Chen Yao and the others were discussing their plans happily when Han Shuangshuang suddenly noticed that Xiao Bai’s expression didn’t seem quite right.
It was as if the sky had fallen.
Chen Yao, noticing Han Shuangshuang’s pause, also saw Xiao Bai’s look of utter despair and asked with concern,
“What’s wrong with Xiao Bai? Could he be sick?”
Xiao Man: It’s not sickness-it’s something worse, bugs!
Bugs!
After all, she wanted to return to her own body.
If she was lucky enough to go back and open her door only to find bugs flying and crawling everywhere, she would lose her mind!
No, she had to do something!
Su Mingxuan exclaimed,
“I don’t know why, but looking into Xiao Bai’s eyes, I feel inexplicably fired up!”
Chen Yao rolled her eyes,
“You’re so dramatic. Han, what do you think? If Xiao Bai is sick, we should take him to the vet. He was a stray before, so his health probably isn’t great.”
Han Shuangshuang patted Xiao Bai’s head,
“Xiao Bai, if you’re feeling unwell, bark twice, and I’ll take you to the pet hospital.”
Xiao Man: “Woof woof woof woof woof…”
Please, go check my apartment!
Su Mingxuan: “…He seems quite energetic.”
Chen Yao and Han Shuangshuang exchanged glances.
Barking so much-does that mean he’s fine?
Xiao Man hated that she was a dog and couldn’t speak.
She had to suppress her anxiety for now.
Later, she would definitely find a way to get Han Shuangshuang to check her apartment!
Since the hospital was busy and not safe, Han Shuangshuang had her bag and phone.
Her apartment had an electronic lock, but there was also a spare key.
If Han Shuangshuang thought of it, she could get in.
Facing three pairs of concerned eyes, Xiao Man could only force a silly smile to show she was fine.
Su Mingxuan stroked his chin,
“I don’t know why, but Xiao Bai’s smile looks so stiff right now.”
Xiao Man: “…”
No one would think you’re mute if you kept quiet.
Since Xiao Man showed no further signs of distress, the three of them didn’t bring up taking her to the vet again.
The day’s work was uneventful.
Although they had received their bonuses, they still needed to grow their account steadily, so they continued to monitor online trends.
Because of the exposé video Han Shuangshuang posted, many netizens targeted the dog owner who had bitten someone, digging up all the misdeeds he and his family had committed over the years.
The long list of wrongdoings revealed him as a local bully.
Han Shuangshuang, the one who had stirred up the storm, was now comfortably in the shadows.
Not exactly in the shadows-Han Shuangshuang’s account was pivoting toward the pet niche.
Fans who had followed her for the dog rescue naturally stayed, making the transition smooth.
Before leaving work that day, the three of them indeed received their bonuses.
They left on time, took a taxi to a large supermarket near Chen Yao’s place to buy ingredients, and then headed to Chen Yao’s home.
Chen Yao wasn’t a local, but she had a relative here whose family had gone abroad.
They rented the house to her cheaply, so she lived alone in a spacious three-bedroom, two-living-room apartment.
None of them slacked off.
They washed and prepared the ingredients together, boiled the pre-made hot pot base, and enjoyed a steaming hot pot meal on the gradually cooling autumn night.
On the way home, Su Mingxuan created a new group chat for the three of them, splitting the cost of the ingredients into three parts and sending Chen Yao her share.
Han Shuangshuang quickly did the same.
After all, they were just colleagues.
There was no “treating” involved since they all got bonuses, the meal was naturally split equally, so no one was at a disadvantage.
Feeling full made them sleepy, but Han Shuangshuang still insisted on taking Xiao Bai for a walk before going home.
After playing with her phone for a while, she yawned and went to take a shower.
Xiao Man finally seized the opportunity and rushed to check Han Shuangshuang’s phone.
Her paws weren’t very dexterous, so she used her nose and tongue to tap on the screen.
She had already memorized Han Shuangshuang’s lock screen password during this time, so after some effort, she managed to unlock it.
Coincidentally, just as she unlocked it, a WeChat message came in.
She hadn’t intended to invade Han Shuangshuang’s privacy, but Han Shuangshuang hadn’t adjusted her settings, so the message preview appeared directly on the notification banner.
[Cen Feng: Shuangshuang, you really pulled off a great counterattack this time! I always knew you were talented at work, and now it’s clear my judgment was spot on! Haha, if you ever need help, just let me know. For a beauty like you, I’d do anything!]
[Heart] [Heart] [Heart]
Xiao Man: ???
What a cringy message!
Xiao Man of course knew this person; he was a colleague from the content creation department, though not in their group.
They had collaborated on projects occasionally, but their interactions were limited.
If she remembered correctly, he was already married, wasn’t he?
Though she felt disgusted, Xiao Man didn’t do anything about the message.
Han Shuangshuang wasn’t the type to fall for such things easily.
Moreover, as Han Shuangshuang’s account grew, more and more flies would come buzzing around.
She would have to learn to handle them eventually.
Xiao Man stuck to her original plan, opening Douyin (a Chinese video-sharing app) and painstakingly typing “haven’t been home for a long time fridge” into the search bar using her tongue.
After searching, a bunch of videos popped up.
Many showed disastrous results from power outages or leaving food in the fridge for too long-scenes of bugs flying everywhere made her skin crawl.
Xiao Man kept clicking on these videos to watch them until she heard the shower stop.
