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Ch69 - One is enough
I once wanted to have a puppy. This was when I was about seven years old, so I had just started first grade.
We lived in a more remote area back then. Surrounding us were ample wastelands and abandoned heaps. There was also a dog, perhaps it had once belonged to one of the construction workers who had previously worked here. However, once the construction was completed, the workers left but the dog remained. It had bred generations since, and though survival was difficult, some of these dogs still remained friendly to humans, whilst others slowly regained their feral side. My mother had always cautioned against approaching the dogs, from fear of being bitten by them.
The elementary school I attended was fairly close to where I lived. When I was in first grade, Sheng Min Ou was in fifth grade, so we had a period of overlap where we were both attending the same school. During that time, we would walk home together after school.
Boys younger than ten were usually at the peak of their mischief. Following the usual route to get home would mean that we should have bypassed the abandoned lots, and followed the main road back. However, doing so was effectively taking a huge detour and would have added five additional minutes to our commute time. So, when I passed the abandoned lot and noticed a gap in the blue tin fence, I had a bold idea to weave straight through there.
Sheng Min Ou naturally disagreed. Since we were young, he had rarely agreed with any of my suggestions.
“You’re not allowed to go in.”
We stood near the gap in the fence, as conflict brewed between us.
“But I want to go in…” I said, taking a glance inside the fence, and then at Sheng Min Ou, whose face was sullen, “How about you take the main road to go home, and I’ll go in here. Let’s see who gets home first, yeah?”
Sheng Min Ou furrowed his eyebrows, traces of impatience flickering in his eyes, “I already told you, you can’t go in.”
I wasn’t as whipped when I was younger, so I didn’t always listen to everything Sheng Min Ou said.
I knew he didn’t want me to go in, but humans all had a slight adventurous spirit in them.  So, like a boat with its sails billowing as it soared into the ocean, I stepped within the little opening without even looking back, as if I had not heard his warning.
“That’s settled then, ge, I’ll definitely be faster than you!”
It wasn’t easy to navigate the path within the ruins, as the abandoned lot hadn’t yet had cement poured over the ground. The ground was a dirt floor that was uneven and bumpy, but this was exactly what I, an ‘adventurer’, had a taste for. I was sprinting across the dirt plains, my arms wide open as I faced the breeze, my joy echoing that of a deer which was stepping on blades of green grass for the first time.
Then, it was at this time that I heard a young, weak cry.
“Woof!”
I stopped at once and looked towards the source of the sound.
It took me longer to get home than expected, and when I got to the door, Sheng Min Ou was already waiting there. His complexion did not look great, and after seeing me, he turned around and went upstairs without saying a word.
“Ge ge, wait for me.” I called out, quickly following behind with my school bag heavy on my shoulders, when suddenly a small bark came from inside.
Sheng Min Ou, who was walking in front, came to an abrupt stop. I grabbed the straps of my backpack and became nervous.
He turned around and his gaze fell to the bag behind my back, “What was that sound?” He asked.
“I didn’t hear anything…” I replied.
As if the puppy was on a mission to rebel against me, I hadn’t even finished speaking when this time, a louder cry came from the backpack, accompanied by an uncomfortable whimper.
Under Sheng Min Ou’s pointed gaze, that had now seen through my whole plot, I pouted slightly before placing my backpack down and taking out the little puppy I picked up from the ruins.
The little guy had yellow fur all over, with a slightly dirtied face and tail. However, it was unmistakably a little dirt puppy.
“Ge ge, isn’t it cute? Can we take it home and raise it?” I lifted the puppy up and approached Sheng Min Ou, my expression crafted in hopes of appeasing him.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Sheng Min Ou took another step up the staircase in disgust, walking away from me and the puppy in my hand.
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The rest was history, and it turns out that no matter how much my mother cherished me, it still wasn’t enough to overcome the presence of a dirty, stray and possibly parasite ridden little puppy.
When she got home and discovered the puppy, she practically screamed at me to throw it out. I got into a heated argument with her and locked myself in my room with the puppy, crying my heart out.
A little later, my dad came back. After getting an understanding of the general situation and where the conflict was at, he knocked on my door, suggesting that I should go out to eat first.
My father has always been a reasonable man. I heard his suggestion and thought there was more to it than just eating, so I hurriedly wiped away my tears and opened the door.
