Chapter 23

Chen Jingshen was wearing a loose white hoodie and black pants, simple and casual.

This was the first time Yu Fan had seen Chen Jingshen in anything other than school uniform.

Looked a little better than at school.

The dog was still leaning on Yu Fan's leg, tail wagging nonstop, with no sign of wanting to leave.

So Yu Fan stood still, the unlit cigarette between his lips, and asked vaguely, 'What are you doing here?'

'Walking the dog.'

Yu Fan glanced at the narrow street and the crowd around them. 'Here?'

'Originally at the Public Park nearby.' Chen Jingshen seemed to recall something, and a complicated expression appeared on his deadpan face. 'Then it dragged me here.'

'...'

Yu Fan thought about the nearest Public Park.

Damn, the dog made him run a three-thousand-meter?

The Doberman looked fierce. Even with a muzzle and leash, it still scared some passersby.

The dog circled Yu Fan's legs a few times. Restricted by the muzzle, its sounds were low and muffled, almost like a warning before a pounce.

A little boy walked by, locked eyes with the dog, and immediately started crying.

'Oh oh oh, baby don't cry,' the mother immediately picked him up, soothed him a couple times, then shot Yu Fan a glare and muttered, 'Walking a dog here, what kind of person!'

Yu Fan: '...'

He frowned irritably and stuffed the unlit cigarette back into its Cigarette Pack.

'Give me the leash.'

Chen Jingshen handed him the leash. Yu Fan threaded his hand through the handle, and the backs of their hands briefly touched for a second—both cold.

'A waste like you shouldn't own a big dog.' Yu Fan tugged the dog along without looking back. 'Follow me.'

Chen Jingshen: 'Okay.'

After a few steps, the dog realized the leash was in someone else's hand and couldn't help looking back at its owner.

Chen Jingshen lowered his eyes and wiggled his fingers at it.

The dog immediately let out a couple whines and wagged its tail, continuing obediently forward.

This street was lined with food stalls all the way down, and the later it got, the more crowded it became.

Yu Fan walked along the very edge, trying to avoid people as much as possible. Luckily, the dog didn't act up and stayed close to the wall.

'Where are we going?' the person behind him asked.

Yu Fan: 'Out.'

Walking a dog in a food street was obviously not a good idea.

After a moment, the person behind him asked again, 'Have you eaten dinner?'

Yu Fan ignored him.

Chen Jingshen: 'I haven't eaten.'

'Then go hungry.'

'It hasn't eaten either.'

The dog seemed to understand and stopped: 'Woo~'

Yu Fan: '...'

Chen Jingshen randomly picked a noodle shop by the roadside. Afraid the dog would scare people, he went inside to get takeout.

Yu Fan held the leash, one person and one dog standing guard outside. Business at the shop plummeted during those ten minutes.

Soon, Chen Jingshen came out carrying several bags in both hands.

Yu Fan took a look and thought he might be trying to prepare a full banquet for this dog.

Yu Fan led them to the nearby Artificial Lake.

There were benches all around the Artificial Lake. Yu Fan picked one at random and sat down, lazily sizing up the dog in front of him.

Chen Jingshen sat down next to him, and the dog immediately turned its head and pressed itself against Chen Jingshen's leg.

The dog looked just like in the photo—well taken care of. Its ears stood tall, and when it sat quietly, it had an innate aristocratic air.

Yu Fan was staring intently when the person next to him handed him a plastic bag.

'There's an extra bowl of noodles,' Chen Jingshen said. 'That shop had a buy-one-get-one-free deal.'

Yu Fan didn't even look: 'Not hungry...'

Grrr.

His stomach growled.

Yu Fan: '.'

Half a minute later, Yu Fan lifted the plastic lid.

The smell of food wafted out, and the dog immediately couldn't sit still, standing up and whining.

Chen Jingshen reached out and rubbed it: 'Don't bark.'

Chen Jingshen's hands were long and fair, with prominent knuckles, and when he exerted force, you could see slightly raised veins. His hands were big, whether spinning a pen or training a dog, always carrying that unhurried laziness.

That hand moved up from the dog's neck and finally stopped at the metal muzzle.

Chen Jingshen looked at him: 'You don't mind?'

Yu Fan snapped out of it and shook his head.

Chen Jingshen took off the muzzle, and the dog immediately opened its mouth and barked loudly.

'Don't bark. Bark again and it goes back on.' Chen Jingshen gently patted the dog's face, then said, 'It doesn't bite. I only put this on to make passersby feel at ease.'

'Mm.' Yu Fan crossed his legs and asked casually, 'What's his name?'

'Fanfan.'

'?'

Fanfan heard its name but didn't dare bark, just circled anxiously around Chen Jingshen's legs.

Yu Fan held the bowl and turned his head: 'Which fan?'

