Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Ji Lu nudged Ji Si with his elbow.

“Hey, she’s calling you.”

There was a hint of schadenfreude in his voice.

Although Ji Si looked cold and expressionless, his eyes would occasionally drift toward the house.

Clearly, he was just waiting for the order from Ji Yan’an inside.

As Ji Yan’an’s hidden guard, he couldn’t move without a command. A hidden guard’s abilities were secondary; following the master’s orders always came first.

Soon, it seemed Ji Yan’an could no longer bear Jiang Yunsui’s wailing.

“Go and bring her down.”

Though his voice wasn’t loud, Ji Si heard it clearly.

Almost the instant the words left his mouth, Ji Si vanished in a flash.

Using his lightness skill, he appeared in the tree like a ghost. Grabbing the little girl by her armpits, he plucked her right off the branch she was clinging to.

Feeling that familiar sensation, Jiang Yunsui immediately stopped wailing. She turned her head and saw that it was indeed Ji Si.

“Si Si, where did you go?” Jiang Yunsui grumbled, sniffing her little nose in complaint.

Ji Si whispered, “My apologies.”

He then landed lightly on the ground with her.

As soon as he set her down, Ji Si disappeared back into hiding.

The three dogs saw Jiang Yunsui come down and immediately wagged their tails as they surrounded her.

Jiang Yunsui was about to pet them and mutter a few complaints about Ji Yan’an when she saw a line of people carrying fragrant food walking past her.

Her eyes lit up instantly. Forgetting all about her grievances, she followed them like a little tail.

The two puppies wagged their tails and followed behind her, but they were stopped by the threshold as they tried to enter the house. Heiwa grabbed them with her mouth to keep them out.

Rules were rules; it was the master’s mealtime, so they shouldn’t go inside.

It wasn’t that Ji Yan’an disliked them because they were dogs. The main reason was his germaphobia. Dogs were covered in fur, after all, and it was easy for hair to shed and float into the food while they were running around, which would be quite filthy.

Ji Yan’an glanced at the little girl walking in.

“Go wash your hands.”

Jiang Yunsui gave an “oh” and let Nanny Zhou take her to wash her hands before trotting back.

Once the dishes were laid out on the table, Jiang Yunsui obediently climbed onto the stool next to Ji Yan’an. She sat properly and gave him a sweet, adorable smile.

Ji Yan’an spoke with a half-smile, “You don’t blame me for making you stay in that tree for so long?”

The Little Mushroom shook her head dutifully. “No blame, no blame at all.”

However, her eyes were full of resentment. Her stomach was growling; it was already much later than her usual mealtime!

Ji Yan’an stopped teasing her.

“Eat.”

Jiang Yunsui immediately threw everything to the back of her mind. Her eyes and heart were set only on the food.

*Mmm… so delicious.* As expected, the food at Ji Yan’an’s place was the best.

Ji Yan’an watched her eat and managed to finish half a bowl of rice and some side dishes himself.

His appetite was very small these days, and he couldn’t eat much. But even this was enough to surprise Uncle Li and Nanshu, making them want to set off firecrackers in celebration.

Nanshu finally understood why Uncle Li and Nanny Zhou treated Jiang Yunsui so differently. Now, he also felt like putting the little girl on a pedestal.

Ji Yan’an finished his meal slowly, while Jiang Yunsui continued eating for a while until her stomach was full. She patted her little belly with satisfaction, looking like a lazy cat.

Her large eyes were still fixed on the leftovers on the table.

“Can… can I take the rest to go?” the Little Mushroom asked shyly.

Ji Yan’an chuckled. “You really are taking whatever you can get, aren’t you?”
Jiang Yunsui spoke with righteous conviction. “But there’s still so much left over. It would be a waste not to eat it.”

Ji Yan’an gave her a flat look. “Do you really think the Ji Family keeps so many dogs just to let things go to waste?”

Jiang Yunsui blinked.

That… actually made a lot of sense.

“Oh. Well, alright then.”

She reluctantly pulled her gaze away from the table.

Ji Yan’an watched her eyes closely. Seeing that she was merely a bit disappointed rather than offended by the idea of giving the leftovers to dogs, he felt a flicker of curiosity.

“What? You don’t think it’s a waste to feed leftovers to dogs?”

He was used to the hypocrites in the Capital City. Those people would sit in their grand halls amidst music and dance, yet look down from their moral high ground to criticize him for being decadent and wasteful.

Jiang Yunsui was a bit confused as to why he would ask such a thing, but she shook her head regardless.

“No. Dogs are the same.”

In her eyes, dogs and humans were both living beings existing in nature. They were just different forms of life; there was no fundamental distinction.

If there was a distinction, it was always based on the closeness of the relationship.

For instance, she would ask Ji Yan’an to pack up delicious food for Aunt Chen, but she wouldn’t do the same for a stranger.

Ji Yan’an stared at her for a few seconds before suddenly breaking into a smile.

This smile carried a sense of ease and genuine emotion.

“You’re not bad.”

These four simple words left the Little Mushroom feeling a bit flattered.

Furthermore, she suddenly realized that Ji Yan’an looked quite handsome when he smiled.

He was just too thin.

“Nanny Zhou, have someone pack some of this up for her.”

Hearing Ji Yan’an’s command, Jiang Yunsui’s eyes lit up.

“Thank you, Young Master!”

After the meal, Shen Qingzhu’s medicine was ready.

He needed to supervise Ji Yan’an while he drank the decoction, soaked in a medicinal bath, and underwent acupuncture during the soak.

While Ji Yan’an was in his medicinal bath, Jiang Yunsui crouched by the door to watch the three dogs eat.

Heiwa’s bowl was filled with meat, sweet potatoes, and some vegetable broth-a very balanced meal. The two puppies had bowls much smaller than Heiwa’s, containing minced meat mixed with goat’s milk.

The three of them had their tails held high, eating so vigorously they didn’t even look up.

“My shift is already over. Why won’t he let me go home?”

She crouched on the ground, poking and drawing in the dirt with a stick while muttering under her breath.

That’s right-it was already afternoon, clearly past the time her shift should have ended.

But Ji Yan’an wouldn’t let her leave!

The more she thought about it, the more annoyed she became. Every now and then, the Little Mushroom would shoot a glare toward the house.

Once the dogs finished eating, a servant brought over a bucket of warm water and a wooden basin.

“Miss Yunsui, the Young Master said to wash those two puppies thoroughly.”

The two pups hadn’t had a bath since they were bought.

Yesterday, Jiang Yunsui had used the deworming medicine she got from Shen Qingzhu on them. The effect was remarkable; a whole swarm of dead fleas had fallen off the dogs. By now, they were basically all gone.

“Okay.”

“I’ll wash them.”

Since she had nothing else to do, Jiang Yunsui picked up one of the puppies and placed it in the wooden basin.

The water was already prepared, and the puppy wasn’t afraid of it. Facing Jiang Yunsui, it rested its tiny paws on the edge of the basin and panted with its tongue out, its eyes dark and bright.

“Be good now, time for a bath.”

Patting the dog’s head, Jiang Yunsui wet its fur and began scrubbing with a bath soap pearl.

Once the fur was wet and flattened against the skin, the tiny black specks hidden within-looking like sesame seeds-became very clear.

They were all dead fleas.

Jiang Yunsui patiently rinsed away the black specks with water.

By the time she finished the first wash, the water had turned quite dark.

The Little Mushroom looked at it with a hint of disgust.

Once the brown puppy was clean, she moved on to the white one.