As the saying goes, the early bird catches the worm.
Of course, if you happen to be a worm, it is best not to get up early.
Great philosophers tell us that everything is universally connected.
From this, it logically follows that early-rising artists get bitten by dogs.
In the dead silence of early morning, the little assistant pulled back the curtains, and halfway through a lazy stretch, she suddenly spotted two moving shadows—one large, one small—looming on the horizon and rapidly approaching.
At the same time, a deafening cry for help pierced the air.
"Taozi, save me!"
The last vestiges of sleep instantly vanished. Taozi grabbed a broom and rushed to the rescue, running right out of one of her shoes.
Perhaps there were too many people, or perhaps deterred by the broom in Taozi's hand, the Golden Retriever stopped closing in, though it still paced back and forth with stubborn reluctance.
"Taozi, let's run!" Even while being chased by a mad dog, Wei Xin refused to abandon her steaming meat bun.
"We can't run. The moment we turn our backs, it'll pounce." Taozi nimbly shoved the obstructive artist aside. "Ask property management whose dog this is."
"I already called to complain, and property management told me to run for my life." Wei Xin dolorously tossed out a meat bun. "Brother Dog, can you please not bite me? I'm a good person."
The meat bun landed right in front of the dog. The Golden Retriever leaned in and sniffed.
Instead of eating it, it took a few steps closer to the two of them, emitting an indistinct sound from deep in its throat, pacing anxiously back and forth.
Wei Xin steeled herself and hurled all the remaining buns over. "Take them, take them all! Just don't bite me, I really am a good person."
Catching the scent of the buns, the Golden Retriever became even more agitated, its snout frantically rubbing against the ground.
Wei Xin stared blankly. "Are you trying to... wipe your mouth?"
Do dogs nowadays care this much about hygiene??
"Sister Xin, why do I feel like there's something on its mouth?" Taozi stopped the artist from letting her imagination run wild.
Prompted by Taozi, Wei Xin finally noticed the anomaly.
The Golden Retriever was filthy and very thin, its tail pinned low—was it... broken?
Wei Xin was startled by her own deduction.
The Golden Retriever hadn't made a single sound the entire way she was chased, just blindly giving chase.
Now it wouldn't even eat a meat bun; it surely wasn't because it didn't want to, which meant it couldn't.
Looking closer, she indeed discovered that the Golden Retriever's muzzle was bound with thin wire.
Wei Xin swallowed hard. "Brother Dog, look, I'll help you take the wire off, so you won't bite me, okay?"
Taozi hurriedly intervened. "No way, that's too dangerous! What if it bites you? Let's wait for property management."
The Golden Retriever seemed to understand Taozi's words. It stared at the two of them for a few seconds, then actively lay flat on the ground, lifting its head motionless.
Gaining courage, Wei Xin stepped forward. First, she had Taozi hold down the Golden Retriever's limbs to ensure safety, then carefully began untangling the wire.
"Who could be so heartless? Wrapped this tight!" Looking at the specks of blood on the wire, Taozi said with a pang of pity, "Be careful, Sister Xin, don't scratch your hands."
"I'm fine. Get ready," Wei Xin unraveled the final loop of wire, and with lightning speed grabbed the bun from the ground and shoved it into the dog's mouth. "Let's retreat!"
The two of them ran back inside, staring through the glass door at the Golden Retriever, which was still chomping on its bun.
Even after finishing the bun, the Golden Retriever showed no intention of leaving.
Roughly a few minutes later, property management arrived, repeatedly apologizing as they led the Golden Retriever away.
Having tragically lost her breakfast, Wei Xin had no choice but to call her driver and ask her to bring some food along.
After finishing her wash, she spotted her little assistant frowning deeply while clutching her phone.
"What kind of expression is that? Did someone buy a hit piece against me?"
"Huh? No, nothing like that." Taozi shook her head. "Property management sent an update. The Golden Retriever belongs to Teacher Ji Zhili, and he's rushing over right now. Property management wants to know if you need compensation for the bun."
Wei Xin switched off the hairdryer. "Twenty yuan and fifty cents total, thank you."
