Chapter 3
Edward Quan ·
Trì Lan grunted as though he'd been punched.
Then he muttered, “Bro, so this is what you get up to when we're not around—playing dog for your wife... Ow! Why'd you kick me?”
“...”
Taking your wife for a walk made you a dog now?
08
A week passed.
Everything was still a white blur. My recovery was much slower than I'd expected.
Work piled up, leaving me anxious and irritable.
Fortunately, I had Nguyên Bảo.
He licked me, rubbed his furry head against me, and did his clumsy best to cheer me up.
When I couldn't sleep, he licked my ears and made little smacking noises as he sucked on my earlobe, soothing me to sleep.
Trì Kính stayed home with me throughout.
He did absolutely nothing to help. Just stood around on mute, like an ornament.
Two weeks later, I woke up.
The solid whiteness had lifted.
Objects had edges again, as though I were looking through a fogged-up shower door.
My voice shook with excitement.
“Nguyên Bảo! Nguyên Bảo!”
Claws scrabbled across the floor.
A small black shape came hurtling in and leaped onto my bed.
I reached out to pet him.
Then I saw that little shape pushed aside.
A tall figure silently approached.
Six feet three, broad shoulders, narrow waist, his silhouette sharp as a blade.
Then that imposing figure lowered himself.
His knees touched the floor, but his back stayed straight.
He looked up at me like a large dog awaiting orders.
I froze.
A familiar tuft of soft curls rubbed against my palm.
What I'd been petting all this time wasn't a dog.
It was...
A person?!
Trì Kính hadn't realized I could see.
When I didn't react, he shifted his head, carefully imitating a puppy as he nuzzled my hand.
He... he was pretending to be the dog?
Trì Kính was pretending to be the dog?!
This was about as baffling as a newborn bursting out of the delivery room to ask me whether we should save the operating theater or the entire hospital.
I took a deep breath and struggled to absorb the shock.
My hand trembled as I stroked his head.
“G-good boy.”
09
Our marriage was a business arrangement.
I'd personally selected Trì Kính after careful consideration.
Handsome. Emotionally stable. Excellent at making money. No romantic history.
Clearly, my background check hadn't gone deep enough.
This man was more complicated than I'd imagined.
With that cold, sculpted face, I'd assumed he'd have at least a little domineering-CEO energy.
Who knew such a powerful man secretly enjoyed being somebody's dog?
Since losing my sight, I'd replaced my morning runs with gentle walks and games of fetch with Nguyên Bảo.
That morning, distracted by my thoughts, I tossed the flying disc.
Nguyên Bảo's tiny silhouette sat motionless on the ground.
Trì Kính, standing beside me, sprinted after it instead.
A little later, he quietly returned and put the disc in my hand.
I'd barely had time to stare before he asked, “Why aren't you praising him?”
Oh, right.
Whenever Nguyên Bảo brought the disc back, I rubbed his head and said, “Good boy!”
Trì Kính sounded displeased.
“You could at least pet him.”
Then the man in front of me immediately crouched down.
I was staggered.
The CEO of the Trì Group had a secret hobby.
Stranger still, the butler and secretary stood nearby watching their boss impersonate a dog without batting an eyelid.
Apparently, they'd seen it all before.
Had my blindness awakened his passion for acting?
He certainly had nerve.
Wasn't he worried I'd accidentally touch the wrong place?
I slid my fingertips downward.
Before I could reach his face, he dodged with astonishing skill and deftly pushed Nguyên Bảo under my hand.
One seamless maneuver.
What a...
Talented dog.
10
At mealtime, steak was served.
The butler stood perfectly still.
Trì Kính cut my meat himself.
Only after he'd placed the neatly prepared plate before me did the butler speak.
“Your meal, madam.”
Trì Kính naturally took away my empty water glass, too.
He even straightened my clothes.
Once he'd finished to his satisfaction, the butler stepped in.
“All done, madam.”
No.
Something wasn't right.
On a scale of one to ten, this was a hundred thousand.
Since when did the lofty Mr. Trì wait on anyone?
While eating a boiled egg, I automatically bit off half the yolk and put it in my palm.
I clicked my tongue twice and held out my hand.
Nguyên Bảo promptly ran away.
Trì Kính dragged him back.
Then, before my very eyes, he crouched down and licked the yolk from my palm.
!!
Unable to escape, Nguyên Bảo whined in distress.
Trì Kính lied without a flicker.
“Give him some water. He must be choking again.”
I poured a little into my palm.
He licked that up, too.
“...”
So the one eating my egg yolks and drinking from my hand all this time hadn't been Nguyên Bảo.
It had been Trì Kính!
11
The whole thing made me deeply uncomfortable.
I wanted to leave.
I told Trì Kính I wanted to go home.
He refused, with an argument I couldn't fault.
“We've only just married, and you need looking after. If you go back to your parents now, our families will worry that we're not getting along.”
I called my father.
Trì Kính had already spoken to him.
He'd even sent surveillance footage showing how I'd been doing.
Dad praised his thoughtfulness and told me to use this chance to grow closer to my husband.
As for my idiot brother, forget it.
The moment he heard I wanted to come home, he hung up.
Apparently, one of his projects needed Trì Kính's approval.
He wasn't about to offend his wealthy, powerful brother-in-law.
I'd heard about Trì Kính's business tactics.
I hadn't expected him to use them on me.
What a scheming old fox!
12
Once my sight began returning, it improved much faster.
Gradually, I could make out Trì Kính's outline, movements, and expressions.
I pretended nothing had changed and watched him in the mirror opposite me.
He would always pretend to leave, then stand silently behind me, watching.
I could have cried.