After rescuing the saliva-soaked men’s slipper from the puppy’s mouth, Zhang Yaning scolded it while holding it up.

“You can’t chew on this. Keep it up and I’ll spank your little butt.”

On the first day the puppy arrived, it had been timid and nervous, but only three days later it had already become bold enough to start wrecking the house.

The little pup whimpered pitifully. Yaning set it down and rubbed its head.

“You’re hungry, aren’t you? I’ll get you something to eat.”

“But once you’ve eaten, no more chewing these things, okay? Otherwise Shen Nansheng will beat you when he gets back.”

Strangely enough, everything the puppy chewed belonged to Shen Nansheng—his shoes, socks, and clothes.

Yaning went into the kitchen, grabbed a leftover steamed bun from lunch, tore it into small pieces, and fed it to the puppy.

The little thing wasn’t picky at all. It ate whatever she gave it. Sometimes it would even happily finish off her leftovers, and now its belly stayed round and full every day.

That evening, she cooked herself a barely edible stir-fry with rice. After forcing herself to finish the tasteless meal, she climbed into bed early.

She glanced through a few pages of a book before tossing it aside and opening a packet of biscuits instead.

Compared to her own cooking, snacks tasted far better.

Hearing the crunching sounds, Dou Dou immediately climbed out of its little nest, its shiny black eyes fixed eagerly on the biscuits in her hand.

“You want some too?”

Yaning waved the biscuit teasingly. Dou Dou made two excited little noises.

“Shh. You can’t bark. We’ve got neighbors on both sides now, remember? Don’t disturb people.”

She gently pinched the puppy’s mouth shut. Whether it actually understood or not, after she let go, it truly stopped making noise. It only stared at her with watery puppy eyes soft enough to melt anyone’s heart.

She fed it the rest of the biscuit.

After spending several days together, Zhang Yaning realized this puppy was unusually smart. Even though it was still tiny, after being taught only a few times, it could already understand her intentions. Every time she called it, it would run over immediately.

Especially commands like sit, lie down, run, and stop—it learned them all almost instantly.

“Actually, playing with you every day is pretty nice,” she said with a smile, scratching under its chin. “At least it keeps me from missing a certain someone. And the house doesn’t feel so empty.”

After playing with Dou Dou for a while, she washed up again and turned off the lights.

Late that night, after completing his mission, Shen Nansheng headed straight back to the family compound. Unlike the unmarried soldiers who went back to the dorms together, he was a married man now. Of course he was going home to his wife.

When he reached the house, though, he couldn’t bear to wake her to open the door for him. After pacing outside for a while, he finally decided to climb over the wall into the courtyard.

The moment he landed, however, he heard two sharp little barks from inside the house.

Startled, he almost thought he’d climbed into the wrong yard. He was just about to vault back out when the bedroom light flicked on.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the familiar red “double happiness” wedding decoration pasted on the window. Only then did he relax.

For a second there, he’d genuinely thought he’d jumped the wrong wall.

But… why was there a dog in his house?

The moment Dou Dou barked, Zhang Yaning jolted awake and instantly switched on the light.

Panic flashed through her mind.

Could there actually be a thief in the military compound?

Dou Dou stood up and growled warily toward the window.

Yaning listened nervously to the sounds outside, ready to scream for help at any moment. Even if the patrol soldiers didn’t hear her immediately, the nearby families certainly would.

“Wife, don’t be scared. It’s me.”

Afraid the barking would wake the neighbors, Shen Nansheng hurried to the window and called softly.

The instant she heard his voice, all the tension in her body disappeared. Relief and surprise flooded her heart at the same time.

She quickly hushed Dou Dou. The puppy obediently stopped barking at once, though its body remained tense as it stared at the doorway. The moment it saw its owner leave the room, it hurried after her.

As soon as Zhang Yaning opened the main room door, Shen Nansheng pulled her straight into his arms.

Before she could even speak, he whisked her back inside.

Meanwhile, in the courtyard next door, Lu Heng raised an eyebrow. After confirming there was no danger, he stepped away from the wall and returned to his bedroom.

This was his first night staying in the family compound, and he never expected to witness the usually mature and steady Shen Nansheng sneaking over his own wall in the middle of the night. It genuinely surprised him.

As soon as Lu Heng lay down, a sweet fragrance drifted to his nose. Chu Qing’s soft body rolled directly into his arms. Unconsciously, she rubbed her cheek against his chest, found a comfortable position, and continued sleeping peacefully.

Lu Heng tried to push her away a little but failed. Letting out a quiet sigh, he noticed she’d trapped part of the blanket beneath herself. He simply pulled his own thin quilt over both of them and closed his eyes again.

“Let go already,” Zhang Yaning protested, trapped in Shen Nansheng’s embrace.

Shen Nansheng shook his head like a spoiled child and hugged her even tighter.

“No. I want to hold you a little longer.”

“I haven’t hugged you in so long. I missed you terribly.”

He spoke so directly that Yaning’s ears instantly turned red.

“Wife, did you miss me too?”

She wanted to call him shameless, but in the end she couldn’t bring herself to say it.

Seeing her reaction, Shen Nansheng immediately understood that she had missed him too. The smile in his eyes deepened as he deliberately rubbed his stubbled face against hers.

The prickly sensation annoyed her enough that she smacked him lightly.

“Coming back in the middle of the night just to scare people.”

That only made Shen Nansheng chuckle softly.

“Pat your fur and you won’t be scared anymore,” he teased gently while stroking her soft hair.

He truly hadn’t intended to wake her. Originally, he planned to sleep on the lounge chair in the courtyard for the night so he could surprise her first thing in the morning.

But one puppy bark had ruined the whole plan.

“You’re so childish,” Zhang Yaning said, unable to stop herself from smiling as she finally relaxed in his arms.

Unfortunately, the warm moment lasted less than a minute.

The second she caught the sour smell coming from his body, she immediately shoved him away.

Ignoring Shen Nansheng’s wounded expression, she wrinkled her nose.

“How long has it been since you bathed? You smell awful.”

Hearing that, Shen Nansheng lowered his head and sniffed himself. Yeah… it really didn’t smell good.

Awkwardly, he rubbed his nose.

Yaning went to fetch him a change of clothes. Luckily, there was still hot water left in the thermos from earlier that night.

“Go wash up first.”

“Oh right, have you eaten? Do you want me to cook you some noodles?”

She worried he might not have had a proper meal yet.

“I already ate. I’m not hungry.”

Taking the clean clothes from her, Shen Nansheng looked at her concern for him and felt warmth spread through his chest.

“Wife, hurry back to bed and wait for me. I’ll wash up quick and come find you right away.”

He gently pushed her back into the bedroom before carrying the hot water kettle to the washroom. He stripped off his dirty clothes and set them aside to wash tomorrow.

Then he thoroughly scrubbed himself clean. Once all that remained was the pleasant scent of soap, he happily pulled on a clean undershirt and loose shorts before heading back toward the room.

Before entering, he casually glanced toward the courtyard on the right side.

Without pausing, he stepped into the room, shut the door—

—and immediately locked eyes with the puppy sitting at his feet.

Shen Nansheng: “…?”

“Honey, our house has a thief!”

Dou Dou: “!”