Chapter 50 She is a Genius

Xie Yan ran warm and didn’t fear the cold. Just a few days ago, he had been wearing a thin, synthetic shirt and hadn’t even felt chilly. Today, he wore a white shirt underneath and a military green sweater over it—according to his comrades, that was a fashionable way to dress.

The water tank was frozen over, so he started boiling water to melt it, planning to do laundry early. Once he returned to the base, he wouldn’t have time to wash the new clothes Daidai clearly wanted to wear.

“Yanyan, Yanyan, don’t run off!”
Xue Qingdai had agreed to adopt this dog, but ever since bringing it to Xie’s home, it had gone wild—completely different from the well-behaved pup it was before.
“Do dogs have drama too these days?”

Xie Yan adjusted his collar and, hearing her call, thought she was talking to him.
“Daidai, are you calling me?”

“Xie Yan! Hurry and help me find the puppy. I don’t know where it ran off to. If we don’t rescue it, one cold winter night could be the end of it!”
On the way, she had been calling the puppy “Yanyan”—a name chosen out of mischief. She just wanted the dog to remember it. After all, she couldn’t whistle every day to call the dog over, and she didn’t want to name it something boring like “Dapao”, “Goudan”, “Erya”, or “Wangcai”. Her dog deserved a unique name.

Xie Yan placed a hand on his brand-new sweater, thinking: why hasn’t Daidai noticed this outfit? His ears were sharp though. The recently recovered puppy made faint sounds, and within a few minutes, he found it near the stove.

The small yellow dog was so tiny it fit within the palms of his hands.

Seeing it covered in ash, Xue Qingdai felt a wave of pity. She gently touched its fur.
“Yanyan, do you really dislike this name?”

Xie Yan’s calm expression cracked as he raised an eyebrow.
“What did you just call it? Don’t think I didn’t hear you say it reminds you of me.”

“Why are you yelling at me?!” Xue Qingdai pouted, then muttered,
“This dog is so small and pitiful. Doesn’t it deserve a mighty name?”

“No!” Xie Yan responded firmly, though he was nearly convinced. He reminded himself to stay sharp and not get tricked again by Daidai’s sweet words.

The dog stuck out its tongue and licked Xie Yan’s palm, but he kept his heart steely.

Xue Qingdai was about to pick it up, but Xie Yan stopped her:
“It got dirty crawling by the stove. Let me clean it first.”

Bathing such a small dog in winter could make it sick. So, Xue Qingdai leaned lazily against Xie Yan’s shoulder while he gently wiped the dog clean with a towel—his big hands moving carefully, like changing a baby’s diaper.

“Yanyan, look at Mommy~”
Even though she knew people keeping pets as family members wasn’t normal in this era, once she accepted a new life, she was determined to care for it fully.

Her previous pet, a black telescope-eye goldfish, had already gotten fat from Xie Yan overfeeding it. Hopefully, Yanyan wouldn’t suffer the same fate.

“What?! You want to make it your dog-son?” Xie Yan exclaimed.

“Mhm…” Xue Qingdai and Xie Yan both petted Yanyan. Honestly, dogs were easier to deal with than people—and once it grew up, it could even carry things for her.

Yanyan, enjoying the petting, let out two soft barks.

“Then I’ll be its dad. That’s better for the dog.”
Xie Yan added with a straight face,
“Look, it loves my touch. And I’ve been taking good care of your goldfish too.”
“Yanyan, look at Daddy.”

At that moment, Yanyan kicked Xie Yan with its little paw, but he didn’t move away. Back when he was training military dogs, this puppy probably hadn’t even been born.

“Do you have any scratches?”
Xue Qingdai asked nervously. At the time, there were no vaccines—if Xie Yan got rabies, she’d feel incredibly guilty.

“No, I pulled away in time.”
He extended his arm. His wheat-colored skin and raised veins showed no visible marks, but she was still worried. She placed Yanyan in its warm little dog bed and carefully disinfected Xie Yan’s arm, checking for scratches.

Her warm breath tickled his skin, making his ears blush red.
“Really, there’s nothing.”

“This dog’s pretty tame,” she murmured, focused entirely on checking him, not really listening to what he said.

Her fingers paused on his pulse—something about it felt sluggish. Her brows furrowed slightly.
“Xie Yan, have you been feeling unwell lately?”

He thought he was perfectly healthy.
“Not really.”

Although he didn’t mention the heart palpitations or how often he thought about her at night. That… didn’t feel appropriate to say.

Her face darkened.
“Have there been any pretty women around you recently?”
What she really wanted to ask was if there were any suspicious people, but that felt too sensitive for now.

Xie Yan studied her. The most beautiful woman was right in front of him. He couldn’t even see anyone else.

“Yes.”
But… it was just him circling around her.

Xue Qingdai’s eyes narrowed. Ah, no wonder he’s so full of fire lately—pretty women nearby.

Just then, Zhang Shuying returned from her mahjong game and proudly pulled a few pretty hair clips out of her faux-leather handbag.
“Daidai, look at my winnings today!”

Xue Qingdai whispered into Xie Yan’s ear,
“You should take some supplements when you get back. Men over thirty might start having issues. What if your future wife’s not satisfied?”

Xie Yan’s face darkened. Not satisfied? He didn’t believe that for a second. He thought of her multiple times a night—how was that not capable?

Xue Qingdai slipped away quickly. She knew his pulse was strange and had teased him just to distract him. Maybe… she really was a genius! She’d completely flustered the male lead.
Heh heh heh…

Hugging her dog-son Yanyan, she called out:
“Aunt Shuying, I’ve got a trophy too. I saved eight puppies today! Aunt Liu’s dog kept following me, so I brought it back.”
“This little guy fits in two palms and already feels a bit hefty.”

Zhang Shuying hugged Yanyan and rubbed its belly.
“This pup’s kinda cute. Does it bite?”

“Nope,” Xue Qingdai shook her head.
“It’s small and very gentle.”
And… very good at acting.

“What’s its name?”

“Yanyan~”

Zhang Shuying’s expression turned complicated. Her son’s childhood nickname was Yanyan too. He didn’t like being called that anymore after he grew up.

Xie Yan walked out of the room with a darkened face, glaring at Xue Qingdai—the culprit. She thinks I’m not “capable”? We need to talk.

Huh? Zhang Shuying noticed her son seemed upset.

She quickly stepped in to help,
“Xie Yan, don’t be mad. Daidai doesn’t know your childhood nickname.”