Chapter 9: Exposing the Big Liar

“According to reports, at 4:30 yesterday afternoon, a serious incident occurred at Sunshine Kindergarten on Xingfu Road in Anyang City. The suspect, Liu, developed a desire for revenge due to a workplace dispute and planned an indiscriminate attack on the children. Fortunately, Liu was attacked by a German Shepherd puppy, which gave everyone the chance to rush in and subdue him, successfully preventing a tragedy. The following is surveillance footage obtained by our station’s reporter…”

That morning, Anyang TV aired a news segment, and only then did people realize how close they had come to a major tragedy the day before.

As the news video spread across TV and the internet, Aofeng quickly became famous. People were enamored with the brave little pup who had charged in without hesitation to save lives. Comments flooded the TV station’s website, with viewers asking for more information about the German Shepherd.

Soon, a tech-savvy viewer clipped a segment of the video and identified the collar around the puppy’s neck. By decoding the letters and numbers on the collar, they discovered that the German Shepherd was a pup from the Anyang Police Dog Training Base.

Once the news broke, the comment section exploded.

“So the little guy’s a police dog in training! No wonder he’s so amazing!”

“Still just a puppy and already fighting crime solo. He’s going to be incredible when he grows up.”

“Paw Patrol to the rescue! Look at this little hero. Then look at my own husky… I gave him a big bop on the nose. All he does is eat and wreck the house!”

“…”

Aofeng, however, knew nothing about what was happening online. After being discharged from the hospital, he had been living a life of luxury. The Shen Family treated him so well, it made him a little uncomfortable, like he was dreaming.

Though if it was a dream, at least the food was real. Aofeng happily munched on a big strawberry that Shen Doudou¹ handed him, his tail wagging uncontrollably. Shen Doudou would sometimes reach out to grab it, and whether he caught it or not, he always had a big grin on his face.

Right now, the two of them were the closest in the household. Shen Doudou often tried to sneak Aofeng into his room to sleep on his little bed. Maybe the trauma from that day had left too deep a scar, because for several nights in a row, Shen Doudou would wake up crying from nightmares. No one else’s comfort seemed to help much, but seeing Aofeng gave him a sense of safety. Everyone agreed that it must have been Aofeng’s fearless act of standing in front of him that left such a lasting impression of security.

But Aofeng wasn’t without his troubles. The pile in the corner of the room – his personal “mountain” – was the root of his headache. This mountain was made up of dog food, canned meat, and various other pet snacks, all gifts from the parents of the Little Apple Class at Sunshine Kindergarten.

Those parents were still shaken by what had happened. The killer had been so close to their children. If not for that little dog, who knows what might have happened? Even if the kids hadn’t been physically harmed, the psychological trauma would have been immense. After some discussion, they decided to show their gratitude by buying gifts for the little dog.

They went to a pet store for advice and bought every kind of premium dog food suitable for a four- to five-month-old puppy. Then they showed up at the Shen Family’s house with bags and boxes in hand.

Shen Yuanhui was a low-key man, and Wang Xiuyun stood firmly by his side. They never accepted gifts from others. But before they could refuse, the parents explained their purpose – to thank Aofeng for saving their children. They also emphasized that the pet store had said the dog food was non-refundable.

Wang Xiuyun was put in a tough spot. But since the gifts were for Aofeng and could be taken back to the base later, she had no choice but to accept them on his behalf.

A crowd of people surrounded Aofeng, petting and praising him. By the time they left, Aofeng’s fur was puffed up from all the attention.

The base didn’t have dog food or canned meat like this. Police dogs, whether adult or puppy, were fed specially formulated food, and they often had cooked meals too. For dogs with such intense physical demands, commercial pet food didn’t provide nearly enough nutrition. But for a pet dog, it was more than sufficient.

In other words, he couldn’t take these treats back to the base. But if he stayed here and ate them all himself… how long would that take? Honestly, Aofeng still preferred eating real food. It made him feel like he was still human.

Around 3 p.m., when the sun wasn’t as harsh, Shen Doudou ran over to Wang Xiuyun. It was time for Aofeng’s daily walk.

He hadn’t done any intense exercise lately, but he still went on short walks. They usually strolled around a small park near their home. The environment there was peaceful and clean, a favorite spot for the neighbors.

Once the two of them and the dog were ready, they headed out at a leisurely pace. The park was about seven hundred meters away, and it only took them a few minutes to get there.

Shen Doudou held the leash, following wherever Aofeng went, chattering nonstop in his childish voice. Wang Xiuyun followed a short distance behind, her eyes full of affection.

Aofeng breathed in the fresh air and soaked in the calm, tranquil atmosphere. He felt more at peace. Ever since becoming a dog, he’d felt hopeless, unmotivated, and desperate to reincarnate back into a human. But after facing death twice, he suddenly realized that he still wanted to live – even if it was as a dog.

Especially during his second hospital stay, even though he was injured, seeing the criminal get arrested and the children’s innocent, smiling faces made him feel that his existence still had meaning.

After walking for a while, Aofeng noticed that the chubby little boy was starting to sweat. He turned toward a bench so they could take a break.

