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Chapter 13: The New Neighbor Who Just Moved In

“Woof—”

“Barbecue! Stop!”

A girl’s shriek echoed in the hallway.

But the husky named “Barbecue” had already pounced on Li Huanhuan. Caught off guard, she stumbled back two steps and fell to the ground.

The husky pinned her shoulders and wagged its tail excitedly.

“Woof woof woof!”

It barked joyfully at her.

Li Huanhuan was stunned, sitting frozen on the floor. But the next moment, the husky, still wagging its tail furiously, suddenly looked toward the living room behind her, as if spotting something thrilling. It froze for two seconds, then released her shoulders and dashed toward the living room.

“Woof woof woof! Woof woof!”

“Meow—!”

Soon, a sharp hiss came from behind her.

Li Huanhuan quickly turned around and saw her cat, “His Highness,” perched on the sofa, fur bristling and hissing at the husky, which wagged its tail eagerly, trying to get closer.

The cat, frightened, raised a paw, claws extended.

“Your Highness!” Alarmed, Li Huanhuan rushed over to rescue her cat.

She didn’t even see clearly what happened next. A white blur flashed by toward the bedroom, followed by loud crashes and thuds. The overly excited husky yelped and tumbled off the sofa.

Li Huanhuan paused.

The husky on the floor looked up.

Their eyes met.

Then the husky wagged its tail at her.

And then… it couldn’t move.

Half an hour later.

At a nearby pet hospital.

“I’m sorry,” Li Huanhuan said, looking at the husky lying on the table getting an injection, addressing the young girl in the hallway.

She felt embarrassed.

It was originally the girl’s fault for letting the dog charge into her home, scaring her and the cat. But in the end, the cat’s swipe made the husky fall and sprain its front leg. From victim to… the one at fault.

Frightened, Li Huanhuan helped bring the husky to the vet with the girl.

The doctor said it was just a sprain and gave it anti-inflammatory and pain-relief injections. The dog just needed rest.

“I’ll pay for the vet fees,” Li Huanhuan offered.

After all, it was her cat that injured the dog.

“No, no, we should be the ones apologizing,” the girl, Dongfang Jiao, quickly waved her hands. “I didn’t hold onto Barbecue well enough and let him charge into your home.”

Dongfang Jiao refused the compensation.

But since they were neighbors now, it was awkward for Li Huanhuan. When the girl wouldn’t accept money, she bought two bags of dog treats for Barbecue from the pet store next door as a goodwill gesture.

Dongfang Jiao, a straightforward girl, accepted after some insistence.

Afterward, she drove back, while Li Huanhuan and Barbecue sat in the backseat. Even after getting a shot, Barbecue was still full of energy, occasionally glancing at Li Huanhuan.

Seeing this through the rearview mirror, Dongfang Jiao said, “Sis, don’t be scared. Barbecue’s usually got a good temperament. It’s just, well…”

She looked a bit awkward. “He just really loves cats. He probably smelled your cat and got super excited.”

“A dog… addicted to cats?” Li Huanhuan was baffled.

Dongfang Jiao explained that Barbecue wasn’t her dog, but her cousin’s. And it wasn’t her moving in across from Li Huanhuan—it was her mysterious cousin.

Her cousin was busy and couldn’t come, so she brought Barbecue over to get familiar with the new place. She hadn’t expected such a chaotic situation.

After apologizing again, she explained that the real new neighbor was Barbecue’s owner.

Li Huanhuan looked at the husky with blue eyes lying beside her. The dog looked back.

Wag wag wag.

That tail again.

Jiao had only brought Barbecue over to check on the apartment and see if the renovation was done. Because of the incident, the plan was ruined, so she decided to return for now.

She stopped the car at the community gate, and Li Huanhuan got out.

“See you next time, Sis,” Dongfang Jiao waved.

“Thanks for the ride. Bye.”

“Woof!” Barbecue stuck his head out the window, mouth wide in a goofy grin.

Seeing his expectant expression, Li Huanhuan smiled and said, “Bye, Barbecue.”

“Woof!”

His tail went wild.

The car drove off.

“That’s enough, you clingy dog! I’m telling your owner what dumb things you did today! Seeing a cat’s like seeing a hit of excitement, huh? It’s not your little sweetheart!” Dongfang Jiao grumbled.

“Woof!”

Barbecue protested.

