"Ruirui-jie, I'm here. Are you busy?"
Lin Yu stepped into the shop, the bell above the door jingling as he entered.
He had expected to run into Chang Xiaoxiao first thing upon arrival.
But to his surprise—
There was no sign of her.
Not just her, but Mao Ruirui was missing too?
The shop was quieter than usual, with only the faint rustling and hopping sounds of small animals in their cages.
"Ruirui-jie? Are you here?"
"Xiaoxiao?"
"That's weird..."
Lin Yu frowned, scanning the entrance hall.
The door was open, yet not a soul in sight?
Had another clueless dog run off, and the two of them gone chasing after it?
Even if they were searching for a runaway dog, they wouldn’t just leave the door unlocked.
Lin Yu walked further inside, checking the other rooms.
If no one turned up, he’d have to call them.
However—
As he approached the usual pet bathing room—
The faint creak of floorboards didn’t escape Lin Yu’s sharp hearing.
What was that…?
The sound of shuffling footsteps?
From the outside, no one was visible.
But if he squinted past the glass, two dark figures lurked behind it…
They were hiding!
And there was more than one!
What were Ruirui-jie and Xiaoxiao up to, sneaking around like this?
Trying to scare him?
Were they pulling some kind of prank?
Lin Yu was completely baffled, unable to guess their intentions.
Still—
He wasn’t about to ruin their fun.
Feigning ignorance, he stepped inside.
"Strange, they didn’t tell me they were going out…"
"Where is everyone?"
Lin Yu muttered under his breath—
Of course, intentionally loud enough for the two behind the door to hear.
The next moment—
"Bang~"
"Bang~"
Two loud pops echoed from behind the door.
Colorful paper streamers rained down, covering Lin Yu from head to toe.
At least they weren’t glitter—that stuff was a nightmare to clean off.
"Xiao Yu, happy early birthday!"
"Lin Yu-senpai, happy birthday!"
Mao Ruirui and Chang Xiaoxiao jumped out from behind the door, beaming at him excitedly.
Lin Yu pretended to be startled before turning to them, clasping his hands together in gratitude.
The moment he saw the streamers, he’d figured it out.
Tomorrow was his birthday.
They’d all agreed to celebrate properly at the apartment.
But it seemed the two girls had decided to give him an early surprise at the shop today.
Mao Ruirui grabbed a box from a nearby table and handed it to Lin Yu.
Chang Xiaoxiao followed suit, placing a slightly smaller box on top of it.
Mao Ruirui: "We’re giving you our gifts early. Tomorrow, there’ll be so many people giving you presents—we wanted to stand out."
Chang Xiaoxiao: "Exactly! Ruirui-jie suggested we celebrate today, so I brought my gift from home too."
Both boxes were wrapped in decorative paper.
No way to guess what was inside just by looking.
"Thank you, really. So… should I…?"
Lin Yu mimed unwrapping the gifts, glancing at them for confirmation.
Mao Ruirui: "Open them at home!"
Chang Xiaoxiao: "At home!"
They spoke in perfect unison—
Even their tone and expressions were eerily identical.
Lin Yu couldn’t help but wonder…
Were these just ordinary gifts?
Or was there something else hidden inside that they didn’t want him seeing now?
The two girls noticed his puzzled look and quickly backtracked.
Mao Ruirui hurriedly explained:
"Because it’s not technically your birthday yet!"
Chang Xiaoxiao: "Right, exactly!"
Mao Ruirui: "If you open them now, there won’t be any surprise left for the actual day. Wait until after midnight!"
Chang Xiaoxiao: "Yeah, Ruirui-jie’s totally right."
Lin Yu nodded with an amused smile: "..."
Worried about spoiling the surprise?
Then why insist on giving them early?
Tsk tsk.
He really couldn’t follow Ruirui-jie and Xiaoxiao’s logic.
But since they’d put it that way—
He’d play along.
Otherwise, if he opened them now and found, say, two love letters inside, things might get awkward.
"Can I leave the gifts at the front desk for now?"
"Ruirui-jie, which dog am I training today?"
Chang Xiaoxiao politely took the boxes from Lin Yu and set them aside.
Meanwhile, Mao Ruirui led him back to the main area.
She opened one of the medium-sized cages and called out to the dog inside.
"Good Luck, come here."
But—
The dog didn’t budge.
It just lay there, head pressed to the floor, staring up at its owner with pitiful eyes.
It didn’t seem lazy—just too scared to step out.
Lin Yu gave Mao Ruirui a questioning look.
"This is the dog you’re entering in the competition?"
There was no way this dog had any competitive potential!
At the very least, they should’ve picked one with some basic training, right?
