Chapter 76: Chapter 76: Even Dogs Have Eyeliner

Xue Rui skillfully crawled out of the dog hole, deeply moved.

’You can always count on a good bro!’

In his heart, Xue Rui gave Qiu Mengze a huge thumbs-up.

If Qiu Mengze hadn’t "sacrificed" himself to draw Director Wang’s attention, he probably wouldn’t have been able to leave.

It was just tough on Qiu Mengze. Director Wang had a nasty temper and would very likely make Qiu Mengze clean all the toilets in the academic building before letting him go.

Xue Rui felt a little guilty. He thought for a moment. ’I’ll just bring the guy some extra snacks in the future to make it up to him.’

After taking a few steps across the greenbelt, he suddenly realized someone was watching him.

’Don’t tell me it’s a teacher...’ Xue Rui thought, ’My luck is just awful today.’

But once he got a clear look at the person, he breathed a sigh of relief. It was just a police officer.

Whenever school let out for the weekend, the roadside would be packed with parents picking up their children. To ensure the students’ safety, many police cars were usually parked nearby to direct traffic.

So, it wasn’t surprising to see a police officer there.

However, Xue Rui thought the man looked a little familiar. To his surprise, the man started walking toward him.

’Why is Officer Chen here?’ Xue Rui was a little surprised.

After a moment’s thought, it all made sense. Chen Shen was a traffic cop, and his own child attended No. 2 High School.

Whether for work or as a parent, it was perfectly natural for Chen Shen to be at the gates of No. 2 High School.

"Uncle Chen," Xue Rui said with a smile as he walked up to him.

"Xue Rui, what are you doing coming out from over there? School isn’t out yet, is it?" Chen Shen asked curiously.

A corner of Xue Rui’s mouth twitched. "Avoiding someone."

Chen Shen’s mind immediately jumped to a dozen different scenarios. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes. "Who’s bullying you?"

Because No. 2 High’s academic performance was the worst in the city, Chen Shen had a very poor impression of the school and subconsciously assumed the worst.

’What if someone had told Xue Rui, "Don’t you dare leave after school"?’

"Where are they?"

Chen Shen was ready to teach those troublemakers a lesson. How dare they bully a good kid like Xue Rui?

"Who do you think?" Xue Rui met Chen Shen’s gaze and sighed helplessly.

’Does Officer Chen really know his own daughter so little?’

Chen Shen fell silent for a moment. Xue Rui’s look of helplessness was definitely not the result of a conflict with other boys. Plus, there was a hint of grievance in his eyes...

’Then it could only be my daughter.’

"Heh heh, Tingting is still young. Please be patient with her. If you need anything, just let your Uncle Chen know," Chen Shen said with a laugh, offering Xue Rui a cigarette.

’How embarrassing,’ he thought. ’My daughter has definitely been disrupting Xue Rui’s life.’

Xue Rui waved a hand, refusing the cigarette.

’Still young?’ he thought. ’With a doting dad like Chen Shen, Chen Tingting could be thirty and he’d probably still think she was a little kid.’

In truth, many parents were like that. They often couldn’t be objective when it came to their own children.

’As for what he needed?’

’The thing he needed most right now was for Chen Tingting to hurry up and transfer schools. Could Chen Shen make that happen?’

"Speaking of which, I have you to thank."

Chen Shen lit a cigarette and leaned against a police car, a gratified smile on his face.

"Tingting never wanted to board at school before. Now she’s actually asking to. She’s become so much more independent. She’s really growing up..."

Chen Shen exhaled a plume of smoke. The relieved expression on his face made him look much younger, like a man in his thirties.

’It’s not such a bad thing that Chen Tingting likes Xue Rui,’ he thought.

’That Xue Rui is a sensible kid. Maybe he’ll be a good influence on Tingting, help her become more mature and steady.’

"Huh?" Xue Rui’s expression was strange.

’Is that really gratification? No matter how I look at it, it seems more like... contentment? Enjoyment?’

’Of course. Chen Shen doesn’t have to drive his daughter to and from school every day. How relaxing for him.’

One man’s joy is truly another man’s sorrow.

Happiness doesn’t just disappear; it simply moves from one person’s face to another’s.

Xue Rui now understood this saying on a very profound level...

BRRRING~

The school bell rang, and many parents began craning their necks and heading toward the school gate, Chen Shen included.

But for Xue Rui, this bell was not good news.

"Uncle Chen, I’ve got to run!" Xue Rui said, making a hasty retreat.

"I’ll treat you to dinner sometime!" Chen Shen yelled after him.

Watching Xue Rui’s hurried escape, he couldn’t help but shake his head and smile. "That kid."