Back at home, His Highness the cat was already sitting on his throne, elegantly licking his paw. Li Huanhuan rushed over, picked him up, and took a big whiff.

“Meow~” The cat pushed her face away with a pink paw.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” she patted his head.

To make up for the trauma, she opened his favorite tuna can. When she returned to her computer, the “Start livestream” comment section was full of wailing.

Fantasia: “Sorry.”

The livestream was canceled because the cat had a stressful night. As an apology, Li Huanhuan promised an extra hour in tomorrow’s stream.

HotpotNo, BBQYes: “Woof woof woof! [crying.jpg]”

She noticed the top fan, “HotpotNo, BBQYes,” crying in the comments.

She sent a “pat dog head” emoji, and was about to exit when she noticed the profile pic looked eerily similar to Barbecue—blue eyes, fluffy fur.

But she quickly brushed off the thought.

There are plenty of huskies that look alike. No way the top fan of her cat’s stream is that random husky she met tonight, right?

She logged off and replied to a few fans before heading to the bathroom to shower and call it a night.

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Meanwhile.

At the Sirius Club coach’s office.

“Take a break for now, but stay sharp,” said Coach Yang Shantai.

Qin Shi sat across from him, scrolling his phone.

There had been some scandals in the league recently, especially involving a team called CoolPlay—internal fights, even physical brawls. Several players, including Fox, were suspended. The Sirius club used the downtime to provide counseling and stress relief for their team to avoid a similar scandal.

Qin Shi didn’t get along with Fox. After the meeting, Yang kept him behind.

He wasn’t worried about Qin Shi starting a fight—Qin seemed cold and tough, but was actually the calmest one on the team. Yang’s goal was more about keeping the others—like Hu Xun and Zhou Jianyu—in check, since they followed Qin Shi’s lead.

Just then, Qin Shi’s phone buzzed. A message from his cousin, Dongfang Jiao.

She told him Barbecue got into trouble—ran into a neighbor’s home, scared a cat, hurt himself, got an injection, and now needed rest.

Star: “…”

Star: “Did you apologize?”

Jiao: “Yep, we apologized. But you, the dog’s owner, need to do the real apologizing.”

Jiao: “Cousin, you don’t know how much Barbecue loves your neighbor. First time meeting, he jumped on her. After getting a shot, he still wagged his tail at her.”

She dramatically exaggerated Barbecue’s antics.

Jiao: “I feed him all the time, but he was more affectionate to a stranger? [crying.jpg]”

Star: “Thanks. [Red envelope][Red envelope]”

Qin Shi sent her two money packets.

Jiao: “Thanks, Cousin!”

Star: “I’ll handle the apology. Thanks again.”

Jiao, thrilled by the red packets, praised him nonstop. Then told him that Barbecue was heartbroken today—hurt, traumatized, and his favorite cat streamer didn’t even go live. She told him to video call Barbecue later and shower him with compliments.

“Qin Shi?” Coach Yang looked over.

Qin Shi put away his phone and nodded. “I got it.”

He looked cool and detached.

Coach Yang blinked, then waved him off.

After Qin Shi left, the coach scratched his chin. “What’s up with that kid lately? He acts distracted, but performs perfectly. Still… something’s definitely off.”

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A few days later.

It was the weekend. Li Huanhuan, the consummate homebody, actually went out. Her friend Xiaojing tried to invite her out, but she refused.

Xiaojing: “What are you doing?”

0.0: “Blind date.”

Just two words.

Xiaojing instantly understood.

After the Yang Shantai incident, Li Huanhuan had gone on a few more blind dates. This week’s match was a colleague’s nephew—coincidentally, two years younger than her.

The location was a Cantonese restaurant.

“Zhou Jianyu?” She was stunned when they met.

Her blind date turned out to be Zhou Jianyu, Qin Shi’s teammate—the short-haired, energetic guy she had met before. He was surprised too.

“Huanhuan-jie?” (Big sis Huanhuan?)

He looked surprised, then smiled. “This city really is small, huh?”

“Yeah…” she laughed awkwardly.

First Qin Shi, then Coach Yang, now Zhou Jianyu…

She had now gone on blind dates with three members of the Sirius Club. Should she call it fate? Or maybe this story just didn’t have enough side characters?

“Huanhuan-jie, you haven’t contacted Xiao Shi lately?” Zhou Jianyu brought up Qin Shi.

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