Is that where the name "pepper powder" comes from?
Zuo Baixuan pursed her lips, not finding it cute at all; in fact, because of its messy fur, it looked like a mad dog at that moment.
Even with sun-protective clothing covering every inch of skin, the large, barking dogs still felt the clothing was too thin.
It wasn't until the pain shot through my arm that I snapped out of my stiffness and forgot to cry out in pain.
It felt like being bitten by a rabid dog.
But these are all illusions.
Luan Yenan grabbed her arm with one hand and pulled her behind him.
Zuo Baixuan froze when her back bumped lightly against the door.
Something's not right.
Is this person protecting themselves?
Something's not right!
Why did the German Shepherd guarding the Luan family's house bark even more frantically when it disappeared from sight?
Zuo Baixuan covered the spot where Luan Yennan had pinched her sorely with her palm, watching the duel between the madman and the mad dog.
Luan Yenan, dressed in a beautiful long black dress, stood tall and straight.
I quietly looked at the German Shepherd in front of me, met its gaze, and took two steps forward.
Zuo Baixuan's hands tightened involuntarily, and her heart leaped into her throat.
What is this crazy woman trying to do?
Luan Yenan allowed the pepper powder to adopt an attacking stance, his body swaying from side to side, the muscles in his legs taut.
It's definitely a good dog; it reacted so strongly because it noticed the difference between her and the original owner.
They may look intimidating, but they still won't take the initiative to strike when danger arises.
Luan Yenan had a lot of dealings with wild dogs in the mountains when he was a child.
Getting bitten is common, so it's a miracle you didn't get rabies.
As I grew up, I came into contact with many different breeds of dogs.
She has her own methods for dealing with dogs.
You must not back down in front of a dog.
If they find you're backing down, they might start bullying you.
But there's no need to do anything meaningless or threatening.
This is especially true for trained dogs.
"Pepper powder, sit!" Luan Yenan replicated the training movements based on the details recorded by the original owner on social media.
The peppercorns stopped making noise.
The familiar sound and movement made it open its mouth, then close it again. It licked its lips, the lingering taste reminding it of the dog food it had just been eating.
After calming down, Pepper Powder stared at Luan Yenan for a long while with her big, round black eyes.
Luan Yenan's hand remained raised: "Sit!"
Upon hearing the familiar command again, Pepper hesitated for a moment, then retracted his fangs. Looking up at the person in front of him, he slowly lowered his rear end to the ground.
“Good.” Luan Yenan stood to the left of the German Shepherd and ruffled its hair.
Zuo Baixuan witnessed this scene.
Both the condescending conquest and the subjugation after taming made her feel uncomfortable.
Because it reminds me of my own situation.
Luan Yenan stood in the courtyard full of flowers, trees and shrubs, getting along harmoniously with a dog.
It's so clean, like a vividly colored oil painting that has been sketched out.
Who would have thought that within this gentle painting, there exists a madman and a mad dog?
Pepper, no longer as aggressive as before, began to gently wag its tail, its round, black eyes truly endearing.
Zuo Baixuan was touched by the dog's unintentional cuteness and gave in, mentally crossing out the word "mad dog".
Seeing that Zuo Baixuan's hands were twitching slightly, indicating she was about to pet a dog, Luan Yenan couldn't help but laugh. He even laughed too hard, letting out a little sound in addition to his breathing.
Zuo Baixuan stared at that smiling face, her red lips giving her fair skin a rosy glow, so bright and cheerful that it had nothing to do with madness. Her smile was like a ray of bright light.
She added the word "beauty" after "crazy critic".
Crazy beauty.
It must be because the light is too good and my heart is beating too fast that I have this thought.
"Alright, let's go inside, or it'll start to rain." Luan Yenan led the dog towards the house.
A note from the author:
Luan Yenan: The light is really good on such a cloudy day.
Zuo Baixuan: ...
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2022-05-13 12:34:16 and 2022-05-14 13:56:23!
