Chapter Twenty-Seven: The Habitual Offender

"That's a bit of a shame, then. We'll have to wait for next time," Mr. Xie said with a hint of disappointment. His reaction was genuine, not feigned; he truly felt regretful. The improvement plan Zhang Congwen had proposed earlier had indeed impressed him. However, the fact that the dog's owner needed to be present to cooperate made it difficult to implement.

Fortunately, Song Jiawei responded quickly and suggested, "I believe your son and daughter are at home, aren't they? Could they take over for you?"

He directed his second sentence at Zhang Congwen.

"That will work," Zhang Congwen replied. Having Mr. Xie present would have been ideal, but now, for the sake of Song Jiawei's performance, he had to settle for the next best option.

Mr. Xie's son and daughter were soon called downstairs. After a brief explanation, Mr. Xie hurried out.

His daughter, Julie Xie, was the elder of the two. She appeared only a year or two younger than Zhang Congwen, and she was elegantly dressed. While not quite as striking as Zhu Qingyan, her looks still stood out among ordinary people.

Her younger brother, Charlie Xie, was more average in appearance but had inherited their father's gentle demeanor, giving him a scholarly air.

Neither sibling seemed intimidated by strangers; they greeted Zhang Congwen and Song Jiawei with politeness. From their conversation, Zhang Congwen quickly figured out which of the two would be best suited to assist him in training the dog.

Julie spoke softly and moved with grace. From a man's perspective, these were admirable qualities. But from a dog trainer's viewpoint, such gentleness could be a drawback. To manage a dog well, the owner needed to display firmness, at least toward the animal.

Though Charlie Xie had a bookish air, he also possessed a certain masculinity, making him the better choice to assist Zhang Congwen.

Through their chat, Zhang Congwen learned that both siblings were students. Yet, upon hearing that someone would be coming to train their dog today, they had both taken the day off. It was clear they were quite fond of the dog.

And understandably so. Though a mixed breed, their dog—imposing and powerful with its brindle coat—made a strong impression and was hard not to like.

"Brother Zhang, do you think you could train our Tiger to come inside and live with us?" Charlie asked, showing no signs of shyness.

The dog Charlie referred to, "Tiger," was their family pet.

"I'll give it a try," Zhang Congwen replied with a smile. "You have a muzzle for Tiger, don't you? Let's put it on him first."

Immediately, Charlie fetched a muzzle from the drawer. However, as soon as he approached Tiger, his initial enthusiasm faded into caution, even fear.

Catching Song Jiawei's eye, Zhang Congwen gave a subtle signal. Song Jiawei understood at once, called Charlie back, and began to bolster his confidence. Over the past few days, Song Jiawei had picked up quite a bit about dog training from Zhang Congwen and understood the basics.

It turned out that Charlie had been bitten by Tiger before, which explained his apprehension. Despite this, he still loved the dog dearly and was the most vocal opponent in the family against having Tiger put down.

After much encouragement, Charlie finally summoned his courage and managed to get the muzzle on Tiger. It was not an easy process, as the dog resisted fiercely. At one point, just as they managed to secure the muzzle, Tiger used his paw to swipe it off again.

In the end, it took both siblings working together to get the muzzle firmly in place.

It was obvious that the siblings had far less control over Tiger than Mr. Xie did.

Even with the muzzle on, Tiger was restless, constantly trying to remove it. Charlie, flustered, did his best to stop him, and after much commotion, the group finally managed to settle the dog down.

Only then did Zhang Congwen signal Charlie to unfasten the chain that tethered Tiger to the tree. Unexpectedly, as soon as the chain was loosened, Tiger lunged forward. Charlie, caught off guard, had his finger pinched painfully between the chain and the tree.

Though he quickly pulled his hand free, his expression revealed the pain. Julie hurried over to check her brother's injury, while Tiger, seemingly unaware of his misbehavior, began barking at Zhang Congwen and Song Jiawei.

A few minutes later, Charlie recovered enough to continue unfastening the chain.

The moment the chain was released, Tiger dragged Charlie straight toward Song Jiawei. Although Song Jiawei had learned from Zhang Congwen not to make sudden moves in such situations, theory was one thing; practice required nerves of steel. Despite himself, he instinctively jerked his foot back.

Tiger immediately picked up on this, lifting his head to stare at Song Jiawei.

Fortunately, Song Jiawei realized his mistake and stood his ground. Seeing no further movement, Tiger lowered his head and sniffed Song Jiawei's shoes.

"I think I was just warned by a dog," Song Jiawei said, unable to suppress a wry smile.

Zhang Congwen laughed. "You weren't imagining things—Tiger was warning you. That was his way of telling you not to make any sudden moves in front of him."

Song Jiawei felt a bit embarrassed. Never had he imagined that, at his age, a dog would intimidate him to the point where he dared not react—even one wearing a muzzle.

After sniffing Song Jiawei and Zhang Congwen, Tiger positioned himself between the two trainers and the siblings, effectively dividing the group. He then began pawing at his muzzle again.

"Can you see what kind of dog he is?" Song Jiawei asked Zhang Congwen, shifting slightly.

But even that slight movement caught Tiger's attention. With a leap, Tiger lunged for Song Jiawei's chest.

Startled, Charlie yanked back on the chain.

Tiger hit the ground, scrambled to his feet, and tried to attack Song Jiawei again.

Charlie did his best to hold Tiger back, but the dog's strength easily overpowered his. Tiger dragged him forward a couple of steps, drawing ever closer to Song Jiawei, barking and trying to leap at his chest.

Sensing her brother was losing control, Julie joined in, helping to hold the chain.

But just then, Tiger suddenly turned and lunged at the siblings, startling them into retreat.

Seeing this, Zhang Congwen tried to grab Tiger's hind leg. To his surprise, Tiger seemed to anticipate this move. As Zhang Congwen reached for his leg and missed, the dog spun around with agility and snapped at his outstretched hand.

Even though Zhang Congwen reacted quickly, Tiger was faster. His head collided with Zhang Congwen's hand—but, thanks to the muzzle, there was no harm done. Without it, Zhang Congwen would have certainly suffered a serious bite.

The fluidity of Tiger's movements made it clear that this was a dog well practiced in biting—an experienced offender.

A chill ran through Zhang Congwen. Without the muzzle's protection, the consequences would have been dire.

Having touched Zhang Congwen's hand, Tiger realized the muzzle was in the way, and immediately resumed pawing at it, trying to remove it once more.