The Dog with a Background, the Landlady (Bonus Update)

"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!)