Mrs. Vance’s chihuahua was so small and skinny from long-term malnutrition that it slipped through the security bars on the window with ease.

Melody Summers stared at the security feed, completely dumbfounded!

’Is she really sending a dog in to steal things?’

’Who would’ve thought Mrs. Vance would come up with something like this!’

’Melody suddenly thought that Mrs. Vance was actually pretty resourceful...’

Seeing the chihuahua run from the balcony into the living room on the monitor, Melody thought for a second before opening her bedroom door and stepping out.

Melody walked into the living room, phone in hand. She turned on the flashlight, illuminating the chihuahua’s furtive figure on the floor.

When the chihuahua saw Melody, it froze.

Like a toy dog with its pause button pushed, it froze mid-stride with one paw raised, stuck foolishly on the spot.

The chihuahua: ...

Melody: ...

Their eyes met—one human, one dog. Melody swore it was the first time she’d ever seen a look of guilt and embarrassment on a dog’s face.

Melody didn’t say a word, just kept her eyes fixed on the scrawny little dog.

Under Melody’s gaze, the chihuahua just stood there stock-still, seeming at a loss for what to do.

It looked just like an elementary school student who’d been called on by the teacher but didn’t know the answer—helpless, nervous, and utterly lost.

Its little tail stopped wagging. It just hung straight down, as if the dog didn’t dare to move a muscle.

And so, the human and the dog remained locked in a standoff.

An inexplicably awkward atmosphere filled the room.

After a moment’s thought, Melody simply turned and went back to her bedroom.

Melody closed the door, leaned back against it, and looked down at the security feed on her phone.

On the security feed, she saw that after she’d returned to her room, the chihuahua hesitated for a moment. Then, as if it had made up its mind, it tentatively made its way toward the kitchen.

Melody watched her phone screen, arms crossed and a faint smile playing on her lips, intrigued as the chihuahua looked around the kitchen.

The chihuahua tiptoed around cautiously, taking tiny steps as it sniffed the air.

Two pieces of air-dried chicken and some cured sausage hung above the kitchen cabinets, giving off a tantalizing aroma.

But given its height and jumping ability, the chihuahua couldn’t possibly reach them, so it had to give up.

Finally, on the bottom shelf of a storage rack, the chihuahua spotted a small piece of pork.

Seeing the pork, the chihuahua pounced as if it had discovered a hidden treasure.

Its tail began to wag furiously, a clear sign of its excitement.

Melody raised an eyebrow. She knew her grandmother and Miss Lowell had taken that piece of pork out to thaw before bed.

Her grandmother and Miss Lowell were probably planning to make century egg and lean pork congee for the family in the morning. That’s why they’d brought the meat over from the balcony of 1605 the night before, letting it thaw at room temperature so it would be ready for breakfast.

The chihuahua crept toward the piece of pork and gently lifted it from the shelf in its mouth.

Melody expected the chihuahua to start gobbling it down right away, but it didn’t.

Carrying the pork in its mouth, the chihuahua turned and scurried back to the balcony.

Mrs. Vance, who had been waiting on the balcony, almost cried out with excitement when she saw the chihuahua return with the pork.

But she couldn’t make a sound. The night wind had frozen her throat raw, making it feel like she’d swallowed a razor blade. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

In this freezing weather, Mrs. Vance had been hanging from the security bars in sub-zero temperatures for so long that her body had gone completely stiff. She thought she was going to freeze to death right there!

But thankfully, the chihuahua had brought back a piece of meat. Her gamble had paid off.

Mrs. Vance carefully grabbed the scruff of the chihuahua’s neck and lifted the little dog, along with the pork, back through the security bars. She placed it inside the hood of her sweatshirt.

Then, Mrs. Vance gently closed the window to the balcony of 1606 and began to climb down, retracing her path.

Mrs. Vance’s figure looked exceptionally frail in the night wind. Her body had grown stiff from the cold, and she was far less agile than she had been on the way up. She nearly lost her footing several times.

She clung to the exterior wall, her body swaying precariously with every gust of wind.

Watching Mrs. Vance’s perilous climb on her phone screen, Melody couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat for her.

’That’s way too dangerous!’

’She’s fifteen stories up!’

’Mrs. Vance’s only safety gear is a thin rope that probably can’t hold much weight. One wrong move and she’d be smashed to pieces!’

Fortunately, Mrs. Vance made it back to the 15th floor without any real scares and slipped in through her balcony.

Melody waited for a while, phone in hand. She’d thought Mrs. Vance might come back for more, but there was no further movement from her apartment.

’So Mrs. Vance isn’t that greedy after all,’ Melody thought. ’She actually stopped after taking just one small piece of pork...’

Melody waited a little longer, and once she was sure Mrs. Vance wasn’t coming back, she went to the kitchen and put another piece of meat where the stolen one had been. She didn’t want her grandmother and Miss Lowell to find it missing in the morning.

Afterward, she locked the balcony window of 1606, then edited and saved the security footage of Mrs. Vance committing the crime.

By the time she finished, Melody was truly exhausted.

She glanced at the time: four in the morning.

Melody yawned, climbed into bed, and fell back asleep.

******

Melody got up early the next morning.

After breakfast, she stood by the window and peered outside.

The wind and snow outside had stopped.

After several falls of black snow, the sky was no longer pitch black but had lightened to a gloomy gray, like an overcast day.

Melody gathered her things and left with Winnie and Colin Summers.

Winnie and Colin Summers went to the supply point to start organizing the second shipment of government-issued cold-weather supplies.

Melody, however, went to the emergency management office next to the supply point.

Inside the emergency management office, Officer Tristan Tanner and Officer Sean Pierce were on duty.

Seeing Melody arrive, Officer Tristan Tanner greeted her with a smile. "What brings you out? It’s better to stay home in this cold if you can help it."

Melody smiled, shook her head, and said, "I’m here to report a crime."

Officer Tristan Tanner froze at her words, and Officer Sean Pierce, who had been buried in paperwork, looked up.

They looked at Melody with concern. "What’s wrong? What happened?"

Melody replied, "I’m not sure what to even call it... but my downstairs neighbor broke into my apartment. A piece of our meat was stolen!"

Then, under the two officers’ baffled gazes, Melody took out her phone, pulled up the security footage she had prepared, and played it for them.

After watching the footage, both Officer Tristan Tanner and Officer Sean Pierce were left speechless.

It was the first time either of them had ever seen someone commit theft by dog!

The young Officer Tanner couldn’t help but marvel internally. ’Guess if you’re a cop long enough, you really do see everything!’

As absurd as it was, breaking and entering was still a serious crime.

Especially now, when a single piece of meat was worth several thousand on the market—more than enough to warrant filing a case!

The two officers conferred for a moment and decided that Officer Tanner would go with Melody to Apartment 1505 to handle the matter.