If it weren’t for being drunk, Zhou Jiang wouldn’t have come up with such an absurd idea.
But once the thought emerged, it fit perfectly with reality.
Han Shuangshuang had told her that Xiao Bai was the first dog to discover Manman’s coma.
It always seemed to want to know about Manman’s condition, often following her to the hospital to see her.
Coupled with the series of coincidences in these recent events, even if she didn’t want to believe it, she had to!
Thus, the scene before her, which could only be described as comical, unfolded.
Under Zhou Jiang’s intense gaze, Xiao Bai tilted its head, looking at her with a confused expression.
For a moment, Zhou Jiang thought she might be losing her mind.
How could a person turn into a dog?
Hahaha… Wait, Manman used to act innocent like this in college, exactly the same!
Zhou Jiang grabbed Xiao Bai’s head, stared into its eyes, and said,
“Tell me, are you Xiao Man?”
Xiao Man:”…”
Although she indeed was Xiao man, Zhou Jiang, you forcing a dog to admit it’s a human would look insane to any bystander!
At that moment, Han Shuangshuang came out of the bathroom.
Zhou Jiang quickly composed herself and smiled at Han Shuangshuang,
“Xiao Han,I really like Xiao Bai. Let it stay with me tonight, and I’ll return it to you tomorrow.”
Han Shuangshuang paused while drying her hands, looked at Xiao Bai, her eyes full of questions.
Xiao Man barked at Han Shuangshuang and then snuggled into Zhou Jiang’s arms.
Han Shuangshuang understood that Xiao Bai indeed liked Sister Zhou Jiang.
Seeing that Xiao Bai was willing, she said to Zhou Jiang,
“Then I’ll go back and bring some of Xiao Bai’s things over.”
Zhou Jiang smiled and said, “Thank you for the trouble.”
As the door closed behind Han Shuangshuang, Zhou Jiang excitedly looked at Xiao Man and said,
“You’re Manman, aren’t you? You’re Manman!”
She was thrilled, but the dog in front of her could only look at her helplessly.
She realized that communication between a human and a dog was quite challenging, relying solely on language was too cumbersome.
Alright.
She thought for a moment, went back to the room, and brought out Xiao Man’s laptop, placing it on the coffee table, “Enter the password!”
First, she needed to prove that the dog in front of her was indeed Xiao Man!
After her coma, Xiao Man hadn’t considered reaching out to Zhou Jiang due to the distance and the fact that she was doing fine with Han Shuangshuang.
She hadn’t expected Zhou Jiang to come looking for her, and was in such a poor state.
She had intentionally or unintentionally shown some anomalies.
If Zhou Jiang hadn’t noticed, it would have been fine.
If she had, even better.
Her poor best friend had turned into a dog and couldn’t return to her own body, possibly dying at any moment.
How could she still be bothered by those mundane, trivial daily life matters!
It must be said, Zhou Jiang’s understanding of Xiao Man was just as deep as Xiao Man’s understanding of Zhou Jiang.
When Xiao Man used her paw to enter the password and pressed enter, the laptop’s lock screen opened.
Zhou Jiang couldn’t help but scream in excitement.
Such an unscientific thing had actually happened to her!
Zhou Jiang suddenly felt that all her trivial worries were nothing.
Her best friend had possessed a dog’s body, how cool was that!
She picked up Xiao Bai and held her high, “Manman, you’re amazing!”
She laughed, her gaze unconsciously drifting downward, and she instinctively asked,
“So, are you still a girl now?”
Xiao Man: “???”
She kicked Zhou Jiang’s wrist, not too hard and without extending her claws, but enough to remind Zhou Jiang, who quickly and embarrassedly put Xiao Man down.
With the laptop there, communication between the human and the dog became much easier.
Zhou Jiang said, “Manman, how did you end up like this?”
Xiao Man typed: I don’t know.
The excitement cooled down, and Zhou Jiang said,
“Then I guess you don’t know how to return either.”
Xiao Man nodded helplessly.
Zhou Jiang’s mood dipped for a few seconds, then she rallied her spirits,
“It’s okay, I’ll stay with you! After the holiday, I’ll go back and resign… No, I’ll take a long leave instead. I’ll stay here and help you find a way back.”
Getting a government job was too hard; she really didn’t dare to think about “resigning,” sorry for all those days and nights of preparation!
Xiao Man thought she was just too excited about turning into a dog and hadn’t fully processed it yet.
She typed on the laptop: What about your child?
Zhou Jiang’s smile immediately froze.
She slumped onto the coffee table, looking at Xiao Man sideways, and after a while said,
“The child has grandparents to take care of, but you only have me. You really should have come to me earlier, were you afraid of troubling me?”
Zhou Jiang knew very well that Xiao Man didn’t want to disturb her life, not that she didn’t trust her.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have intentionally left so many clues this time.
Xiao Man didn’t stand on ceremony and typed: Sort out your own mess before worrying about me! As you can see, I’m doing fine now.
Zhou Jiang believed her, seeing how Han Shuangshuang treated Xiao Bai like family.
Thinking about her own family situation, Zhou Jiang couldn’t help but feel down again: “It’s a mess. Manman, I just want to escape, resign, get divorced, I don’t want anything anymore.”
