Chapter 09
“Woof, woof!” The large black dog barked furiously at Duan Jianguo. Duan Jianguo’s face turned white instantly. He looked at Yun Shu. “You…” A mischievous smirk flashed across Yun Shu’s face, and in the next second, she let go of the leash. “Xiao Hei, bite him.”
The original host had always thought of Xiao Hei from Auntie Zhang’s house next door whenever she had tasty bones. Not just bones, she would also send over any delicious leftovers. Over time, Xiao Hei had become extremely loyal to the original host. While the original host was arrogant, domineering, and aloof, she actually had a soft spot for small animals.
The moment Xiao Hei was released, he immediately lunged at Duan Jianguo. Duan Jianguo was so terrified that he turned and bolted. “Oh my god!” Dogs were his absolute biggest fear. Unfortunately, two legs were no match for four, especially since Duan Jianguo was already carrying injuries. After only a few steps, Xiao Hei tackled him from behind, sending him face-first into the dirt. Xiao Hei showed no mercy whatsoever, tearing and biting relentlessly at Duan Jianguo’s back. “Ah… help!” Duan Jianguo shrieked in agony, struggling frantically with Xiao Hei while screaming for help.
Soon, the neighbors were drawn out by the noise, and even the couple, Yun Guoliang and Yan Meili, came outside upon hearing the commotion. Seeing the scene before them, everyone was startled. Yan Meili’s first reaction, however, was to look at Yun Shu. Seeing that she was completely unharmed, her heart settled. She pulled Yun Guoliang to stand aside and watch the spectacle, with absolutely no intention of intervening. This Duan Jianguo dared to ruin their Yun Shu’s reputation; he deserved to be bitten.
Among the onlookers, some recognized that the man being bitten was Duan Jianguo and wanted to step forward to help, but they had no idea where to even start. Don’t be fooled by his name Xiao Hei, which meant Little Blackāhe was incredibly robust, standing half a man’s height, and looked terrifyingly fierce. Auntie Zhang ran out holding her rice bowl. Seeing her own Xiao Hei biting someone, and then seeing Yun Shu casually watching the drama, she hurriedly hurried over. “Yun Shu, we can’t let someone lose their life here!” When the girl came over earlier to borrow Xiao Hei, she hadn’t specified what she was going to do, only saying she needed to deal with a bad person. Auntie Zhang had assumed Yun Shu was borrowing Xiao Hei to guard their house for the night, but she never expected it was to have the dog bite someone.
Yun Shu signaled her not to worry. “Don’t worry, it’s fine.” “Zhang Guifen, hurry up and tell your Xiao Hei to stop biting! This man is Troupe Leader Duan Jianguo from the art troupe.” “If he keeps biting, someone is really going to die!” “Xiao Hei, stop biting!” Someone stepped forward to pull the leash, but they simply couldn’t budge the dog. Xiao Hei continued to tear at Duan Jianguo, whose clothes were already ripped to shreds.
Auntie Zhang grew scared too. Shoving her rice bowl into someone else’s hands, she went up to pull Xiao Hei. “You wicked creature, let go right now!” Xiao Hei still refused to listen, clamping down on Duan Jianguo’s waistband and shaking his head violently. While everyone saw Xiao Hei biting the man, in reality, the dog was only shredding Duan Jianguo’s clothes, and there was no blood pooling anywhere. At most, the dog’s teeth were scraping against the skin, causing minor abrasions with a few trickles of blood.
“Tsk, do you smell that? There’s a strong stench of urine!” “I smell it! Who peed?” “It couldn’t be Xiao Hei, right?” Everyone looked down, only to find that it wasn’t Xiao Hei who had peed. Instead… Duan Jianguo had been scared shitless and wet his pants.
The corners of Yun Shu’s mouth curled up in satisfaction. “Alright Xiao Hei, that’s enough.” She knew exactly what she was doing. Xiao Hei looked fierce, but in reality, he was only scaring the man and wouldn’t actually cause severe harm. The goal was simply to make Duan Jianguo suffer a bit and teach him a lesson so he wouldn’t dare entangle himself with her again. Duan Jianguo’s face was already as white as paper from pure terror. He suffered from urinary incontinence, and his eyes held nothing but sheer dread.
Hearing Yun Shu’s voice, Xiao Hei immediately let go. He trotted back to Yun Shu’s side, sat down obediently, and wagged his tail while looking up at her, seemingly begging for praise. Yun Shu patted Xiao Hei’s head. “I’ll reward you with a roast duck later.” “Woof, woof!” Xiao Hei seemed to understand, shaking his tail even faster.
Auntie Zhang knew Xiao Hei adored Yun Shu, but thinking about how he had almost mauled someone filled her with lingering fear. After all, she was the one who raised the dog. If anyone were to truly investigate and assign blame, she couldn’t just let Yun Shu take the fall. It seemed that next time, she would have to ask for clear details before lending her dog out.
