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Chapter 131: Halley
The little dog responded even more eagerly with a bark.
Huo Niansheng insisted that Chen Wengang give it a name, but Chen Wengang refused, saying that giving it a name would create a bond. He tightly closed his mouth, and Huo Niansheng caught sight of the book he had just been reading, a light popular science picture book about celestial bodies.
On the cover was a drawing of Halley Comet, trailing a long tail, resembling a lonely bullet wandering in space.
Huo Niansheng said, “How about calling it Halley?” He said it twice, then lowered his head to ask the dog, “Does it sound good?”
The little dog happily barked in response.
Huo Niansheng smiled, his eyes brightened by the sunlight, and he reached out to scratch its head.
As their fingers touched, Chen Wengang shuddered.
He hardened his heart, placed the dog on the chair, said he didn’t want to keep it, and then left the flower room.
He closed the glass door behind him, and the little dog spun around on the cushion, barking incessantly in the direction Chen Wengang had left. Not getting a response, it became even more anxious. Suddenly, it jumped off the recliner, rolled on the spot, then got up and sniffed around the door.
Huo Niansheng walked over, picked it up, and held it in his arms. He chuckled softly, “Alright, you’ll be called Halley.”
It sniffed Huo Niansheng’s hand, whimpering incomprehensibly.
There were no pet supplies in the villa, only the cage that Huo Niansheng had brought. Xiaoping brought a mat, and the butler squatted beside them, advising, “Don’t go to the warehouse; it’s all dusty and infested with mites. Get a few clean cloths to pad it inside, and remember to latch the cage door properly; otherwise, if it escapes, in such a big place, we won’t know where to find such a small dog…”
Huo Niansheng found Chen Wengang in the bedroom and said, “I have a party tonight, so I won’t accompany you for dinner, okay?”
Chen Wengang hesitated and asked, “Can it be returned?” He added, “The dog.”
Huo Niansheng laughed, “Return what? If you don’t want to keep it, I’ll keep it. It’s fine, isn’t it? If you don’t like it, just ignore it.”
Chen Wengang had nothing more to say, just looked at him with one eye.
His vision had now improved, with a prosthetic eye in his right eye socket whose color was similar to his original one.
Huo Niansheng called the driver to prepare the car and left quickly.
In the evening, the butler came to call Chen Wengang for dinner.
As he passed through the living room, he glanced outside. A small group of people had gathered in the garden, chatting away. A German Shepherd had been brought to the house, seeming like a rare novelty. Several servants, along with the gardener and the driver, were all crowding around the box, curious.
Chen Wengang suddenly asked the butler, “How should it eat? Does it need milk? It can’t drink cow’s milk, can it?”
The butler replied, “Mr. Huo said it’s already weaned. Puppy food has been delivered specifically for it. It’ll be fed soon.”
Chen Wengang asked again, “What about a dog bed or something?”
The butler answered, “That’s been delivered too. It’s being disinfected, and it’ll be brought over in a couple of days for it to sleep in.”
Since the other employer wasn’t present, he asked Chen Wengang, “Should it sleep inside or outside at night?”
Chen Wengang said, “Put the crate in the living room for now. When Huo Niansheng arrives, ask him for specifics.”
In the middle of the night, Chen Wengang sat up in bed.
He stayed still for a moment, then slowly got up, put on his clothes, and went downstairs.
Everything was quiet, and in the tranquil living room, there was a faint sound of breathing. Chen Wengang didn’t turn on the lights. He made his way through the dim light, recognizing the outline of the crate in the corner.
He kneeled down gently beside the crate, hands on the carpet, and peered inside.
Halley was asleep, curled up in the corner of the crate, soft and vulnerable. Whether it heard the noise or smelled something, it opened its eyes alertly, saw someone had come, immediately perked up, and whimpered, pressing against the cage wall.
Chen Wengang reached inside the cage and poked its forehead gently. “I won’t disturb you anymore, go back to sleep.”
Halley kept whimpering behind him, but Chen Wengang didn’t turn back and went upstairs.
The next day, Xiaoping accidentally overslept. After waking up in the morning, she accidentally fell asleep again, dreaming that Mr. Huo and Mr. Chen had another intense conflict. Chen Wengang smashed a lot of things, and Huo Niansheng became furious, pointing his finger at him and scolding:
“You eat what I give you, wear what I give you; what have I done to you that you still give me that attitude? Get out of here!”
His face was so fierce, ultimately distorting the rough men from her village in her childhood. They would smoke tobacco, gather on days they didn’t go out to sea, and chat and play cards until their wives called them home for dinner. When they were unhappy, they would even hit their wives.
Xiaoping woke up in a fright and checked the alarm clock, realizing she had overslept.
She hastily put on her clothes and, at the fastest speed, ran to the main house, where it was already mid-morning.
Chen Wengang usually wouldn’t come down at this time, but today he sat in the living room reading in a proper posture.
Halley circled around his feet. Chen Wengang lowered his head to look at it, and its tail wagged expectantly like a little flower.
He lowered one hand, and Halley immediately pounced, extending its claws to play with his fingers as if it had found an exciting toy.
The butler instructed her to feed the dog through the intercom. Xiaoping prepared half a bowl of goat’s milk and soaked puppy food. Just as she was about to put it into the cage, she had a thought. She went to Chen Wengang and asked quietly if he wanted to feed it. Chen Wengang thought for a long time, while Halley eagerly stepped on his feet. He curled his fingers and took the bowl.
From that day on, Halley became a part of the villa.
