Chapter 48.1 - People are not as good as dogs

Zuo Ning was not actually complaining. He Cheng was not like the guy who kicked him last time. Maybe he just didn’t like dogs very much but he wasn’t cruel. Apart from the two verbal stabs this morning and the two tugs of his tail in between games, he didn’t make any other moves. Zuo Ning just wanted to act spoiled so that Lu Chenghe would hug and kiss him.

When he realised what he was doing, he suddenly sat up and stared seriously at a point in the distance. Was he… acting cute!? How could he do such a non-manly thing so easily?!

Lu Chenghe didn’t pay any attention to Little Pudding’s antics. God knows what was going through that little brain every day that made him randomly move every so often. It would pass after a short while.

As he predicted, Little Pudding sat for a little while before bonelessly falling back on Lu Chenghe’s body. Lu Chenghe raised his hand and the little dog automatically tunnelled to his chest, treating it as a pillow and continued to watch the episode.

Lu Chenghe squeezed the little meaty pad in his hand. It was rare that he stopped working and reading to watch this kind of entertainment program. Usually, it would be a waste of his time but this time it wasn’t without gain. He had watched Little Pudding’s previous two films but Little Pudding was acting according to the director’s vision not according to his personality. Even though there was some guidance in reality shows, Little Pudding was able to express himself more. This was also the first time he saw how Little Pudding interacted with outsiders without his presence.

Lu Chenghe was very clear on what Little Pudding was like. He was smart, even if his IQ drops occasionally, and he liked to play and act spoiled. However, Little Pudding was also very vigilant. He wasn’t like other dogs who would become friends with anyone if they called his name. Little Pudding could distinguish between family and strangers. Even within the family, he had people who he was closer with. Lu Chenghe was very satisfied with this kind of situation. After all, who isn’t possessive of the young that they raised.

When Lu Chenghe was raising Little Pudding, he searched and read many articles about raising Samoyed’s and came across many stories of exceptionally smart animals. In particular, there was a dog called Saihu who saved people’s lives and had a monument in his honour. So no matter how absurdly smart Little Pudding acted in front of him, he didn’t think it was strange. After all, he had never raised a pet before and didn’t have anything else to compare it to.

Now that he had the chance to see Little Pudding with a whole group of dogs. Little Pudding’s cleverness and self-discipline were just unexplainably amazing especially since he had never been formally trained before. It was like he could understand every spoken word.

When someone brought out a dog treat, the moment the dogs smelt it they all charged over. Only his Little Pudding lazily took a look and didn’t make a single movement. Ok, so what if the dog treat was just not to his taste? Then why was it that when the celebrities were eating, all the dogs were lying around their feet acting like they would die if they didn’t eat something. But his little greedy dog who normally tries to snatch the food out of his mouth was immobile and just lay on the floor with his eyes closed to rest.

It felt like that kid who was constantly making trouble at home was a very obedient child outside. Lu Chenghe was very surprised.

The broadcast showed a scene where Little Pudding was the first to exit a small maze. He was very calmly walking out, unlike the other dogs who were still turning around and around. The dogs heard the stars outside calling their names and wanted to go out, but were confused by the mirrors and kept bumping into things. This contrast just made people feel like the other dogs and Little Pudding were not at the same level at all.

【Bow down to my Big Boss Pudding! Isn’t this just like the doggy version of Mr Perfect top student? The rest of the dropouts are still struggling inside while my student president is already sitting outside coldly spectating!】

【The other dogs just lift their head and charge forward. Little Pudding knows how to use his paws to lead the way. If he can walk he’ll walk, otherwise he’ll just change direction. He’s a higher being!】

【Hahahahaha! I can’t stop laughing! This episode is so great! I think that the rating will shoot to the top!】

【My poor Husky. He’s about to have an existential crisis. In all four directions, he can only see himself. He’s so scared he doesn’t dare to walk anywhere hahahahaha】

【Thumbs up to the screenwriters! How do you even come up with the idea of letting dogs go through a maze? I’ve laughed so much I have abs now!】

Zuo Ning wagged his tail as he lied on Lu Chenghe. Just a small, tiny maze. Piece of cake!

