Chapter 31

Early in the morning, the door to the room was knocked on urgently.

Who could be so idle as to come knocking at such an early hour? Xiaohai, with sleepy eyes, opened the door and was surprised to see it was Yinnu!

Xiaohai was not wearing a shirt, and the moment Yinnu saw him, her face turned bright red. However, she couldn't help but sneak a few more glances.

Xiaohai's physique was already impressive, and with the continuous transformation by the Dragon Spirit Pearl, he could only be described as "perfect." His well-defined muscles, broad shoulders, and youthful, vibrant body...

Perfect, truly perfect.

Especially when Xiaohai stood there, it made Yinnu suddenly think of an animal...

A leopard! Yes, the Xiaohai in front of her looked just like a leopard ready to pounce! And it was a young, energetic leopard!

"Put some clothes on first," Yinnu quickly said, trying to maintain a serious face.

"Strange, this is clearly my room," Xiaohai muttered, but he still turned around to put on his clothes.

Yinnu blamed herself a bit. Since police school, her personality had always been very outgoing. She had learned grappling and combat, and usually never smiled at men. But strangely, why did she keep blushing since meeting this Xiaohai?

Could it be... No, impossible, he's about the right age to be my little brother...

"Officer Yinnu," Xiaohai turned around, looking worried, "I'm on vacation now. You're not my teacher, so I don't need to go to school, right? Am I a suspect again? Where are the handcuffs? Go ahead and cuff me."

Yinnu tried to look serious, but Xiaohai's cheeky attitude made her burst out laughing. "No one is arresting you. Do you remember the pet competition I told you about yesterday? Come on, I've already registered you."

Uh... registered? To be honest, Xiaohai had no interest in any pet competition. Was Qixi a pet? Qixi was a unique, intelligent god-dog!

"Do you have to work?" Xiaohai suddenly thought of this.

"I'm in charge of the festival site today." Seeing Xiaohai's unwillingness, Yinnu said, "The champion gets ten thousand yuan, which is a lot. Your classmates wouldn't earn that much over the summer. Come on, you're just hanging around anyway, so you might as well help me with my duty."

That's true. Since he was just hanging around, it would be worth it to help such a beautiful woman with her duty. Besides, with Qixi's abilities, winning the championship would be a piece of cake. It would be fun, he'd have a beautiful woman's company, and he'd earn money. Where else could he find such a good deal?

But Xiaohai was the type who wouldn't let go of an advantage. He walked into the bathroom, brushing his teeth while turning his head and mumbling, "Let's get this straight, I'm helping you with your duty, so you have to buy me breakfast! The pork rib noodles next door are amazing!"

A little rascal, she had truly met a little rascal. Yinnu was both angry and amused. She had kindly helped him register last minute, thinking he could earn the prize money, but now he was trying to take advantage of her...

The festival site was bustling with tourists from all over.

Local vendors were not about to miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and their stalls were filled with all sorts of small goods, local specialties, and snacks.

Although Yinnu's internship salary was low, she still had enough money to buy food for Xiaohai. They had chicken congee, cured meat, and tofu pudding... Xiaohai and Qixi didn't hold back, and their bellies were so full they couldn't fit another bite.

Yinnu was quite unlucky to have met such food lovers. After buying Polygonum multiflorum with her savings, she had 352 yuan left for the month. After the two food lovers ate, she only had 62 yuan left. How would she survive the rest of the month?

But Yinnu didn't care. She remembered Xiaohai's words: we're friends, so why worry about these things?

Growing up, Yinnu's family environment wasn't good, and she didn't have many friends. But Xiaohai, whom she had only known for a short time, felt like an old friend. Even if she went hungry this month, so what?

As they walked and chatted, they soon arrived at the pet competition site, which was already packed with people.

Those who had come from all over the country with their beloved pets were eager to show off.

Most of the participating pets were dogs, with a few monkeys and parrots. However, in pet competitions, other animals were clearly not as popular as dogs, which could quickly capture the hearts of judges and the audience.

"Uncle, Uncle," Yinnu greeted a judge.

The judge smiled and came over, looking at Xiaohai. "Xiao Yu, is this your friend?"