Typing as a dog wasn’t very comfortable for Xiao Man; dog paws weren’t made for such delicate work.
But she still earnestly typed a long paragraph: If you’ve really thought it through, I support all your decisions. You don’t have to worry about not having a place to stay. You can live in my house for as long as you need; I have savings, and you know the password. As long as you don’t buy luxury goods, it can support you for a few years. But all this is on the premise that you’ve really thought it through, not just acting on impulse.
Zhou Jiang stared at the words on the laptop, lost in thought.
Xiao Man didn’t rush her.
In fact, she thought Zhou Jiang’s mental state had improved a lot since she first arrived.
Knowing Zhou Jiang, it was unlikely she would really give up everything.
From what Zhou Jiang had told her in the past and what she herself had observed, Zhou Jiang’s parents and husband, despite their issues, were generally decent people, not like the unfortunate family setups often seen in novels.
But she wasn’t in Zhou Jiang’s shoes, so she couldn’t judge.
She believed that after a temporary breakdown, Zhou Jiang would bounce back.
Zhou Jiang suddenly stood up, rummaged through Xiao Man’s bedroom, found a notebook and a pen, and started writing furiously.
Xiao Man leaned over to look and was impressed; she was using a pros and cons analysis.
Zhou Jiang listed the pros and cons of leaving her hometown to come here, with “divorce” and “resignation” listed under cons, each with their own pros and cons analysis.
Xiao Man chuckled inwardly; since she had already categorized these two as “cons,” the outcome was pretty clear.
Zhou Jiang filled two whole pages, took a deep breath, and with a sense of accomplishment from completing a project, said,
“Manman, I feel like my muddled brain is finally clearing up a bit. Sometimes just thinking about it isn’t enough; listing it out like this helps clarify my thoughts.”
Zhou Jiang spoke as if she were an observer:
“I was just under too much pressure. Many things that should have been clarified or weren’t even worth worrying about had piled up in my heart, almost crushing me. Now, it doesn’t seem like a big deal.”
“When my mom nags about having a child, I’ll just ignore her like I used to. If I don’t want to think about what to cook for dinner, I’ll just say so, not bottle it up and make myself suffer.”
Xiao Man typed on the laptop: Exactly. No matter how tough it is for you, can it be tougher than my situation?
Zhou Jiang was amused and hugged Xiao Man tightly, regretfully saying,
“It’s a pity Han Shuangshuang adopted you, otherwise I could have taken care of you, and you could have helped me make videos to earn money. Wow, we’d be rich!”
Xiao Man struggled to get free, otherwise she would have typed “heartless capitalist” to scold her!
Even so, she expressed this sentiment with five barks.
Zhou Jiang: “Wow, I’m trying to make us rich, and you’re scolding me!”
As the human and the dog were laughing and playing, Han Shuangshuang arrived with Xiao Bai’s dog bed, dog food, and snacks.
Seeing them getting along so well, Han Shuangshuang felt relieved but also a bit sad.
Of course, she understood that Sister Zhou Jiang and Sister Manman had a closer relationship, having known each other much longer than she had known Manman.
But she was the one who first met Xiao Bai; how come even Xiao Bai seemed closer to Sister Zhou Jiang than to her!
Neither Zhou Jiang nor Xiao Man noticed Han Shuangshuang’s sadness; they had so much more to talk about.
Of course, before the human and the dog continued their conversation, Zhou Jiang first called home to say she would stay with Xiao Man for a few more days before returning, since “she was already here.”
Unsurprisingly, Zhou Jiang was scolded by her mother for half an hour.
At the end, her mother told her that her husband had already taken their child and was on his way to her, within the province, and they managed to get last-minute tickets.
Zhou Jiang:”…”
She quickly called her husband and found out they were already on the high-speed train.
Without saying much else, and with Xiao Man’s consent, she gave them the address here.
After hanging up, Zhou Jiang started planning their trip.
She said, “My husband hasn’t been here before, so we might as well take advantage of this holiday to do some sightseeing.”
Xiao Man typed: It’s the National Day holiday, it’s going to be packed!
Zhou Jiang: “It’s fine, I’ve studied here for so many years, I know a few less crowded spots. You’ll come with us, help me take care of the kid.”
Xiao Man typed rapidly: I’m someone else’s dog now, you’ll have to ask my owner about that.
Zhou Jiang shuddered and couldn’t help but exclaim,
“Don’t say that! All the inappropriate thoughts I’ve ever had are swirling in my head now, and none of them should involve you in your current state!”
Xiao Man couldn’t stop laughing at her devastated expression.
As Zhou Jiang planned their trip and joked with Xiao Man, nearing midnight, both human and dog were getting sleepy when the doorbell rang.
Zhou Jiang and Xiao Man both jumped up and ran to the door in unison.
Zhou Jiang looked through the peephole and saw a familiar face, quickly opening the door.
Standing at the door was a weary father and daughter.
Zhou Jiang’s husband, Tang Youning, had one hand on a suitcase and the other holding their already asleep daughter.
His hair was disheveled, and he looked somewhat disheveled, standing at the door.
The exhaustion from the journey made his eyes look both obedient and fragile, like a stray dog that had been abandoned, but they lit up when he saw Zhou Jiang.
Xiao Man:”….”
Now who could tell who was the dog between her and Zhou Jiang’s husband?