Xiao Man cursed the program team in her heart, but she obediently crouched beside the old man.
Firstly, Han Shuangshuang had taken the money, so she, as the tool dog, had to work diligently.
Secondly, if she didn’t do it and another dog took her place, the old man would suffer even more.
After all, she was still a dog with a human heart.
The staff member, likely a local, spoke to the old man in the local dialect,
“Old sir, the dog we talked about earlier is right beside you.”
Xiao Man saw the old man raise his hand, groping around.
She proactively placed her head under his palm, and the old man’s hesitant movements found their mark as he gently stroked Xiao Man’s back.
“She’s a good dog,” the old man spoke, his voice hoarse but carrying a hint of a smile.
Xiao Man thought to herself, Of course, there’s no better dog than me!
You’re lucky to have met me, old sir!
But soon, Xiao Man’s joy faded.
She caught the scent of decay and illness emanating from the old man.
He was very old, and it seemed he was nearing the end of his life.
This interaction was captured by the camera, and someone whispered in awe,
“This scene is so beautiful, it’s hard to bear breaking it.”
By the edge of nature, a loyal dog quietly accompanied the old man as he basked in the sun.
She would stay by his side like this until he left this world.
Unfortunately, this serene atmosphere couldn’t last.
They were here to film a variety show, and something had to happen.
A celebrity walked over, crouched down, and showed Xiao Man an enlarged photo while hanging a small bag of money around her neck.
Xiao Man sensed that this person was somewhat afraid she might suddenly go wild, but he was forcing himself to stay calm.
She didn’t move, waiting until the celebrity had hung the bag and taken a small step back before looking up at him.
The celebrity quietly sighed in relief, then pointed at the colorful photo and said to Xiao Man,
“Xiao Bai, this is the old man’s favorite snack. Can you go buy it for him?”
Xiao Man nodded and immediately darted away from the celebrity’s side.
The celebrity was momentarily stunned.
He felt as though he wasn’t talking to a dog but to a child.
However, knowing they were filming, even if it wasn’t live, he quickly adjusted his expression, took a small stool, and sat in Xiao Man’s original spot to accompany the old man in her place.
Xiao Man, followed by a cameraman, didn’t run too fast.
As she ran, she looked around and soon found a stall selling the crispy cakes.
She ran over and stared at the vendor.
The vendor, who was idle at the moment, was startled to see a dog staring at him.
He was about to shoo her away when the dog raised her paw, first pointing at the crispy cakes on the stall, then at the bag hanging around her neck.
The vendor was dumbfounded.
If he wasn’t mistaken, this dog wanted to buy something?
His gaze shifted to the camera behind her, and he suddenly understood.
This wasn’t a real dog-it was a robot dog in disguise!
Someone was controlling it from behind!
Since they were on camera, he unconsciously started acting.
“Little dog, are you here to buy crispy cakes today? How many do you want? Bark once for each!”
Xiao Man: “…”
Seeing the exaggerated expression on the vendor’s face, she couldn’t help but want to laugh.
She had noticed the vendor glancing at the cameraman earlier, so he was clearly putting on a show.
First of all, vendor, you’ll be blurred out in the final edit of the show.
Secondly, the audience will think you’re a terrible extra with bad acting skills!
She barked six times, as “six” symbolizes smoothness and good fortune in Chinese culture.
The shop owner muttered to himself,
“This robotic dog is made so realistically; I can even see the meat in its mouth…”
He wrapped six crispy pastries, put them in a plastic bag, and hung it around Xiao Man’s neck.
Then, he took out some money from a small pouch, counted it, and put the change back.
He even waved exaggeratedly, “Mr. Dog, come again often!”
Xiao Man wagged her paw at him and trotted away.
The owner immediately took out his phone, snapped a photo of Xiao Bai’s retreating figure, and uploaded it to his social media with the caption:
“Today, a robotic dog came to buy my crispy pastries!”
Soon, the post received many likes, and a younger relative who frequently browsed the internet commented:
“Uncle, I know this dog. It’s called Xiao Bai, and it’s not a robotic dog!”
The owner replied: “You don’t understand. It can buy things and understand what I say. There must be someone controlling it from behind!”
His nephew replied: “But Xiao Bai really can understand human speech!”
The owner’s sister chimed in: “I know Xiao Bai too!”
The owner replied to his sister: “Stop talking nonsense. It’s definitely a robotic dog!”
While the owner was busy arguing on social media, Xiao Man had already returned to the elderly man with the pastries.
Seeing her return, the celebrity who had assigned the task quickly came over to check.
Seeing that everything was correct, he cheered,
“Yes!” He had thought the task would be difficult when he drew it.
He handed the pastries to the elderly man, who thanked him, took one, broke off a small piece, and slowly let it soften in his mouth.
He loved these pastries, but his teeth weren’t what they used to be, so he could only eat them slowly like this.
Xiao Man sat beside the elderly man, sensing the joy emanating from him, and felt happy too.
Next, every celebrity who drew a task came to Xiao Man to assign it, and she completed them all, including the one from the variety show star.
This variety show star also had many fans, so there was no need to deliberately target her.
Xiao Man just focused on doing her job well for the day.
Of course, to add some fun, she intentionally made a few harmless mistakes.
By the time the recording ended that day, the staff member in charge seemed quite satisfied.
Chen Yao and Han Shuangshuang had accompanied her all day.
