Chapter 44: Atavism¹

“Cough, cough, cough…”

In the afternoon, Song Changfeng and Dezi, along with a few others, hauled out a set of equipment from the very back of the warehouse. As soon as the equipment hit the ground, everyone started coughing uncontrollably. Zhou Zihang even spat several times. The guy couldn’t keep his mouth shut and was always talking, so naturally he got the worst of it.

These pieces of equipment had been sitting in the warehouse for ages, covered in a thick layer of dust. When they were set down, the dust shook loose and scattered everywhere. Aofeng immediately backed up a few steps, trying his best to avoid the cloud of dust. No joke, with his current level of smell sensitivity, that dust might as well be lethal. Even if it didn’t choke him to death, it would make him miserable for quite a while.

After hauling everything out, the group brought over a hose and grabbed some rags, climbing up and down to clean the equipment. It took them a full hour to scrub everything down. When they were finally done, Song Changfeng looked at Dezi and the others, a little embarrassed.

“Thanks for the help. Let me treat you all to a meal sometime.”

He was a reserved person. Back at the base, aside from training dogs, he mostly kept to himself and rarely joined his coworkers for after-hours activities. Aside from offering a meal, he couldn’t think of any better way to show his appreciation.

Dezi waved it off with a smile. “It’s nothing. Just lending a hand. Besides, this is about Aofeng’s training. How could we just stand by and watch?” He was genuinely happy that Aofeng had passed his assessment. This was a Criminal Investigation Dog, after all. When the year-end reports came around, the city bureau would publicly commend accomplishments like this. Even though Aofeng no longer belonged to him, as his former trainer, Dezi could still share in the glory.

“Exactly,” Zhou Zihang chimed in, slinging an arm over Dezi’s shoulder. “Aofeng’s a big deal now. One of my best buddies is stationed at the Changnan base. Lately, he’s been secretly asking me how we train our Criminal Investigation Dogs and whether there’s some secret technique. Like I’d tell him! I shut him down on the spot.” Zhou Zihang was full of swagger. In fact, not just his buddy—other people from bases he’d worked at before had also been asking around, trying to figure out which trainer was so skilled they could raise a Criminal Investigation Dog.

He looked so smug about it that Li Xi couldn’t help but jab at him. “You talk like you trained Aofeng yourself. First there was Dezi, then there’s Song. What would you know about any secret techniques?”

Everyone laughed. Zhou Zihang glared. “Hey now, just because I didn’t train Aofeng myself doesn’t mean I didn’t pick up anything watching all this time, right?”

Li Xi raised an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? Then tell us—what exactly did you learn?”

“Well, let me think…” Zhou Zihang rubbed his chin, his eyes darting around. It was obvious he was about to make something up.

“First of all, hard work is key. You know what they say—genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration. That’s definitely true here.” He spoke with great confidence. “Second, it’s Song’s top-tier training methods. He learned those in the capital, after all. Training a Criminal Investigation Dog? Piece of cake for him. And lastly…”

Aofeng yawned as he listened. Zhou Zihang’s guesses weren’t entirely off, but they weren’t spot-on either. Still, no matter how close he got, he could never guess the truth—that beneath the skin of this German Shepherd was a human soul.

…

All the early-stage training equipment had been cleared from the small training field and replaced with the vintage-looking gear they’d pulled from the warehouse.

At first, Song Changfeng didn’t rush into training. Instead, he guided Aofeng through the equipment and explained how each piece was used. Once Aofeng understood, he patiently went over the criteria for passing and for earning an “excellent” rating.

While Song explained, Aofeng listened intently, committing the standards for “excellent” to memory. During the actual training—whether it was the triple jump platform, scaling a net wall, crawling through low obstacles, or crossing a balance beam—he did his best to execute each move perfectly and in the shortest time possible to earn top marks.

Time ticked by, and before long, it was November. After a month and a half of training, Aofeng had grown noticeably larger.

Following the monthly physical exam, the veterinarian Xu Dong looked over Aofeng’s report. His eyes landed on the height and weight numbers, and he couldn’t help but frown.

Seeing Xu Dong’s expression made Aofeng uneasy. Honestly, the one person he feared most at the base was this guy. He looked gentle and refined, but his grip was terrifying. Aofeng still remembered the fear of being pinned to the exam table by the scruff of his neck. Now, seeing that frown again, he couldn’t help but worry that something was wrong with his body. Was he going to get a shot?

Just thinking about those cold, sharp needles made Aofeng instinctively take a step back, his furry face full of dread. It was an old fear of his—he wasn’t afraid of much, but needles were his nemesis. Childhood trauma like that was hard to shake.

