Chapter 12: Not That Simple

At the Police Dog Training Base, the trainers were making the most of every minute to train this batch of puppies. The evaluators were arriving tomorrow, and any puppy that didn’t meet the standard would be eliminated.

Dezi, Aofeng’s trainer, was currently working with a puppy named Shan Dian. It was a young Rottweiler, and it had earned its name because it ran faster than the other puppies.

Normally, each trainer was assigned to one puppy. But Aofeng, who had originally been assigned to Dezi, was so lazy and unmotivated that when another trainer got injured during a session, Shan Dian was also handed over to Dezi.

Dezi ran Shan Dian through the commands it had learned before and was relieved to see it perform them all well. That gave him some peace of mind. As for the other side of things, he was still placing his hopes on Aofeng.

Ever since Aofeng made it onto the Anyang morning news for saving someone, Dezi’s hope for him had been rekindled. And judging by how Aofeng had interacted with Bureau Chief Shen last time, it was clear the little guy had remembered the training he’d been given.

But who knew if he’d come back just as lazy and disinterested as before? If that were the case, Aofeng would definitely be eliminated by the evaluators.

Dezi was filled with worry, letting out a sigh every now and then.

“Ring ring ring…”

His phone suddenly rang in his pocket. It was Director Li. Dezi quickly answered, and Director Li spoke in a low voice, “Bureau Chief Shen just brought Aofeng back. Come over right away and take him for some training. Just cram a little if you have to, as long as tomorrow’s evaluation doesn’t end up a total disaster.”

His tone clearly showed a lack of faith in Aofeng. Even though he’d seen the video, Aofeng had left too deep an impression over time for him to believe otherwise.

Dezi agreed, then clipped the leash onto Shan Dian and handed him over to another trainer, Li Xi, asking him to look after the pup for a while.

When Dezi arrived at the base entrance, he saw Aofeng, who he hadn’t seen in days, standing on his hind legs and hugging a little boy tightly. Puppy and child, the scene was heartwarming, and it brought a knowing smile to Dezi’s face.

“Uncle, are you Aofeng’s teacher?” Shen Doudou looked up at Dezi, his large, tear-filled eyes blinking adorably.

Dezi quickly squatted down and softened his voice. “Little one, I’m Aofeng’s trainer. Is there something you want to say?”

Shen Doudou said, “Uncle, can you be nicer to Aofeng, please?”

The adults nearby chuckled at the request. Dezi nodded solemnly. “Don’t worry, kiddo.”

Sitting to the side, Aofeng watched and felt proud. All those days spent bonding with this little human had paid off.

Wang Xiuyun and Shen Doudou said their goodbyes to Aofeng again before reluctantly getting into the car to head back to the city. Aofeng watched the car grow smaller in the distance, a little melancholy creeping into his heart. The carefree days of eating, playing, and sleeping might be over for good.

Sure enough, the next second, Dezi squatted down in front of him and said seriously, “Aofeng, you’d better take today’s training seriously, got it? If you get eliminated, neither of us will be able to show our faces.”

This guy had the nerve to call him “grandson”? Aofeng rolled his eyes and let out a helpless “woof” in reply, promising to give it his all.

Dezi grinned wide, baring his teeth. Aofeng really had matured a lot since coming back. But talk was cheap. Whether he was the real deal or not, they’d have to put him through the paces to find out.

The afternoon flew by. After training, Aofeng ate dinner and was returned to the familiar kennel.

Once the door was locked, Dezi walked away humming a tune, spinning his key ring on his finger, looking as smug as if he’d just won the lottery.

Li Xi and Zhou Zihang exchanged puzzled looks behind him, their faces full of questions.

“What’s up with him? Did he finally snap?”

“Probably,” Zhou Zihang whispered with a gossipy tone. “That little rascal Aofeng still has to go through the evaluation, and Dezi’s name is on the report.”

“True. Once the evaluation’s over tomorrow, Dezi’s probably going down with Aofeng.”

The two of them stood right in front of Aofeng’s kennel, openly badmouthing him. Lying in his little bed, Aofeng yawned in boredom, waiting to see their dumbfounded faces when they got slapped with reality tomorrow. Just thinking about it felt great. No wonder the protagonists in novels always liked to play dumb and then turn the tables.

