The alb.u.m was full of Ruan Bai"s childhood photos, from a baby to a young child. According to the photos, the latest one had been taken when he was six.
There was a boy standing beside the little Ruan Bai in each photo. He carefully changed the baby Ruan Bai"s diaper; he cradled the baby in his arms and kissed the baby on the cheek; he gently pushed the little boy Ruan Bai on the swing.
In the last photo, two boys sat under the pergola. Ruan Bai was crying sadly, and the older boy put his arm around Ruan Bai"s shoulders and soothed him tenderly.
The older boy looked familiar. His facial features were very similar to She Yuan"s. Ruan Bai"s intuition was telling him that the boy was She Yuan.
But Ruan Bai had no memory of seeing She Yuan in his childhood. He had no idea how he had established such a close relationship with She Yuan long time ago.
Dave had crouched in the corner for a long while. Too shocked, Ruan Bai had no time to lecture him. Dave felt relieved and walked over to his master swaying his pinkish little hips.
Then, he rubbed his snout against Ruan Bai"s hand, and then licked the back of Ruan Bai"s hand with his tongue.
The touch of Dave"s elastic and moist artificial tongue drew Ruan Bai"s thoughts back. He craned his neck and cast a glance at She Yuan who was sitting on the sofa in the sitting-room. Then he quickly picked up the photo alb.u.m and the fallen books, and put them all together on the bookshelf.
After that, he readjusted his clothes and walked out of the study with Dave and the doc.u.ment in his arms, pretending that nothing had happened.
She Yuan was sitting on the sofa with his head bowed and playing with his cell phone. His guarding beast, Doctor was lying p.r.o.ne on the floor at his feet with its eyes closed.
When Ruan Bai came to the sitting-room, Doctor immediately straightened up and stared at Dave in Ruan Bai"s arms with its long, narrow eyes. She Yuan raised his head unhurriedly.
Dave was on the verge of collapse. Every time he saw Doctor, he couldn"t help trembling all over with fear. His animal instinct was telling him that he should keep away from Doctor. So he lowered his head and buried his face in Ruan Bai"s arms.
At the sight of Dave acting like a coward, She Yuan raised his eyebrows and gave a snort of disapproval.
Ruan Bai mistakenly thought She Yuan was not satisfied with him, so he instantly explained, "I... I am not familiar with your flat. It took a long time for me to find the doc.u.ment. I"m sorry."
She Yuan took the doc.u.ment from Ruan Bai with an expressionless face and said, "It doesn"t matter. No need to apologize."
The master"s mood would directly affect the guarding beast"s mood and actions. For example, under the influence of She Yuan, Doctor kept crawling around Ruan Bai"s feet, seeming to have an intention of wrapping its long body around Ruan Bai.
As Doctor got closer, Dave trembled more violently. Ruan Bai felt a twinge of sympathy for Dave.
For once, She Yuan explained why Doctor crawled around Ruan Bai, "Don"t be afraid. Doctor bears no ill will. He"s crawling around you because he likes you."
She Yuan"s explanation relieved Ruan Bai of the nervousness, but it seemed not to melt Dave"s anxiety. Ruan Bai wanted to put Dave down so that the two guarding beasts could get used to each other. However, Dave clung to Ruan Bai and refused to get out of his arms.
Realizing that Dave was very afraid of Doctor, Ruan Bai had no choice but to put Dave back in his optical computer. The moment Dave was gone, Ruan Bai sensed from the expression in Doctor"s eyes that he was very disappointed.
Doctor stopped crawling around Ruan Bai and slowly crawled back to his master. Then he lay coiled on the blanket and closed his eyes.
Ruan Bai felt like an evil person who had just broken up an affectionate couple. He rubbed his nose with embarra.s.sment and asked, "Mr. She, is there anything else I can do for you?"
She Yuan thought for a few seconds and asked, "Can you cook?"
"Er, I can only cook instant noodles."
She Yuan frowned and lectured, "Eat less unhealthy food from now on."
With a serious expression on his handsome face, She Yuan stared at Ruan Bai, retaining a natural aura of power. As a teacher, he had a commanding presence and deep, authoritative voice. Ruan Bai nodded obediently, "Okay, I see. Thanks for your concern, Mr. She."
She Yuan picked up his cell phone and ordered take-out for two persons.
"I have ordered takeout. You have to open the door when the delivery man come."
"Okay, I got it."
Ruan Bai curled his upper lip in a show of disapproval. "Why didn"t you ask me what I wanted to eat before you ordered take-out? If I don"t like the food you ordered, you have to eat it all up by yourself," he thought.
"Mr. She, how much is the take-out? I"ll give you the money."
After hearing what Ruan Bai said, She Yuan was a bit upset, but he didn"t lose his temper. After a moment"s consideration, he said, "It"s not an urgent matter. You can pay me back later."