Chapter Fifty-Five: Each Distinct in Their Own Way

After returning to their place, Song Jiawei called out to Zhang Congwen and they played two rounds of Red Alert. When the games were over, Song Jiawei did something rare—he knocked on Zhang Congwen’s door.

“Want to go for a walk?” Song Jiawei asked.

“Sure,” Zhang Congwen nodded.

Downstairs, at the convenience store.

Song Jiawei opened a fresh pack of cigarettes and handed one to Zhang Congwen.

“So, what’s been up with you these past couple of days?”

The moment Zhang Congwen inhaled, he felt a slight dizziness. Like Song Jiawei, he smoked, but neither of them did so regularly. Especially Song Jiawei—he only smoked when something was weighing on his mind and he could no longer keep it in.

“So you noticed I’ve been off lately?” Song Jiawei took a drag, feeling a bit uncomfortable, even wondering if he’d bought a fake pack.

“I’m not blind,” Zhang Congwen replied.

“Then why haven’t you tried to comfort me? You don’t care about me at all,” Song Jiawei said.

“You’re not some pretty girl. Why should I care?” Zhang Congwen retorted with disdain.

“What, am I not good-looking enough?” Song Jiawei teased.

“Get lost! Don’t make me sick,” Zhang Congwen shot back.

The two fell silent.

When they finished their cigarettes, Song Jiawei handed Zhang Congwen another and lit one for himself.

“Sometimes I think college days were better,” Song Jiawei said as he started his second. This time he felt better, the discomfort fading, proving the cigarettes were real—it had just been too long since he’d last smoked.

“There wasn’t this much scheming in college,” he flicked his ash.

“Work problems?” Zhang Congwen asked.

Song Jiawei nodded.

Zhang Congwen summed it up: “You’re being melodramatic.”

Song Jiawei didn’t deny it; he felt he was being a bit melodramatic these days.

Before he’d met Julie Xie, no matter what trouble he faced at work, he’d never complained. But after meeting someone as pure and gentle as Julie, his mindset began to change.

Compared to someone like her, there were few redeeming qualities in his colleagues—not in terms of looks, but character. They schemed and fought behind each other’s backs, to the point it was exhausting. He used to think none of it mattered, but ever since he met Julie, he found them all tiresome.

“I’m thinking about quitting,” Song Jiawei said.

“Damn! You tried to rope me into your company, and now you’re talking about leaving? Did you make some deal with them, trying to drag me in as cannon fodder?” Zhang Congwen asked.

Song Jiawei grinned slyly. “I wanted you to inherit my throne.”

“Get lost!”

Zhang Congwen turned and started to walk away.

But Song Jiawei grabbed his arm. “Aren’t you going to help your brother when he’s being bullied?”

Zhang Congwen paused, a little skeptical. “Aren’t you the top sales guy at your company? Who would dare mess with you?”

“Being the top salesperson doesn’t mean much. There’s only so much you can do,” Song Jiawei said. “Remember that jerk I told you about—Ergou? Ever since I closed the deal with Boss Xie, that bastard’s been on my back, always looking for trouble. The worst part is, he’s the boss’s relative, so no one dares cross him.”

Zhang Congwen laughed. “Don’t you have a toolbox full of dirty tricks? Why not use them? Don’t tell me you’re just venting to me.”

Song Jiawei flicked his cigarette butt forcefully to the ground, stomped it out, then dutifully picked it up and tossed it in a nearby bin.

“I’ve got tricks, but it depends who I’m up against. I don’t want to play these games with that pack of dogs. It’s exhausting.”

Zhang Congwen patted him on the shoulder, in understanding. He’d left his previous job for the same reason—too much backstabbing; even if he wanted to keep out of it, he couldn’t.

“So what will you do?”

“I don’t know, worst case, I’ll just quit,” Song Jiawei said. “Are you free this weekend?”

“I have to go train some dogs,” Zhang Congwen replied.

“Take me with you.”

“You’re not working?”

“I’ll take a day off!”

Zhang Congwen didn’t offer any words of comfort, but for Song Jiawei, this was enough. Having someone to walk with, smoke with, or share a drink with was enough to ease the frustrations of the heart.

The only thing missing was that, unlike Song Jiawei, Zhang Congwen rarely smoked, and absolutely never drank.

There were actually other things Song Jiawei hadn’t told Zhang Congwen—for example, the state of his relationship with Julie Xie.

Song Jiawei couldn’t deny that he had indeed fallen for Julie. Yet, when facing her, he couldn’t help but feel inferior.

Julie was still in university, and a prestigious one at that. Song Jiawei, by contrast, had graduated from an obscure school. His family background couldn’t compare either.

Although he always joked about wanting to find a young, beautiful, wealthy woman to rely on, in truth, he respected those who made their own way. Despite his usual irreverence, he had his limits.

He used to talk about becoming his own boss, about starting a business, but it was just talk. Since meeting Julie, though, that idea had begun to take root.

So, if he really did quit, he’d find a way to start his own business and never again be someone else’s beast of burden.

...

“Trainer Zhang, this is...?” At Sun Zimu’s home, Sun’s mother, Meng Rou, asked.

Before Zhang Congwen could answer, Song Jiawei introduced himself. “Hello, I’m Trainer Zhang’s assistant, Song Jiawei.”

Sun Zimu looked puzzled. At school, Zhang Congwen was practically a legend, but he’d never heard of him having an assistant.

Meng Rou, however, didn’t question it much and invited them in. She knew the state of her own dog. She figured that, after seeing the dog the other night, Zhang Congwen must have decided he couldn’t handle it alone and brought an assistant.

This made her all the more anxious. If even a professional trainer couldn’t handle their dog, she truly didn’t know what to do with Moxue.

The Sun family’s living room was not small, but with so many people, it felt a bit cramped.

Originally, Xie Caizhe also wanted to watch Zhang Congwen train the dog, but halfway there, he got a message from Lin Xiaoru inviting him out, and he abandoned both Zhang Congwen and his buddy, Sun Zimu.

From the moment he entered, Zhang Congwen observed the reactions of the three dogs. The first time he’d come, Sun’s father, Sun Zhong, had locked all three dogs in a separate room behind a gate, to prevent any accidents, so Zhang Congwen hadn’t been able to observe them properly.

This time, before coming, he’d asked that the three dogs be let out as usual.

Now, seeing them interact, he could witness their genuine reactions to strangers.

Under one roof, the three dogs reacted to strangers in completely different ways.

The Shiba Inu, Xiao Huang, was calm, sitting quietly at a distance, watching the two newcomers.

Dabai, the mixed breed, was wagging its head eagerly, trying to get close to the strangers.

Only Moxue, the Husky-Corgi mix, stood alert and wary, eyes locked on Zhang Congwen and Song Jiawei, occasionally barking at them in warning.