Chapter 21: He’s a Bit of a Perfectionist

“Aofeng, come on, let’s go for a walk.”

That evening, after dinner, Aofeng was lying in his little nest under the electric fan, resting and digesting. Before long, Dezi came over, opened the kennel door, and without a word, was ready to take him out for a stroll.

To be honest, Aofeng wasn’t all that eager to go out. Even though he was a German Shepherd with high exercise needs, the day’s training had already been intense enough. But Dezi looked so excited that Aofeng didn’t have the heart to disappoint him, so he reluctantly agreed to tag along.

A gentle evening breeze carried the faint scent of flowers – the lisianthus in the roadside flowerbeds had started to bloom. Earlier that day, Aofeng had passed by and seen two butterflies dancing among the blossoms. Grandpa Zhang, the gatekeeper, had his little orange cat crouched in the grass, its soft pink paws reaching forward cautiously, eyes locked on the fluttering butterflies.

Aofeng took a deep breath and suddenly felt that an evening walk wasn’t such a bad idea. Back when he was human, he was always busy and often missed out on moments like this. He rarely had time to enjoy such peaceful scenes.

“Aofeng, look ahead.” After walking for a while, Dezi suddenly stopped, lowered his voice, and pointed ahead with a hint of excitement.

Aofeng followed Dezi’s gaze and saw a man sitting on a bench. The man had a buzz cut and a stern expression that made him look a bit intimidating. He was leaning back casually, long legs stretched out, and the muscles visible on his arms suggested he was no weakling.

Still, Aofeng looked slightly puzzled. Why was Dezi so excited over a man? It’s not like he was a beautiful woman.

Dezi didn’t catch Aofeng’s expression. Seeing Aofeng looking at him, he thought Aofeng was urging him to go over. So he led Aofeng to the man and greeted him.

From their conversation, Aofeng learned that the man’s name was Song Changfeng, and he was also a trainer at the Anyang City Training Base. Last June, Director Li had sent him to the Beijing Advanced Studies School for a year-long training program, and he had only just returned.

No wonder Aofeng had never seen him before. To stand out among so many people, this guy must be pretty capable. Opportunities like that weren’t handed out lightly. Aofeng wondered what he had learned during that year. Would Director Li have him teach the other trainers now? Dezi didn’t seem all that bright…

While Aofeng lay on the grass, lost in his own thoughts, the conversation between Dezi and Song Changfeng gradually shifted to him.

“This is the pup from the Kindergarten Incident, right?” Song Changfeng asked, his eyes settling on Aofeng. Though still small compared to a full-grown dog, Aofeng’s frame showed promise. Noticing the gaze, Aofeng turned his head to meet it.

Dezi perked up. “You heard about that even in Beijing?”

Song Changfeng nodded. During one of their classes, the instructor had even pulled up the video for analysis.

“What did you think of his performance?” Dezi asked cautiously. If Song Changfeng was impressed, he’d surely praise Aofeng, which might help Aofeng warm up to him. Then, when Dezi suggested that Song Changfeng train Aofeng, neither side would object. He’d even thought of how to pitch it: “You both have ‘feng’ in your names – it’s fate! You’re meant to be partners!”

Aofeng’s ears twitched slightly at Dezi’s question.

“High alertness, but not decisive enough. His bite and pounce seemed unpracticed, and he lacked other effective attack methods. Generally, police dogs at this age should have more impact. Based on the results, I’d say he doesn’t meet the standard,” Song Changfeng replied, offering his analysis of the video.

Dezi’s smile froze. Damn it, Song Changfeng. Usually so quiet, but when it came to critiquing dogs, he had a whole speech ready. Ever heard of giving praise freely and thinking twice before criticizing? How was Aofeng supposed to like him after hearing that? Aofeng wasn’t just any dog – he could definitely understand!

Actually, Aofeng wasn’t as petty as Dezi imagined. He thought Song Changfeng’s assessment was pretty accurate. Before the Kindergarten Incident, he’d been slacking off in training. Physically, he was just an average pup. His fight with the criminal had relied mostly on instinct, and compared to a well-trained police dog, he definitely fell short.

Still, Aofeng looked up at Song Changfeng. He didn’t really like the guy. Maybe it was because his eyes weren’t quite symmetrical. Aofeng thought, yeah, he could be a bit of a perfectionist sometimes.

