Han Shuangshuang stood chatting with Lin Ci, but her gaze kept drifting towards Xiao Bai.
Seeing it lying down beside the Doberman without running around, she wasn’t in a hurry to go over.
However, when some dogs suddenly started causing a commotion, and one even bumped into Xiao Bai, she quickly excused herself to Lin Ci and hurried over.
“Xiao Bai, are you okay?”
Han Shuangshuang squatted in front of Xiao Bai, cradling its head and examining it closely.
After all, it had been injured not long ago, and she was particularly worried it might get hurt again.
Xiao Man:………… Let go of my dog head!
The owner of Lao Yu, who was standing nearby, seeing Han Shuangshuang approach, introduced herself enthusiastically:
“Hello, you must be Xiao Bai’s sister, right? I’m Deng Lin. I also have an account on DouDou called ‘Old Dog Lao Yu. This is my Lao Yu!”
She pulled Lao Yu over for Han Shuangshuang to see and added,
“Don’t worry, Xiao Bai just got bumped a little. It didn’t hit its head, so it should be fine. Right, Xiao Bai?”
Xiao Man ignored her.
Han Shuangshuang quickly responded, “Hello, I’m Han Shuangshuang, Xiao Bai’s sister.”
Having recently become an internet sensation, Han Shuangshuang wasn’t quite used to being recognized on the street.
Hearing someone accurately call her out, she felt a bit shy.
Deng Lin’s follower count was similar to Han Shuangshuang’s, but she hadn’t been as “lucky” as Han Shuangshuang, who had gained a massive following in a short time due to several events.
Deng Lin’s account had been steadily growing for two years.
Two years was enough for Deng Lin to get used to all the changes that came with being an internet celebrity.
Compared to Han Shuangshuang’s shyness, Deng Lin was very outgoing.
She laughed, “I knew it! I recognized you at first glance. A dog as distinctive as Xiao Bai is rare!”
As she spoke, she winked at Xiao Man.
Xiao Man: “…………”
Is she saying I’m ugly in a standout way?
Xiao Man rolled her eyes, pretending not to hear.
Being ugly as a dog didn’t matter; being an internet-famous dog didn’t require cuteness.
Being uniquely ugly had its own niche!
Deng Lin laughed heartily, “Xiao Bai is such an interesting dog, just like a person. That eye roll is hilarious!”
Han Shuangshuang forced a smile.
In the end, under Deng Lin’s proactive approach, Han Shuangshuang couldn’t refuse and ended up following each other on DouDou, adding each other on WeChat, and even planning to shoot videos together in the future.
In fact, Deng Lin started filming right then and there.
While Deng Lin was filming, Han Shuangshuang took the opportunity to check out her account.
It turned out that many of Deng Lin’s videos featured her Lao Yu interacting with other pets or people, accompanied by humorous dialogues.
Because Deng Lin was so open and her tone was so engaging, paired with excellent captions, her fans loved it.
Han Shuangshuang, who wasn’t hard to amuse, laughed while watching and only reluctantly stopped after three videos.
Deng Lin then said, “Yes, yes, that eye roll! Xiao Bai, do it again!”
Han Shuangshuang:“…..”
Deng Lin didn’t need much material; most of it came from her own creativity.
After filming, she called Han Shuangshuang over, “Xiao Bai’s sister, come over and film too. Your video style is different from mine. Tell me how you want to shoot, and I’ll see if Lao Yu can cooperate.”
Han Shuangshuang quickly said ,“I’ll just film some shots of them together.”
Deng Lin didn’t press further.
Seeing the material she had filmed, she lamented,
“It’s a shame I didn’t capture the moment when Xiao Bai got bumped! The voiceover I did for those two clips was really good. Your Xiao Bai has more charisma than my Lao Yu.”
Lao Yu the Doberman sat upright, like a retired government official, watching the younger generation’s antics with a mix of kindness and helplessness.
Xiao Man thought to herself, I’m not just charismatic; if you were my owner, I could even act out a whole movie with lip-syncing and body movements!
