Er Mao would squat by the front door every day, gazing in the direction Chen Cong had departed. Whenever he heard a vehicle, he’d excitedly run out to see, only to return dejected.
Nuannuan would accompany Er Mao by the door daily, chatting to herself and trying to cheer Er Mao up.
"Er Mao, Nuannuan is here! Nuannuan will keep you company from now on."
"And Qiuqiu, without Er Mao, Qiuqiu is slacking off again!"
"Ao ao~" (I didn't, cub) Qiuqiu, crouching behind Nuannuan, desperately tried to squeeze between Er Mao and Nuannuan.
"Qiuqiu, don't be naughty! Er Mao is unhappy, we need to help Er Mao feel happy." Nuannuan scratched Qiuqiu’s forehead to comfort him.
"Ao ao ao~" (It's just lovesickness. I've given it meat, and it's still unhappy.)
"Doesn't Er Mao like it here? Nuannuan likes Er Mao very much! Nuannuan is also happy that Er Mao came to Nuannuan’s home. Nuannuan will always stay with Er Mao!"
Nuannuan turned around, rubbed Er Mao’s ears, and continued to whisper in its ear.
"And Qiuqiu, Daddy, Grandma Wu, Grandpa Li, Uncle… everyone will stay with Er Mao!"
"Does Er Mao not like Nuannuan?" Nuannuan cupped Er Mao’s face with her small hands, looking into its eyes.
"Woof~"
Er Mao finally responded, lowering its head and nuzzling Nuannuan's palm.
Afterward, Er Mao got up and walked inside. In a moment, Er Mao came back, carrying a leash in its mouth. It nudged its head into Nuannuan's embrace, placing the leash in her hand.
"Does Er Mao want to go out to play?"
"Woof~" Er Mao wagged its tail and squatted, looking at Nuannuan.
"Yay! Er Mao is happy now."
"Woof woof woof~"
From then on, Nuannuan had a little guardian by her side.
Qiuqiu pulled the cart in front, with Er Mao following closely. Around its neck was a small water bottle, and on its back, a little backpack filled with Nuannuan’s usual snacks.
"I have a little donkey, I never ride it~"
Nuannuan hummed a tune, swaying in her little snail cart. The Qiuqiu in front howled rhythmically in accompaniment, while Er Mao would occasionally nudge Nuannuan to sit up straight.
Passersby saw this heartwarming scene and couldn't help but smile.
"Daddy~" Nuannuan turned to look at Ye Jinghuai behind her.
"What is it, Nuannuan?" Ye Jinghuai quickly walked over.
"Nothing! I'm just so happy~" Nuannuan said affectionately to Ye Jinghuai.
"As long as you're happy." Ye Jinghuai stroked Nuannuan’s head.
"Mhmm~" Nuannuan’s eyes curved into smiles.
No one noticed that behind a large tree not far ahead, a pair of eyes were intently watching the approaching father and daughter.
Seeing them drawing closer, the person quickly straightened up and leaned against the thick trunk, using it to conceal themselves.
Er Mao suddenly stopped, its ears perked up, vigilantly staring ahead at the large tree.
"Er Mao, what's wrong?" Nuannuan asked curiously as Er Mao stood still.
"Nuannuan, Dad will carry you."
Sensing Er Mao's alertness, Ye Jinghuai quickly stepped forward and lifted Nuannuan out of the cart.
"Woo~ woo woo~" Er Mao lowered its body and growled menacingly at the tree ahead.
Then, Er Mao lunged forward.
"Woof woof woof!"
"Hey, hey, hey! Don't come any closer!"
Following that, a suspicious figure, completely cloaked, leaped out from behind the tree in a panic.
"Second Brother, quickly make it stop."
The person scrambled towards them, running while removing their sunglasses and mask. It turned out to be Ye Jingxing, who had returned from filming in the mountains.
"Er Mao, no! Stop quickly!" Nuannuan urged Er Mao to stop.
Fortunately, Er Mao hadn't bitten yet. Ye Jingxing was merely in a bit of a disheveled state.
"Fourth Uncle~" Nuannuan waved at Ye Jingxing.
"Phew~ You scared me half to death!" Ye Jingxing patted his chest, trying to calm himself.
"Why are you hiding there dressed like that?"
Ye Jinghuai also breathed a sigh of relief and put Nuannuan down again.
"I'm outside, aren't I? Of course, I have to disguise myself. I finally finished filming by working overtime, and I wanted to surprise Nuannuan with a sudden appearance. I even specifically ambushed over there." Ye Jingxing pouted helplessly.
"This isn't a surprise, it's a fright," Ye Jinghuai retorted irritably.
"Yes, it was a fright for me. Where did this dog come from? It's too sensitive!" Ye Jingxing looked at Er Mao and then subtly pressed closer to Ye Jinghuai.
"Woof!" Er Mao barked triumphantly.
"Fourth Uncle, Er Mao is Qiuqiu's friend! It's our family now too!" Nuannuan said in a childish voice.
"Er Mao, this is Nuannuan's Fourth Uncle~ Not a bad person! Er Mao hasn't met Fourth Uncle before, but now you get to meet him~" Nuannuan, acting like a little adult, patted Er Mao's head.
"Woof woof!"
Er Mao barked twice and then walked towards Ye Jingxing.
Ye Jingxing instinctively dodged backward, but his movements were too exaggerated, tripping over his own feet and landing on his bottom.
"No, no, no~"
Ye Jingxing’s first reaction after falling was to cover his face.
However, he only felt his hand grow wet. When he lowered his hand, he saw it was Er Mao's nose. Er Mao was now sniffing him intently.
"Fourth Uncle, Er Mao might look fierce, but it's very gentle! You don't need to be scared, Nuannuan and Daddy are here!" Nuannuan comforted from her little cart.
"Heh~ Can you be any more pathetic?" Ye Jinghuai couldn't help but laugh.
"I'm not scared, I just can't bear to harm animals," Ye Jingxing retorted shamelessly.
He then dusted off his hands, stood up, and walked over to Nuannuan, squatting down to look at her.
"Nuannuan! Fourth Uncle is back, do you miss me?" After saying this, he grabbed Nuannuan's shoulders and leaned in to kiss her.
Ye Jinghuai promptly reached out and covered Ye Jingxing's mouth, causing Ye Jingxing to kiss his palm instead.
"Pah, pah, pah! Second Brother, what are you doing?" Ye Jingxing quickly stood up and kept wiping his mouth with his sleeve.
"Are you dirty or not?" Ye Jinghuai also flicked his wrist in disgust, then took out a tissue and vigorously wiped his palm.
"I brushed my teeth this morning." Ye Jingxing was still wiping his mouth.
"Didn't you cover your face just now? Your hands were full of dust, so dirty." Ye Jinghuai squatted down again, patting Nuannuan's clothes, worried she might have gotten dusty from Ye Jingxing.
"I..." Alright, he had indeed covered his face.
"Oh my! Daddy, Fourth Uncle, don't argue! Fourth Uncle, muah~" Nuannuan thoughtfully gave Ye Jingxing an air kiss.
"Daddy, muah~"
Just as Ye Jingxing was about to brag about the air kiss to Ye Jinghuai, Nuannuan gave Ye Jinghuai a solid kiss.
"Crack~"
It was the sound of Ye Jingxing's heart breaking.