It was brought back by Huo Niansheng, but since Chen Wengang lived in the villa long-term, the butler still followed Chen Wengang’s opinion. He asked if he minded letting the dog move around in the room. If he didn’t like it, its activities would be limited to the yard.
Chen Wengang said to let it do as it pleased, as long as it didn’t run away.
Halley gained the privilege of freedom, swaggering around the villa’s every corner every day.
The butler put a collar on it, with a locator attached. It behaved unlike a normal puppy, showing no signs of discontent when the collar was first put on. It just lowered its head to sniff and agreed after being given two treats.
But it still had a special affection for Chen Wengang. Whenever it saw him, it would trot after him on all fours.
So much so that Chen Wengang had to walk with his head down, afraid of accidentally stepping on its legs.
Halley seemed to think it was a fun game, becoming even more enthusiastic, never tiring of chasing after him.
But Chen Wengang consistently resisted responding to its enthusiasm— it’s said that German Shepherds only recognize one master, and he hoped it would bond with Huo Niansheng. There was no future with it following Chen Wengang. As soon as he left here, he might not even have the ability to feed it.
Huo Niansheng had recently become busy, coming two or three times a week, most of the time not staying overnight.
When he came, he would first find Halley, carry it to Chen Wengang, and then play with it together.
When he left, Halley would run to the door, ears drooping, watching his Rolls-Royce leave.
One time, it dashed out so quickly that if the driver hadn’t noticed in time, it would have been run over by the car’s wheels. Chen Wengang’s face turned pale at the time, and he sat on the ground clutching his heart. Huo Niansheng held his hand, took out medicine from his pocket, and pressed it under his tongue.
Huo Niansheng scolded Halley a few times, and it whimpered, lying beside Chen Wengang’s legs, resting its chin on his thigh.
Chen Wengang hugged it tightly.
He asked Xiaoping to search the internet for how to take care of a puppy.
Puppies need to ensure nutrition and supplement calcium powder and vitamins, which are extremely important for tooth and bone development.
After puppies leave their mothers, they may cry and feel uncomfortable. Owners shouldn’t worry too much, just spend more time playing with them.
Puppies need to be socialized from a young age. Owners have an obligation to teach them the rules and habits of human society. Owners should touch them to desensitize them, teach them to understand recall and follow commands, teach them to use a designated toilet area, teach them to return to their crate, and teach them to wait for food; otherwise, with the size of a large dog, if they grow up to be aggressive, jump on people, or eat randomly, it will cause trouble and danger to others…
Xiaoping lamented, “There are too many rules and regulations; why is it so troublesome, just like raising a child?”
Halley brought its pillow over and handed it to Chen Wengang. Chen Wengang understood and grabbed the pillow, but it shook its head and snatched it back.
“Don’t tug-of-war with it; don’t tug-of-war with it!” Xiaoping shouted as she scrolled through her phone. “Look, it says here, doing so will encourage it to develop a habit of grabbing things from people, not good!”
Chen Wengang let go, and Halley squatted down, rolling onto its back, resting on the pillow with its two paws curled up, panting with its tongue out, looking at him inexplicably.
Chen Wengang couldn’t help but smile.
Xiaoping continued to search for advice online and saw many owners saying that while the dog is still young, take more photos and videos of it in just a few months’ time, leaving behind precious memories. When Halley was being photographed, it allowed itself to be manipulated, pressing its nose against the lens, revealing a distorted, furry face, then suddenly sneezing, amusing Xiaoping, who burst into laughter.
Chen Wengang’s phone quickly filled up with photos and videos.
Other staff also liked it, occasionally giving it freshly cooked meals made with fresh fruits, meats, and vegetables in the kitchen.
But only when Chen Wengang brought it did Halley open its mouth. Its obedience seemed to be ingrained in its bones, quickly learning whatever commands were taught. After a month, no one else besides Huo Niansheng could feed it when he came to the villa.
One day, Xiaoping discovered that the dog bed in the living room was missing.
Chen Wengang had moved Halley, along with its bed, into his own bedroom.
It seemed that no one else noticed this except for Halley, who was particularly pleased. However, it took advantage of the situation and refused to sleep in its own bed anymore. With Chen Wengang’s indulgence, it insisted on jumping onto the bed to sleep with him every day.
As a result, when it played in the yard and came back, it had to have its paws wiped. Every night, the butler patiently carried a basin of water and squatted in the bathroom to wash its feet. At some point, Chen Wengang slowly took over this task.
One night, Huo Niansheng came over in the middle of the night and saw Chen Wengang lying on the bed, one arm around Halley, sleeping soundly. He didn’t wake up, even when someone entered the room. Halley, on the other hand, opened its eyes, propped up its head, looked at Huo Niansheng, and wagged its tail against the bed.
Huo Niansheng patted its head, and Chen Wengang finally woke up, subconsciously making room for him.
Huo Niansheng kissed his forehead and asked, “What are you two up to?” He turned on the light and said, “Look at this; the bed is covered in dog hair.”
Halley looked at him with innocent eyes, twisting its neck to lick his hand.
Chen Wengang, still half-asleep, held the dog in one hand and hugged Huo Niansheng’s neck with the other, responding to his kiss.
Huo Niansheng took Halley down, took out bed sheets and a duvet from the cabinet, and without calling anyone, even though it was late at night, he arranged them himself before finally lying down with Chen Wengang. Chen Wengang still leaned over to look at the dog, and Huo Niansheng pressed his head down, “Stop looking; it has its own bed.”
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