Of course, that would look like it was done by AI, since a real dog couldn’t stand upright leaning against a doorframe with a cigarette in one hand, but she could!
Xiao Man felt inexplicably proud.
Han Shuangshuang wasn’t great at socializing, but Deng Lin was.
Knowing Deng Lin meant knowing a whole crowd.
Deng Lin even added Han Shuangshuang to a group where members shared funny stories about their pets and asked for advice on pet-related issues.
The group had a great atmosphere.
Some group members were also at the park, and Deng Lin introduced Han Shuangshuang and Xiao Bai to them, making them instant friends.
One owner of a Husky stayed behind after everyone else had left, awkwardly chatting with Han Shuangshuang about the joys and pains of raising a Husky.
The owner said, “My little sister really loves to destroy the house. Look at these photos; my furniture is all chewed up.”
Han Shuangshuang politely glanced at the photos, which indeed showed the furniture in ruins.
Facing the owner’s seemingly expectant gaze, she opened her mouth but couldn’t bring herself to say that her Xiao Bai also destroyed the house, nor could she say it didn’t, as it might seem like she was showing off.
Finally, she just said, “My Xiao Bai… is quite lazy.”
So it doesn’t destroy the house.
The Husky, Little Sister, was circling around Xiao Man.
It seemed quite young, and its enthusiastic demeanor suggested it wanted to treat Xiao Man like a house to destroy.
Xiao Man glared at it.
Little Sister jumped back in alarm, cautiously circling around Xiao Man, seemingly sensing its superior presence.
Though it continued to bounce around, it didn’t dare get too close.
The owner’s gaze kept shifting between Han Shuangshuang and Little Sister.
Seeing his pet’s lively behavior, he smiled like a doting grandmother,
“Being lazy is good. My Little Sister, I wouldn’t dare let her off the leash; she’d run off in a heartbeat. She got lost just last month.”
Han Shuangshuang: “At my place, using a leash and muzzle is purely to reassure passersby.”
This made her Xiao Bai seem particularly un-Husky-like.
Han Shuangshuang had no trouble socializing, but she wasn’t smooth either.
After a long pause, she finally managed to say, “Being lively is good.”
But she still loved Xiao Bai the most!
Xiao Man glanced at the Husky owner, who was eagerly watching Han Shuangshuang’s awkward conversation, then at Lin Ci, who was occasionally glancing over as if he wanted to approach but seemed hesitant, and finally at Han Shuangshuang, who was completely oblivious.
Xiao Man mentally clicked her tongue.
Two interested parties, but the goddess remains unmoved.
Though Xiao Man didn’t want to socialize with other dogs, being in an open space with lively chatter around, basking in the sun and half-listening to the conversations, was quite pleasant.
By the time they headed back, the Golden Retriever Huanhuan, having exhausted all its energy, was sound asleep, snoring loudly.
Xiao Man, having slept enough, was wide awake, staring at the two in the front seat.
Lin Ci was driving, seemingly wanting to say something but hesitating several times.
Finally, at a red light, he casually remarked,
“I noticed there were quite a few dogs of Xiao Bai’s breed at the park, but Xiao Bai didn’t seem interested in playing with them.”
Xiao Man thought to herself, I’m not just uninterested in playing with Huskies; I’m uninterested in playing with any dogs or people.
Han Shuangshuang: “Xiao Bai has always been like this, very calm. I feel… it’s like it’s taking care of me, like my sister Man.”
Xiao Man jolted.
Considering her embarrassing moments as a dog, if she could return to her human body, she would take the secret of her time as a dog to her grave.
She absolutely didn’t want anyone to know that Xiao Bai had once been her!
Han Shuangshuang chuckled, “Isn’t it strange? I can actually feel indulgence and affection from Xiao Bai. It feels like I’m not the one raising it; it’s raising me.”
She glanced at Xiao Bai in the rearview mirror, her eyes filled with warmth,
“It really is Xiao Bai raising me. I’ve earned bonuses because of Xiao Bai, and there are several commercial deals lined up.”
