pei Yan had already said he wanted to take a walk, but Shen Ju plowed ahead with his own plan.

Even if others didn’t snap, they’d probably feel uncomfortable.

But Pei Yan just said with a warm smile and agreed: "Alright, I’ll wait here for you then. I appreciate your help."

Shen Ju and Bro 996: "......"

The human-system pair sighed for the 101st time at Pei Yan's kindness.

So gentle, truly not difficult to get along with at all!

Shen Ju, looking enlightened, walked off with Little Stone.

Once Shen Ju turned around, the smile on Pei Yan's face faded until it disappeared completely. He lowered his head and took out his phone to read the financial morning news.

His aloof demeanor carried an aura that kept people at a distance.

Shen Ju had no idea about Pei Yan's true nature; in his heart, he was convinced that Pei Yan was a good person—not only even-tempered but also gentle, and most importantly, handsome. He also owned a good dog. In short, everything was just perfect, which made Shen Ju feel somewhat guilty, as if he were bullying Pei Yan.

Perhaps Pei Yan was already uncomfortable but was just enduring it without showing any sign of it to Shen Ju.

Sigh, how could there be such a good person?

Shen Ju silently scolded himself.

For the 108th time, he affixed the "good person" label to Pei Yan.

Just then, Little Stone suddenly darted forward.

"Woof!"

As if something had excited the dog, its tail wagged wildly.

"What's wrong?"

Shen Ju looked up and noticed a Husky energetically pulling a middle-aged man passing by.

The middle-aged man left behind a trail of raucous "hahaha" laughter.

Little Stone jumped, looked up at Shen Ju, and barked again.

"Woof! Woof!"

Then, turning its head, it managed to twist the leash off its neck, dashed forward, ran back, looked at Shen Ju, and continued wagging its tail excitedly.

"............"

Bro 996 couldn't help but remark, "This dog even knows how to demonstrate things."

"Are all dogs this smart among you humans?"

Shen Ju: "...Not really."

"Sorry, Little Stone, I don't have a wagon."

Bro 996 parroted: "I don't have a wagon~~~"

Shen Ju: "............"

Bro 996: "Cough, I'm just a bit bored."

"You really are bored, Bro 996......"

Bro 996 hesitated: "Host, are you implying something about me?"

"Not at all."

There were quite a few people out for morning walks in the garden early in the morning.

Without a wagon, Little Stone seemed disappointed and could only circle Shen Ju. After confirming once more that there really was no wagon, it picked up the harness in its mouth, gesturing for Shen Ju to continue walking it.

"Good boy—"

"Holy shit, Guan Shenju?! Aren't you supposed to be in Heyuan?"

Before the words fully landed, a somewhat recognizable voice was heard.

Shen Ju looked up and saw it was Han Chengfeng.

Han Chengfeng was holding the hand of a little girl, about seven or eight years old, with two braids and wearing a horse-face skirt.

"Tsk, you're back so soon?"

Han Chengfeng got angry the moment he saw Shen Ju.

He had left early that day, thinking that would be the end of it. But somehow, his parents returned and scolded him harshly, then dumped the little troublemaker on him, telling him to watch her. As if he could watch her! Early in the morning, she insisted on wearing her new horse-face skirt for a walk. Others walk dogs; his sister walks him!

If it weren't for Guan Shenju, he could have slept until noon during his holiday!

Han Chengfeng was scowling, even rolling his eyes at Shen Ju: "What, on holiday and not staying in Heyuan to suck up to your grandfather? Back at Yujin Fu so soon? Where's Guan Mulin? Why did you defend Guan Mulin that day? It's not like I was talking about your biological parents—how could I mean Uncle Guan and Aunt Qin? You—"

"Woof! Woof! Woof!!"

Han Chengfeng was startled mid-sentence: "Fuck, why is your dog barking at me?"

Then he looked down and realized the barking wasn't directed at him. So where was it aimed—

At the same time, Shen Ju's expression changed.

And also—

"Hey, hey, hey! Move aside!! Kid in front!!"

The Husky pulling the toddler car had somehow come running back.

Whether it had run off or gotten too excited, it was now running out of control. Plus, Han Chengfeng's sister had somehow wandered off from him and onto the path beside them.

The Husky was heading straight for Han Chengfeng's sister!

Even though the middle-aged man pulling it tugged hard, changing the Husky's direction enough to avoid Han Chengfeng's sister, the middle-aged man and the cart, carried by momentum, continued straight toward her. In that instant, a collision seemed inevitable—

Thud!

A foot suddenly shot out from the side, kicking both the cart and the man into the landscaping beside the path.

The Husky pulling ahead got yanked back hard, yelping as it fell to the ground, finally stopping its frantic run.

Little Stone ran over and placed a paw on the Husky's head.

It then lowered its head and growled at the Husky.

The Husky tilted its head and played dead, completely cowed.

On the other side, Han Chengfeng's legs went weak, his face pale, and he fell to his knees in front of Shen Ju.

It wasn't until his sister burst out crying that Han Chengfeng snapped out of it.

He scrambled over to his sister's side, scooping her up to comfort her while glancing up at Shen Ju.

Who was this person?

This was his fucking savior reborn!

Damn, that kick was superhuman!

Han Chengfeng couldn't help but wonder: Was that the same overwhelming awe that Young Master Pei felt when he was fished out of the pond back then?

He understood now.

He absolutely had to get Shen Ju to be his sidekick!

Author's Note:

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Pei Yan: Don't bring me up! Can we just let this go already? [clown emoji]