She quickly exited Douyin, grabbed a piece of paper with her mouth, and tried to wipe the saliva off the phone screen before running to the side.
By the time Han Shuangshuang came out, the phone had automatically locked.
She didn’t notice anything unusual, glanced at Xiao Bai lying obediently, then sat on the couch, drying her hair while casually picking up her phone to scroll.
Xiao Man, not being human, wasn’t very skilled at wiping the phone with a piece of paper.
Some saliva was left, but Han Shuangshuang assumed it was water from her wet hair and wiped it off with another tissue.
Xiao Man felt slightly guilty and looked away.
Han Shuangshuang checked her messages first, pausing slightly when she saw Cen Feng’s message.
She frowned lightly and replied,
“Okay, thanks.”
Seeing no other messages, she opened Douyin.
As an employee of Shutu Media, she had a habit of scrolling through Douyin before bed.
As the app loaded, the screen turned black, and Han Shuangshuang suddenly saw the reflection of a dog head behind her on the screen.
She gasped, nearly falling off the couch, and turned around in alarm,
“Xiao Bai, when did you get here?”
Xiao Man thought, Do you think I’m staying up late for no reason?
I just wanted to make sure you weren’t being tricked by someone with bad intentions!
She felt Han Shuangshuang was too polite-she should’ve just ignored the message.
It was late anyway; pretending not to see it would’ve been fine.
She barked once and lay down on the couch.
Han Shuangshuang sat back on the couch, pulling Xiao Man into her arms,
“Xiao Bai, are you trying to act spoiled? Alright, I’ll give you a kiss!”
Xiao Man: No! I’m straight!
As Han Shuangshuang cupped Xiao Man’s dog head, Xiao Man dodged left and right, but not wanting to hurt Han Shuangshuang, she couldn’t use too much force.
As a result, she got kissed several times.
Xiao Man: I’m tainted!
Han Shuangshuang didn’t notice Xiao Man’s despair and continued scrolling on her phone.
Cen Feng had sent another message, praising her video and saying she was very photogenic, clearly trying to keep the conversation going.
Han Shuangshuang’s fingers hovered over the keyboard for a while, but she eventually exited the chat.
She’d just pretend she was asleep now!
She reopened Douyin and hadn’t been scrolling for long when she came across a video about a fridge.
Seeing the person’s home turned into a bug- infested disaster because they hadn’t been back for so long, she gasped.
Just as she was about to swipe past the video, she suddenly remembered something.
She quickly went to the closet, took out Xiao Man’s bag, rummaged through it for a while, and finally found a key hidden in a compartment.
She then messaged Chen Yao on WeChat, asking if she knew Xiao Man’s address.
She also explained why she was asking.
Chen Yao did have Xiao Man’s address; she had sent things to her place before.
After hearing Han Shuangshuang’s reminder, she sent back a series of exclamation marks.
Seeing Han Shuangshuang suddenly become busy, Xiao Man felt relieved.
Her dry nose had paid off-she’d successfully influenced Han Shuangshuang’s Douyin algorithm!
Early the next morning, Han Shuangshuang went to Xiao Man’s apartment, using the key to unlock the door smoothly.
Returning to her familiar apartment, Xiao Man felt like she was in a different world.
Her apartment wasn’t small, with partitions separating the kitchen and bedroom.
Though not a large unit, the kitchen was cramped, with a double- door fridge taking up much of the space.
Compared to Xiao Man’s ease, Han Shuangshuang was much more reserved.
She inexplicably felt like a thief, not daring to look around too much.
She took off her shoes and tiptoed barefoot to the kitchen to check the fridge first.
Though no one had been home for over a week, thanks to the fridge, the perishable food hadn’t grown bugs, though it smelled spoiled.
Han Shuangshuang quickly grabbed a trash bag and threw out all the spoiled food.
As she turned around, she noticed Xiao Bai was gone!
She tied up the trash bag and tiptoed around, calling softly,
“Xiao Bai? Xiao Bai?”
Before long, Xiao Bai came running out of the bedroom, holding something in her mouth.
Before Han Shuangshuang could say anything, Xiao Bai shoved the item into her hand.
Han Shuangshuang fumbled to take it and opened it to find a bag of mostly moldy tangerines!
She quickly sealed the bag, handling it like a bomb, and placed it into a new trash bag.
She had thought checking the kitchen would be enough, but it seemed she needed to inspect the rest of the apartment too!
After finishing her inspection half an hour later, Han Shuangshuang locked the door, took Xiao Bai, and carried several trash bags downstairs to throw them away.
Xiao Man, hiding in Han Shuangshuang’s backpack, felt at ease now that she didn’t have to worry about her home being infested with bugs when she turned back into a human.
But would she ever get the chance to become human again?
Xiao Man wasn’t sure if it was this body’s influence on her, but she didn’t often think about it.
Sometimes, she even felt being a dog was quite fun.
The day’s work was uneventful.
Chen Yao came up with a few more ideas for Xiao Bai sketches, which they filmed and planned to post gradually.
After work, Han Shuangshuang went to the hospital.
She felt that since Xiao Man hadn’t woken up yet, she should at least inform her that she had gone to her apartment without permission.
But as soon as she arrived at the inpatient ward, she heard Xiao Teng’s annoying voice again.
This time, instead of confronting him directly, she immediately pulled out her phone.
Previously, she had no leverage, but now she was a minor influencer with over a hundred thousand followers.
She could threaten to expose them and force them to sign off on the tests for Xiao Man!