This one was clearly untrained and skittish—how was it supposed to compete?
Did they think Lin Yu was some kind of dog-whispering deity?
Could he magically turn any mutt into a champion overnight?!
Mao Ruirui looked sheepish.
"Xiao Yu, originally, it wasn’t supposed to be this one…"
"I just wanted you to see if Good Luck… had any potential?"
That only confused Lin Yu more.
Was this some kind of nepotism case?
Had some rich dog owner sponsored the shop?
He recognized the breed.
He’d crammed a ton of dog knowledge to prepare for today.
A Dogue de Bordeaux—
Also called a French Mastiff or Bordeaux Bulldog.
In terms of size and breed—
They were actually great for training and competitions.
Highly intelligent, obedient to commands, easy to shape into winners.
But this one?
A clear exception.
Lin Yu answered honestly:
"Potential… is very low."
"Is there some story behind this dog?"
"Or does it… have powerful connections?"
Mao Ruirui awkwardly lowered her gaze.
Lin Yu: "..."
Bingo.
Seeing her discomfort, Chang Xiaoxiao stepped in.
"Lin Yu-senpai, you’re really sharp. This dog belongs to Aunt Chunxia—she’s the landlord’s wife."
"When she heard about the city’s dog competition, she wanted Good Luck to participate."
"It’s not that Good Luck isn’t a good dog, just…"
"It’s not the competition type."
Close enough to what Lin Yu had guessed.
But one thing still puzzled him—
"So that’s how it is. Makes sense."
"Let me ask—"
"Ruirui-jie, is your landlord’s name Wang Biao?"
...
(Bonus chapter delivered!)
close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"
reezy rom-com) Good news: Jiang Liu is quite the ladies' man. Bad news: He’s lost his memory. Lying in a hospital bed, Jiang Liu listens to a parade of goddesses spouting "absurd claims," feeling like the world is one giant game of Werewolf. "Jiang Liu, I’m your first love." "Jiang Liu, you’re my boyfriend—she’s your ex." "Jiang Liu, we’re close friends who’ve shared a bed, remember?" "Jiang Liu, I want to have your baby." The now-lucid Jiang Liu is convinced this must be some elaborate scam... until someone drops the bombshell: "The day before you lost your memory, you confessed your feelings—and got into a relationship." Jiang Liu is utterly baffled. So... who the hell is his actual girlfriend?! ... Before recovering his memories, Jiang Liu must navigate this minefield of lies and sincerity, fighting to protect himself from these women’s schemes. But things spiral even further out of control as more people show up at his doorstep—each with increasingly unhinged antics. On the bright side, the memories he lost due to overwhelming trauma seem to be resurfacing. Great news, right? So why are they all panicking now?
u serious?" Chen Feng watched helplessly as his painstakingly trained disciple, fresh off a championship victory, publicly abandoned him. "You had your chance, but you didn’t appreciate it. Now, face the consequences of your choice!" Chen Feng possessed the "Master System," a treasure trove of supreme martial arts techniques, capable of molding ordinary individuals into peerless prodigies. "Legs like yours? A shame not to train in the Crippling Kick." "Ever heard of a palm strike that descends from the heavens?" "Auntie! I see extraordinary bone structure in you—a martial arts prodigy, one in ten thousand." The once-defiant senior disciple, now watching her juniors rise to fame one after another, dominating the internet, was consumed by endless regret.
shall grant"] ["Inscribing the glory of our race upon tombstones"] ["All that is threatened, I shall protect"] How his younger sister sees her brother: A brother who only makes eye contact once a day, mostly fading into the background as he tinkers with who-knows-what in his room all day. Their life paths should have remained largely separate. Until one day. Su Qi created an equipment card for his never-met "online girlfriend." His sister fell into silent contemplation upon receiving the "white stockings." [Card can be upgraded] [Upgrade by fulfilling any of the following conditions] [Condition ①: Consume one hundred higher-tier cards] [Condition ②: Complete one 'Heart-Pounding Adventure'] What constitutes a Heart-Pounding Adventure? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Beginner Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to admire it.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Easy Level): Equip the card, invite 'Su Qi' to touch it, and analyze the equipment's texture.] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Entry Level): Equip the card and invite 'Su Qi' to...] [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Challenge Level): Freely combine the words 'Brother' 'Out' 'Brother' 'Me' 'Please' into a complete sentence...] "Please help me analyze both teams' mistakes in this match, brother..." His sister exhaled in relief—surely... surely there couldn't be anything more difficult? [Heart-Pounding Adventure (Suicide Mission Level): Sneak a peek at the names of the galgames in 'Su Qi's' hidden E-drive folder]
