Chapter 151: Accompanying the "Children of the Stars" (End)

Zhang Congwen and the others were extremely nervous.

Testing on the street was not only meant to evaluate the compatibility between Xiaoxiao and Dasheng, but also served as a final inspection of the training results achieved by the Dog Language Assistance Dog Training Base over such a long period.

Although Zhang Congwen and his team had conducted dozens of simulated tests with Dasheng in realistic scenarios, simulations were, after all, only simulations. In actual operation, situations would always be far more complex than in tests.

Dasheng wore a special vest printed with the words: "Assistance Dog - Please Do Not Approach." Xiaoxiao and Yu Yixiang walked on either side of Dasheng, each holding a leash handle. Additionally, a safety tether connected Dasheng's vest to Xiaoxiao's waist, serving as an anchor to prevent Xiaoxiao from suddenly running off in another direction.

Zhang Congwen and the others followed close behind them.

Song Jiawei held a camera, filming the entire testing process to be used as reference material later.

"What a gorgeous dog."

"Little one, is this your dog?"

"What breed is this dog?"

A combination like Xiaoxiao and Dasheng walking down the street naturally drew many sideways glances from passersby. As they turned into a street, Dasheng immediately caught the eye of a parent accompanied by a child.

Without pausing to consider whether Dasheng might be aggressive, nor noticing the prominent words printed on Dasheng's vest, the parent crouched down right in front of Dasheng and began petting it.

It was as if she were intimately familiar with the dog.

Seeing this, Zhu Qingyan made a move to stop her, but Zhang Congwen shook his head at her.

While such behavior was impolite, people like this parent were actually quite common. Stopping this particular person today meant they would encounter someone else tomorrow, leaving the root problem unresolved.

For a qualified autism assistance dog, anti-interference training was a vital component. It had to be able to strictly complete its tasks no matter what happened; otherwise, the dog could not be used as an assistance dog.

"This is an assistance dog."

Yu Yixiang also felt it was inappropriate for people to pet Dasheng like this. Wanting to stop them, she offered this mild remark.

Yet, the parent's train of thought was clearly not on the same wavelength as Yu Yixiang's. Her very first reaction was that Yu Yixiang was somehow showing off to her.

She casually praised, "Really? That's amazing."

Yu Yixiang turned her head to look at Zhang Congwen and the others. Zhang Congwen, however, kept his eyes fixed entirely on Dasheng's state.

Despite being petted all over by both the parent and her young son, Dasheng did not show any unusual reactions.

Especially the parent's son, who was right at an age full of mischief. Merely petting Dasheng's fur no longer satisfied his curiosity, and he began tugging incessantly at Dasheng's ears.

Although Dasheng did not display any reluctance, seeing that the parent had no intention whatsoever of stopping her son made Yu Yixiang's heart ache fiercely on the dog's behalf.

After offering a few subtle reminders that the other party completely failed to grasp, Yu Yixiang could do nothing more. It was only after the mother and son had their fill of petting that they patted their hands together and stood up to leave.

It felt rather like a free-riding patron getting something for nothing.

The street was bustling with people and chaotic environments. Yu Yixiang held the main leash to guide the way, steering their direction of movement.

Whenever she went out with Xiaoxiao in the past, she would always tie herself to Xiaoxiao with a rope out of fear that the child would suddenly run off and get lost.

Whenever people passed by previously, they would always cast puzzled and strange looks at the two of them. But now, with Dasheng by their side, passing pedestrians at most glanced curiously at the dog, completely devoid of those strange, probing stares from before.

This made Yu Yixiang feel much more at ease inside. A smile unconsciously crept onto her face, and her steps became noticeably lighter.

She couldn't remember the last time she had felt this relaxed.

Amidst the bustling street, Yu Yixiang led Dasheng as they slowly blended into the crowd.

Suddenly, Yu Yixiang felt the leash in her hand tighten. Looking back, she saw Dasheng standing stock-still in the middle of the road.

"Look! Quick, look! Anchored! It's anchored!"

Holding the camera, Song Jiawei shouted excitedly, drawing the sideways glances of passersby.

The camera in his hand had faithfully recorded the exact scene that had just unfolded.

Originally, Yu Yixiang was simply walking forward normally when Xiaoxiao suddenly dropped the secondary leash in her hand and turned to run off in another direction.

