Chapter 41: The Dog Thief

Shen Yu stayed silent for a long time. After a while, he moved his hand, placing his warm palm against her injured cheek.

“Does it hurt?”

Shuangxu couldn’t hold back her tears.

During the ten years she was raised by Shen Yu，she had never suffered any injustice.

Back then, she wasn’t Song Shuangxu，she was just Shen Yu’s little sister, Xiao Jiu.

She was so well-behaved and endearing, both Shen Changyuan and Fu Yun loved her, and Yue Zifeng’s group all spoiled her. Let alone no one hitting her, even if someone wanted to, they would have to think twice.

But as soon as Song Mien returned to China, she became Song’s daughter again, as if she suddenly turned into something annoying.

Sometimes, Shuangxu selfishly wished they had never come back.

“Brother…” she suddenly grabbed Shen Yu’s sleeve.

She wanted to tell him about Zheng Zuye drugging her, to hide behind him like she used to, knowing that he would solve any big problem for her.

“Is Xiao Jiu alright?” Lu Manman’s voice suddenly sounded.

The words stuck in her throat.

When Lu Manman walked over, she let go of his sleeve.

“Your brother and I came to visit your grandfather. Luckily, we arrived in time. Zheng Zuye didn’t bully you, did he?” Lu Manman asked.

“No.” Shuangxu suppressed her emotions.

“Your grandfather was too harsh. Your face is swollen. Let me take you to get it treated.” Lu Manman looked worried.

“No need, I’ll just go back and ice it down.” Shuangxu said. “You two go in.”

Her tone was too calm, as if nothing had happened. If it weren’t for the shocking injury on her face, no one would have noticed that she had been slapped so hard.

She walked into the elevator, turned around, pressed the button, and didn’t look back at Shen Yu.

It was almost dark, and the people coming and going at the hospital entrance were all in a hurry, each with their own worries or being worried about.

Walking out, Shuangxu finally felt the burning pain on her face, so painful that she wanted to cry.

But no one would hold her and gently wipe away her tears when she cried anymore.

At this moment, she didn’t want to go home. Song’s house, Shen’s house, or even the empty house on Songming Road, none of them felt like home.

Her chest felt heavy, suffocating, and she sat on the bench at the bus stop, watching the endless stream of cars in front of her.

The strangers passing by were all staring at her face, she couldn’t see, but she guessed she must look quite pathetic.

But she didn’t care.

The night silently enveloped everything, and the girls waiting for the bus next to her suddenly became excited.

“Wow, such a handsome dog!”

“Hello, hello, what’s your name?”

“Hey, it’s ignoring us.”

Shuangxu slightly turned her head and saw a large, strong, imposing Doberman walking through the crowd waiting for the bus, slowly approaching her.

She didn’t own a dog, and in her eyes, dogs of the same breed all looked the same. Dobermans were all black with a bit of yellow.

But this one was exceptionally cool and majestic, with the aura of a domineering CEO… It looked familiar.

She couldn’t tell if it was He Tingzhou’s dog, the Doberman was already in front of her, its head reaching out to her.

She reflexively moved away a step, even ready to get up and leave.

The Doberman spat out what it was biting in its mouth onto the chair.

——A medical ice pack.

Shuangxu was stunned for a few seconds: “For me?”

The Doberman sat down, but turned its head to the side, maybe it was hurt by her rejection.

“Sorry.” Shuangxu apologized. “I’m a little afraid of dogs, not you specifically.”

The Doberman may have understood, it turned back and pushed the ice pack towards her with its snout.

Shuangxu took the ice pack and put it on her face, looking around.

She didn’t see He Tingzhou’s car, nor any suspicious figures.

The burning sensation on her left cheek gradually numbed under the coolness, but it didn’t stop hurting, it just hurt differently.

While she was applying the ice pack, the Doberman stayed by her side, like a cold-faced bodyguard.

It was just too eye-catching, a beautiful woman with a swollen face from being slapped, plus a cool and imposing large dog, attracting even more attention from passersby.

Shuangxu stood up, and the dog also stood up.

She started to walk, and the dog followed behind her.

It seemed a bit ungrateful to leave it behind, Shuangxu hesitated for a moment: “Where’s your owner?”