After a day of playing games, he had earnt Chu Hang 12 points. The next highest competitor was Lai Yang and his Border Collie with 4 points. The rest of them had mostly zeros. It was already impressive enough to get even one point.

When it reached nighttime, everyone including their dogs was locked in a classroom. On many people’s chairs and the blackboard were hints on the password for escaping. This time, they were testing the human’s IQ.

Within the entertainment circles, some had highly intelligent minds and some couldn’t even complete a simple equation. This variety show’s most attractive point was the escape room. It was able to truly show individual talent. Sometimes, when the stars couldn’t understand a simple, clear question, the audience would laugh at their bean-sized brain. Sometimes, it would be like they opened Pandora’s box and the person’s intelligence would be off the charts. They would solve the puzzles in minutes and the audience would all turn into fans.

Zuo Ning also liked this rotten show before. But now that he was the one participating he felt blindfolded. The whole blackboard was filled with messy numbers. He had laughed at the celebrities before for being unable to solve such easy puzzles. Not that he thinks about it… he was like a surveying god before, of course, he thought it was easy. Since he was in the thick of it now, f-ck, what the hell was up with these tips?!

Well, he wasn’t expected to solve these difficult questions anyway. Even if he understood, he couldn’t give Chu Hang any tips. Otherwise, everyone would know that he was not truly a dog. So he just turned his head and trotted around, patrolling the classroom.

He looked at the school desks, the familiar-looking blackboard, even the rubbish bin was in the back corner like usual. Zuo Ning had the illusion that he returned to his last year of high school. When Zuo Ning slinked his way back to the door, he discovered that the gaps between the bars of the iron door were quite large. He looked back at Chu Hang who was still frowning while staring at the blackboard. So Zuo Ning just slipped through the gap in the door.

The comments began to scroll furiously again:

【Every fat doggy is actually a fat fake!】

【What fat? My Pudding isn’t fat, his figure is within the normal range!】

【An anti-theft door can’t even lock up a dog hahahahahahahaha! What to do? The dog has run off and they are still locked up. How will they chase him?】

【Wait until Chu Hang turns around! (◯Δ◯∥) Dog? Where’s the dog? Hahahahahaha! I can’t stop laughing!】

The camera kept following the Little Pudding who broke out of prison. It showed him making a round of the area. Soon, the other dogs who were not tied up also escaped through the bars in the iron door. Contestants fortunate enough to have tied a leash to their dogs directly hugged their dogs and kneeled by the iron door, silently staring outside.

Those who discovered that their dog has escaped were miserably falling towards the door. They grasped the iron bars and acted out a tearful scene. They stuck their hands through the door, trying to call the dogs back but the only thing they saw their shadow as they leisurely departed.

【It’s The Great Escape! Hahahahaha! Bow down, filthy human!】

【My big boss Pudding is bringing his group of brothers along to bring down the heavens lmao】

【This is the result of not earnestly holding on to your leashes, the dogs are rebelling!】

The program had however cleverly prepared in advance for this scenario. The stairs on both sides had been sealed off so the dogs could only move around on this floor. If they actually ran off they would never be found since the school they were filming in was so large.

In post-production, they edited the scene to show the contrast between the celebrities who were locked in a room, bitterly forced to solve puzzles and the dogs who were happily running madly up and down the corridors. On one side was the pitiful little cabbages enduring the wind and rain, on the other side they were happily dancing to the Can-Can song. It made the audience laugh until they fell over.

The main offender, Little Pudding, went to the bodyguards who were following the production team and took his cushion. He sat on it to watch the dogs happily wagging their tails.

【At this moment, Little Pudding looked towards the humans grasping onto the bars of the cage and shouting at them to quickly come back. His inner self must be thinking: F-cking idiots!】

【Oh my poor brother Tao, he can’t even calculate the price of his groceries let alone making him solve this kind of problem. You may as well lock him up until the end of time. Look at his longing gaze at his free dog partner, he must also really want to go outside and play with them.】

【Pft… My Lele has escaped with the dogs! His body is so tiny, there probably isn’t anything that can keep him inside?】

【Hahahahaha I agree! If Lele sees these comments, he might sit on the toilet and cry.】

【A pity, he got caught and sent back. Look at those dogs, no matter how they play nobody is dragging them back. People are not as good as dogs.】