…

“Riiiiing riiiiing riiiiing—”

Aofeng instinctively wrapped his front paws over his head, pressing down his ears to shield them from the torture of the wake-up bell. Seriously, couldn’t they just play some light music? This kind of jarring noise first thing in the morning could scare an old dog to death.

Pfft, old man! Aofeng instantly snapped awake.

He got up and stretched inside the kennel, waiting for Dezi and the others to come unlock the door and take him and the other puppies out for morning training. Speaking of which, he had no idea what had gotten into Saihu next door. He and Black Dashu from across the way had been barking at each other half the night. No wonder he’d always needed to catch up on sleep during training. Anyone living next to them wouldn’t get any rest.

He’d heard the kennels on the other side of the field had better soundproofing. If not, he might have to request to bunk with Dezi.

“Left, right, left! Left, right, left!…”

While Aofeng was zoning out in his bed, he suddenly heard loud marching chants. He perked up and peeked outside. Sure enough, Dezi and the other trainers were jogging by in formation, shouting in unison.

Dezi unlocked Aofeng’s kennel first, then led him over to unlock Shan Dian’s. Unexpectedly, the moment he did, Shan Dian started barking like crazy.

“Shan Dian, what’s wrong?” Dezi thought something was wrong and immediately knelt down to check him over, but everything seemed perfectly fine.

Aofeng felt like laughing. The little guy was jealous. As soon as Dezi’s hand left him, he wouldn’t stop barking, glaring at Aofeng like he was issuing a challenge.

Just as Dezi was wondering whether to take Shan Dian to Xu Dong for a checkup, he heard Aofeng let out a low bark. Shan Dian barked back in confusion. Aofeng barked again, and Shan Dian instantly quieted down, standing obediently at his side like usual.

On the way to the training field, Dezi couldn’t stop wondering what exactly Aofeng had said to Shan Dian. How had he managed to make Shan Dian so obedient?

In truth, it was quite simple. Aofeng had told Shan Dian that Dezi was still his one and only Trainer dad. As for himself, he was Dezi’s brother and wouldn’t compete with him for their dad. The simple-minded pup believed it instantly.

The morning training was straightforward. First, each Trainer ran five laps around the field with their pup, followed by command drills like sit, lie down, stand, move forward, halt, back up, spin, shake hands, and other basic obedience routines to reinforce the pups’ obedience.

The training field wasn’t particularly large, about the size of two elementary school soccer fields. Running five laps was a breeze for both the Trainers and the young dogs.

After the run, everyone split up to train their assigned pups.

In the past, Aofeng didn’t participate in training, so Dezi only worked with Shan Dian. Now that Aofeng was back in the team, Dezi found himself momentarily at a loss. Aofeng noticed Shan Dian staring pitifully at Dezi but staying put due to orders. He took a few steps to the side, signaling to Dezi to go play with Shan Dian first.

To these young pups, morning training was basically playtime. After a whole night apart from their Trainers, they were eager to stick close to their humans.

Dezi was deeply moved, feeling that Aofeng truly acted like an older brother. Without further hesitation, he blew the whistle hanging from his chest, officially starting the morning session.

About half an hour later, Dezi had Shan Dian lie down to rest, then walked over to Aofeng.

He blew a sharp whistle, his expression noticeably more serious than usual.

“Aofeng, stand!”

Since he had decided to take this seriously, the training had to be done properly. The moment Aofeng heard the command, he shifted from a sitting to a standing position.

“Good boy,” Dezi said, patting Aofeng’s head. “Aofeng, heel!”

Aofeng immediately moved in close, standing neatly by Dezi’s leg.

“Good boy. Aofeng, spin!”

Aofeng stepped forward, spun in place, then waited quietly for the next command.

Not far away, Zhou Zihang rubbed his eyes and asked Saihu, who was sitting by his feet, “Why don’t you go sniff and see if that’s really Aofeng? He looks like a whole different dog. That rascal’s never taken morning training seriously.” He’d either sneak off halfway to rest in the center of the field or wander off to sunbathe somewhere else. He had quite the personality.

Saihu tilted his head in confusion, looking at his Trainer dad. He didn’t seem to understand.

Everyone else at the base who witnessed the scene was equally astonished. No one knew what Dezi had done the day before to turn such a disobedient pup into this model of discipline.

But there wasn’t time to dwell on it. The formal training session was about to begin, and with it, the evaluations. And those would involve far more than just basic obedience commands.