The atmosphere during dinner was stifled throughout, and everyone seemed to be in no mood for chit chat. When we were about to finish our meals, my father picked up some rice as he said to my mother, “Since Xiao Feng likes the puppy, why don’t we just let it stay and adopt it?”
I don’t know which part of this sentence provoked my mother, as her expression suddenly darkened. She slammed down her chopsticks and retorted without holding back, “Adopt adopt adopt! You just want to adopt everything! But have you ever considered my feelings? You’re trying to play the good guy here, we can all do that. But do you have the energy and the financial ability to carry through this decision? How well off do you think we are? Are we millionaires? We’re just a working class family, it’s hard enough for us to take care of two children already and you still want a dog?” She appeared to be talking about the dog, but her words also seemed not to be, “Besides, you should know that I detest animals that shed. I get a headache just by looking at cats and dogs. Perhaps if it was a bird, I would’ve been able to accept it. However, a dog – that I absolutely will not allow!”
My dad’s expression also turned sour, “If you don’t want to raise it, then just say that. Why must you speak in this way and hurt the kids.”
“I’m hurting their feelings? So I’m the bad person now, yeah? I don’t have a heart, right!”
I was terrified by the intensifying argument between my parents, with their faces flushed red and their screams reverberating. They were like two strangers I had never seen before.
“Stop arguing!” I yelled. I felt horrible inside, as my features crumpled before wailing sobs escaped me. At once, my involvement made the scene even more chaotic.
My dad was still recovering his breath, and was slightly brought back to his senses by my crying, as he tried to use a calm voice to get Sheng Min Ou to take me back into my room to do my homework.
Sheng Min Ou responded with an “Okay”, before grabbing my hand as he led me back into my room.
As soon as he closed the door, the dining room exploded with even fiercer shouts, mainly coming from my mother. It was oppressive, frustrated and laced with fury.
I scooped up the puppy that was sleeping in the corner and sat on the bed, my tears silently gliding down my face. I already had a hunch that I might not be able to keep this little guy.
“Put the dog down, and get your homework out.”
My room was slightly bigger, so in addition to having a bed and a wardrobe, there was also room for a study desk. Whenever we did our homework, Sheng Min Ou would come to my room to do it together with me. That way, if I didn’t understand anything I could ask him straight away.  For my entire time during primary school, Sheng Min Ou had basically tutored me on all the schoolwork, so it had spared a lot of time and effort off my parents.
“I don’t wannaaa…” Before I turned ten, I was a very stubborn character and I was rather arrogant from all the dolting affections I received. It was only when my father passed away, and our family faced drastic changes that this trait of mine was successfully suppressed. Later, if I did remain stubborn, it was all over matters concerning Sheng Min Ou.
Sheng Min Ou’s patience was limited, so regardless of my refusal, he reached out to grab the puppy in my arms.
The puppy was frightened in response, or perhaps it had sensed Sheng Min Ou’s dislike for it, as amidst the chaos it bit Sheng Min Ou’s palm.
Sheng Min Ou quickly took back his hand, the side of his palm close to his pinky having two clear bloody scratches from the puppy’s teeth. It didn’t look too serious, but it was still enough to have me worried.
“Ge ge, how do you feel?” I dropped the puppy and frantically rushed forward to check Sheng Min Ou’s wound.
Sheng Min Ou held his wrist in his hand, his gaze lowered as he stared at his wound, dripping pearls of blood. His features were devoid of any expression.
I blew gently at his wound as I asked him again, “Ge ge, does it hurt?”
Sheng Min Ou didn’t seem to hear my question as he stayed still for a long time.
At the same time, outside the room there came the sound of my parents fighting again, accompanied by the sound of my mum smashing a bowl to the ground.
“What do you think of our home as? A stray adoption centre? Fine, if you want to keep it, then keep it. I’ll leave. I can see that I can’t afford to make my case here, but at least I can leave!”
“I don’t want to argue with you…”
“Who wants to argue with you?”
Sheng Min Ou suddenly moved as he dismissed me and walked towards the bedside table, “I don’t like it.”
I was stunned for a second before hurriedly coming to his side, “Ge, I’m sorry…”
Sheng Min Ou took a few tissues and pressed them to his wound. The bright red colour quickly blossomed on the surface of the tissue. He didn’t seem to find it too painful, as he didn’t even frown before he stepped past me and towards the door.
“One stray animal at home is enough.” He said, whispering it in my ear as he passed me.
I looked back in astonishment, at that time, I wasn’t quite able to grasp what he meant. Later, when I grew up and understood his words, I realised I had missed yet another crucial opportunity to comfort him.
