ACBAM 6: Toy Poodle

Jian Lexin had only one feeling right now.

It was that the world had finally turned into the magical place he had always imagined.

Su Shijin and Gu Weiyang were getting married?

Two people who had absolutely nothing to do with each other were getting married?

Who would believe that if you told them?

Especially this agreement…

Jian Lexin hesitated, then said, “…That rumor isn’t true, is it?”

Su Shijin tilted her head in confusion. “What rumor?”

“You know, the one about Eldest Young Master Gu’s gland being damaged, and, ahem, not working.”

Jian Lexin, despite being lively and outgoing, was still a pure omega who hadn’t even kissed anyone.

Just bringing up the topic made his eyes dart everywhere.

It took Su Shijin a good while to connect that “ahem” with what he actually meant.

But how would he even know that?

It’s not like he and Gu Weiyang ever did ahem-ahem together.

The gland damage thing—Gu Weiyang had only admitted that in person just yesterday.

“You think the part in the agreement about not having to fulfill marital duties is because he’s… not functional in bed?” Su Shijin asked.

Jian Lexin immediately let out a playful “Aiya~” and covered his face. “Why do you have to say it so bluntly~ You’re gonna make me blush.”

“So is that the reason?”

Su Shijin shook his head.

He didn’t know.

But Jian Lexin took that to mean it wasn’t.

Which left him even more puzzled. “If that’s not the reason, then why make this kind of agreement at all?”

Su Shijin didn’t answer that either.

Even though everyone knew about Gu Weiyang’s damaged gland, the details of the aftermath were probably only known to a few close blood relatives.

Now there was Su Shijin too, but of course, Gu Weiyang wouldn’t go around airing someone’s private matters.

“Let’s take a look at the agreement itself and see if there’s anything off,” Su Shijin said, steering the conversation away.

Seeing that he didn’t want to talk about it, Jian Lexin sensibly dropped the subject.

“The agreement itself doesn’t seem to have any issues,” Jian Lexin said after a moment’s hesitation. “It’s just the idea that you two—who’ve never even crossed paths—are suddenly getting married. It just feels weird.”

Even though Gu Weiyang had given up half his assets to Su Shijin, Jian Lexin still felt like a pig had just trampled his family’s cabbage.

It wasn’t really about the money. What mattered the most was Gu Weiyang’s personality and character.

Even if the agreement stated that they didn’t have to fulfill marital duties, that only worked if both parties actually followed the agreement.

If Gu Weiyang broke the agreement—say, during a susceptible period or something—and forcibly made Su Shijin do something with him.

At that point, even if you threw the agreement in his face, what was meant to happen would’ve already happened, and the one who would end up suffering would still be Su Shijin.

Jian Lexin hesitated again, then tried to persuade him, “Why don’t you think it over a little more?”

“The agreement looks fine now, but you know as well as I do—whether it holds up depends entirely on whether the other person sticks to it.”

“Once that marriage certificate is issued, it’s the real deal.”

Su Shijin nodded, showing he understood.

The agreement looked like it gave him all the advantages, but whether it was half the assets or freedom from marital duties—those were just carrots dangling in front of him.

Whether he would actually get to enjoy any of it was another matter entirely.

Su Shijin knew far too little about Gu Weiyang, and with how absurd the terms of the agreement were, he didn’t fully trust him either.

But he could always ask his grandfather about it.

He will see what kind of spell the Eldest Young Master Gu had cast on him to make him so supportive.

–

Not long after the lunch break ended, Su Shijin asked the waiter to pack up a few puddings, planning to bring them back to the hospital for his colleagues to try.

Jian Lexin was heading back to the law firm that afternoon too. Seeing Su Shijin packing desserts, he followed suit and got a small cake to go.

As they walked toward the street, Jian Lexin suddenly remembered something and asked, “When did you and Eldest Young Master Gu first meet?”

Su Shijin looked a bit confused. “Didn’t you already know?”

Jian Lexin: “Huh?”