Xue Rui wandered aimlessly through the streets. ’I’m supposed to have dinner with Gu Muxue’s family in the next day or two,’ he thought. ’I wonder what that’s going to be like.’

As he walked, he found himself standing at the entrance to Lin Ruoxi’s neighborhood.

"Hm..." Xue Rui was speechless.

’How did I end up here?’

’It’s pretty close, I guess... I must have gotten used to walking this way lately...’

At least he didn’t have to worry about Lin Ruoxi’s safety after school today, since the streets were full of police officers directing traffic.

As he was passing a shop, someone called out to Xue Rui.

"Hey, young man! Don’t you want your dog anymore?" a man in a white lab coat yelled.

He remembered Xue Rui clearly; he’d even played along with the boy’s little act the other day.

"Da Huang? I almost forgot..."

Xue Rui walked into the pet hospital, and the vet told him to have a seat and wait a moment.

’He’s probably gone to get Da Huang,’ Xue Rui thought.

The receptionist was a young woman of about eighteen, practicing her eyeliner in a mirror.

Her technique was still clumsy, however. The lines were crooked, thick in some places and thin in others. It looked strange, like the clownish makeup on a comedian in a TV show.

Xue Rui smiled. ’Ah, youth.’

The young woman wiped away the eyeliner in frustration, then looked up to see Xue Rui watching her with a smile.

She assumed he was laughing at her poor makeup skills and snapped:

"What are you looking at, you country bumpkin? Never seen a pretty girl put on makeup before?"

Xue Rui frowned. ’This girl really has a sharp tongue.’

"Who’s looking at you? I was looking at the pet photos behind you," Xue Rui retorted.

The young woman snorted. ’Is this guy saying I’m not even as good-looking as a dog?’

"I remember you. You’re that mutt’s owner," she said, tilting her head.

Xue Rui mimicked the young woman’s narcissistic tone:

"Oh? Is it because I’m so handsome you just can’t forget me?"

"I’d advise you to give up now. I’m a man you can never have."

"So conceited!" the young woman grumbled, hands on her hips.

"The owner’s weird, and the dog’s weird. You’re a perfect match."

Xue Rui was curious. ’What could be so weird about Da Huang?’

"A mutt’s a mutt. He won’t eat perfectly good dog food."

"He insists on eating human food, and he won’t even touch it until he’s seen someone else take a bite first."

"Guess a country dog can’t eat fine food."

The young woman continued to grumble. Of all the animals in the hospital, that mutt was the most difficult to care for.

"Why are you so prejudiced against him? For all you know, the dog food is full of additives, and maybe my Da Huang can smell them."

Xue Rui was very unhappy with the young woman’s comments.

Da Huang was an all-natural, local dog; it was perfectly normal for him to be unaccustomed to artificial additives.

So how did that become "a country dog can’t eat fine food" in her mouth?

’Then again, Da Huang has to see a person eat his food before he’ll touch it?’

’Is he afraid of being poisoned? Has my dog become a genius?’

Xue Rui was stunned by Da Huang’s intelligence.

The vet emerged from the back room holding Da Huang and chided the young woman, "Is that any way to speak to a customer?"

"Oh..." the young woman mumbled, lowering her head to her mirror again.

When Da Huang saw it was Xue Rui, his tail started to wag and he let out a little whimper.

Xue Rui had already paid, so he promptly "snatched" Da Huang from the vet’s arms.

"Da Huang, I’m here to rescue you!"

Xue Rui said, cradling Da Huang with great concern, as if he were genuinely afraid something had happened to him.

But once in Xue Rui’s arms, Da Huang immediately turned his head and began barking furiously at the vet in the white coat.

"WOOF WOOF WOOF..."

Da Huang was extremely agitated, looking like he wanted nothing more than to leap out and tackle the man who had taken his balls.

Xue Rui couldn’t understand what Da Huang was barking, but he had a feeling the curses were quite foul.

"Da Huang, let it go, let it go. It was just two balls. It’s not worth it... really, it’s not..."

Xue Rui was being very magnanimous. After all, they weren’t his balls.

And yet, when Xue Rui let him go, giving Da Huang the freedom to charge,

Da Huang just sat back down, wagging his tail, licking his lips, and glancing all around as if nothing had happened.

"Da Huang, where’s all that bravado from a second ago?" Xue Rui was at a loss for words.

So that’s where the saying "a dog backed by its master’s power" came from...

Before leaving, Xue Rui pointed to the corners of Da Huang’s eyes and said to the young woman at the reception desk:

"See? Even dogs have eyeliner."

The young woman froze. ’Dogs have eyeliner?’

She stared blankly at the pet photos on the wall and was amazed to discover that it seemed many dogs were, in fact, born with natural eyeliner.

A long moment later, it dawned on her that what Xue Rui said was not a compliment...

"That bastard!"