Chapter 1581: You've Even Learned to Play Word Games?

Xu Xiaoxiao was startled.

She lowered her head to look, only to discover it was a puppy.

The puppy was very lively; it grabbed Xu Xiaoxiao's slipper and started chewing.

One could tell it was biting down hard, its little bottom arching up and down.

Xu Xiaoxiao leaned down, grabbed it by the scruff of its neck, and asked Sister Zhang, who had followed behind: "Where did this puppy come from?"

"I bought it! Look at this dog, fierce enough, right!?"

Fierce?

Xu Xiaoxiao rubbed the puppy's head and said, "I don't feel any fierceness, it's actually a bit small."

"It's alright, after all, it's only three months old."

Hmm...

Xu Xiaoxiao changed her tune and asked, "Then isn't it a bit too big?"

"Not big, not big at all. It's for guarding the house; it has to be like this."

Xu Xiaoxiao's hand, which had been petting the dog, paused for a moment.

Then, she tentatively asked: "It wouldn't be that you only bought a fierce dog to bite people because I said so, would it?"

"That's right!"

Xu Xiaoxiao's head began to ache.

She gave a light cough, then said tactfully: "At the time, I was just speaking out of anger."

"But it makes a lot of sense! You need to keep a dog to protect yourself and also to deter those unsavory characters!"

"... But I'm not ready to raise a dog yet. How about we return it?"

Upon hearing this, Sister Zhang was not pleased.

She immediately switched to lecture mode: "You are already an adult, and a teacher at that; you must keep your word! Besides, this puppy isn't just anything; once bought, it's yours. You can't return it, and you certainly can't abandon it!"

With Sister Zhang piling one accusation after another onto her, Xu Xiaoxiao was completely unable to fight back.

She looked at the puppy and thought... maybe she should just keep it?

Raising a dog is a very demanding job.

Xu Xiaoxiao barely manages to support herself, so if she were to raise a dog...

Wouldn't the house be turned upside down?

But then again, this puppy is quite clever and very lively.

In just this short while, it has already chewed a hole in her slipper.

Sigh, it seems she won't be lonely in the future.

And she'll have to prepare a dog-beating stick!

Xu Xiaoxiao prepared to look for a stick.

But before she could find one, someone knocked on the door.

Sister Zhang opened the door and saw a large box appearing outside.

Then the box moved and was carried inside by someone.

Xu Xiaoxiao tilted her head to look and realized the person behind the box was Jiang Chenghao.

He had been abroad for the past few days negotiating a partnership and was not in the country.

He had just returned today and, without even going home, came straight to Xu Xiaoxiao's place.

Xu Xiaoxiao was shocked by the box and asked, "What is inside this?"

"A gift, and also things you can use when you go back to work at the school."

Hearing this, Xu Xiaoxiao became interested.

She joined Jiang Chenghao in placing the box on the floor and then opening it.

Hmm...

The things inside were truly a motley collection!

Things like a massage pillow, a temperature-adjustable cushion, a health-preserving pot, and so on.

After looking around, Xu Xiaoxiao couldn't help but comment: "The gifts you prepared are so down-to-earth..."

"It's alright. You've just recovered from a major illness, so you need to take good care of your body."

"There's no need to be so meticulous! I feel like I'm going back to retire!"

"It's not retiring, it's health preservation. I'll help you move these over later and guarantee that your workstation will be designed to be nice and comfortable."

"Since it's for comfort..." Xu Xiaoxiao picked up a small brown box and asked, "Then why did you prepare a countdown timer for me? What does this have to do with comfort?"

"Of course it has to do with it. This can urge you to take a break after working for forty minutes."

This answer made Xu Xiaoxiao purse her lips.

She was speechless.

Yet Jiang Chenghao remained enthusiastic: "This can be controlled remotely; if you don't comply, I can make it sound an alarm."

"Ah? That's too exaggerated!"

Jiang Chenghao did not think so.

He suddenly grabbed Xu Xiaoxiao's arm, his voice low: "I don't want to watch you enter the operating room again."

The implication was that he hoped Xu Xiaoxiao would accept his good intentions and take good care of her health.

Xu Xiaoxiao also felt the depth of Jiang Chenghao's meaning, and her initial impatience vanished completely at this moment.

However...

Sister Zhang felt that Jiang Chenghao's words were not rigorous enough, so she added:

"Still have to go in one more time, after all, one has to go into the operating room to give birth."

Hmm...

The atmosphere at the scene had originally been quite ambiguous.

Once Sister Zhang opened her mouth, only awkwardness remained.

Seeing that the air had gone silent, Sister Zhang also realized it was inappropriate.

She patted her own forehead and said, "Look at me, I just can't control myself; um, you two chat, I'll go tease the dog."

A dog?

Jiang Chenghao turned his head to look over and really did see a black and yellow German Shepherd.

He asked curiously, "How did you think of raising a dog?"

"About this dog..."

Xu Xiaoxiao rubbed her forehead with her fingers, thinking of an excuse.

But Sister Zhang felt this matter didn't need an excuse and said right away, "When bad people come, it can bite them!"

"Bad people?" Jiang Chenghao looked at Sister Zhang and asked, "What bad people?"

"It's just..."

Sister Zhang was about to speak when she heard Xu Xiaoxiao start coughing.

She looked over and discovered that Xu Xiaoxiao was signaling her with her eyes.

In this instant, Sister Zhang realized she had been loose-lipped again.

Sigh, she had better go tease the dog!

Sister Zhang shook her head, hugged the little dog, and moved away from the place of trouble.

But she left gracefully, leaving Xu Xiaoxiao alone to face Jiang Chenghao's inquisitive gaze.

Xu Xiaoxiao smiled first, then said, "Raising a dog gives me a sense of security."

"You are a person who is very afraid of trouble; you wouldn't raise a source of trouble just for a sense of security."

It must be said that Jiang Chenghao understands Xu Xiaoxiao.

But being this understanding... how is Xu Xiaoxiao supposed to cover up the truth?

Xu Xiaoxiao was very annoyed, and her mind was in a mess.

In the end, Xu Xiaoxiao gave up; she let her shoulders droop and said self-abandoningly, "Fine, actually, my family came a while ago, and things didn't go very pleasantly."

"Then why didn't you tell me on the phone?"

"You didn't ask either."

Jiang Chenghao narrowed his eyes: "How did I not ask? Didn't I ask if your family had come to cause you trouble?"

"They... weren't here to cause trouble, they were here to get scolded."

Xu Xiaoxiao's eyes wandered, not daring to look into Jiang Chenghao's eyes.

Jiang Chenghao didn't give her a chance to escape, hooking her chin to make her lift her head.

Then, in an unfriendly tone: "Xu Xiaoxiao, you've even learned to play word games, haven't you!"

Xu Xiaoxiao muttered in a low voice: "It's the truth, though."

While she was speaking, she caught a glimpse of Sister Zhang holding the dog and peeking over.

Sister Zhang was paying attention to the state of the young couple over here.

It was very obvious that Jiang Chenghao was unhappy.

At a time like this, Xu Xiaoxiao needed to show weakness, act spoiled, and be cute.

But the one thing she could not be was stubborn.

However, based on Sister Zhang's understanding of Xu Xiaoxiao...

This woman would only be stubborn.

So Sister Zhang covered her forehead, giving Xu Xiaoxiao a hint.

Xu Xiaoxiao saw the hint, and in an instant, she understood!

Xu Xiaoxiao widened her eyes and asked Jiang Chenghao, "Does your head hurt?"