Xiao Man’s perked ears drooped, and she lay down.
It’s only fair; we’re kind of raising each other.
Lin Ci smiled, “Xiao Bai is indeed different from other dogs. Sometimes when it looks at me, I feel like it can see right through me.”
Xiao Man: That’s not possible; I haven’t awakened mind-reading abilities yet.
Han Shuangshuang suddenly laughed,
“Did you see that French Bulldog earlier? It slipped under a Great Dane, scaring the Dane so much it almost jumped into its owner’s arms.”
Lin Ci seemed to snap out of some uncertainty, smiling, “I saw that. It almost knocked its owner over.”
The rest of the ride was filled with laughter and conversation, the earlier awkwardness completely gone.
Xiao Man thought to herself, the push and pull of adult romance is quite entertaining.
Today’s trip to the pet park, though Xiao Man spent most of it resting, had involved some running around.
By evening, she was too tired to move and went to bed early.
That night, she was pulled into a state of semi-consciousness by a familiar mechanical female voice.
This time, the mechanical voice wasn’t reciting sleep-inducing concepts but was narrating a male-oriented wish-fulfillment novel.
The protagonist, at rock bottom and persecuted, received a god-tier wealth system that gave him a hundred fold return on his spending.
After completing the simplest task of spending 100 yuan, he received 10,000 yuan in his account.
Overjoyed, he worked hard to complete system tasks, aiming to earn enough to rescue his sister, who had been taken away by debt collectors and sold…
Wait, isn’t this set in a modern, law-abiding society?
Why didn’t he call the police when his sister was taken?
And isn’t a hundredfold return too much?
Wouldn’t that easily lead to billions?
Xiao Man, half-asleep, was full of mental illness, but when she woke up the next day and recalled the dream, she realized the mechanical voice had stopped abruptly just as the protagonist went to rescue his sister…
She couldn’t help but feel a bit upset.
Did he manage to save his sister in time?
Damn it, her brain has been ruined by these mindless wish-fulfillment novels!
Even though she keeps, she can’t stop reading them!
Xiao Man felt that her dreams weren’t of her own making.
At least, she hadn’t thought about such things during the day, and the dreams were too clear, more like “memories” than the fuzzy content of typical dreams.
But she was sure she hadn’t heard this book before; she usually preferred female-oriented wish-fulfillment novels.
The new week began with Han Shuangshuang and Chen Yao preparing to shoot the previously postponed commercial deal.
For Xiao Man, who could understand human speech, it was a breeze.
On Monday and Tuesday nights, Xiao Man found she didn’t dream.
But on Wednesday night, Xiao Man dreamed again.
This time, she heard a familiar female voice say,
“Xiao Man, you need to wake up soon. My account is doing really well now, the clients are satisfied with the commercial deals, and the fans are supportive. They even want me to take on more deals to buy good food for Xiao Bai…”
This was Han Shuangshuang’s voice, and these were the exact words Han Shuangshuang had said to her when she snuck her into the hospital in her backpack after work.
Xiao Man finally understood: the words spoken to her comatose body were being “transmitted” to her in dreams with a delay.
This had started after she returned to her body following her injury.
Initially, she could only hear “buzzing” sounds, like poor signal reception, but it became clearer when the mechanical voice started talking about “analogies.”
So, who was the source of the mechanical voice those two nights?
Xiao Man thought about it and could only come up with one suspect: Xu Yan.
He was the one who upgraded her to a special care ward.
The new ward had strict security, and Xu Yan might have arranged for himself to have family access for convenience.
Xiao Man suddenly felt a bit awkward.
When neither she nor Han Shuangshuang were around, Xu Yan sat by her comatose body’s bedside and played audiobooks for her?
Why?
Was he worried she might be bored, trapped in her body, and wanted to entertain her?
Then don’t stop at the climax of a long novel!
Wouldn’t a 10,000-word short revenge wish-fulfillment novel be more satisfying?