He knew?

Su Shijin answered concisely, “Blind date.”

Jian Lexin’s brain turned slowly, then he blurted out in shock, “Wasn’t that just yesterday?”

Su Shijin nodded.

Jian Lexin exclaimed, “How is that any different from being complete strangers!”

Su Shijin replied, “No difference. We are strangers.”

“If you really want to draw a line, I guess we’re just strangers who’ve been on a blind date.”

Jian Lexin, for once, fell silent.

He had nothing to say.

When they parted ways at the intersection, the two agreed to get hot pot together this weekend.

Jian Lexin’s emotions came and went quickly. He figured that someone like Su Shijin would definitely think things through before making a decision, so he relaxed soon after and left. Even from far away, Su Shijin could still see that little tuft of pink hair on his head bouncing up and down as he walked.

When he got back to the hospital, it was just in time for the afternoon shift.

He handed the puddings he had bought to the receptionist at the front desk, asking her to share them with everyone, then went to the locker room to change into his uniform and headed to the consultation room.

The afternoon wasn’t particularly busy. There were three doctors on shift, and most of the time, things were fairly relaxed.

But just as he was getting off work, a sudden commotion came from the entrance.

Su Shijin had already stepped into the locker room, but upon hearing the noise, he stepped back out and went to take a look.

Then he saw Dr. Liu—still in her street clothes, not even changed into her scrubs—rushing in with a box in her arms, a little toy poodle inside. When she spotted Su Shijin, her eyes lit up. “Dr. Su, you haven’t left yet?”

Su Shijin nodded, glanced at the puppy in her arms, and asked, “What’s going on?”

Dr. Liu let out a frustrated sigh. “Don’t even mention it. A little toy poodle without a leash got hit by a car on the street. We need to run some checks first.”

Su Shijin glanced at a middle-aged woman sitting outside wiping tears away. He gave up on the idea of going home after work and turned to follow Dr. Liu. “Need a hand?”

Dr. Liu nodded immediately. “I was just about to ask if you could stay for some overtime. It would be a huge help if you could.”

Su Shijin didn’t say anything more and simply followed Dr. Liu entered the DR room while putting on the heavy lead apron.

The DR room wasn’t very spacious, and with the high radiation levels, there was no need for too many people inside.

Once the medical assistant saw Su Shijin come in, she quietly left the room with an intern.

The middle-aged woman waiting at the reception desk stood up the moment she saw the two of them come out. “How is it? Can it still be saved?”

“Whether it can be saved depends on the test results. Please wait here for a bit—it won’t take too long.” Zhu Ruolai, the physician assistant who had been here for about half a year, knew better than to give definite answers in situations like this.

“Dr. Liu and Dr. Su are both in there. They’ll definitely do everything they can.”

“Are those two good at what they do?”

“Good? Of course they’re good.”

“I saw someone pretty young just now. Is he a doctor too?”

“Someone young? You mean Dr. Su?”

“Yeah, I think so—the one who went in with Huanhuan.” The little poodle’s owner looked a bit uneasy. “He looked like he hadn’t even graduated college. He’s so young, does he even have a license?”

Zhu Ruolai laughed right away. “Of course he does. Don’t be fooled by how young he looks. He’s a real talent in this field. Quite a few people bring their pets from far away just to see him.”

At the front desk, the short-haired receptionist Ran Tian looked up and asked, “You’re talking about Dr. Su?”

Zhu Ruolai gave a soft ‘mm’ in response. “Wasn’t I right?”

Ran Tian nodded in full agreement. “He really is a natural-born talent for this line of work.”

The little toy poodle’s owner didn’t care about whether someone was a genius or not—she just needed to know if those two doctors were good.

Ran Tian waved at the owner to do the registration: owner’s name, phone number, the pet’s breed, age, name, and so on .

The little toy poodle was named Huanhuan, a four-year-old male, not yet neutered.

He got hit by a car because he wasn’t on a leash, saw another dog across the street, and happily dashed over—only to be struck by a car that couldn’t stop in time.

