Seeing the husky with its ears drooping and looking pitiful, Li Miao felt her heart soften slightly.
"Alright, don't be scared. I'm not entirely blaming you."
"It's also my fault for working late recently and not being able to take you out to play."
"I'm sorry, okay? I'll take you out next time."
The husky's ears perked up slightly as it watched Li Miao's apologetic expression, only to feel increasingly wronged.
It whimpered pathetically a few times, rubbing its body against Li Miao repeatedly, trying to cover her in its scent.
Li Miao comforted it for a moment before losing her patience. She smacked the Husky, which was pushing its luck by trying to climb onto her.
Seriously, do you have any idea how heavy you are?
A full ninety-three pounds—you're almost as fat as a pig!
The husky flattened its ears again in dismay: "Awoo! Awoo! Awoo!"
You hit me again!
But Li Miao didn't understand its words, thinking it just wanted to go out to play, so she said without hesitation, "Shut up! I'll take you out in a few days."
"Today, you're staying home and behaving. No going out, and definitely no destroying the house, got it?!"
The husky whimpered in disappointment.
No going out, no wrecking the house—if things kept going like this, it might just get depressed.
But…
Watching Li Miao cleaning the house, the husky suddenly didn't feel so bad anymore.
Because its owner was still here. As long as she was around, even if they did nothing at home, it wouldn't get depressed.
Of course.
The only condition was that Li Miao didn't leave—
The husky gazed at her, its tail wagging unconsciously.
"Good boy, go away for a bit."
Li Miao pushed the husky aside with the mop.
The husky circled around her, its face full of excitement: "Awoo! Awoo!"
Play!
Play with me, owner!
Perhaps annoyed by its clinginess, Li Miao shouted at it.
The husky's wagging tail abruptly lost its momentum.
It stared blankly at Li Miao before trudging back to its dog bed in defeat.
Did its owner no longer like it?
Why wouldn't she look at it more?
The husky kept thinking, racking its brain, but it couldn't figure out why Li Miao was angry.
Finally, it could only wait until Li Miao was in a better mood before cautiously approaching, acting cute and trying to win back her attention.
Sure enough, Li Miao went back to normal.
They played wildly together.
But after the fun, Li Miao was utterly exhausted, barely able to lift a finger. She weakly threw a couch pillow at the husky's head.
"Next time… Next time I won't let you get away with this!"
"You little rascal!"
The husky grinned, tongue lolling, and eagerly pawed at her knees.
But Li Miao soon fell asleep, and the husky's pleas went unanswered. Giving up on its desire to keep playing, it curled up beside Li Miao's legs.
A faint warmth and happiness surrounded it, as if it were dreaming beautifully.
But when it woke the next morning, it had to face the empty house again.
Li Miao had said she was going out to earn money for its dog food.
The husky ran to the windowsill and looked down, just in time to see Li Miao getting on her electric bike to go to work.
It barked several times, but not a single one brought Li Miao's gaze back to it.
Disappointed, the husky lay on the windowsill and stared blankly for over an hour.
It really, really wanted to tell Li Miao—
It didn't actually like dog food.
It could hunt for itself.
It could even work hard to earn money.
But Li Miao couldn't understand.
The owner of this world couldn't understand its words, so its voice would never get a response.
This feeling of being cut off from the world plunged it into confusion.
Another day passed.
Li Miao still hadn't returned.
The husky couldn't wait any longer.
It ran to the front door, pawed it open, and stuck its head out to sniff the lingering traces of Li Miao's scent in the air.
Following the scent, the husky chased all the way downstairs and out onto the street.
Soon, it saw Li Miao.
She was standing on the other side of the road and seemed to have noticed it too.
The husky's eyes lit up, and it excitedly dashed forward.
But the moment it started running, Li Miao's expression changed.
Li Miao rushed toward it.
The next second, searing pain erupted. Crimson blood splattered as the husky was cradled in Li Miao's arms, yet the pain in its body paled in comparison to the agony in its heart.
It was still alive.
Even with a broken leg, it was still alive.
She had shielded it against her body, turning her back to the massive truck—
The husky wriggled out of her arms and nudged Li Miao's pale cheek with its nose.
But this time, Li Miao only smiled faintly. She didn't say anything, just looked at the husky quietly before closing her eyes.
The husky stared blankly.
Around them, people screamed, called for an ambulance, and tried to shoo the dog away.
The crowd surged forward, and the husky was pushed aside, left limping on three legs as it watched Li Miao being loaded into an ambulance—until she disappeared from sight.
It couldn't keep up.
No matter how hard it tried, it couldn't catch up to that ambulance.
Even with a broken leg, even with the pain of fractured bones, it still struggled to chase after the ambulance.
"AROOOOO!!"
Its piercing howl startled passersby.
A kind-hearted soul offered it food.
But the husky couldn't eat.
Gazing at where the ambulance had vanished, it lowered its head and saw its own bloodstained fur.
Did Li Miao not want it anymore?
Why didn't she want it?
The husky couldn't understand, so it stopped thinking. All it wanted was to follow the scent of blood and find the ambulance.
But the city was so big—how could it possibly locate her?
After days of searching, it had not only lost its way home but had no idea where the hospital was. Dragging its crippled leg and scavenging for food like a stray, it survived one day after another.
It dodged the pursuit of ruthless men and escaped restaurants.
It avoided the help of kind strangers and fled animal shelters.
Like a shadow in the city, gaunt and ragged, it stood in stark contrast to the bustling metropolis.
If Li Miao had seen it like this before, she would have been heartbroken.
She would have patted its head and said, "Why are you so thin? Eat more, okay?"
"If you eat well, I'll give you a reward."
But now, she wouldn't.
It couldn't find Li Miao.
It couldn't find its owner.
It just wanted to go back to her.
Even if she had nothing left.
The husky sat in a dark alley, rain drizzling over its body. But it could no longer feel the cold.
A dog raised by humans from birth had still managed to starve to death.
In its final moments, it thought of the home it had shared with Li Miao.
Warm, comfortable—a shelter that had given it everything without reservation.
"Husky."
It seemed to hear Li Miao's voice.
She asked, "If you could live again, what would you want?"
The husky answered without hesitation: "You."
It wanted to find her.
Then stay with its owner forever.
It wanted to protect her.
Never again let her bleed.
It wanted to become stronger.
So that nothing could ever separate them again.
Because home was wherever she was.