The Doberman remained motionless, as if it didn’t understand what she was saying.

Shuangxu was helpless, she took out her phone and dialed He Tingzhou’s number.

It rang three times, and he answered He Tingzhou’s casual voice: “What do you want, Song?”

Shuangxu was confused, didn’t he send the dog to deliver the ice pack?

She must have mistaken the dog, this wasn’t He Tingzhou’s, or was the dog a spirit?

“I met a Doberman, I don’t know if it’s yours.”

He Tingzhou drawled out an “oh”: “Ask it.”

Shuangxu lowered her head and met the big dog’s eyes.

“…”

“You don’t know if your dog is lost, do you?” Shuangxu frowned. “If it’s not your dog, I’m not going to care.”

“It’s lost, I’m looking for the dog thief.” He Tingzhou directly blamed her. “So it’s you.”

“Where are you?” Shuangxu asked.

The other end of the phone paused for two seconds, and she heard He Tingzhou say: “Turn around.”

Shuangxu held the phone to her ear, turned around, and saw the wide road and the speeding cars, seeing a Cullinan parked on the side of the road.

The driver’s side window was half-lowered, revealing He Tingzhou’s excessively handsome face.

He was so close.

•  

Shen Yu and Lu Manman entered the ward. Seeing them, Mr. Song’s attitude was amiable: “Ayu and Manman are here.”

Lu Manman looked at his easygoing expression and couldn’t imagine that he was the one who beat Shuangxu’s face like that.

“Mr. Song, are you feeling better?”

To the same question, Mr. Song smiled: “I’ve been recovering well these past few days, thanks for your concern.”

Among the younger generation in Yancheng, Shen Yu was one of the most outstanding. Mr. Song admired this junior very much.

Shen Changyuan originally planned for Shen Yu to enter politics. With his ability and the support of the Shen family, it wouldn’t be a problem for him to reach the deputy department level at this age, but he wasn’t interested in playing power games.

The Shen and Song families were close. Earlier, Mr. Song had the idea of a marriage alliance, but he didn’t want Shuangxu to marry Shen Yu, he wanted Song Leyan to. Unexpectedly, five years ago, Shuangxu stirred things up, and the reputations of both families were almost ruined. Bringing it up again would be inappropriate.

Now that the Shen family was talking about marriage with the Lu family, this matter could only be dropped.

This was also one of the reasons why he was so dissatisfied with Shuangxu.

Lu Manman was usually very good at being sweet and charming to win over elders, but perhaps because she had seen the injuries on Shuangxu’s face, she just smiled and didn’t get close to him.

Shen Yu was always polite and courteous in his dealings with people. After expressing concern for the old man’s health and exchanging pleasantries, before leaving, he said to Lu Manman: “You go back first, I’ll have a few words with Mr. Song.”

Lu Manman seemed to guess what he was going to say, and after closing the door, she didn’t go far.

In the ward, Shen Yu casually mentioned: “I heard that Xiao Jiu made a mistake and angered you.”

As soon as these words came out, the air in the ward seemed to become still.

It was true that Shuangxu was a child of the Song family, but she had actually grown up with Shen Yu. He specifically mentioned this, most likely to speak up for her.

“Did she complain to you?”

“I met her on my way here, her face was swollen.” Shen Yu said, “I haven’t been around lately, did she cause any trouble? Why are you so angry with her?”

Cui Ning, who was standing beside him, said: “It’s nothing, just that the two sisters were arguing, and she got into a fight with Leyan in public. Her grandfather is also angry that she’s not considerate. No matter how much trouble she causes at home, she can’t make a fool of herself outside.”

“I thought it was something serious.” Shen Yu’s lips curled into a faint smile, “Xiao Jiu has always been very well-behaved since she was young, it’s just that her temper is too soft, and she’s always bullied. So I taught her to be a little more domineering. If someone bullies her to her face, she has to fight back. It’s not her fault.”

Mr. Song was a little unhappy: “I know you’re defending her, but she’s my granddaughter. If she does something wrong, can’t I discipline her?”

The smile on Shen Yu’s face was almost gone.

“Of course you can discipline her, but she was raised by me. If she really does something wrong, I have to take responsibility. Next time, if anything happens, I’ll teach her a lesson. You have a bad heart, so don’t get angry.”