With that, she resumed drying her hair, completely ignoring Taozi's stiff expression.
By the time the driver arrived, Wei Xin had just finished drying her hair.
"I'm heading home for a bit. Why don't you go to the company and hang out with Sister Liu?"
"Are you coming back today?" Taozi opened her notes app. "Tomorrow morning at ten, we fly to Jiangnan for a summer renewal ad shoot that needs to be redone. The day after..."
History proved that once a person gets a taste of rest, they will only crave more.
Case in point: Wei Xin, who had been resting for over two months, felt like the sky was falling after listening to a fully packed weekly schedule.
Wei Xin couldn't help but suspect: was that overworking workaholic who died of sudden cardiac death in her past life really her?
"Not coming back. I'm going to send a friend abroad to serve time. Help me book a hotel in advance so I can sleep in a bit longer." Pondering for a moment, Wei Xin tentatively probed, "Do you want to come with me?"
"Huh?" Taozi looked utterly bewildered. "What would I do at your place? I need to stay home to pack luggage, then head back to the company to pick up Sister Liu and take her to the hotel. Hurry up and go."
Wei Xin raised an eyebrow in silence, left a few parting instructions, and departed.
As the black van passed the guard booth, she glanced casually out the window.
The Golden Retriever that had eaten her bun was baring its teeth and snarling at a man, its barking incessant.
At the very moment the vehicle drove out of the residential complex, she fancied she heard the man's screams and curses, mixed with the security guards' cries of shock and apologies.
Wei Xin stared at the rearview mirror for a few seconds, pulled out her phone to send Taozi a message, and just as she was about to exit WeChat, four red notification badges caught her eye.
January 1, 22:41
[Bastard Xu]: Home yet? Still hurting?
January 2, 08:30
[Bastard Xu]: President Liu says you plan to take a break for a while. The scenery around Nanzhao is nice and good for recuperation. Want to go out of town together for a few days?
February 3, 10:32
[Bastard Xu]: Is your body feeling better?
[Bastard Xu]: I know a fairly skilled TCM doctor, [TCM doctor Old Zhang's QR code], you could give it a try.
Ha, what a fantastic actor.
In her past life, she had been completely hoodwinked by this fake facade of tender solicitude, losing down to her last pair of underwear!
This time, she would never repeat the same mistake.
Wei Xin let out a cold snort in her heart, gently swiping across the screen—nothing else.
It was only then she realized that in this lifetime, the two of them hadn't even talked yet. The chat history consisted solely of four unilateral messages from Xu Wenyi.
More than once, Wei Xin inwardly cursed the timing of her rebirth.
Three hundred and sixty-five days a year, and it had to return to the night of the New Year's Eve party confession. Couldn't it have gone back to before she signed the contract?
According to the contract, they were bound for two years, after which they would part ways peacefully at the appropriate time for mutual benefit.
In her past life, the early stages of their collaboration had been extremely pleasant, and the two had briefly become confidants who shared everything.
Unfortunately, they later parted on bad terms, cutting off all contact and becoming, in the eyes of outsiders, a resentful couple who turned love into hatred.
On the day she died of overwork, she even discovered that the birthday gift Xu Wenyi had given her actually contained a wiretap...
Perhaps she hadn't died of overwork after all, but had simply been angered to death.
Wei Xin curved her lips in self-derision; she really had been utterly foolish, helping others count their money while being sold out.
"Second Young Miss, we've arrived." The driver sent by Grandma broke Wei Xin's train of thought.
Wei Xin frowned. Such a trivial matter, and she had spent over an hour pondering it?!
That person surnamed Xu really was a plague!
Wei Xin cursed a few times inwardly as she carried the gifts into the house.
Inside, an elderly woman with white hair was leaning back in a chair, her expression gentle yet dignified. Upon seeing Wei Xin, a trace of a smile appeared on her face.
Seeing her wasn't enough; Old Madam put on her reading glasses, which had been set aside, to take another look.
For some reason, Wei Xin seemed to read a hint of puzzlement in Old Madam's eyes.
"Xiaoxin, how come it's just you?"
...