Driving, the two arrived at a nearby supermarket.
Qin Tian pushed the shopping cart ahead, while Xia Nuannuan followed a step behind, her delicate eyebrows furrowed as she seriously pondered what name to give the puppy.
"Nuannuan, there's no rush for the name. Let's buy things first!"
Qin Tian turned and said.
Xia Nuannuan pecked at her head and quickly walked forward, linking her arm with his.
"Should we buy steak first?"
"Mm, let's go to the meat and ingredients section and see if there's any good beef."
"Brother, you've cooked Western food before?"
Xia Nuannuan asked curiously.
"No!"
Qin Tian shook his head with a smile, then added, "Just pan-frying a steak, is that more troublesome than Chinese food? Don't worry, I guarantee it'll be delicious."
"Then I'll look forward to it. Teach me how to do it later too."
Xia Nuannuan smiled sweetly.
"No problem."
Qin Tian readily agreed.
The two arrived at the meat and ingredients area and first selected two pieces of fillet for the main dish that evening, which is the meat from the tenderest part of the sirloin.
Afterward, they also picked two pieces of sirloin and ribeye each as backups, to be frozen if they couldn't finish them.
After selecting the beef, Qin Tian took Xia Nuannuan to pick up some essentials for pan-frying steak.
First was butter, of course, then broccoli, cherry tomatoes, onions, and other side vegetables. They also chose a few good potatoes, which could be cut into strips to make French fries later.
"Nuannuan, do you want pasta?"
Qin Tian asked Xia Nuannuan beside him.
"No, I don't think we can finish it."
"Then let's not buy it. Let's go pick out a suitable set of tableware. We don't have any Western tableware at home yet."
"Mm-hmm!"
After the two had chosen a set of tableware, they proceeded to the supermarket's alcohol section.
Neither of them knew much about wine, so they followed the principle of "you get what you pay for" and chose a bottle that was slightly more expensive.
Tonight was an important moment, and the proper ceremony was necessary.
"It seems like something is still missing."
Qin Tian surveyed the items in the shopping cart and mumbled thoughtfully.
"Steak, tableware, wine... we've bought everything, what else is there?"
Xia Nuannuan recounted item by item and looked at him with surprise.
"Got it!"
Qin Tian raised his hand and tapped his forehead, saying with a smile, "For the first candlelight dinner, how can we be without a pair of nice candles? Let's go find them."
"What candlelight dinner!"
Xia Nuannuan blushed with embarrassment. She hadn't heard about this before.
"It should be over there."
"Wait a minute, explain yourself first."
"Oh, right, we also need to buy a tablecloth."
"Hey, are you listening to me?"
Not long after, the two emerged from the supermarket with full shopping bags. After opening the car doors, they placed them on the back seat.
On the way home, they passed a flower shop, and Qin Tian drove the car in without a word.
After parking, he got out and went in to buy a bouquet of bright red roses. Amidst the envious smiles of the shop assistant, he handed them to Xia Nuannuan, whose face was flushed red, a mix of shyness and joy.
...
...
Upon returning home, Qin Tian hadn't even used his key to open the door when he heard the puppy barking from inside.
"Wow, it knows we're here to greet us! Hurry and open the door, quick!"
Xia Nuannuan urged him with surprise and delight.
"Okay, okay."
Qin Tian agreed with a wry smile and unlocked the door with his key.
The little gray dog, carrying its cautiousness, immediately ran up happily upon seeing them, wagging its tail rapidly in front of them.
"Oh, you're watching the house, aren't you? So good!"
Xia Nuannuan squatted down, put down the shopping bag in her hand, and dotingly picked up the little gray dog, patting its head.
"Woof!"
The little gray dog barked, sticking out its tongue and acting cute and affectionate.
Qin Tian picked up Xia Nuannuan's shopping bag and said with a smile, "I'll go unpack, you give it some treats."
"Okay!"
Xia Nuannuan nodded with a smile, picked up the little gray dog, and went to the balcony.
Qin Tian, on the other hand, went into the kitchen and put the purchased ingredients and tableware in their proper places.
It was still early, only three in the afternoon, and cooking steak wouldn't take much time, so he didn't need to rush.
In the living room, Xia Nuannuan was holding some small dog biscuits and playing with the little gray dog.
Following the instructions of the female store manager, she gave it simple commands, rewarding it with treats if it did well.
However, the little gray dog had been wandering outside before and was clearly not yet accustomed to this "two-legged beast" routine. When Xia Nuannuan gave commands and gestures, it would always look at her with confused black eyes.
Seeing that she wasn't giving it food, the little gray dog drooped its head and let out a whimper, looking quite wronged.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, here, have it!"
Xia Nuannuan's heart softened, and she couldn't resist, directly handing over the small biscuits in her hand.
The little gray dog happily gobbled them up, its tail wagging like a propeller behind it.
"How are you ever going to teach it like this!"
Qin Tian, walking over, said with a chuckle upon seeing this scene.
Xia Nuannuan looked up at him and gave a helpless wry smile, "I can't help it. When it looks at me like that, I can't bear not to give it food. I'll just have to teach it slowly."
"Like this, it won't ever learn."
"That's fine too. Anyway, it's so well-behaved. If it doesn't know these commands and gestures, so be it!"
"That's true!"
Qin Tian nodded and walked over to sit next to her.
"Brother, the temperature is still quite low at night. Will it be cold? Should we move its little bed inside and turn on the air conditioning?"
Xia Nuannuan glanced at the dog bed on the balcony and suggested with some concern.
"If we move it inside, the dog toilet will have to come in too. Let's close all the windows on the balcony later and turn on the air conditioning. It won't be cold."
Qin Tian said with a smile.
"Alright!"
Xia Nuannuan nodded.
"What's that smell?"
Qin Tian suddenly smelled a foul odor and looked around in confusion.
Xia Nuannuan sniffed with her delicate nose as well and indeed detected a stench.
Following the direction of the smell, the two soon discovered a pile of dog poop in the corner of the balcony.
"Why did it poop here? I didn't even notice!"
Xia Nuannuan chuckled sheepishly.
"Well, this is something we really need to teach!"
Qin Tian supported his forehead with his hand and said helplessly, "I'll handle this. You go and scold it. We can't let it defecate anywhere it pleases anymore."
"Okay!"
Xia Nuannuan nodded solemnly.
"Some dogs also like to eat their own droppings. This bad habit must absolutely not be allowed."
Qin Tian said sternly.
"Ah? No way, it didn't eat it!"
Xia Nuannuan exclaimed.
"It seems to be okay for now, but it was a stray dog before and no one taught it. It might have this bad habit, so we must take it seriously."
Qin Tian said as he walked to the cabinet where the dog supplies were kept, opened the door to find tools, and prepared to be a poop scooper.
"That's true, we must take it seriously."
Xia Nuannuan looked down at the little gray dog at her feet and nodded in agreement.