Xiao La?!
It was an unthoughtful name. Was she going to name it Xiao Ha if the puppy was a husky?
She held its two front paws just like she was holding hands with it, "Hello, Xiao La. I am your sister, Shi Shi. This is…" she pointed at Liu.
"Oh, yeah. What is your full name?" she asked.
Liu Sanlang almost died!
"Liu Sanlang," he said, embarrassed.
"Oh… This is Liu Sanlang, your father. Understood?"
"Wait. That was the wrong generation!" He reminded her.
How come I became its dad and you are its sister? I don’t want a child! Liu Sanlang thought.
"Oh?" Shi Shi tilted her head, meaning that she didn’t understand, cute!
"Nothing." He forced a smile.
She started searching through her pockets, "Oh, I didn’t bring many snacks today. What should I give you?"
"I have snacks!" Liu Sanlang got some beef jerky from the pet store. He opened it and gave it to her.
Smelling the goods, Xiao La immediately climbed up on her, showing a hungry face.
"Come on. This is for you." Shi Shi pulled one out and the puppy took it quickly.
The beef jerky was quite hard and the puppy was changing teeth. Some new teeth were not fully grown yet, so they were not as sharp. It took the jerky from Shi Shi, laid it on the floor, stepped on the jerky with one paw and then tore it apart. It then chewed on it for a few seconds, swallowed it and came back to Shi Shi for more.
"Hha, don’t rush. Slow down. Look I have more!" Shi Shi pulled out the beef jerky to feed it piece after piece.
Looking at them both, Liu Sanlang was touched. He had heard that in the United States, a wife, some kids and a dog would make a perfect life for a man. Liu Sanlang was not an American, yet that was also what he longed for - Now, he already had a dog, just needing a wife and some kids in his perfect life.
He was a traditional Chinese guy. He was good at his work, introverted, saved his money, and was good to his parents. He also got along with his co-workers. He didn’t have close friends from work, yet maintained a good relationship with everyone. Shi Shi was completely different. She was fashionable, lively, and zero savings, but had a bunch of close friends. He was not sure why he fell in love with her. Maybe because she was so different. Or maybe there was no reason at all. Love indeed was something unexplainable.
Liu Sanlang knew that it would be difficult to reach a girl like Shi Shi. There was only a little hope. His parents were also traditional like him. Would they like Shi Shi to be their daughter-in-law? Would her parents accept a normal person like him as their son-in-law? However, he still wanted to give it a try. He wouldn’t regret it, even if he failed.
Shi Shi came to his home to see
see the dog, not him. At least it was a good start.
She gave Xiao La a piece every time it asked for one. Soon, the beef jerky was gone. Xiao La didn’t seem satisfied yet, still licking her fingers when the whole pack of jerky was gone. It whined a bit, patted its two front paws on her knees as if it was rushing her.
"Do you have more? Give me some more!" Shi Shi opened her hand.
"Yup, I have another one!" Liu Sanlang brought out another pack.
"Honey, slow down. Your sister has some more," She opened the package and continued to feed it.
Liu Sanlang was too thrilled to even think about training the dog. He didn’t realize that Xiao La’s attitude towards them was gradually getting worse. Labradors were a very smart breed. They were quick learners and great observers and also would try everything they could do to be more comfortable.
Whining could be exchanged for some good food. The louder it whined, the faster its snack would come – such a concept started to root itself in Xiao La’s heart.
Waiting to get fed was not good enough for Xiao La any more. It quickly grabbed the food as soon as Shi Shi opened the package.
Two pieces of jerky stuck together, so it was too thick for it to bite on. Shi Shi wanted to separate them before feeding it, but it couldn’t wait and grabbed everything.
The jerkies were too tough for Xiao La. It chewed on it,
on it, spat it out on the floor and used its paws to try to tear them apart.
"Too tough for you? Come on, I will tear it up," Shi Shi reached out for the jerkies on the floor.
All of a sudden, Xiao La bit her hand.
Liu Sanlang and Shi Shi both didn’t expect that, so it got her wrist.
"Ouch!"
Astonished, Shi Shi screamed in a low voice. Both of her legs softened and she sat on the floor.
Xiao La only bit her lightly. Shi Shi lost the jerky as she was frightened. It picked up the jerkies on the floor.
"Shi Shi, are you okay?" Liu Sanlang immediately went up to her and helped her up from the ground.
"I am fine. I am fine." Shi Shi took a deep breath, waved her hand and began staring at her wound.
Liu Sanlang was nervous, "Should I take you to the hospital? Do you need some shots? Wait there, I will call the ambulance…" he looked around, panicking, trying to search for his phone.
"Really, I am fine. Don’t worry," Shi Shi was calm. She raised her wrist to Liu Sanlang’s eye level. "Look, my skin is not even red. It only bit my bracelet."
Looking at her skin, smooth as silk, his face blushed. He couldn’t help to adore her.
Taking back her wrist, Shi Shi didn’t notice the difference in his face.
Liu Sanlang shook himself awake and said, "Great. I am glad…" He never wanted to see anything happen
see anything happen to that perfect skin, nor did he want to see her get hurt. If Xiao La would’ve hurt her, he would definitely put it down!
Now that he had calmed down from the shock, he realized that Xiao La did indeed try to bite her.
He was mad, standing in front of Shi Shi. "This dog bites! I have to send it back!" What he meant was to send it back to the pet shop because the owner told him that Labradors wouldn’t attack people. Why did it bite? Was it a pure-breed after all?
Shi Shi thought that he wanted to abandon the puppy. She pulled a long face and said unhappily, "How could you be so cruel? If it gets wet in the rain, it will die!"
"But… but it bit you…" Liu Sanlang was murmuring.
"I don’t think it bit me on purpose. It was my fault. It is natural that dogs protect their food. I didn’t get hurt anyways," Shi Shi kept explaining.
Looking at the puppy who was happily eating its jerky, Liu Sanlang hesitated. Yes, she didn’t get hurt but it did bite her! Fortunately it bit her on her bracelet this time. What if next time it hurt her for real? On the other hand, Shi Shi was right. It was a dog’s instinct to protect its food. Was that a reason for them to bite their owner? Or did it not take him and her as the owners yet because it had just gotten there?