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She hugged her blanket and struggled with memories and nostalgia for a few hours, before falling asleep at the brink of dawn.
When she barely fell asleep, she felt warmth on her hand. With much effort she opened her eyes and saw Sprite munching her finger, tail wagging and eyes bright. She was stunned and stared at the dog for about ten seconds, before finally grasping the situation.
She poked Cola but the cat was in deep sleep, she didn’t even open an eye.
“Classmate Sprite, what is it that you want?” she asked. Sprite kept on wagging its tail, wagging its tail… She picked up her phone and saw that it was only seven. The dog couldn’t be hungry, could he? She had prepared the dog food and drinking water in advance yesterday. Could it be he needs to pee? Or poop? Cheng Chen told her that the dog could do his business independently, not even a sitting toilet would be a problem for him… In the end, in a state of fatigue, she gave up and dialled Cheng Chen’s number. A gentle, relaxing song kept on playing as he didn’t pick up. Si Nian placed her phone on the side of her face and started dozing off in a few seconds, until a voice answered. With her eyes closed, she asked in a sleepy voice, “Your dog is munching my finger and refuses to let me sleep. Can I know what exactly is it that he wants?” Cheng Chen’s voice was clear and bright, as if he had already began work. Someone kept on pestering him for answers, he first answered the person before explaining to Si Nian, “I think he wants to go out and play around. I would bring him out every morning.” … Si Nian resisted the urge to yawn. “If I don’t bring him out, what will happen?” Back then when she decided to keep a cat instead of a dog, it was because she thought walking a dog every day would be too troublesome… He was quiet for a moment before calmly saying, “I don’t know. It never happened before.” She wishfully thought that it would be alright and climbed back underneath her blanket to continue her slumber. It went without saying that Sprite ended up biting her from head to toe. Therefore she had no choice but to carry a cat that was still asleep and pulling Sprite along down the building… When they reached home, it was already ten. She was just about to go back to sleep when Shen Wei Jue called, “Have you woke up?”
She was so tired she wanted to cry. “No. Just now I took my first love’s dog out for a walk, I’m about to sleep again.” The person on the other end was silent for a moment before getting really enthusiastic. “No way, I just finished filming a programme about marriage law, focusing on the pitfalls of love. But something actually happened on your side? Si Nian, are you dating?” “… listen well, it’s my first love, but we have already broken up nth years ago.” Even though they had not actually said the words “break up”. “Oh…” Shen Wei Jue’s tone immediately changed, her attitude was even a dramatic one-eighty shift. “If that’s so, then don’t think about it further. Today my colleague did an investigative piece, it’s the same background as yours. The man liked to fantasize about his first love. Even after he got married, he still fooled around. He kept telling his first love that he was still single but in reality, his wife was in overseas…” Shen Wei Jue explained the case with enthusiasm, Si Nian only listened without replying but there was something that she said that enlightened her. So many years had passed. Back then, he was in his sixth year, she was in her third. They were both still children who knew nothing about feelings and emotions. How long have they walked since they broke up, how many people have they met, what kind of lives were they living. It was not something she could understand by reading those entertainment news about him. Sunlight was filtered through the glass, landing on the bed.  Cola turned on her back and continued to sleep. She could no longer understand what Shen Wei Jue was talking about. After the phone call ended, she mimicked Cola and pulled the blanket over her head and fell asleep. She slept badly because Sprite kept on moving and changing position. One week later, she and Cola felt completely and utterly battered. On Friday there was nothing much to do at the company. Therefore, equipped with severe dark circles, she went to Liu Xia’s company. Her novel had already been printed and earlier she promised to sign a thousand books. Thinking about her “beautiful” handwriting, she felt ashamed and kept delaying the signing. That made Liu Xia felt impatient enough to kidnap her from her house. “Your dog,” Liu Xia said with obvious lingering fear, “is too scary. I say, could it be you bought it to prevent fire, prevent thief and prevent Liu Xia?” Holding her pen, Si Nian kept on practicing her handwriting. “How could that be, don’t my cat Cola like you very much? That Shepherd belongs to someone else, he’ll be returned this weekend.” She looked around the meeting room that was brimming with books, estimating in her mind Cola and Sprite’s dinner time. While listening to Liu Xia complaining about how ferocious Sprite was, how she would never approach another dog again, she finally completed the signing around ten minutes before midnight.