Thank you to the little angel who threw the rocket: SevenSevenNotGrumpyY1;
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Mo Ling Qi La (20 bottles); Qi San i (1 bottle);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 13
Luan Yenan led Zuo Baixuan to stand under the eaves in front of the door. Pepper, who had been irritable, also sat obediently to the side.
The raindrops fell more and more heavily, and water droplets clung to the two of them.
The maid came running out, holding a towel that was trembling in her hand, and offered it to her, trying to help her: "Miss... come in and sit down, don't catch a cold."
However, Luan Yenan raised his hand to refuse.
The sweltering heat of late summer won't disappear just because of a little rain.
"Is Mom still on the video conference? Grandpa hasn't come over either, right?"
"Yes, yes. President Luan is having a meeting in his study. Mr. Luan is also traveling and hasn't been back for a while," the maid nodded and reported.
For these servants, the most difficult thing to deal with in the Luan family was that there was an old woman and a young child who were both straight Alphas.
The smaller ones are even more difficult to deal with.
Because the younger one is a madman, his mind is not normal.
None of the servants who messed with her fared well.
Seeing that they couldn't persuade her, they quickly dispersed, lest they provoke this plague-like young lady.
Luan Yenan glanced at the servants' reactions out of the corner of his eye.
It's obvious how disliked the original owner of this body was.
But she didn't care about any of that.
I continued watching the raindrops pattering in the yard outside. I took a deep breath; the pleasant fragrance mingled with the scent of earth.
A familiar scent, carrying with it long-forgotten memories.
"The osmanthus flowers in the yard smell so good." Zuo Baixuan relaxed and naturally struck up a conversation with Luan Yenan.
Luan Yenan suddenly opened his eyes wide and looked at the courtyard. The trees that were carefully planted were indeed osmanthus trees.
The familiar scent I smelled from the doorway was the fragrance of osmanthus.
It's been a long time since I've smelled the fragrance of osmanthus.
When I was a child, my mother's favorite thing was the osmanthus tree that she planted by the door.
Every year when the season comes, she picks osmanthus flowers from the tree and makes them into pastries.
That sweet taste left a deep impression on Luan Yenan's taste buds when she was young.
But the deeper this memory became, the more intense the grief she felt after her mother's death. Every time she smelled or tasted osmanthus, it would give her a splitting headache.
The images of her mother when she was still alive kept replaying in her mind, plunging her into deep pain.
But she never chose to numb herself with alcohol or take medication to control it.
She was afraid she would forget her mother, afraid she would forget the reason she was even alive.
However, this situation worsened after Luan Yenan became wealthy, eventually affecting his normal work and life, forcing him to seek medical attention. Although it was a psychological issue, he managed to control it with medication. At the same time, he had to stay away from anything related to osmanthus.
Over time, those who knew her well knew that she "hated" the smell of osmanthus.
Once the company is on track, the competent secretary will arrange everything in an orderly manner, one of which is to remove everything related to osmanthus from Luan Yenan's life.
Thinking about it, I realized it must have been more than a decade since I'd properly smelled the fragrance of osmanthus.
She took a deep breath. The scent of osmanthus, which she hadn't smelled in a long time, filled her chest, while a familiar pain surged in her head—a pain from which she couldn't find its source, as if countless invisible ants were gnawing at her brain cells.
A blurry vision of a man appeared before her eyes. He was cursing and swearing, calling her "useless" and "worthless," when he slapped her across the face.
The woman's frail body couldn't withstand the force, and she rolled over and fell to the ground. As she hit the ground, she looked at the little girl hiding under the table, her face filled with panic.
He forced a smile onto his scarred face, as if to comfort her, but the wrinkles of pain etched all over his cheeks, making the smile even more sorrowful and weak than when he held her and cried at night.
Even if it was a sad smile, it was the last time she would see her mother smile.
Luan Yenan covered his hat with his hand and unconsciously pressed hard on the side of his head.
She opened her eyes wide, blowing the wind as if trying to dry the moisture in them.
Zuo Baixuan turned her head to the side and could only see Luan Yenan holding his head.
"Your head hurts again? It's time to take your medicine. Go take it now."