The dog-disliked 1801 didn’t get discouraged. Bowing slightly, she said to Kele, “You’re smart, and your fighting ability isn’t bad either, but the world outside is harsh now. You have to become stronger to protect yourself and those you want to protect.”

“Mm-hmm.” Jiang Ning stroked the dog’s head to smooth things over. “Kele, you’ll protect me, right?”

Kele’s eyes flicked back and forth between them. It liked its current owner and also liked the people on this floor. It had just drunk their pork offal soup. If it didn’t get stronger, would it be thrown to the dog meat restaurant?

After thinking it over, it gave in.

The poor dog rubbed its head against Jiang Ning’s chest. It would protect her—it couldn’t abandon her!

“Don’t worry, we’re just separated by a wall. We can meet anytime.”

Back inside, Jiang Ning found half a bag of dog food and handed it to Huo Yishen. “Kele is smart but holds grudges and is stubborn. If it misbehaves, don’t hit or scold it. Just tell me.”

Huo Yishen laughed helplessly, “What do you take me for?”

Handing over both the person and the dog at the same time.

Doudou was delighted, but Kele looked glum.

After the exchange, Jiang Ning opened Doudou’s schoolbag, which contained a good number of children’s educational books and some drawing tools. The things were thrown together haphazardly, clearly found in a rush.

“Doudou, have you ever been to kindergarten?”

Doudou shook her head, picking at her fingers. “No.”

Almost five years old, and she had never been to kindergarten. Doudou had been quite happy until this question made her droop.

“Sis, am I dumb?” Doudou lowered her head deeply. “Everyone else went to kindergarten except me.”

“You’re not dumb. Doudou is the smartest.”

Jiang Ning wasn’t a teacher but had earned money tutoring since high school, especially high school seniors—she could recite the key knowledge points backward and forward.

She hadn’t taught primary school before, but it wasn’t difficult for her. After flipping through the educational books, she started making a plan, beginning with Arabic numerals: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7…

From 1 to 10, then from 11 to 20, teaching not only writing but also the rules of numbers.

Though Doudou had never been to school, she had watched TV and talked with people. At her age, she caught on quickly and obediently sat down to do her homework.

1801 was rough but meticulous—she had even prepared a pencil case complete with pencils and erasers.

In less than half an hour, Doudou had memorized numbers up to 100.

Jiang Ning rewarded her with a candy. “Our Doudou is awesome.”

After math, it was Chinese—starting with Chinese characters and pinyin.

The smart child caught on quickly. After teaching, Jiang Ning assigned homework and sat on the sofa reading materials about hydroponic vegetables, hoping to figure it out soon.

Doudou didn’t leave after finishing homework; she stroked the big gray and little white dogs while reciting the pinyin song.

Seeing 1801 hadn’t come to pick her up by the scheduled time, Jiang Ning cooked instant noodles with ham. The little one was overjoyed.

After waking from a nap, Jiang Ning vaguely heard the sound of a dog running.

Opening the door, she saw Kele sprinting down the hallway toward the rooftop stairs, performing extreme back-and-forth running exercises as fast as lightning.

1801 stood at the door, gesturing sternly at the dog.

Though Kele wanted to get close to its owner, 1801’s hand signals kept it running back and forth without stopping.

Jiang Ning frowned, worried the dog might be stressed.

Only after about 50 trips did 1801 allow Kele to stop.

Kele was panting heavily but looked very excited.

“Don’t worry, Malinois dogs are not only lively but have great endurance. Running 50 kilometers a day is no problem. Letting it rest too much would only make it frustrated.”

Huo Yishen squatted down to pet Kele’s head. “Good dog.”

After training, Kele was rewarded with a meat stick.

But Kele didn’t eat it; it carried it over to Jiang Ning. “Owner, this is my earned ration—here, for you!”

Jiang Ning laughed. “Alright, I’ll save it for you.”

Back by 1801, they stood at attention and then at ease. Today’s training was officially over.

During the handover, Huo Yishen asked, “How’s Doudou learning?”

“Doudou is great. She’s learned numbers under 100 and letters. You can quiz her anytime.”

Just as Jiang Ning was about to ask about Kele, loud noises came from downstairs, growing louder.

Looking from the stairwell, it seemed some people had returned from the shelter and wanted to set up camp in the hallway. But the original residents refused.

With floodwaters rising, the shelters were increasingly crowded. Food was scarce, sleeping was poor, and everyone had to guard against theft. Returning to live in the hallways was definitely more comfortable.

But the original residents weren’t happy. Natural disasters were bad enough, but having the hallways occupied, with people eating, drinking, and relieving themselves there, was very distressing.

It felt like having wolves outside the door, ready to break in anytime. Who wouldn’t be terrified?

After all, this had happened more than once before the typhoon stopped. Everyone had learned to be cautious, no longer willing to do favors or be good-hearted easily.

No floor wanted to let the returnees stay, so they pushed them up floor by floor, quickly reaching the 17th floor stairs.

Room 403’s family looked pale and dirty, making people want to avoid them.

Hah, these people were bold—they had agreed to push themselves onto the 18th floor.

403 knew everyone on the 18th floor were tough, but they had no choice. They knelt crying, begging, “Let us stay by the rooftop door. We won’t bother you.”

“Begging me won’t work.” Jiang Ning was firm and wouldn’t open the door. “This building has a floor leader elected by everyone. If you have trouble, find him. If you can’t solve this small problem, then the floor leader is useless.”

403’s family wasn’t stupid; they immediately understood.

They took the whole family back to the 13th floor and stubbornly stayed put. “We’ve lived here for over ten years. I want to see who dares kick us out today.”

“If we can’t live on the 13th floor, then let floor leader He come out. Wherever he tells us to stay, that’s where we’ll stay!”

Ten minutes later, He Zhian angrily came up and knocked, saying 403 wanted to live by the rooftop door on the 18th floor and asked 18th floor residents to open the door.

But no answer came. The 18th floor was eerily silent.

He Zhian almost kicked the door but saw the sharp iron spikes on it and could only bite back his anger.

No floor was willing to give in, so 403 ended up cramped on the 13th floor.

Days passed and floodwaters rose.

Under Jiang Ning’s careful care, Kele’s scabby sores healed, the bony waist disappeared, and after 1801’s brutal training, it even showed some muscle definition.

1801 drilled holes in the hallway wall near the ceiling and hung a rope specifically to train the Malinois’ jumping ability.

Good grief—one running start, the dog easily jumped over two meters high and firmly bit the rope, swinging like on a swing.

As long as 1801 didn’t give a command, Kele wouldn’t let go.

It had to be admitted, while 1801 had no experience raising kids, it was great at training dogs. Not just basic commands—the aura and gaze alone…

Uh, somehow the dog was becoming more and more like 1801.

A powerful aura, cold and sharp eyes.

One look, one gesture, and they understood each other perfectly.

Jiang Ning felt a bit jealous—1801 had stolen her dog.