Thinking about it made Huanhuan’s owner tear up again. “Why was he driving so fast? And now he’s reported it to the traffic police, saying I should pay for the damages to his car.”

“He hit my dog this bad, he should be the one paying me!”

Zhu Ruolai and Ran Tian exchanged a glance but didn’t respond.

The dog wasn’t leashed and darted out from the middle of the road.

As long as the driver didn’t break any traffic laws, the auntie would most likely be fully responsible.

But she clearly didn’t think she was at fault, going on and on about how fast the car was going, how the driver refused to bring the dog to the hospital or pay for anything, and how he just said, “Talk to my lawyer if there’s a problem.”

Huanhuan’s owner had been frantic at the time. Only after seeing the traffic police take down the driver’s information and confirm he couldn’t get away did she bring the dog to the hospital for help.

Zhou Ruolai and the others couldn’t say much about it, so they just offered, “Just make sure to keep your dog on a leash when you walk him from now on.”

Huanhuan’s owner immediately replied, “Huanhuan’s actually really well-behaved. I never used to leash him, and he never ran off. Today was just a freak accident.”

…

Zhou Ruolai and Ran Tian both fell silent for a moment.

Zhou Ruolai really wanted to ask, Aren’t you afraid there might be a second accident?

Saying that out loud might make her think she was cursing her dog, so Zhou Ruolai’s lips moved slightly, but before she could speak, Ran Tian bumped her elbow, and she immediately stopped.

Luckily, Huanhuan’s exam was nearly finished by then. Dr. Liu called for the owner to come take a look at the scans.

Su Shijin quietly stepped aside, giving space to the little dog’s owner.

Hearing the call, Huanhuan’s owner rushed over. Dr. Liu explained which part of the dog had issues, what surgery was recommended, and what kind of treatment would be needed afterward.

As the list of problems from the checkup was laid out, Huanhuan’s owner’s brows furrowed so tightly they looked like they could crush a fly.

“Doctor, just tell me about how much it will cost to treat him?”

“Around ten thousand,” Dr. Liu estimated.

“That expensive???”

“Can’t he just heal on his own or take some kind of medicine?”

“Over ten thousand—aren’t you basically robbing me?”

…

Dr. Liu had seen plenty of owners like this before. She took a moment to steady herself, then patiently explained, “If you don’t go through with the surgery, from here to here, he’ll basically be paralyzed and he won’t be able to move.”

She pointed at the scan on the computer. “And that’s not even mentioning the incontinence issues. Just the secondary complications from this alone, if it’s treated later, it will only cost more, not less.”

Huanhuan’s owner moved her lips, muttering, “I can’t understand these images anyway… whatever you say goes, I guess.”

Dr. Liu gave a mild, good-natured smile. “It’s best if you think it over. If you decide to go ahead with the surgery, we’ll need time to prepare.”

The owner glanced at the little dog on the table, panting heavily, then hesitated. “I’ll step out and make a call first.”

Dr. Liu nodded.

Ten thousand yuan was no small amount for an average household—it was only natural to hesitate.

“Zhou Ruolai, move him onto the exam table in the consultation room. Keep a close eye on him and call me if anything comes up. I need to change,” Dr. Liu said. From the moment she came in, she hadn’t even had time to change out of her clothes, which were now stained with the puppy’s blood.

Hearing that, Zhou Ruolai quickly came over. Standing nearby, Su Shijin reached out and handed her a mat to wrap the puppy in.

Zhou Ruolai gave him a smile and a quick thanks, then carefully wrapped the dog and placed it into the small carrier before heading toward the door.

As she passed by Su Shijin, her steps paused slightly—she seemed to catch a scent.

The smell of blood on the dog was so strong that Zhou Ruolai had to sniff more deliberately before she realized the scent was coming from Su Shijin himself.

Zhou Ruolai looked surprised. “Dr. Su.”

“Are you going into heat?”