“But…” Song Changfeng was about to continue when he was interrupted. He had wanted to say that the pup had shown commendable courage, taking initiative to fight evil without a trainer’s command, already showing the potential to become an outstanding police dog.

“Hey, hey… why are you leaving already? Sit for a bit longer!” Dezi was yanked to his feet by Aofeng, who had turned and started walking back to the kennel without a backward glance.

Aofeng stared at Dezi with a blank expression. Dezi had no choice but to quickly bid farewell to Song Changfeng and follow after Aofeng.

Song Changfeng was a bit confused. He had wanted to discuss ways to better engage police dogs during training, but now the conversation was over before it really began.

After dropping Aofeng off at the kennel, Dezi headed back to the dormitory building, sighing the whole way, his face clouded with worry.

Ever since Director Li had agreed to let him choose Aofeng’s trainer, he’d been asking around about the personalities of the previous batch of trainers. After finally narrowing it down to a few candidates, he found out none of them were available.

Candidate One and Candidate Two had both set their sights on the new litter of pups at the Breeding Base next year. After sending off the last batch of police dogs, they’d gone to the base to personally care for and observe the breeding dogs, hoping to pick the best pups when the time came.

Candidate Three had always preferred Rottweilers and wanted his next police dog to be a Rottweiler pup.

Candidate Four didn’t have any other issues, but as soon as he heard the dog in question was Aofeng, he waved it off. He thought the pup’s temperament was too strange and unpredictable. Who knew when he might just quit on a whim? That would be a real headache.

Dezi was furious, but what could he do if the ox refused to eat grass¹? You couldn’t exactly force its head down. Just as he was about to keep an eye on the rejected list for further observation, someone appeared in front of him. Naturally, it was Song Changfeng.

He wasn’t particularly close to Song Changfeng, but he was well aware of the man’s skill in training police dogs. Director Li often mentioned Song Changfeng by name, urging everyone to learn from him. Dezi had seen him interact with the dogs before, and from his gaze and instinctive movements, it was clear that Song Changfeng genuinely loved them.

With a plan forming in his mind, Dezi headed to the Archives Room to find Jiang Tao and pulled up the post-deployment tracking records of the two police dogs Song Changfeng had trained.

Looking at the photos of those sharp-eyed, confident, and powerful dogs, and the long list of commendations in their files, Dezi was tempted. If Aofeng were trained by him, surely he could become just as outstanding!

But who would’ve thought things would go south before they even started? Their very first meeting had already gone poorly. How could he think about the future now? No, he had to come up with a solution. With that thought, Dezi turned and headed toward the office…

During morning training, Aofeng and Shan Dian flanked Dezi on the left and right, sprinting full speed with all four paws.

Suddenly, two figures appeared outside the track. When Instructor Zhang Meng saw who it was, he immediately shouted, “Halt! Line up!”

The trainers stood at attention with their police dogs as the two men approached. Aofeng took a closer look – it was Director Li and the man he had seen yesterday evening, Song Changfeng.

“Hello everyone. Starting today through the end of next month, Comrade Song Changfeng will be working alongside Instructor Zhang Meng to help guide you in training your police dogs. During his year of study at the Beijing Advanced Studies School, Comrade Song Changfeng was exposed to many advanced ideas and learned a number of new training methods. I hope all of you will actively exchange ideas with him during this time and work together to improve.”

After speaking, Director Li gestured for Song Changfeng to say a few words.

Song Changfeng looked around at the group and began to speak, his voice calm and steady. “I wouldn’t call it guidance. When it comes to training police dogs, many of you here may have more hands-on experience than I do. I just hope we can share and learn from each other in the days ahead.”

Aofeng thought, not bad, pretty humble. See? He’d guessed right. Usually, after someone returns from an external training program, they have to report back and summarize what they learned. For practical roles like trainers, they even have to demonstrate in person.

“Because some training methods may need to be demonstrated during the process, and to facilitate better communication, we’ll need one police dog to work with Comrade Song Changfeng during this period,” Director Li said, his eyes sweeping over Dezi and the two police dogs beside him. Aofeng immediately sensed trouble. Sure enough, the next moment, Director Li continued.

“Since Comrade Li De is currently handling two police dogs, one of them will be assigned to assist during this time.”

Aofeng’s face fell. Well, no need to guess – “one of them” definitely meant him. Looks like he’d be stuck working with that mismatched-eyed guy for a while.

Then again, maybe this was his chance to prove himself. Time to find out if he was truly up to the task!

Translator’s Notes