Chapter Ninety-Three: Quite a Coincidence

Under everyone’s watchful gaze, Zhang Congwen fetched a fresh muzzle and prepared to fit it onto the Jindo dog.

Just as the onlookers braced themselves for another blood-soaked struggle over muzzling the dog indoors, they were stunned to see Zhang Congwen calmly checking the muzzle’s fit, making sure it was secure.

Yang Baoqian, in particular, stared so hard his eyes seemed ready to pop out.

No one knew whether the dog had been cowed by Zhang Congwen’s presence, or whether it simply did not object to being muzzled indoors. Either way, Zhang Congwen had fastened it on with disarming ease.

“How is that possible? How can you just... just let him put the muzzle on you so casually?”

Yang Baoqian raged inwardly, and a bad feeling rose in his chest.

Could it be that Zhang Congwen really was going to train this dog?

After checking the muzzle once more to ensure it would not come loose in a violent struggle, Zhang Congwen placed his hand on the back of the Jindo dog, which had already risen to its feet.

What he wanted, as before, was for the dog to lie down under his guidance.

At first the Jindo dog resisted fiercely. Though it made no attempt to attack, all four paws braced stubbornly against the floor as it struggled against Zhang Congwen, refusing to lie down.

But with the earlier experience behind it, the dog did not hold out for long this time. Under Zhang Congwen’s relentless pressure, it finally lowered itself to the ground in reluctant submission.

Then, instead of continuing with the same hard-edged manner as before, Zhang Congwen changed his approach and began massaging the dog. He patted it a few times, then rubbed it in slow circles, all the while speaking softly.

Because the wall muffled sound, and Zhang Congwen was not speaking loudly to begin with, the people outside could not make out what he was saying.

Yet Song Jiawei’s imagination ran wild. He was certain Zhang Congwen must be saying something like, “Big brother, how does little sister’s touch feel? Can you take it? Then I’ll use a little more force. If you’re satisfied, shall I add another session later?”

Naturally, Zhang Congwen was not saying anything of the sort. He had only said a few words of praise.

Seeing that the moment was right, Zhang Congwen stopped the massage and once again forced the Jindo dog to lie on its side.

As with making it lie down, the dog was uncooperative at first. Zhang Congwen tried several times without success. In the end, he hardened his heart, twisted with force, and made it lie on its side on the floor.

Then came another round of massage.

Just as the spectators were starting to grow bored, thinking Zhang Congwen was not training a dog at all but merely pampering one, Zhang Congwen suddenly sat down on the floor, seized the moment, and drew the Jindo dog into his arms, forcing its belly into view.

The belly is a vulnerable place for any animal, one that is not easily exposed.

So the instant it was made to expose its belly, the dog erupted into frantic struggle again, even lunging several times as though it wanted to bite Zhang Congwen’s face directly.

The crowd’s hearts were instantly clenched once more. In such a posture, at such close range, if the Jindo dog broke free of the muzzle and tried to bite him again, Zhang Congwen would have no room to dodge and no time to react.

A bite to the hands or feet would have been one thing, but if the Jindo dog got hold of him now, it would surely go for the face.

Fortunately, their worry proved unnecessary. With the muzzle on, all four limbs hanging in the air without any leverage, and Zhang Congwen holding it firmly in place, the dog’s several struggles were feeble indeed. In the end, it was forced to yield beneath Zhang Congwen’s oppressive control.

Once the dog stopped struggling, Zhang Congwen naturally did not miss the opportunity. He began with the limbs, then moved to the belly. Gradually his hands worked their way to the neck, and then the cheeks.

Throughout the process, the Jindo dog did attempt to resist, but the resistance soon ebbed away.

Zhang Congwen’s massage technique was by no means masterful; one might even call it perfunctory. He only worked each area a few times before moving on.

He was not truly massaging the dog. Rather, he was helping it grow accustomed to human touch and carrying out a process of desensitization.

What mattered in the whole process was not the skill of the massage, but the signal being sent to the dog:

I want to do this, and I will do it. You must cooperate. My touch will not make you uncomfortable, so all you need to do is cooperate with me.

As Zhang Congwen massaged the Jindo dog, its entire body remained curled up. Its tail was clamped tight, its limbs stiff as iron, like some frozen old popsicle of a dog just dragged out of a snow mountain.

Under Zhang Congwen’s touch, the dog’s posture remained curled and unchanged, yet the onlookers could clearly see that its limbs were slowly losing their stiffness and beginning to soften.

Like an old frozen popsicle dog beginning to thaw.

Only after the entire routine was complete did Zhang Congwen stand and step outside.

“Yang Baoqian, come and do exactly as I just did,” Zhang Congwen called.

His training of the dog was finished. What remained now was training the person: teaching Yang Baoqian how to live with this dog from now on.

The crowd exchanged glances, but there was no sign of Yang Baoqian anywhere.

Zhang Congwen had underestimated Yang Baoqian’s shamelessness. The moment Yang Baoqian saw the Jindo dog lying on its side, allowing Zhang Congwen to pet it, he knew his plan had failed, and had already slipped away unnoticed into the crowd.

This dog had been adopted from them for free, and he had never intended to keep it. His original plan was to use the dog to humiliate Zhang Congwen, then sell it to a dog dealer and make a profit besides.

Now that Zhang Congwen’s training had begun to show results, he naturally did not want to pay for any more training. So he had fled long ago.

After calling out several times and getting no reply, Zhang Congwen was left in a bind.

The dog had been trained, but without its owner to take it back, they could only keep it themselves; they could not casually place it with another adopter. Otherwise, if Yang Baoqian came demanding the dog one day and they could not produce it, there would be yet another dispute.

But keeping the dog indefinitely would also cost money. Their training base had only just opened and was not yet profitable. Even one dog eating and drinking for free would be a considerable burden.

What’s more, this dog would not only be eating and drinking for free, but would also require someone to devote attention to caring for it and continue its training until it was fully desensitized.

“Hello, Trainer Zhang. Let me take this dog away.”

Just as Zhang Congwen was troubled, someone stepped out from the crowd.

“You are?” Zhang Congwen did not answer yes or no right away. Instead, he asked who the other person was.

“I’m the director of the Kind Heart Stray Dog Rescue Center. My name is Qian Kouhe. This dog was adopted from us by Yang Baoqian. We are at fault for failing to screen the adopter properly, which led to this problem. So we intend to take the dog back, handle all subsequent training, and bear the training costs ourselves. I have also decided that this dog will remain at our rescue center and will no longer be placed for adoption. Once I return, I will also propose that we implement a formal adopter screening process so that this kind of thing will not happen again,” the man said.

Zhang Congwen looked at Qian Kouhe with some suspicion.

Yang Baoqian had barely left when Qian Kouhe suddenly appeared. It was all a little too coincidental.