Chapter 118: Little Rascal

Their eyes met, and all that remained was a big, awkward silence. Aofeng never expected Song Changfeng to be waiting for him here. Damn it, he had left late and come back early, so how did Song Changfeng still manage to catch him?

What Aofeng didn’t know was that Song Changfeng had already been suspicious for a while. Over the past few days, Aofeng had been unusually sleepy. He could just about stay alert during patrols, but the moment he was allowed to rest, he’d flop down and be fast asleep within minutes.

Song Changfeng had been worried about his health. He couldn’t figure out why Aofeng was suddenly so lethargic. After doing some research, he found several possible causes for sudden drowsiness in dogs. The first was difficulty adjusting to the environment. But he quickly ruled that out. Not only had their patrol routes stayed the same, but Aofeng had always been incredibly adaptable. No matter where he went, he was full of energy and never showed stage fright.

The second possibility was that Aofeng was under severe stress and trying to escape from it. That didn’t seem likely either. Aofeng was with him day in and day out, and no one had interfered with him.

That left only one possibility: Aofeng was sick. Physical issues could easily cause fatigue. Alarmed, Song Changfeng contacted Xu Dong. After hearing the details and looking at some photos of Aofeng, Xu Dong said the dog was in excellent health and showed no signs of illness.

Xu Dong told Song Changfeng that among this batch of graduating police dogs, Aofeng was in the best shape. Aside from the minor injuries he sustained during the earthquake, he hadn’t been sick at all. The other dogs had all gotten sick at some point—some due to trouble adjusting to the local environment, others because of neglect from rookie trainers. Many local vets weren’t all that reliable, so whenever something happened to a police dog, people still preferred to consult Xu Dong. After all, besides his own expertise, he also had the backing of his renowned mentor in the field. Any problem brought to him was sure to get an answer.

Relieved, Song Changfeng still couldn’t figure out why Aofeng was suddenly so sleepy. Xu Dong casually said, “Maybe he’s just tired. Song, you’re great at everything, but you train too hard. You’ve got high expectations for Aofeng. I remember before he was assigned to you, he was the most notorious Salted Fish Dog at the base. He’d either be lying down or sprawled out. If he could sit, he wouldn’t stand. Now he’s practically a model worker.”

Song Changfeng felt a little embarrassed. Was that really the case? But lately, aside from morning workouts and patrols, he hadn’t given Aofeng any extra tasks. It didn’t seem like he should be this exhausted.

Suddenly, Song Changfeng remembered something that happened earlier that morning. How did Aofeng know that Little Orange lived there? If they were communicating through some kind of animal language, the level of detail seemed a bit much. He was convinced Aofeng had been there before. But when?

Puzzled, Song Changfeng tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep. After staring at the ceiling for half an hour, he finally decided to go for a night run.

He ran a full loop around the park not far from the Municipal Bureau. At last, he felt tired enough to sleep. When he returned, he headed to the back, intending to check on Aofeng. But what greeted him was an empty kennel – the iron gate was wide open, and the inside was completely deserted.

His first reaction was that someone had stolen Aofeng. But he quickly dismissed the idea. No one could sneak into the dormitory area of the Municipal Public Security Bureau and make off with a police dog without a sound. Unless Aofeng had gone willingly, no one could have taken him. Who could it be? If they were at the Training Base, Song Changfeng might have suspected Dezi. But here, there weren’t many people Aofeng trusted that much… or maybe there was. Aofeng was very close with Bureau Chief Shen. But would Bureau Chief Shen really come in the middle of the night and take Aofeng without saying a word? Song Changfeng thought that was highly unlikely.

He carefully inspected the kennel inside and out. There were no signs of forced entry or use of drugs. But then he found a few black hairs on the latch—most likely Aofeng’s. The latch was set high off the ground. A dog would have to stand on its hind legs to reach it.

A vivid image popped into Song Changfeng’s mind: a German Shepherd with a sneaky glint in his eye scanning the area, then suddenly rising on his hind legs, reaching out a paw to hook the latch, gently fiddling with it until the door creaked open, then darting out eagerly… off to find Little Orange for a night of music and dancing…

With that image in mind, everything suddenly made sense. No wonder he’d been so sleepy lately. No wonder he knew exactly how to get to Little Orange’s place without guidance. He’d been sneaking out every night to party!

At that moment, Song Changfeng looked just like a father who had just discovered his son sneaking out every night and not coming home. He was angry and powerless, feeling like this kid was completely out of control.

He sat down on the steps in front of the Kennel, thinking about how he should handle things when Aofeng got back. He ran through countless scenarios in his mind, but the moment he saw Aofeng’s shocked and incredulous expression, all those plans dissolved into a single sentence: “Aofeng, where did you go?”

Where did I go? Who am I? What am I doing here? Aofeng’s mind went completely blank. He instinctively wanted to make an excuse, only to realize he couldn’t speak at all.

Right, he was a police dog. Not understanding human speech or being able to talk was perfectly normal, wasn’t it? Aofeng suddenly saw the silver lining. He quickly pulled himself out of the awkward moment, wagged his tail like nothing had happened, and walked over to Song Changfeng, rubbing against his hand as if everything were perfectly fine.

Song Changfeng hadn’t been angry at first, but when he saw Aofeng trying to weasel his way out of the situation, his expression turned serious. He stared at Aofeng intently, his eyes full of disapproval.

Aofeng felt a little guilty. He lay down and lowered his head, letting out two soft whimpers to show he knew he was wrong.

Song Changfeng’s tone softened. He reached out and patted Aofeng’s head, asking, “Did you go out on your own?”

“Woof!” Aofeng admitted it.

“To see Little Orange?” Song Changfeng asked again.

“Woof!” Nailed it.

“To play with Little Orange?”

“…” Aofeng stayed silent. He hadn’t gone there to play.

Song Changfeng knew him well. Seeing Aofeng’s lack of response, he realized the dog didn’t quite agree with that statement, so he asked, “Did you go to see Little Orange for something important?”

“Woof!”

Song Changfeng recalled Aofeng’s behavior that morning and asked hesitantly, “Does it have something to do with that empty lot?” He grew alert. Had Aofeng discovered something? In that instant, a dozen classic cases flashed through Song Changfeng’s mind.

Aofeng barked again. That accident-prone spot? Of course it had something to do with him.

Song Changfeng made a snap decision. “Tomorrow, I’m going there with you.” As he spoke, he pulled out his phone and made a call, asking Lei Liming to reassign someone else to patrol duty.

Lei Liming, half-asleep, answered the call. The moment he heard Song Changfeng’s request, he jolted awake and hurriedly asked if something had happened. Song Changfeng was the model officer of the Criminal Investigation Detachment, always the first to step up and hardly ever taking time off.

Song Changfeng quickly assured him that nothing had happened. His suspicion that something might have gone down at the empty lot was just a guess based on Aofeng’s behavior. It was too early to say anything for sure.

Relieved that nothing was wrong, Lei Liming relaxed, and sleepiness hit him like a wave. After hanging up, he glanced at the time and saw it was only a little after two in the morning. Furious, he cursed under his breath. Calling him this late? If Song Changfeng didn’t have a solid reason to back it up in tomorrow’s report, he wouldn’t hold back from giving him a piece of his mind.