As they walked, Aofeng suddenly stopped. Just two meters ahead of him lay a black wallet, sitting all alone on the ground.

Shen Doudou didn’t understand why Aofeng had stopped. But when he followed Aofeng’s gaze and saw it, he shouted, “A wallet! Grandma, Aofeng found a wallet!”

He turned around and called out to Wang Xiuyun. She hurried over and spotted a wallet lying on the ground. Picking it up and opening it, she found quite a bit of cash inside, along with several bank cards. Unfortunately, after flipping through it several times, she couldn’t find any form of identification.

“Doudou, Aofeng, we should wait here for a while. Whoever lost this wallet must be very anxious,” Wang Xiuyun said.

Doudou nodded seriously. “Mm, Teacher Yueyue said that if you find something, you should return it to its owner, or you can hand it over to the police.”

“Exactly. So let’s sit over there and wait. If someone comes looking for it, we’ll return the wallet to them.” Wang Xiuyun took Doudou and Aofeng to a nearby bench. From there, they had a clear view of the spot where the wallet had been found, so anyone searching for it would spot them right away.

They had barely sat down when a young man appeared on the nearby path, walking with his head down as he searched around. When he saw them, he came straight over and said, “Ma’am, did you happen to see a black wallet over there just now?”

Wang Xiuyun picked up the wallet beside her and asked, “Are you talking about this one?”

A flash of joy lit up the young man’s eyes. He said excitedly, “Yes, yes, that’s the one!”

“Then can you tell me what’s inside?” Wang Xiuyun asked carefully.

“There’s some cash and four bank cards.”

“How much cash exactly?”

The young man frowned and thought for a moment, then slapped his forehead and looked a bit embarrassed. “Ma’am, I forgot. I was in a rush this morning and just grabbed a handful of bills without counting.”

That answer wasn’t unreasonable, so Wang Xiuyun didn’t doubt him. She was just about to hand over the wallet when Aofeng suddenly barked.

Since coming to the Shen Family, Aofeng had barely barked at all. His sudden outburst caught Wang Xiuyun off guard. What was even stranger was that Aofeng was barking directly at the young man and had stepped in front of her, as if trying to stop her.

Something’s wrong! With that thought, Wang Xiuyun pulled her hand back.

Aofeng let out a relieved huff, then barked at the young man again, even baring his teeth slightly in a show of hostility.

Just a moment ago, Aofeng had circled the man and sniffed him thoroughly. The guy reeked of cigarette smoke. But when Aofeng had sniffed the wallet earlier, there hadn’t been even the faintest trace of smoke. Even if the wallet had been lost for a while and the scent had faded, there should’ve been at least a hint of it. The only explanation was that the wallet didn’t belong to this man at all.

“Ma’am, is something wrong?” the young man asked, his tone growing anxious.

“You couldn’t say how much money was in it, so I can’t give it to you just yet,” Wang Xiuyun replied. “How about this, tell me the number on one of the bank cards so I can verify it.”

“The numbers are so long, how could I remember them?” the young man said, his tone turning sour.

“If you don’t remember, then let’s do this. There’s a police station just up ahead in our district. Let’s go there and have the officers witness the handover. Sound good?”

The man immediately grew agitated. “Who can remember those things! Oh, I get it now. You just don’t want to give the wallet back, do you?”

“I never said I wouldn’t return it. I just want a police officer to witness it. What’s wrong with that?” Wang Xiuyun was now even more certain that something was off about this guy.

“I’ve got important things to do! Ma’am, I’m telling you, hand over the wallet right now or I’ll take it myself!”

Wang Xiuyun quickly pulled Shen Doudou back a few steps, her guard up. Aofeng stepped in front of them, adopting a defensive stance.

The young man didn’t take the half-grown dog seriously. He sneered and was about to move forward when Wang Xiuyun suddenly turned her head and shouted at the people fishing by the lake not far away.

“Old Wu, Old Yu, come quick! Someone’s trying to rob us!”

Shen Doudou joined in, shouting, “Robbery! Robbery!”

Aofeng barked loudly as well. He was confident he could hold the man off, but with Wang Xiuyun and Shen Doudou being an elderly woman and a child, he couldn’t risk anything happening to them.

The shouting and barking drew a lot of attention. Most of the people who came to this little park were neighbors from nearby. As soon as they heard Wang Xiuyun’s cries, they rushed over.

The young man had no choice. He spat out a vicious “You’ll regret this!” before slinking away in defeat.

When the neighbors gathered around to ask what had happened, Wang Xiuyun told them everything.

“No wonder he’s a police dog. So smart, he even helps solve cases!”

“Exactly! If it were us, we’d have been fooled by that scammer. From now on, if we find anything, we should just hand it over to the police and let them find the owner. We don’t have a little police dog like you do.”

“Miss, you’re really safe now whenever you go out. With a police dog by your side, he can catch bad guys and spot scammers. That’s amazing!”

Everyone chimed in, praising Aofeng until he was practically floating with pride.

But… a police dog?

Thinking of the dismal grades on his report card back at the Training Base, Aofeng suddenly felt a little guilty.

Translator’s Notes