Chapter 21 Keep Your Distance

Chapter 21: Maintaining Distance

Jiang Jiang got home and only then saw the two messages Lu Nanzhou had sent.

He stared at the screen, blinking in surprise.

Lu Nanzhou usually replied succinctly and rarely asked questions proactively, let alone questions that felt so... inquisitive.

"404, he asked who was next to me," Jiang Jiang shared his discovery with 404 in his mind.

"I saw it," 404 replied, but only after refreshing the impression metrics and confirming no change. "He's probably just worried about Xiao Lv being around a stranger."

"Oh, so that's it," Jiang Jiang scratched his head, not dwelling on it.

He lowered his head and typed a reply.

Jiang Jiang: It's a friend I met recently while out walking the dog. He has a dog too, named Yeye, a really cute Samoyed. Xiao Lv and Yeye get along great.

Jiang Jiang: But Xiao Lv is still the cutest!

Jiang Jiang: [Photos of Xiao Lv and Yeye playing]*3

Jiang Jiang: Brother, you're back tomorrow? That's fast. You can pick up Xiao Lv anytime, I'm free tomorrow.

Jiang Jiang: [Xiao Lv waiting obediently.jpg]

After sending the messages, he started packing Xiao Lv's battle-damaged luggage.

Of the five toys he brought, two had already been sacrificed. Jiang Jiang replaced them with two new ones. Xiao Lv clearly loved the new toys; they already had quite a few tooth marks after just a few days.

"Wer!" Xiao Lv nuzzled his hand with a wet nose, tail wagging.

"Heh heh, I knew you'd miss me," Jiang Jiang hugged him contentedly. "I'll miss you too!"

......

The next afternoon, Lu Nanzhou's flight landed in City A on time.

"Mr. Lu, are we heading straight back to the company?" Assistant Lin, sitting in the passenger seat, turned to look at his boss.

"To the Jiang residence first," Lu Nanzhou's tone was no different from usual. "I'll pick up Xiao Lv and take him home first."

Assistant Lin acknowledged, though inwardly puzzled. According to the original plan, he was supposed to get the dog and take it straight to Mr. Lu's home.

Was the boss planning to go in person?

As the car drove into the Jiang villa, they could see from a distance someone playing frisbee with a dog in the yard.

Jiang Jiang had already told the guard yesterday, so their car drove in smoothly.

The young man was wearing a simple white T-shirt and athletic shorts. A few sweaty strands of hair were plastered to his forehead, his smile exceptionally bright.

Xiao Lv was having a blast, leaping up powerfully to catch the frisbee Jiang Jiang threw.

"Xiao Lv, over here!" Jiang Jiang crouched down, arms wide open.

Xiao Lv, gripping the frisbee in his mouth, his legs a blur, charged forward and pounced into Jiang Jiang's arms, knocking him back a couple of stumbling steps until they both fell onto the soft lawn.

"Hahaha, stop licking! No licking!" Jiang Jiang was quick, grabbing Xiao Lv's snout as it tried to cover him in slobber. "You were rummaging through the trash this morning, you're filthy!"

This guy had taken advantage of Aunt Wang's inattention this morning and started a buffet in the villa, leaving no trash can untouched.

Fortunately, the trash cans in the villa were relatively clean.

When discovered, the dog in question still had red dragon fruit seeds stuck to the corner of its mouth, looking utterly innocent as if it hadn't done anything.

Xiao Lv let out a whine, struggled free, and tried to lick Jiang Jiang again. The two rolled around on the lawn.

This is what Lu Nanzhou saw when he got out of the car.

A thought suddenly popped into his mind. He finally realized where that inexplicable sense of familiarity with Jiang Jiang came from.

Wasn't he just a living, breathing human version of a Beagle?

Similarly energetic, with clear eyes, always causing trouble yet making people reluctant to scold him.

Lu Nanzhou walked towards the pair.

Xiao Lv noticed him first, scrambling to his feet and dashing over.

Jiang Jiang looked over in the direction Xiao Lv was running.

Their eyes met.

Lu Nanzhou's gaze moved from Jiang Jiang's cheeks, flushed from laughter, to his T-shirt covered in bits of grass, finally landing on the sliver of slender waist revealed by the rolled-up hem.

It looked like it could be encircled by just his two hands.

Jiang Jiang's eyes lit up. "You're back!"

As he spoke, he pushed himself up from the grass with both hands, flipping to his feet. The hem of his T-shirt slid down, covering the briefly exposed view.

Jiang Jiang casually brushed off the bits of grass stuck to his clothes.