Chen Jingshen was silent for a moment: 'The fan in 'fanhua sijin' (flowers blooming like brocade).'

'...'

It was normal for pets to have reduplicated names. The character fan was uncommon, but not completely unused.

If it were anyone else, Yu Fan definitely wouldn't have thought twice.

But right now, he just felt that the name was a bit offensive to him—

Chen Jingshen looked at Yu Fan's face that clearly said 'Are you a pervert?' and thought for a few seconds.

'It was given to me when I was in elementary school. I named it then.' Chen Jingshen grabbed the dog's collar and said flatly, 'Fanfan, come here.'

Yu Fan: '.'

Chen Jingshen hooked his finger and pulled out the dog tag hanging from Fanfan's neck.

Yu Fan squinted to look.

The front of the tag had Chen Jingshen's phone number.

On the back was written: [Fanfan, 2011.12.29]

'That's its birth date,' Chen Jingshen said. 'It's on every tag it's had.'

'...'

Fine.

Yu Fan felt a bit annoyed and lowered his head to eat a mouthful of noodles.

The dog hadn't gotten any food and kept circling at their feet. Chen Jingshen grabbed its collar with one hand and fished around in the bag for a while.

Then he pulled out a tea egg.

Yu Fan watched as he peeled the eggshell, broke the egg in half, stuffed the white into his own mouth, and only then gave the yolk to Fan—the dog.

Yu Fan: 'You only bought it an egg?'

'Mm,' Chen Jingshen said. 'I don't want it to eat too much, or I won't be able to hold it back.'

'...'

You're really shameless about being useless.

The cold moon hung high. Occasionally a breeze came off the lake, pleasant and comfortable.

After a bowl of noodles, the tension that had been wound up in Yu Fan all evening suddenly smoothed out in the wind.

He kind of wanted a smoke.

Yu Fan held back, let his shoulders slump, and said lazily, 'It doesn't seem that hard to walk. How did you let it drag you all the way here?'

'I can't hold it back when it's agitated,' Chen Jingshen said. 'But it's usually very well-behaved.'

As if knowing they were talking about it, Fanfan propped its front paws up, trying to climb onto Chen Jingshen's lap.

Chen Jingshen stretched out his legs and let it do what it wanted, his hand naturally stroking its body, curling his fingers to scratch a few times.

Ding.

A crisp Mobile Phone notification snapped Yu Fan back to reality.

Damn it.

In the darkness, Yu Fan reached up and rubbed his face, then fumbled to open his Mobile Phone.

[Wang Luan'an: Hard studying is over. I've decided to relax. So any bros up for a game?]

[Wang Luan'an: @- 　 Why aren't you online? Not playing anymore?]

Yu Fan finally realized.

He'd already finished eating, so why was he still sitting here with Chen Jingshen?

'I'm heading back.' Yu Fan stood up. 'Can you take it back yourself?'

'Yeah.'

Yu Fan turned around: 'Then—'

'Wait.'

'I saw a bookstore at the corner just now. I want to go in and buy a workbook.' Chen Jingshen held the leash with one hand and grabbed Yu Fan's shirt with the other. 'Can you watch it for me for five more minutes?'

At the bookstore entrance, it was again one person and one dog.

Yu Fan stood waiting for a while. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced down and met the dog's gaze.

After a moment, he crouched down and said to the dog, 'From now on, your name is Shenshen.'

Fanfan: '...'

Yu Fan: 'Shenshen.'

Fanfan: '...'

Yu Fan frowned: 'Can you make a sound or not?'

Fanfan: '...'

Yu Fan thought he must be crazy, trying to rename a dog.

He straightened up and took out his Mobile Phone to reply to Wang Luan'an's earlier message.

The dog sat obediently by his leg, its dark eyes curiously scanning the passersby.

After a long while, the bookstore door opened, and the wind chime swayed in the air.

'Fanfan.'

Yu Fan instinctively turned his head—along with the dog beside him.

Chen Jingshen had been looking at the dog, but when he sensed Yu Fan's gaze, he shifted his eyes and looked at him.

Yu Fan: '............'

Why the hell did I turn around???

'Woo woo woo~ woo woo woo!' The dog happily responded a hundred times in Chen Jingshen's direction through its muzzle.

Chen Jingshen walked over and was about to say something when he saw the guy's face dead serious as he shoved the leash handle into his hand.

'Take your dog.' His tone was even worse than his expression.

Chen Jingshen hummed in acknowledgment. He took the leash, then slipped another slightly heavy plastic bag into Yu Fan's palm.

'A thank-you gift for tonight,' Chen Jingshen said.

Yu Fan looked at the Slow Bird Flies First 2017 Edition in the bag and thought, you're welcome, I'll send you and your dog packing tonight.