He still remembered being seven years old and running a high fever. He was taken to the hospital, and the doctor decided on an IV drip. But the nurse was a rookie. The veins in a child’s hand are tiny, and her first attempt didn’t draw any blood. She pulled the needle out and tried again. Still no blood. Then she switched hands. Two more failed attempts. Finally, she started looking for veins on his head. Luckily, that one worked—but by then, he was already traumatized for life.

Aside from Aofeng, Song Changfeng also looked concerned when he saw Xu Dong’s expression.

“Dr. Xu, is there something wrong with Aofeng’s health?”

Xu Dong snapped out of it, realizing his expression had worried both man and dog. He quickly said, “No, nothing’s wrong. He’s perfectly healthy and developing very well. It’s just that…”

He trailed off, unsure how to explain. He couldn’t yet tell if what he was seeing was good or bad.

“Just what?” Song Changfeng pressed. Aofeng perked up his ears to listen closely. What was going on with his body? He hadn’t felt anything unusual.

“Generally speaking, a purebred adult German Shepherd stands about 60 to 65 centimeters at the shoulder and weighs around 30 to 40 kilograms. Look at Aofeng’s height – he’s already over 65 centimeters, reaching 68, and his weight is close to 40 kilograms. German Shepherds are typically considered adults at around one year old, and he’s still a month away from that. In other words, he’s probably going to keep growing,” Xu Dong explained.

Song Changfeng and Aofeng both looked a little confused. Was being a bit bigger really a bad thing? Just a little over the average, that didn’t count as overweight, right? Did dogs need to go on diets too?

Seeing the bewildered looks on both man and dog, Xu Dong continued, “For dogs, bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better. If they grow beyond their physical limits, it can easily trigger various health issues and put a heavy strain on the heart.”

Song Changfeng’s expression turned serious. “We can’t do anything about his height, but we can manage his weight. Should we start cutting back on food today? Maybe switch to a more scientifically balanced diet? Would increasing his exercise help?”

Xu Dong gave an awkward chuckle. “Actually, I wasn’t finished. Aofeng’s check-up shows that he’s in excellent health. His extra height and weight don’t seem to be affecting him at all. Of course, to be sure, we’ll need to run a blood test.”

Just as Aofeng was starting to relax, he tensed up again. A blood test? The thought of a sharp needle piercing his skin made him want to bolt.

Xu Dong knew Aofeng well. As he spoke, he had already walked to the door and, with a click, locked it.

What followed was a game of “catch the dog in a jar²” and the blood draw. It was the first time Song Changfeng discovered that Aofeng could howl like a husky, letting out a string of “awoo awoo” cries. Watching Aofeng’s pitiful state, he felt no sympathy at all. In fact, he almost laughed. Usually, Aofeng was so aloof. Unless absolutely necessary, he rarely barked, and even when panting, he tried to use only his nose. Unless he was completely exhausted, he wouldn’t even stick out his tongue. You could say he was very conscious of his image.

Aofeng walked out of the police dog hospital looking utterly dejected. If he had known a routine check-up would involve a blood test, he would’ve clung to his kennel and refused to come out.

But it was too late now. The pressing question was whether he needed to lose weight. If Xu Dong really found something in the test, wouldn’t that mean daily injections? Then again, it was pointless to worry now. Weight loss wasn’t something that could be done overnight. If the test did reveal something, he probably couldn’t avoid those shots anyway.

Meanwhile, Xu Dong took Aofeng’s blood sample into the lab. He compared it multiple times with samples of diseased blood but found nothing unusual. On the contrary, the sample showed high vitality, indicating its owner was in excellent health.

Xu Dong held the report in hand, opened his computer, and sent an email to his advisor. Since it was after work hours, he figured his advisor wouldn’t reply right away, so he decided to relax with a game. But before the game even finished loading, his inbox chimed.

He opened it and, sure enough, it was a reply from his advisor. The message read: “Xiao Dong, I’ll need the full medical report to make a proper assessment.”

Xu Dong quickly got up, took photos of Aofeng’s full report, and sent them over. Shortly after, another reply came.

“Based on preliminary analysis, this dog shows no abnormalities. As for the unusual height and weight, it might be due to an atavistic gene from either the sire or dam. This kind of genetic throwback is rare. For a dog like this, once it reaches adulthood, its size may significantly exceed the standard. Keep a close eye on its condition. If next month’s check-up still shows no issues, we can conclude that the growth is benign.”

Xu Dong nodded, then realized the other party couldn’t see him, so he quickly sent another email in response.

He thought to himself, Aofeng really is something else. An atavistic trait? But both his parents were perfectly normal German Shepherds.

Xu Dong shared the findings with Song Changfeng, who let out a sigh of relief. Aofeng, sitting beside him, heard it too. The tension in his heart instantly melted away. His glorious dog life hadn’t even started yet. If he got sick now, he might as well have just stayed lazy and never tried in the first place.

Translator’s Notes