"Mm," Lu Nanzhou responded. "I'm here to take Xiao Lv home. Thank you for taking care of him these past few days."

Hearing his name, Xiao Lv, not having seen his owner for many days, couldn't help but express his happiness with excited "wer wer wer" sounds.

"No trouble at all," Jiang Jiang waved his hand. "I really like Xiao Lv."

Except for the first day when he wasn't paying attention and the living room got demolished, every day after that, he took Xiao Lv on multiple walks.

Once he got enough exercise, Xiao Lv hardly destroyed anything at home.

Besides, he had a lot of fun playing with Xiao Lv too.

Lu Nanzhou studied him and found that Jiang Jiang was actually telling the truth. He genuinely didn't find taking care of Xiao Lv troublesome; he even enjoyed it.

This was completely different from the scenario he had anticipated, where the other might complain or vent.

His gaze fell on Xiao Lv, who even seemed to have filled out a bit, and a faint sense of foreboding arose in his heart.

"I've already packed Xiao Lv's things. Just a sec, I'll go get them for you," Jiang Jiang said, turning to head towards the villa.

"Let me go with you. There's probably quite a bit of stuff," Lu Nanzhou said, stepping forward to follow him.

"No need," Jiang Jiang waved a hand dismissively. "I can manage alone."

404: "???"

404: "Green Tea Rule Number One: Show weakness appropriately. How could you push him away?!"

Jiang Jiang let out a belated "ah," scratching his cheek. "Oh, you should've said so earlier."

404: "..."

Upon hearing this, Lu Nanzhou stopped mid-step and lowered his foot. Since Jiang Jiang had said so, he could only wait right there.

Not long after, Jiang Jiang emerged carrying two large, stuffed duffels, walking easily, not even out of breath.

*404 was speechless.*

Hey, Main System? Does getting angered to death by the host count as a work-related injury?

"Thud."

Jiang Jiang dropped the bags with a thud and brushed his hands together. "Here you go, it's all there."

Lu Nanzhou: "..."

Assistant Lin, quick on the uptake, stepped forward to pick up the bags.

He heaved.

Damn, why are they so heavy? They weren't this heavy when we brought them over. And seeing Young Master Jiang carry them so effortlessly just now, I thought they were light.

Face flushed with the effort, Assistant Lin carried the bags away.

The beagle seemed to realize it was time to leave, winding around Jiang Jiang's legs.

Jiang Jiang crouched down and rubbed the little dog's face.

Xiao Lv, unusually well-behaved, stood still, letting Jiang Jiang fuss over him, put on his harness, and fasten the leash.

Reluctantly, Jiang Jiang handed the leash to Lu Nanzhou. "Next time you're away on business, remember to bring him to me so I can dogsit."

"Mm."

He stood at the door, watching Lu Nanzhou's car drive away before returning to the villa.

After Xiao Lv left, the villa became much quieter.

......

Following Jiang Jiang's high-intensity physical training, Xiao Lv was now more energetic than before, with noticeably improved endurance.

Xiao Lv had upgraded to *Xiao Lv Pro Max*.

Within half a day of returning home, having nothing else to do, Xiao Lv resumed his old habits, digging into Lu Nanzhou's sofa and gnawing on the dining table legs.

When Lu Nanzhou returned home from work and saw the scene before him, he rubbed his throbbing temples.

He finally realized what that vague sense of foreboding had been about.

Sending Xiao Lv over hadn't caused Jiang Jiang any trouble. Instead, after being cared for by Jiang Jiang for a few days, the dog had returned to cause *him* quite a bit of trouble.

......

Late at night.

In the study.

After finishing the piled-up work, Lu Nanzhou closed his laptop, leaned back wearily in the spacious chair, and massaged the space between his brows.

However, as soon as he closed his eyes, the scene he had witnessed on the lawn during the day uncontrollably surfaced in his mind.

The young man's radiant smile, that waist—so dazzlingly white under the sunlight, looking as if it could be encircled with just one hand.

He abruptly opened his eyes, a flicker of barely perceptible irritation flashing within them.

He was paying a bit too much attention to Jiang Jiang.

This loss of control felt both unfamiliar and uncomfortable.

Lu Nanzhou took a deep breath, suppressing the inexplicable emotions churning in his heart, and made a calm decision.

Perhaps he needed to maintain some distance from Jiang Jiang.

He'd avoid seeing him for a while and let everything return to normal.

Author's Note:

----------------------

Actually, beagles tearing up the house is mostly due to insufficient exercise. As long as they get enough exercise, they can be angelic beagles. Of course, there are also evil beagles that still tear things up even after plenty of walks. [Sunglasses]