Because his eyesight was worsening, Zhang Hang took the time to bring Big Black with him whenever he left the house. That way the dog could keep an eye out for him. Big Black had grown a lot, and was big enough that ordinary people would feel a little afraid when they saw him. However, Big Black was always very obedient and didn"t  bite anyone, so Zhang Hang liked to take him along wherever he went. There was also a sort of "showing off" mentality among teenagers. This was his dog, and he raised it from when it was so small that you could pick it up with two hands to such a big size. Naturally, he wanted to show off wherever he went. Whenever Big Black came to pick him up from school, Zhang Hang had no choice but to pat his head and say, "Why did you come again? I"ll get in trouble with the security guard." In contrast to his words, his nose would be held high, his eyes bright, and his voice proud. Each time Lin Sheng saw him like this, he could help itching to beat him up.

After becoming a dog, Lu Chengye discovered that animals were much more sensitive to emotions than people, probably because some of their wild nature still remained. As long as he looked at someone, he would be able to tell whether a person liked or feared him. This feeling would deeply affect him and he would respond to it instinctively.

For example, in the faces of Zhang Hang"s good friends, he could see their deep love and admiration for himself. When faced with students that were scared of him, Lu Chengye always kept his distance. If he was beside Zhang Hang, he would be happy, because he could feel the love Zhang Hang had for him.

Because of Zhang Hang"s love and pride, every time Lu Chengye went out with Zhang Hang, he would walk with his head held high. By showing off his dog, he gained many dog-lovers" approval.

Zhang Hang looked the optician"s shop and patted Lu Chengue"s head before heading inside. "Wait for me here, and don"t run around."

Everyone pa.s.sing by the store would see a big black dog sitting beside the entrance like a doorkeeper, neither walking away nor going in. The way it waited quietly and watched its surroundings made people fond of it.

In truth, Lu Chengye was listening to the sounds through the door, but it was too noisy for him to hear clearly. He was very concerned about this eye checkup. Zhang Hang"s eyesight had been poor for a while now, but the people working at the optician were experienced and should be able to find the issue.

Approximately half an hour later, Zhang Hang walked out of the shop with a hint of loss in his eyes. When Lu Chengye saw something was wrong, he jumped in front of him and barked, "woof".

Zhang Hang managed a strained smile and petted Lu Chengye"s big black head, saying sadly, "The people in the shop said that my eyesight wasn"t being corrected with gla.s.ses for shortsightedness. This is probably because of amblyopia1 or something else. If it"s amblyopia, I"ll never be able to see clearly no matter what gla.s.ses I use. They suggested I go to the hospital to get my eyes checked. Big Black, what do I do? Will I not be able to see well in the future?"

"Woof!" Lu Chengye anxiously cried. Go to the hospital quickly! If you can"t see well, you need immediate treatment. It might be a serious problem.

His bark gave Zhang Hang some courage. "Okay! When I get home, I will ask my parents to take me to the hospital."

One teenager and one dog ran home quickly, but when they entered, they saw Zhang Qiming in the living room who had just cruelly slapped Zhao Xiaolian.

"Dad! Mom!" Zhang Hang hurriedly ran to help Zhao Xiaolian up from the ground on which she"d fallen, but Zhang Qiming kicked her in the stomach.

"Scram2!" The man"s eyes were red, and he stared at Zhang Hang as fiercely as he would an enemy. "Get out of here!"

Then he bent down to grab Zhao Xiaolian by the hair and hit her again.

"Fight me, go ahead and beat me to death!" Zhao Xiaolian raised her hand and grabbed Zhang Qiming"s arm. Her fingernails scratched his skin and left traces of blood. "You are a coward and can"t match up to him in any way. I don"t care if he has a wife, I like him and want to be with him!"

Zhang Qiming was so angry that he looked like he was about to explode. He grabbed Zhao Xiaolian"s hair and she cried out miserably. Zhang Hang rushed to try to pull his parents apart, but Zhang Qiming slapped him hard. "Scram, b.a.s.t.a.r.d!"

At this point, Lu Chengye was furious. He inserted himself between the father and son and firmly guarded Zhang Hang. He barked at Zhang Qiming, "Woof woof woof woof woof!" A man who beats his wife and child once will always do it again!

Zhang Qiming, as a vicious person, was not afraid of a big dog. He took out his belt and hit them with strong strokes. Zhang Hang protected his mother, while Lu Chengye protected Zhang Hang. Because Zhang Qiming was Zhang Hang"s father, Lu Chengye didn"t want to bite him. He could only block the descending belt again and again thanks to his flexible body.

Zhang Qiming was already fuming, but Zhao Xiaolian didn"t seem to take the matter seriously. She continued to scold Zhang Qiming, shouting that he was a coward, a good-for-nothing, and a criminal. From her words, Lu Chengye could guess what a mistake it had been for the two to get married all those years ago. In Zhao Xiaolian"s case, she felt that she had suffered a great injustice. Zhang Qiming had felt that he"d wronged her, so he had been relatively obedient since.

