Chapter 87

Zhong Ning finally lifted her eyes that had been lowered all along, once again seriously gazing at the person beside her. It looked as though she hadn’t slept the entire night. There were faint shadows under her eyes, and her complexion didn’t look too good either, but her whole demeanor appeared calm, as if she had figured something out.

The Border Collie puppy’s little body was fluffy, like a small piece of burning charcoal. It playfully burrowed into her arms, nudging at her hand.

The point wasn’t this puppy itself, but the meaning behind it.

Xie Shiqing truly was willing to change; she was really trying.

The heart she had been holding up finally relaxed. Zhong Ning lifted her hand, the pad of her finger brushing over the dark circles beneath the other’s eyes, grazing those two dim little moles, then she pulled her into her arms.

“I’m very happy, Shiqing,” she murmured. “Really very happy.”

The little dog that had been squeezed off her lap plopped onto the carpet with a thud. It paused in a daze for a second, then happily scampered over again to bite at the teddy bear on Zhong Ning’s slippers.

“Does it have a name?”

Xie Shiqing shook her head. “No. You can pick a name.”

“Let me think… October is autumn, so maybe ‘Beginning of Autumn’? ‘Little Autumn’? Or just ‘October’?” Zhong Ning showed a thoughtful expression. She lifted the puppy up, looking into its round, shiny eyes.

“Sweet little one, what name do you want, hmm?”

The puppy blinked back at her, always seeming to have a clever look in its gaze.

“How about letting it choose by itself? I trust the judgment of the future Doctor Border Collie. If it barks twice, we’ll decide on that name, alright?” Zhong Ning tapped its pink nose lightly, and couldn’t help hugging the little dog close and rubbing it vigorously.

“The servants prepared a pet room for it, on the first floor. But I’ve never raised a dog before, so I don’t know if everything is ready. Ning Ning, do you want to go check? If anything’s missing, we can have the butler buy it.”

Zhong Ning replied excitedly, kissing the puppy’s head several times, the smacking sounds echoing loudly. Then she ran off in high spirits.

The smile on Xie Shiqing’s face was no longer as bright as before.

She had deliberately brought a dog home precisely to please her, but somehow, it felt like this dog’s ability to split her attention was a bit too strong.

Ning Ning didn’t even kiss her!

Just a dog could smooth things over? What exactly was she supposed to do—did she really have to confess something?

If anyone dared to say again that Zhong Ning had a good temper, she would absolutely beat the mouth of that boastful liar until it was swollen.

Xie Shiqing’s lips drooped. Hearing the tapping footsteps, she hurriedly put her smile back on her face.

She was completely unaware how inconsistent her behavior was with the stubborn thoughts in her heart, all of it full of eagerness to please.

The heavier footsteps were in front, followed by a series of soft pattering sounds. The voice reached her before the person did.

“I took a look—there’s a dog bed, toys, and everything. But this door, I think it could be modified a little.” Zhong Ning jogged a few steps, and the dizziness surged back again. She hadn’t eaten breakfast, and her stomach was starting to feel unwell.

“No, I have to eat something first. We’ll talk about this after I’ve eaten.”

“I had someone keep your breakfast warm,” Xie Shiqing made sure to say this, to show her thoughtfulness.

Today’s breakfast was even more lavish than usual. First, a steaming bowl of chicken congee was served, along with chilled lemon boneless chicken feet. Then came pan-fried buns and sliced roast duck meat, plus a plate of rice noodle rolls.

Ordinarily, none of this would appear on the breakfast table.

Even the dullest person wouldn’t think this was a coincidence, let alone Zhong Ning, who did not have any cognitive deficiency. After the crisis of trust, she had started gradually reactivating the brain she had left idle for years, commanding it to start working again.

A brain left unused too long would rust and deteriorate, like an old, worn-out car that needed re-oiling, preheating, and replacement of its outdated parts. But no matter what, this broken-down car had already started moving.

It would only get faster and newer from here on.

Combining this with Xie Shiqing’s words, it wasn’t hard to guess—this was something she had arranged.

Was she trying to show goodwill?

Zhong Ning bit open the skin of a pan-fried bun, set it on the plate to cool a little, her fingers gripping the spoon as she stirred the thick rice porridge in the bowl.

Xie Shiqing was indeed showing goodwill, trying to repair their relationship. But up until now, she still hadn’t heard a single, genuine “I’m sorry.”

No apology.

There was acknowledgment of wrongdoing, there was remorse, there was reflection, there were actions—but there just wasn’t a spoken “I’m truly sorry.”

Which was more important, actions or words? In a debate competition, this was such an old topic it couldn’t be older. Grab any person off the street, and they could rattle off a string of opinions and examples to back them up.

If it was Zhong Ning’s turn to answer, her response would be very simple—both were equally important.

Did the two really have to be set in opposition? “I’m sorry” was just three short words—was it really so hard to say them? So what was blocking them?

Zhong Ning couldn’t figure it out.

She blew on the soup inside the bun to cool it down, and slowly ate all four hot buns.

Give Shiqing some time, she thought. Give her another chance to be trusted. Be a forgiving person, a patient person—wasn’t this exactly what her family upbringing had taught her?

To err is human, and as long as you corrected yourself, it was fine.

If an apology was too hard to say, she wouldn’t force her. For someone already wounded inside, that would be a second blow. She would wait, slowly.

She would wait for that day.

The butler had requested a few days’ leave for Zhong Ning so she could rest at home.

The timing of this break was just right—it gave her ample time to sort out her feelings and also to bond with the puppy.

It ended up with a curious name: Matsutake.

Zhong Ning often came up with random names to test on it, calling out to see if it would respond. She’d tried more than a dozen in a row and never heard two consecutive barks.

At dinner, they happened to be eating matsutake mushrooms. She mentioned it in passing, and to her surprise, the puppy immediately reacted with two barks in a row.

When she called it again, it barked twice again.

Zhong Ning felt both helpless and amused.

“Alright then, you’ll be called Matsutake.”

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