“I did this to myself…” she sighed as she signed the last book. “To be honest, scriptwriting is still the best. I don’t have to bother what happens after I wrote it. Whatever decisions the production company make has nothing to do with me.” Li Xia who was helping her pack up, grinned and said, “The interview is out, the question that got asked the most…”  Si Nian bit her lip. “The person behind the inspiration, right? My dream is already achieved, if you want to isolate me from the industry, you can no longer threaten me using that excuse.”  “Is that all to your ambition? You don’t want the book to be a best-seller?” “That would have to depend on luck.” Si Nian capped her pen and continued, “When I’m writing this book, a good friend said writing ‘sweet’ literature would make life ‘sweeter’ for the writer. Now that the book is written and printed, that’s enough for me. Did you know that the power of suggestion? If people kept on doing things that are ‘sweet’, their mind set would be more positive. A positive mind means a positive life.”
She glanced at Liu Xia, grinning. “Just look at me. I have always told my subconscious that I need to be thin. For all my life, I have never been fat.”  In the beginning, Liu Xia was still contemplating her words seriously but she quickly fired up after hearing the last sentence. “Don’t discriminate against fat people!” “I’m not lying. There’s a fitness celebrity who said the same thing. He kept on telling himself that he wanted to be thin every day, and he really got thin… the most important factor is the mentality. You must tell yourself that you can be thin.”  She immediately got a book thrown in her face, followed by Liu Xia snapping, “Tomorrow, sign another 500 copies!” It was almost twelve so she dared not provoke Liu Xia further. She grabbed her bag and left.
When she reached home, Sprite already looked weak from hunger, sprawled across the floor. Cola was laying on top of his body, in a deep sleep. She quietly sneaked into the kitchen to prepare the powdered milk but both of them were already following behind her. Ever since the water dispenser incident, she dared not use the machine again. Every day she would use the electric heater if she wanted hot water. There were two advantages: she could make coffee for herself and milk for Cola and Sprite. The size of Sprite was too large for her bathroom, so a few days ago, she sent him to the pet store to get washed. She didn’t expect him to return with a cold. She watched him finish the milk, and then tried to feed him a mixture of fruits and Isatis root. But he refused to eat no matter how she tried to coax him. Such a large dog sprawled on the floor dejectedly, he looked like pitiful.
She tried all sorts of encouragement but he refused to even look at her, only lightly coughing… Cheng Chen is returning tomorrow. She had been taking care of Sprite for an entire week without problem, how was it that on the final day, she actually allowed him to catch a cold. She didn’t know how to explain to his owner. Thinking for a long while, she finally decided to call Cheng Chen.  “So late?” Cheng Chen answered quickly, his voice betraying his exhaustion. “Did something happen?” “Your dog…” Taking a deep breath, she continued, “has a cold. I think I needed to inform you beforehand. Had he ever caught a cold before? I’m trying to feed him medicine but he completely ignored me.”
He was quiet for a moment. “What are his symptoms?” “His nose is dry, the vet said it’s a cold,” she said, reviewing what the vet told her this afternoon, “he said it’s not very serious and that I only need to feed him some Isatis root, if possible I should mix it with fruits. When I came back at night, he was still coughing.” She hesitated a little before deciding to tell him honestly, “Furthermore his coughing is very serious.” He laughed once. “Do you have Nin Jiom at home?” Nin Jiom… did it have to be this coincidental?  “I have.” “Wait,” he said. She heard the sound of someone bumping the car door shut. “One to three ratio, use warm water.”
Si Nian made an “oh” sound. “I’m driving. I’ll call you back later.” He quickly hung up the phone. She glanced at the clock, it was already one in the morning… she really did called him quite late. Following Cheng Chen’s instructions, she prepared the concoction and fed it to Sprite. Indeed, after sniffing it, he started licking the concoction. She was just about to clean the Sprite’s bowl when her phone rang. He really called back?
She pressed answer, and sandwiching the phone between her face and shoulder, she said, “You don’t have to call back, it’s settled.” His tone was indifferent when he asked, “Has he finished it?” “He finished.” Rinsing the bowl, she began wiping it with a clean white towel and left it to dry. “Once you finished tidying up, please open the door. I’m here.” “Ah?” She had to digest his words several times. No way, he was outside her door? By the time she finally comprehended, he already hung up. She tossed the towel on the table and speedily ran to the hallway. Yet, standing in front of the door, she hesitated. She was still wearing sportswear, should she change? But it was already midnight, if she was dressed properly, wouldn’t it be too fake? Keep calm. Si Nian, keep calm. It was just a friend visiting, even if visiting at this hour… was a little strange. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door. Underneath, a white shadow pounced at the door. The person at the door was tall enough to block half the light from the corridor. He gently patted Sprite’s head, and then titled his head down to look at her. “I just reached. I didn’t have time to change.” Even though he obviously sounded tired, his voice was low but clear. She simply stared at him without a word. Wearing forest-green trekking pants, with matching shoes, he was even carrying a large luggage. He truly looked as if he was worn from the travel.