While Xiao Man could sleep in the car on the way back, Chen Yao had to drive them home.
They whispered about Xiao Bai’s impressive performance, discussing whether the editing team might intentionally cut scenes unfavorable to her, and fantasizing about how much their account’s follower count might grow after the show aired.
Xiao Man drifted off to sleep amidst their soft chatter.
When Xiao Man woke up again, she was in a hospital bed.
She lay there for a while, realizing she hadn’t returned yet, and wondered how long she could stay this time.
But she didn’t get up.
This time, she remembered everything, so it seemed the memory loss from last time was just a fluke.
Every time she woke up, she would trouble the doctors and nurses, only to fall unconscious again soon after.
This time, perhaps she could lie quietly for a while.
Her body had been lying in bed for over four months, and each time she returned, she felt exhausted, with her limbs feeling somewhat out of control.
It seemed that once she fully recovered, she would need to undergo rehabilitation.
As Xiao Man was lost in thought, someone gave her shoulder a firm push, and a tense voice called out, “Xiao Man!”
Xiao Man turned her gaze and saw Xu Yan, who had somehow entered the room.
The panic in his eyes only faded when he saw her eyes move.
God knows how panicked he was when he first entered the hospital room and saw Xiao Man lying there with her eyes wide open.
He thought she was dead!
Calmly, he asked, “Are you unable to move? If so, blink once.”
Otherwise, why would she be lying so still this time?
Xiao Man: “……”
Xiao Man spoke directly, “Thank you, I’m fine.”
Xu Yan stared at Xiao Man’s expression, casually pressed the call button, and as the nurse’s voice came through, he said,
“She’s awake, and it seems she hasn’t lost her memory.”
At least the way she looked at him wasn’t so unfamiliar anymore.
Before the doctors and nurses arrived, Xu Yan quickly asked,
“Since you haven’t lost your memory, can you tell me how you knew about me?”
Xiao Man: “Huh? Who are you?”
Xu Yan: “?”
Xu Yan: “Don’t play dumb!”
Xiao Man: “……”
She slowly adjusted her expression to appear innocent and naive, her gaze at Xu Yan indifferent, “May I ask who you are?”
Xu Yan: “……”
She was still pretending to be clueless!
And it was obvious she was doing it on purpose!
But who can wake someone who’s pretending to be clueless?
The doctors and nurses arrived, but Xiao Man had been lying alone for quite some time.
After a few brief questions, she couldn’t hold on any longer.
She knew this wouldn’t be the end.
When she woke up again, Xiao Man was still in the car.
She heard Han Shuangshuang receive a call from the hospital, and after listening, Han Shuangshuang fell silent for a moment before pretending to be cheerful,
“Sister Man woke up again just now, she must be getting better!”
Medical matters are hard to predict, but everyone prefers to think positively.
The next day, Han Shuangshuang went to the hospital to see Xiao Man and discussed adjusting the treatment plan with the doctor.
In reality, there wasn’t much of a plan to begin with just switching from one conservative approach to another.
The attending doctor was much more optimistic than Han Shuangshuang, even saying that cases like Xiao Man’s, though rare, where she kept waking up from time to time, showed her resilience and a high likelihood of full recovery in the future.
Hearing this, Han Shuangshuang was very happy and worked even harder.
In the period leading up to the Spring Festival, Xiao Man occasionally had dreams, and the content of those dreams changed.
Xu Yan didn’t play audiobooks for her anymore; instead, he talked to her himself.
He talked about the new company he had taken over, and Xiao Man genuinely felt how tough his job was.
“If I weren’t interested in this business and hadn’t been introduced by an acquaintance, I wouldn’t have even glanced at it. The finances are a mess, the company is packed with connections, and if one out of ten people is actually working, it’s a miracle.”
“What kind of ‘General Manager Huang’ dares to call himself a general manager? I doubt he could even organize a family picnic, let alone try to boss me around. Trash.”
“I don’t know how that programmer had the nerve to challenge me. Even I, an outsider, could figure out the technical issues after reading some materials, but he struggled for half a month and said the task was too difficult! Difficult my foot, I could have completed the project alone!”
“This lousy company, even the janitors are connections. Are they insane? Just to get social security? No wonder the place stinks every morning!”
These were Xu Yan’s complaints at different times. Xiao Man really wanted to say,
“I’m not your trash can, buddy. Don’t dump everything on me. We’re not that close, are we?”
But besides these, he did talk about other things too.
“I’ve heard that you have strong work capabilities. I’ve seen some of your projects, and they’re indeed impressive. How about you wake up and become my assistant? I’ll double your salary.”
“I’m not kidding. Although taking over a company on the verge of bankruptcy always comes with a host of headaches, watching this failing company slowly come back to life under my hands is incredibly rewarding.”
Before the Spring Festival Tian Xu’s banquet finally quieted down.
Xiao Man woke up realizing she hadn’t been dreaming, yet she felt an inexplicable sense of loss.
Han Shuangshuang naturally didn’t return to her hometown for the Spring Festival.
She was looking forward to this year’s Spring Festival, especially since she had earned a lot of money herself this year!
She bought Xiao Man several beautiful new outfits and a lot of toys.
As for herself, she could now afford clothes she had never dared to buy before, even if it meant tightening her belt.
Xiao Man glanced at Han Shuangshuang’s reluctant expression and realized she had bought an 800-yuan down jacket.
Xiao Man: “……”
I thought you bought an 8,000-yuan one!