Feeling abnormal tension on the tether attached to its vest, Dasheng immediately came to a halt. No matter how hard Xiaoxiao pulled, Dasheng stood firmly in place, refusing to budge a single step despite all her tugging.

Passersby were baffled, having no idea why Song Jiawei was getting so excited in broad daylight. Only Zhang Congwen and his team knew that this meant the anchoring skill—one of the three advanced skills trained into Dasheng—had proven to be completely qualified.

Compared to calming and deep pressure therapy, anchoring was the most crucial skill and also the most difficult one during training.

Furthermore, the other two skills of calming and deep pressure had already been demonstrated during Xiaoxiao and Dasheng's previous interactions, proving themselves exceptionally well.

Hearing Song Jiawei's shout, Yu Yixiang also understood what this signified. But when she turned her head to look at Zhang Congwen, she saw him expressionlessly pull a wooden stick from his bag and swing it directly toward Dasheng.

Naturally, Zhang Congwen was not actually going to hit Dasheng. Doing this was part of the desensitization training for the dog.

Whenever Zhang Congwen trained Dasheng in the past, he frequently asked Song Jiawei or Zhu Qingyan to assist.

For instance, while Zhang Congwen was holding Dasheng, he would suddenly have Song Jiawei or Zhu Qingyan hold an object and act as if they were going to strike the dog.

The purpose of this was to make Dasheng realize that actions from other external individuals would not harm it and were entirely normal behaviors. This gradually lowered its guard toward humans, ensuring that it would not overreact when faced with sudden emergencies.

However, all previous tests had been conducted indoors, whereas this was the first time they were attempting it in such a complex outdoor environment.

This was also the final training test for Dasheng.

...

Inside the amusement park, Zhu Qingyan accompanied Xiaoxiao on the merry-go-round.

Xiaoxiao was laughing happily, constantly mimicking Zhu Qingyan's "victory" hand sign and asking Song Jiawei to take pictures of them.

Zhang Congwen and Yu Yixiang watched from the sidelines, with Dasheng lying quietly at Yu Yixiang's feet.

With the entire test concluded, Zhang Congwen had arrived at his final evaluation.

Dasheng was entirely capable of handling the job of an autism assistance dog, and while the compatibility between Xiaoxiao and Dasheng couldn't quite be called perfect, it was well above the passing line.

To celebrate, Zhu Qingyan waved her hand generously and brought Xiaoxiao to the amusement park the very next day.

It was Xiaoxiao's first time visiting an amusement park, and she was having a wonderful time, taking a particular liking to the merry-go-round. After entering the park, she rode it seven or eight times in a row. Zhang Congwen, the others, and Yu Yixiang each accompanied her for at least one ride.

Even so, Xiaoxiao still felt it wasn't enough and dragged Zhu Qingyan for yet another turn.

Walking out of the amusement park, Zhang Congwen kept his head down, lost in thought.

Dasheng's successful training proved that his training methodology was sound. However, due to a lack of prior experience, he had performed many redundant steps. By refining the training program further, a significant amount of training costs could be saved in the future.

As for the Labrador named Guangsha, which was originally designated as Dasheng's backup dog, how should she be handled now?

Should she live as a regular pet dog, or should training continue so that she too could become an autism assistance dog?

Lost in these thoughts, Zhang Congwen vaguely felt as though someone was speaking to him. But because his mind had been wandering, he hadn't caught it clearly at all.

Before he could react, he felt his hand being grasped by a warm, small hand.

Lifting his gaze, Zhang Congwen saw Zhu Qingyan smiling at him as she said, "Someone was calling you."

"What?"

Zhang Congwen failed to react in time.

"Un... cle..."

This time, Zhang Congwen heard it clearly. The person speaking was Xiaoxiao, and the one holding his hand was none other than her.

Zhang Congwen was both astonished and overjoyed. This was the first time Xiaoxiao had ever spoken to him proactively, and also the first time she had ever taken the hand of anyone other than her grandmother.

For a moment, Zhang Congwen didn't dare make a sound, terrified that his voice might startle Xiaoxiao and ruin the moment.

With a stunned, smiling mouth wide open, he raised the hand held by Xiaoxiao, looking as though he were showing off to the entire world.