Sheng Min Ou opened the door and walked towards our parents, who were still out of breath, as he told them that he had been bitten by the puppy.
My dad became very nervous when he heard this, and immediately said that he would take him for an injection.
“Look at this, it’s biting people even when it’s a puppy, so who knows what will happen when it grows up? You can’t domesticate these types of dogs.” My mum said, taking this opportunity to sneer at the situation.
My dad ignored her as he went into their room with a straight face, taking some money and the  keys, and then took Sheng Min Ou to the hospital.
They didn’t come back until late at night. As soon as I heard the sound of the key being inserted into the lock, I opened the door for them. When I saw Sheng Min Ou, I quietly called out a “ge” to him, but he didn’t even look at me as he walked straight to his room.
My dad locked the door and glanced in the direction of the master bedroom, which was quiet, and then asked me why I hadn’t slept yet.
“I wanted to wait for you guys to come back…” I replied, as I stared at the ground nervously.
My dad sighed, as he took me to my room, and asked me to show him the puppy.
I took the puppy out from under the study desk, as I stroked its head and said, “I felt sorry for it, it … it wagged its tail at me, and I couldn’t find its mother nearby, so I brought it back.”
My father pulled me towards his side as I sat down on the bed next to him. He spoke again in a gentle tone that suggested he was open to further discussion, “Dad knows that you are a kind and good boy, but right now mum isn’t agreeing to adopting a dog. Your brother was also just bitten by it. Dad has given it some thought, and I think that it may not be suitable for it to stay in our house.”
I was already prepared for things to come to this, so I didn’t continue being stubborn as I nodded lightly and muttered, “En…”
My dad patted my head and continued, “Dad’s workplace just happens to be short of a guard dog. So, tomorrow, dad will bring it with me and we’ll keep it there in the future. How does this sound?”
“Okay.”
My dad took the puppy from my hands and brought it outside to feed it some leftovers. Then, he took some old clothes and fashioned them into a temporary bed in the bathroom for the puppy.
“Let’s have it stay here for the night.” My dad said, as he stood up and urged me to go back to my room and get some sleep.
When I passed by Sheng Min Ou’s door, I paused in my footsteps and stared intently at his closed door for a second. However, I didn’t muster enough courage to go and knock on it, as I ended up returning to my own room and closing my door too.
The next day, the puppy was taken to my father’s workplace. Sheng Min Ou had a high fever due to the side effects of the vaccine, so he was absent from school and had to rest at home.
From then on, my dream to have a pet was effectively over.
When I opened my eyes, the world in front of me seemed to be spinning. My ears were also buzzing, and there was a layer of perspiration covering my body.
I heard the sounds of pages being turned beside me and turned my head slightly to see Sheng Min Ou leaning against the headboard and reading a law book specialising in some field.
I looked at him for a while and called out to him, “Ge…” My voice was hoarse and came out like a croak.
Sheng Min Ou stopped halfway through turning a page as he looked at me.
“Do you want some water?”
I shook my head and hurriedly explained to him, “That kitten, I’ll find someone else to adopt it, and I won’t keep it for long.”
His expression didn’t change at all because of what I said, as he looked at me for a while before refocusing his attention on the book.
“Whatever you decide.”
I reached out my hand from under the quilt and gently tugged at his sleeve.
“I only need you.”
He looked at the page in front of him, appearing to be reading it, but also looking as if he wasn’t.
“Are you thinking that I can’t stand to live in the same space as a cat, or are you afraid that I will hurt it?”
I tugged at his sleeve even harder, applying enough force to almost rip his hand off the book.
“No, it’s because I don’t want it…..” I stared at the part of his face which was peeking out from behind his book, as I chuckled and said, “I just want you.”
Sheng Min Ou didn’t speak for a long time, and also didn’t turn the page.
“Ge, can you give me a kiss?” I still tugged at his sleeve, like I was a sick child, as I purposely acted cute in front of him.
After a while, as if there was nothing he could do with me, he turned the book upside down, bent over, and placed a kiss on my lips.
I grabbed his arm, and just as I was about to kiss him back, he backed away without any lingering trace.
“You still have a slight fever, so you’d better sleep a little longer.”
He picked up the book again, and there was no sign of him wanting to continue with our affection earlier. I pursed my mouth, leaned towards him, and buried my face on his waist.
I hugged him as I replied, “Then accompany me.”