"Yes, this is Xiaohai." Yinnu then introduced the judge. "This is my uncle, Dou Deliang, a famous canine expert. Oh, right, my uncle is in Xinan City and was specially invited to be a judge. You were able to register last minute thanks to my uncle's help."

"Dou... Expert, hello," Xiaohai nodded at Dou Deliang. But he suddenly thought, canine expert? Dog expert?

"Hello," Dou Deliang looked at Qixi, a bit surprised. "Is this the pet you're entering in the competition?"

"Yes, this is Qixi."

A hint of disdain flashed in Dou Deliang's eyes. His niece had asked for his help, and he thought it was for some impressive pet, but it turned out to be a mutt. Although this "Qixi" had good fur and a hint of dignity, it was still a mutt!

Look at any of the other dogs in the competition; the least expensive was worth thousands or tens of thousands of yuan, and some had even won national championships for hundreds of thousands. Entering a mutt in the competition? It would be a laughingstock.

But he had already promised to help his niece register the mutt, so what could he do now?

Xiaohai didn't miss Dou Deliang's disdain. He had been respectful because of Yinnu's uncle, but this expert dared to look down on Qixi? Fine, he would show him what a real god-dog was!

"Ah, Mr. Feng is here..." Dou Deliang saw a man get out of a Mercedes S600 and quickly said to Yinnu, "You and your friend find a place to sit. Your name will be called when it's your turn."

He then hurriedly went toward the Mercedes...

"Officer Yinnu, your uncle sure has a big ego," Xiaohai grumbled.

"My uncle isn't bad, he just values money and likes to be around rich people," Yinnu said, used to it. "But he's been good to me since I was little. Oh, don't call me Officer Yinnu here. I'm just an intern, call me Yinnu."

"Got it, Xiao Yu." Xiaohai called her by her nickname, just like Dou Deliang.

Yinnu glared at him, this cheeky little rascal, daring to call her so affectionately...

...

"Mr. Feng, Mr. Feng," Dou Deliang greeted the fat man who got out of the Mercedes, shaking his hand. "Mr. Feng, welcome."

Mr. Feng looked lazy. "Old Dou, if it weren't for your sake, would I come to this remote place? My Alice and our Peter have suffered so much on the way."

Standing next to him was a woman in her mid-twenties, heavily made up, dressed provocatively, and somewhat attractive. She was Mr. Feng's mistress, named Alice. By their side was a majestic German Shepherd—Peter!

Dou Deliang, as a judge, had received a substantial fee and was determined to do his best for the local area. He had specially invited many friends to bring their precious pets to the festival. Especially Mr. Feng's German Shepherd, Peter, which had a significant background.

Mr. Feng had spent a lot of money to buy this purebred German Shepherd and hired a dog trainer. Peter had won two national runner-up titles and one national championship. Someone had even offered 500,000 yuan to buy him, but the wealthy Mr. Feng didn't even consider it.

Peter's treatment was even better than that of a person. He had his own car and was always accompanied by a veterinarian and a dog trainer.

"Charlie, do you think how many places our Peter will win this time?" Alice asked, looking disdainfully at the other participants.

Charlie, a mixed-race man and Peter's dedicated trainer, looked handsome and confident. But when he heard Alice's question, he quickly flattered her. "Look at those dogs, which one can compare to Peter? Don't worry, the championship is prepared for Peter."

"Winning here isn't that impressive. Our Peter will also participate in next year's national competition..." Alice said, but couldn't hide her pride.

Mr. Feng called Dou Deliang aside. "Old Dou, the Tosa Inu you secretly bought for me ran away. Although we found it, it was useless. TMD, Tosa Inu, they're hyped up, but one defeat and it's done. I won't dare to buy another fighting dog."

"Mr. Feng, this is very strange. Tosa Inu shouldn't be like that. I suspect it encountered a particularly fierce wild animal, but when I examined the wounds, they were clearly from a dog bite. Your dog lost all its fighting spirit after the defeat. It's a pity, you spent 80,000 yuan on it, not to mention the cost of smuggling it into the country," Dou Deliang said, showing great regret.

"Money is a small matter, but we need to find out what beast bit the Tosa Inu." A cold look flashed in Mr. Feng's eyes. "That dog must be extraordinary if it could defeat a Tosa Inu. I need to find a way to get it."

"Understood, rest assured, I will help you find it carefully."