The landlord has multiple personalities and wants everyone to pay him.

Just as Xia Qing was thinking of explaining, Ye Shu noticed a few humming sounds coming from the green belt at her feet.

Immediately afterwards, the green belt swayed twice, and a grayish, furry little thing squeezed out from it.

Ye Shu looked down and saw a puppy, about the size of one hand.

Its fur is tan, but it looks filthy because it's covered in mud and twigs.

It's hard to tell the breed; it's probably just a mix of some mixed-breed dogs.

It didn't seem afraid of people at all. Its two wet eyes were staring intently at the remaining half of the sausage in Xia Qing's hand, and its two little front paws were anxiously tugging at Xia Qing's trouser leg, its short tail almost flying off.

Ye Shu then noticed that Xia Qing was carrying a plastic bag containing a bottle of cola, several round cans of food, and sausages.

Now he understood.

There was no getting lost, no accident, no cravings—none of that happened.

Xia Qing was simply squatting at the entrance of the building feeding the dog, so engrossed in it that she lost track of time.

"Whose dog is that?"

Ye Shu pointed with her chin at the puppy.

Seeing that the puppy was getting impatient, Xia Qing quickly squatted down, broke the sausage in her hand into small pieces, put them in her palm, and offered them to the puppy's mouth.

The puppy immediately came over and ate very quickly in Xia Qing's hand, clearly very hungry.

"I don't know whose it is."

While feeding Ye Shu, Xia Qing looked up and said:

"I had just come back from buying Coke when I saw it lying in the green belt. I felt sorry for it and couldn't bear it, so I ran back to the supermarket and bought some sausages and canned food."

As she spoke, she looked around and then continued:

"I was thinking of waiting here to see if any owner would come looking for it, or if any big dogs would be with it, but after waiting for a long time, nothing happened. It seems like it's just been here by itself."

After finishing the sausage in his hand, the puppy tilted its head back and nudged Xia Qing's hand with its nose, while whimpering softly in its throat.

Xia Qing touched the puppy's head, and the puppy immediately wagged its tail even more enthusiastically.

Looking at the puppy's adorable appearance, she glanced up at Ye Shu and asked:

"Could it be a stray dog? Someone doesn't want it anymore?"

Ye Shu leaned on his cane, looking at the little gadget at his feet.

It was indeed small, at most two or three months old. The fur on its body was not only dirty, but in some places it was wet and cold, so it was all matted together.

Moreover, it eats very hastily, but doesn't seem to be very skilled at it, and occasionally chokes, which doesn't seem like it's been cared for by someone.

Most importantly, it is completely unguarded around strangers and gives off a feeling of long-term neglect.

"Maybe."

Ye Shu nodded:

"It doesn't look like anyone takes care of it. Either it got separated from its mother dog, or it was deliberately abandoned here."

Xia Qing said "oh" and didn't say anything more, but broke off a piece of ham sausage and fed it to the puppy.

Ye Shu watched her lower her head to feed the dog, squatting there, looking at the tiny bundle, with an even smaller bundle at her feet.

Ye Shu could sense that Xia Qing wasn't in a good mood, and he could roughly guess what she was thinking.

Sure enough, after finishing the sausage in her hand, Xia Qing was silent for a while, then she looked up at Ye Shu and asked:

"Then... what do you think... we should take it back?"

"You want to raise it?"

Ye Shu was not surprised at all that Xia Qing would say that. Given her personality, it would be strange if she didn't feel sorry for such a pitiful little dog.

"Um."

Xia Qing nodded. She glanced at the puppy still licking her hand, then at Ye Shu:

"It's so cold, and there's no food or water. I feel bad leaving it here by itself; it probably won't last long."

After saying that, fearing that Ye Shu might not agree, she added a suggestion:

"It's quite well-behaved and doesn't bark much. Shall we keep it?"

"If you like it, then keep it."

Ye Shu shrugged.

"You don't object?"

Xia Qing's eyes lit up immediately. She squatted down and looked up at Ye Shu. She was prepared to coax and plead with him, but she didn't expect Ye Shu to agree so quickly.

Ye Shu smiled and looked at Xia Qing, saying:

"Why would I object? Emotionally speaking, I'm not a heartless person. I even feel sorry for this little thing. Don't make me sound like I'm cold-blooded, okay?"

"Logically, you are the landlord of this house, so of course you have the final say here."

"hey-hey."

Xia Qing was relieved and grinned at Ye Shu.

The smile was so pure that, under the midday sun, it was so radiant that Ye Shu was momentarily dazzled.

Without thinking twice, and ignoring how dirty the puppy was, she reached under the puppy and scooped it up in her hands.

The puppy seemed to understand that Xia Qing wanted to take it home. It didn't make a fuss, but just moved around in her hand, found a comfortable position to lie down, and wagged its little tail even more happily.

Xia Qing held the puppy up to her face, staring into its two big, black grape-like eyes, her tone softening considerably:

"Alright, poor thing, you don't have to be a home anymore, you have a home now! Come on, let's go home!"

After she finished speaking, she got up and walked towards the entrance of the building, carrying a bag in one hand and holding the dog in the other, completely forgetting that there was Tieguai Li behind her.

Seeing how happy she was, Ye Shu had no choice but to lean on his crutches and slowly hop back.

"Oh dear, look how dirty you are, you look like a little mud ball."

As Xia Qing walked, she kept talking to the puppy in her arms, her head down:

"I'll give you a good bath when we get back, I promise I'll make sure you smell nice and white... uh, yellowish."

She was so busy bonding with the new family member that she completely forgot about the wounded person behind her.

She only remembered when she reached the entrance of the building, and turned around while holding the puppy.

She looked at Ye Shu, who was slowly making his way over on crutches, and her expression was a little embarrassed:

"Um... I'm sorry, Ye Shu, for making you come down here to find me. Honestly, I forget everything as soon as I see it."

Ye Shu had already moved over. It was indeed quite strenuous to hop forward with crutches, mainly because it was his first time using crutches and he wasn't quite used to it yet.

In addition, I was in such a hurry when I went downstairs to look for someone that I didn't pay much attention. Now that everything is alright, I realize how tired I am.

He heard Xia Qing apologize to him, took a breath, and smiled:

"Alright, there's nothing to apologize for. We're already down here, just consider it a stroll."

He gestured with his chin towards the plastic bag in her hand:

"But if you keep blocking the doorway and preventing me from going back, that's getting a bit impolite. My leg's about to give way. Hurry up and go upstairs. Do you think it's easy for me to get a personal Coke?"

Seeing that he wasn't angry, Xia Qing smiled, quickly opened the building door, and said to Ye Shu:

"Your Majesty, please go first."

Ye Shu also nodded in agreement with a "hmm" through her nose, and then said:

"Yes, Xiazi, prepare to return to the palace."