"It's fine. I wasn't doing anything at home anyway, and I got to watch a good show while I was out," said Ling Jiang with a cheerful smile. Of course, the "show" clearly referred to those three troublemakers, not Lan Jin. But even if someone had thought she meant Lan Jin, Lan Jin wouldn't have cared. She was already planning to properly thank Ling Jiang and Huang Jinghe for their help today.
Huang Jinghe added, "It's nothing, Sister Lan. I've got the water barrel and cart. Let's head back. We still need to buy food at the community shop."
"Alright, let's go."
As soon as they stepped out of the main hall, the officers who had been watching the dog returned Nana to Lan Jin. One of them even complimented her.
"You've really raised this dog well."
"Seriously. It growled and bared its teeth but never actually bit anyone because you told it not to. It even barked so quietly. Most dogs would've lost it by now," the officers said, full of envy. Unfortunately, a dog that well-trained belonged to someone else.
Lan Jin was naturally happy to receive praise for her dog. She thanked them again, "Thank you for helping take care of Nana. Come on, Nana, say goodbye to the brothers."
Nana gave the officers a dismissive bark, then wagged his tail happily and tugged on Lan Jin's arm as if to say, Let's go, let's go. He didn't even glance back. It was as if simply leaving that place was the happiest thing in the world. The officers couldn't help laughing at the sight.
But as soon as they left the station and spotted the three people standing by the front gate, Nana instantly got serious. He stepped in front of Lan Jin, fur bristling. After baring his teeth again, he let out several loud barks in warning. The three people who had planned to cause trouble stopped dead and backed away quickly.
Lan Jin had no intention of defusing the tension. In fact, she enjoyed the chaos. She said slowly, loud enough for all three of them to hear, "Tsk, some people don't even have a place to sleep tonight. I wonder if the wife of the old flame will take them in?"
Ling Jiang found the comment incredibly entertaining. She hadn't expected Lan Jin to speak so boldly. Huang Jinghe, on the other hand, gave a helpless smile. Was this just what adult life was like? So full of drama?
He thought briefly about his own family. His grandparents didn't live with his parents, and even when his parents visited, the atmosphere always seemed tense.
He didn't want to think any further. He wasn't at that stage of life yet, and overthinking it wouldn't help.
Lan Jin's one line had struck all three people standing outside like a triple arrow straight to the chest.
Father Ren and Mother Ren were so angry they turned and left immediately. Father Ren looked like he wanted to curse at her, but Nana's sudden barking had scared him so much he backed off.
As for Meng Ying, she truly had nowhere to go. She was overwhelmed with regret. Why had she followed Mother Ren in the first place? If she had just stayed put, at least she could've kept sleeping in the study. Now she didn't even have a corner to squat in.
That was why her determination to move into Lan Jin's home had only grown stronger. It had become her only option, her last hope.
From a distance, Meng Ying called out, "You're living alone now, aren't you? What's the big deal about giving me a room? If you don't, I'll report you to the authorities!"
Lan Jin replied without missing a beat, "Are you dumb? That's my house. Even if you report me, it won't matter. And why haven't you figured it out by now? When you see me, you should walk the other way."
Of course Meng Ying knew she should avoid Lan Jin, but where could she go? She had nowhere else. So she had no choice but to cling to Lan Jin, her last lifeline.
"Lan Jin, I want to talk to you," Meng Ying pleaded.
"What would we even talk about? I wanted to talk to you before, but you didn't want to listen. So what's the point now?"
Lan Jin spoke as if she had no interest at all. In truth, she did want to speak to Meng Ying—privately, somewhere quiet. But there were too many people around right now. She couldn't afford to create a scene and end up burned by it herself.
Revenge was important, but caution was just as critical. She couldn't risk throwing away everything she had endured for months just because of Meng Ying.
Besides, she had already gotten a good grasp on Meng Ying's state of mind. No matter what she said, Meng Ying wouldn't leave. She had no other options.
At this point, Lan Jin was actually willing to give her a chance—to see how Meng Ying would try to destroy herself when no one else was watching.
After that, Lan Jin ignored her completely. As expected, Meng Ying followed closely behind, unwilling to leave.
Up ahead, Nana cleared the way for them like a little bodyguard. Anyone passing by who saw the fierce look in the dog's eyes would quickly step aside, as if she were royalty. Ling Jiang found the whole thing hilarious.
"Are we using a dog to bully people now? Feels like everyone avoids me just because I'm walking next to Nana."
Huang Jinghe laughed and replied, "If this isn't a perfect example of a person using a dog's power, I don't know what is. But seriously, Sister Lan, Nana is only ten months old, right? Why does he look taller and bulkier than other Rottweilers?"
"He's been eating more lately. Maybe he's just putting on weight." Lan Jin looked thoughtful, but the moment she mentioned gaining weight, Nana gave her a quiet bark in protest.
Lan Jin quickly coaxed him, "Alright, alright, I won't say you're getting chubby. Don't be mad. You're still growing, after all. Your height's shot up these past couple months, and your appetite too."
Nana now ate three meals a day just like Lan Jin and Qiao Qiao. Dry food in the morning, and fresh dog food for lunch and dinner. A single serving of the homemade dog food was about the size of a grown man's fist. When he was smaller, that one portion would last him two meals. Now he ate a whole one in one sitting, and sometimes even got a midnight snack.
The late-night snack was flexible. Sometimes it was dry food with canned meat, sometimes it was dog food, or just leftovers that she and Qiao Qiao hadn't finished. Regardless, Nana had four meals a day without fail.
With that kind of diet, it was only natural he would grow stronger and bigger. On top of that, lately they'd been cooking more dog food than usual. All the vegetables they'd stocked in her spatial storage had mostly been fed to Nana. Now, she had no choice but to use the fresher produce from inside the space to keep up with his needs.
Those vegetables were more nutritious and better tasting than what she'd stored before. It made perfect sense that Nana was growing faster. His size was clearly above average now—taller, more muscular than the average dog.
But even when cooking for a dog, Lan Jin never prepared anything outside. The smell would spread through the entire building. Then she remembered—the space had a camper van. The kitchen inside only needed electricity. So not just Nana's meals, but even when she and Qiao Qiao wanted something special, they cooked in the space's kitchen.
That said, the only one growing visibly was Nana. She and Ren Siqiao—no, Lan Qiaoqiao—hadn't changed at all. It was probably due to the spiritual spring water. Since they had been transformed by it earlier, the vegetables from the space didn't affect them as much anymore.
So even now, with Qiao Qiao not even three years old, her height hadn't increased much. Compared to Nana, she looked like a tiny bean. When they stood side by side, she really seemed too small to match him.