"Mom, don"t yell at him…" Zhang Hang helplessly went to hold his mother, and hoped that she would stop scolding his father and leave quickly of her own accord. Zhang Qimeng was obviously angry. His mother scolded his father again, which set off his fury. Zhang Hang was afraid that his father would completely lose control.

For a while, Zhao Xiaolian was. .h.i.t by Zhang Qiming. She covered her face and screamed. When she finally stopped her scolding, she picked up her bag and ran out the door under Zhang Hang"s protection.

As soon as she was gone, Zhang Qiming"s anger dissipated. He took a few more puffs of his cigarette, hit Lu Chengye a couple more times, then dropped his belt and sat on the ground powerlessly.

"Dad…" Zhang Hang had tears on his face but still helped his father to the sofa, then poured him a gla.s.s of water.

Zhang Qiming looked at Zhang Hang in silence for a while before waving his hand and saying, "Don"t worry about grown-up matters. Go back to your room and rest. Your mother… her and I will divorce after the new year. For now, think about who you want to live with."

"Dad! No, don"t divorce!" Zhang Hang, after all, was just a high school student. The blow of his family breaking was too much for him to bear. He felt as though his days of happiness had fallen apart. All he could do was beg Zhang Qiming to change his mind.

Zhang Qiming looked at Zhang Hang"s face which resembled Zhao Xiaolian"s, but bore no trace of his features. He felt as though he must have been blind in recent years not to notice that the son he cherished was not his own. At this time, the child"s pitiful expression and that of Zhao Xiaolian in her youth overlapped in his mind. He couldn"t control himself and slapped Zhang Hang. "b.a.s.t.a.r.d! Scram!"

Zhang Hang held his face in disbelief. This time his father"s anger was not toward his mother, but toward himself. Seeing that Zhang Hang had been hit, Lu Chengye was so angry that he went berserk. He jumped up and bit Zhang Qiming"s hand until he drew blood.

Zhang Qiming kicked Lu Chengye away before taking the tea set off the table and smashing it on Lu Chengye. The entire tea set broke apart and was scattered all over the ground. The living room was a complete mess.

"Dad, don"t hurt Big Black, it"s my fault. I"ll take him to my room!" Zhang Hang hurriedly took Lu Chengye back to his room. Before he left, he told Zhang Qiming, "Dad, you… I"ll go with you to the hospital."

"Scram!" It seemed like that was all Zhang Qiming could say at the moment. He stormed out of the house with a bleeding hand, leaving behind Zhang Hang and Lu Chengye, who was scratched from the tea set.

As he looked around at the living room, Zhang Hang felt as if his world had been turned upside down. He sat on the ground and put his arms around Lu Chengye"s neck tightly, whispering, "Big Black…"

Lu Chengye licked Zhang Hang"s hair. He didn"t regret biting Zhang Qiming just now one bit. No matter how angry you are, you shouldn"t take it out on such a sensible child.

Zhang Hang was depressed for a while, but after a bit he got up with a heavy heart. Then he saw the injuries from his dad"s belt and the gla.s.s shards on Lu Chengye"s body. After getting the medicine box, he dipped some cotton in alcohol and gently treated his dog"s wounds. At the time, Zhang Hang had also been hit. Lu Chengye wanted to lick his injuries, but because he was a dog and that would he unhygienic, he could only endure it.

Zhang Hang took the bottle of medicine and applied medicine to Lu Chengye very carefully. While applying it, he kept wiping his eyes. Lu Chengye knew that Zhang Hang was crying, but couldn"t say anything to comfort him. He was just a dog!

"Wuwu," he whined, arching his big head to put it on Zhang Hang"s shoulder.

Zhang Hang dried his tears and kissed Lu Chengye"s furry head. "Big Black, you"re so nice to me. It"ll be okay, I won"t cry. They"re just fighting, they"ll be okay later. "I, I"ll go to grandma"s tomorrow. My dad listens to grandma best, so they won"t get divorced. I can"t always cry now that I"m older."

"Woof." You"re only 15, and are still a high school student. You can"t even take care of yourself properly. You didn"t notice your eye problems at all. How can you worry so much about taking care of everyone else? Lu Chengye was really concerned for his little master. It had been eight months since he became a dog. For the first time since then, he wished that he was a person again. At least then he would be able to hold the child in his arms, dry his tears, and comfort him.

Instead of being taken care of by said child like he was now.

Zhang Hang cleaned up all the gla.s.s fragments in Lu Chengye"s wounds, then helped the dog apply medicine again. All of a sudden, the medicine bottle in his hand fell and spilled on the ground, while Zhang Hang held onto Lu Chengye dazedly.

"Woof?" Lu Chengye cried out anxiously.

Zhang Hang was silent for a while, before he shook his head and his vision cleared. He said, "It"s okay."

Just now, it had been dark, as if the whole world was shrouded in shadows, and no light remained.

Fortunately, the light quickly came back.

It was probably because he had been squatting too long and he just got too dizzy from having low blood sugar, Zhang Hang silently thought. He continued to apply Lu Chengye"s medicine.

. .

1. impaired or dim vision without obvious defect or change in the eye, can cause a “wandering eye”. in some cases can lead to legal blindness ↩

2. translates directly to “roll”. it"s like telling some to eff off, in levels of rudeness.↩