Chapter Seven: An Astonishing Transformation

"You don't need to do much—just walk around the living room. But remember, don't walk too fast, don't show any fear, and don't keep staring at Tuan Tuan," Zhang Congwen instructed Zhu Qingyan. Then, turning to the older couple, he said, "Uncle, Auntie, you just sit on the sofa and chat about anything you like. No need to watch Qingyan or pay attention to Tuan Tuan. Just pretend we're not even here."

Once he had explained everything clearly, Zhang Congwen let them begin.

Following his instructions, Zhu Qingyan started to walk around the living room. As soon as she moved, the bichon frise immediately became alert, fixing its gaze on her.

Zhang Congwen continued, "Qingyan, now stretch out one hand, palm facing Tuan Tuan. Other than that, don't change anything else."

Zhu Qingyan obeyed at once, extending her slender right hand toward the bichon frise, and softly whispered, "biubiubiu..." imitating Iron Man's hand repulsor. Her voice was so quiet, however, that it didn't provoke any further reaction from the dog.

After Zhu Qingyan had circled the living room a few times, the bichon frise noticed its owners weren't paying it any mind, nor were they watching Zhu Qingyan. Eventually, bored, it yawned, lay back down, and began to contemplate its canine existence.

Seeing the moment was right, Zhang Congwen said, "Qingyan, now sit on the sofa and chat with Uncle and Auntie. Don't look at Tuan Tuan—just act as though it doesn't exist."

On his order, Zhu Qingyan immediately complied, sitting beside the couple and joining their conversation.

With Zhu Qingyan's participation, the atmosphere grew livelier, filled with laughter and chatter. It was as if they'd truly forgotten about the bichon frise. Every now and then, the three would exchange a few words with Zhang Congwen as well, all in high spirits.

Though Zhang Congwen watched their conversation and sometimes joined in, his attention never strayed from the bichon frise. The reason for this covert observation was simple: to a dog, direct eye contact is a challenge, which can make it tense. This is especially true for sensitive dogs—staring at them can easily result in a bite.

Seeing the bichon frise remain quietly in place, Zhang Congwen was quietly relieved.

"Uncle, Auntie, let's call it a day. It's getting late—I should be heading back now," he said.

"Leaving already? But you haven't even started training yet—" Liu Mei began, then abruptly stopped as she glanced at the clock. Unbeknownst to them, it was already six in the evening. The three of them had been chatting nearly two hours without realizing it.

On a normal day, there was no way they could have chatted so peacefully for this long. After half an hour at most, the bichon frise would start barking at Zhu Qingyan. Yet today, they'd talked for ages, even made several affectionate gestures during their conversation, and the dog hadn't reacted at all.

Such a transformation was almost miraculous.

Liu Mei had meant to ask why he was leaving before properly training the dog, but witnessing Tuan Tuan's behavior, she no longer had any doubts. Still, Zhang Congwen's way of training was nothing like what she had imagined—just a few movements, a few words, and their dog had changed so dramatically.

Realizing this, Liu Mei quickly amended herself, "Why not stay for dinner?"

"Thank you, but I won't trouble you, Auntie. I've got some things to take care of," Zhang Congwen replied with a smile. What things could he possibly have to do, being unemployed at home? The truth was, he'd never been to a girl's house before—let alone in the presence of her parents. Inwardly, Zhang Congwen felt quite awkward. If not for the dog training, he probably would have made an excuse to leave much earlier.

Zhu Chang had no intention of pressing him to stay, and smiled, "If you have things to do, I won't keep you. But do come by often, Xiao Zhang. I've never seen this kind of dog training before. Teach me so Tuan Tuan won't bite anyone again."

"Don't worry, Uncle Zhu. If you stick to my method, Tuan Tuan shouldn't bite anyone over this kind of thing again. There's really nothing special about this approach—it's just a matter of understanding the dog's temperament and tailoring your actions accordingly. Once you grasp that, you can do it too. I'll come back again tomorrow. Since we've started, let's finish—tomorrow, we'll tackle its barking at the door as well," Zhang Congwen explained.

Though he made it sound simple, in practice it was far from easy. Without a deep understanding of dogs, trying things at random often backfired and made matters worse.

"There's more training tomorrow?" Zhu Chang couldn't help but feel wary again, but quickly caught himself and, feigning concern for the training, asked, "Is it complicated?"

Zhang Congwen smiled. "Not at all—much simpler than today. It will take at most an hour. If it weren't getting late, I'd have done it all today."

Zhu Chang breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

"I'll walk you out," Zhu Qingyan interjected, well aware of her father's tendency to get hung up on such things and not wanting him to dwell on it.

After a brief hesitation, Zhang Congwen accepted. The place was quite a distance from his rented apartment, and with no income, he needed to save every penny.

As soon as they stepped outside, Zhu Chang seemed to remember something and called Zhu Qingyan back inside, but she reemerged a moment later.

Once in the car, Zhu Qingyan pulled a wad of cash from her bag and pressed it into Zhang Congwen's hand.

Half-joking, she said, "This is your dog training fee from my dad. We have no idea what the going rate is, so we just gave you two thousand yuan. If it's too little, don't mind; if it's too much, you can give the rest back to me—I'll keep it as my own little stash."

Zhang Congwen wanted to refuse, but then remembered his lack of income and the looming rent, so he accepted. Compared to the market rate for dog training, two thousand wasn't much. Still, he wasn't a professional trainer, so it seemed fair enough.

The car started and soon arrived at his apartment. As he got out, Zhu Qingyan called after him, "I'll pick you up around ten tomorrow morning, all right? Here or at your company?"

"Here is fine," Zhang Congwen replied. After all, he was unemployed—there was nowhere else for him to go.

"See you tomorrow, then," Zhu Qingyan said with a sweet smile, and sped off.

Zhang Congwen let out a sigh. He wasn't good at socializing, but he could tell what Zhu Qingyan's father thought of him. To be honest, he had no romantic intentions toward Zhu Qingyan.

It wasn't that he didn't think highly of her—back in school, she was the belle of the campus. But he'd come here alone to make a life for himself, and now he didn't even have a job. He could barely support himself; how could he possibly think about dating?

Well... at least not for now.

As for the future, he'd think about that later.

Returning to his apartment, Zhang Congwen unlocked the living room door with his key. Inside sat a thin, wiry man facing the entrance, as if he'd been waiting for Zhang Congwen's return.

The moment he stepped in, the man flashed a wicked grin and said, "Well, well, who would've thought you’d land yourself such a pretty girlfriend and not say a word to your buddies? Sneaking off for a secret romance, are you?"