Duan Jianguo was helped up by some bystanders, looking completely disheveled from head to toe. Aside from his underwear, which barely covered his decency, his clothes and trousers had been torn to shreds. He looked toward the gloating Yun Shu. She was visibly a completely different person from before, without a single trace of the affection that used to fill her eyes whenever she looked at him. At this moment, he believed itāhe believed that Yun Shu truly wanted to cut all ties with him. Could she really be a transmigrator?
“Let’s go to the hospital,” someone suggested. Duan Jianguo kept his eyes fixed on Yun Shu, his gaze narrowing slightly. Suddenly, he uttered a sentence, “Trump is back in office.” “…” Yun Shu!!!
A flash of astonishment crossed her eyes, fast as lightning. Duan Jianguo caught it. Even though he had guessed it, he was still incredibly shocked. There was no mistake; Yun Shu had indeed been replaced by a transmigrator, otherwise she wouldn’t have had that reaction. Ever since Yun Shu reported him, he had been thinking about testing his theory in person. But since she was a transmigrator, could she possibly be his girlfriend, Shen Miaomiao? If it really was her, then everything would be easy to handle. With this thought, Duan Jianguo decided to test her directly, “Shen Miaomiao, it’s time for you to hand over your manuscript.” “…” Yun Shu was completely baffled once again. “You…”
No way! Could Duan Jianguo be a transmigrator too? Otherwise, how could he possibly know about Trump? And who on earth was “Shen Miaomiao”? Or was Duan Jianguo testing her, and that name belonged to someone he knew?
Seeing Yun Shu’s reaction, Duan Jianguo concluded with absolute certainty that she was not Shen Miaomiao. Since that was the case, he no longer needed to care about past sentiments. “Yun Shu, since you are being so heartless, don’t blame me for not being mindful of our old ties. When the time comes, it won’t matter even if you come crying to beg me.” So what if she was a transmigrator? This 1970s period novel was written by his girlfriend; no one knew the direction of the plot better than him.
Duan Jianguo left for the hospital. With no more drama to watch, the neighbors called out their goodbyes and returned to their respective homes. Only Auntie Zhang looked at Yun Shu with complete bewilderment. “Wait, Xiao Yun, who did that Duan Jianguo say ‘Trump’ was just now? And who is Shen Miaomiao?” “…” Yun Shu’s mouth twitched slightly. “He was just scared out of his wits and talking gibberish.”
If Duan Jianguo really was a transmigrator, things were going to be troublesome. There was no telling how much he knew about the plot. But analyzing the parting words he left behind, he definitely wouldn’t accept this lying down and would likely pull some underhanded tricks behind her back. Thinking about how the original host had blabbed all of the family’s assets to Duan Jianguo, Yun Shu suppressed the raging waves in her heart, returned inside, and immediately sought out Yun Guoliang. Regardless of who Duan Jianguo was before transmigrating, she had to take precautions in advance.
“It’s all my fault. In a moment of madness back then, I told Duan Jianguo everything. You can scold me! I am guilty.” No, of course she was scolding the original host; she was merely playing along. Yun Guoliang had also not expected that Yun Shu would share such matters with Duan Jianguo. After a moment of silence, he looked at Yun Shu and motioned for her to sit down. “Since it’s been said, it’s been said. If he goes to report us, we can’t stop him either.” “Don’t worry. For our Yun family to establish a foothold in Shanghai, how could we not have made preparations?”
Yan Meili walked in carrying some tea, showing not the slightest intent to blame Yun Shu for her words. Yun Shu looked at Yun Guoliang, and seeing him nod, she still felt somewhat worried in her heart. After all, with both her and Duan Jianguo being transmigrators, there were too many unknown risks, and she couldn’t afford to take that gamble. However, she was highly curious about what safety measures Yun Guoliang had in place that left him completely unafraid of any official investigation.
After the meal, Yan Meili went to clear the dishes, while Yun Guoliang led Yun Shu down to the cellar. The moment they stepped through the door, a rich and mellow aroma of alcohol greeted their noses. Large and small liquor jars were stacked neatly throughout the cellar, which spanned over two hundred square meters. Aside from the liquor jars, there was absolutely nothing elseāno gold, silver, or jewelry to be seen anywhere.
“These are all liquors collected by your great-grandfather and grandfather. I was originally thinking of sharing some with Bai Zhan, but I didn’t expect him to leave in such a hurry.” Yun Guoliang led her deeper inside. “Duan Jianguo is an pure-hearted rogue with bad intentions. I am very relieved that you could clear your head and cut ties with him completely.” “Haven’t I said it already? I merely admired him, only admired him,” Yun Shu corrected him with a serious face. Yun Guoliang smiled. “Yes, yes, it was Papa’s slip of the tongue. Come, Papa will take you to see our family treasures. The things I showed you before were just ordinary items.”
Passing through rows of liquor jars, Yun Guoliang brought Yun Shu before a portrait of the Wine Immortal hanging on the wall. She watched as he gave the scroll underneath a twist, and subsequently, a stone door slid open. “…” Yun Shu!! There was a hidden mechanism!
