A Puppy That Belongs Only to Her

Su Yutang, whose eyesight was better than Lin Meng's, saw the message first.

The moment Su Yutang caught sight of Yun Huaizhu's message, her face darkened instantly.

Seeing this, Lin Meng hurriedly reached for her phone to say "good morning" to Yun Huaizhu. But before she could, Su Yutang's hand shot out and snatched the phone away. "Who's texting you?"

She made a show of reading the contact name on the screen. "Oh, it's 'Poor Little Pearl.' So who's this little pearl? How come you've never mentioned her before? She wouldn't happen to be Yun Huaizhu, would she?"

Seeing Su Yutang's ridiculous act, Lin Meng's face twisted into an indescribable expression.

Su Yutang had clearly already guessed who it was, yet she still put on this clueless act.

Lin Meng nodded. "What's wrong with saying good morning and good night to a friend? Give me my phone back. Now."

Su Yutang held the phone high above her head, teasing her. With their height difference, Lin Meng couldn't reach it at all. Embarrassed anger flickered across her face. "I—I have work today. Give me my phone back right now, or I'll be late!"

Seeing how frantic she looked, Su Yutang sighed as if her heart had softened and held the phone out to her.

Lin Meng saw she'd stopped playing around and quickly reached for the phone, but Su Yutang pulled it back at the last second.

Lin Meng's expression immediately turned ugly. She might have been a little afraid of Su Yutang before, but this was her home. If she got angry, she really would throw Su Yutang out.

Seeing her puffed-up, furious look, Su Yutang quickly explained, "If you go to work, I'll be bored sitting here at home all day. Isn't there something else I can play with? Otherwise, how am I supposed to get through the endless day?"

Lin Meng was speechless.

She'd said she could take Su Yutang in for a week, but was this young miss really going to just camp out here the whole time?

Did she have nothing else to do?

Didn't she have a company? Did she not need to go to work?

Just as these questions were rattling around in Lin Meng's head, Su Yutang leaned in closer as if settling for second best. "Darling, just give me an old phone you don't use. Otherwise, I'll really be bored stiff here all by myself. Would you have the heart to watch me die of boredom?"

Lin Meng rolled her eyes slightly at that. Though she'd been trying to avoid Su Yutang's gaze, every little movement had been caught by the other woman.

So she was still a little afraid of her after all; she didn't even dare roll her eyes in front of her—cute as the gesture was.

Lin Meng got up and rummaged through the small cabinet on the other side of the bed, pulling out an Android phone with a cracked screen. She tested it—it still turned on, though swiping lagged. It could still handle browsing the internet and watching videos.

When she tossed the phone to Su Yutang, Su Yutang stared at the piece of junk in disbelief, then looked up at Lin Meng. "No—wait, darling, you're telling me this thing is a phone?"

Lin Meng was speechless.

She knew that a young miss born with a silver spoon in her mouth like Su Yutang had probably never used such a piece of junk. So she spread her hands helplessly. "But what can I do? This is the only spare phone I have. If you, Young Miss, find it beneath you, you're welcome to go buy a new one yourself. Otherwise, this is what you get."

Su Yutang fell into a stunned silence at the sight of the cracked-screen phone.

She really couldn't go without a phone at Lin Meng's place. She still wanted to video call Lin Meng during her lunch breaks.

But she'd just escaped from the old estate. Right now, Su Yurong's people were surely searching everywhere for her. If she wasn't careful, she'd be dragged back again.

With that thought, Su Yutang could only squirm like a sulky caterpillar and pick up the phone Lin Meng had tossed onto the bed.

Seeing this, Lin Meng seized the chance to snatch her own phone back. Just then, her work alarm rang.

She was about to get dressed and head to work, but out of the corner of her eye, she caught Su Yutang staring at her with a drooling, hungry look. Her expression darkened instantly.

"You—get out."

...

After a chaotic morning, Lin Meng grabbed the taro-paste-stuffed toast she'd stashed in the fridge and headed to work on the subway.

Holding onto the overhead strap with one hand, she typed a message to Yun Huaizhu with the other. [Morning, Zhuzhu.]

Not long after she sent it, Yun Huaizhu replied. [Did Mengmeng-jie oversleep today? Want me to drive you to work?]

Lin Meng blinked.

She quickly typed one-handed. [No no, I didn't oversleep. I'm already on the subway.]

Yun Huaizhu seemed a little disappointed. [It's only Monday and I already miss Mengmeng-jie. Can I video call you at noon? I can't imagine how I'll survive this week. Or how about I buy some good food and come see you tonight?]

Lin Meng thought of Su Yutang still lying around at home and quickly typed. [No need, no need. Um... I mean, I'll let you know when I'm free.]

Yun Huaizhu: [But I definitely won't bother you if I come over. I can even massage your legs and rub your shoulders. Mengmeng-jie must be so tired after working so long. My massages are really good, you know.]

Just as Lin Meng was about to try to talk her out of coming over, the subway announcement for her stop came on. She quickly put her phone away and rushed out with the crowd.

The weather was already quite warm, but Lin Meng still felt a bit cold. She always added a jacket whenever she went out.

Thankfully, the winter she hated had already passed.

Lin Meng jogged into the office building, clocked in, and sat down at her desk to start the new week's work.

She'd just been promoted last month, so her salary would go up a bit this month too. The thought motivated her. Only after finishing the tasks at hand did she allow herself a moment to slack off. She went back to replying to Yun Huaizhu: [No need. Zhuzhu, running back and forth so late at night is exhausting.]

Yun Huaizhu had her own career too. Lin Meng didn't know exactly how grueling it was to run a company, but seeing how busy Yun Huaizhu was every day, she knew she must be exhausted.

Yun Huaizhu was probably working hard right now. At the very least, she wouldn't be able to reply until noon.

That was what Lin Meng thought.

But the very next moment, just as she was about to put her phone down and get back to work, Yun Huaizhu's message popped up: [As long as I can see Mengmeng-jie, I'm not tired at all. Mengmeng-jie, can I come see you?]

Lin Meng looked at it, then turned off her phone screen and ignored the message.

Why had Yun Huaizhu become as clingy as Su Yutang?

This wasn't something a cool, aloof beauty should be doing!

Lin Meng played dead and didn't reply because she couldn't bring herself to send Yun Huaizhu the word "no." She didn't know when it had started, but she'd become genuinely afraid of Yun Huaizhu crying in front of her.

The moment Yun Huaizhu cried, that deep sense of guilt would surge up inside her.

And then her brain would go completely blank. Whatever Yun Huaizhu asked of her, she would blindly agree.

In short, Yun Huaizhu's tears robbed her of her reason.

No. She absolutely could not let that happen.

...

At the shooting range, Yun Huaizhu aimed a laser gun at the human-shaped target across from her and fired. Each time she pulled the trigger, the gun let out a matching bang.

Right now, she was imagining every target across from her as Su Yutang.

That woman had humiliated her before, and now she actually wanted to steal what was hers.

How could someone like Su Yutang—a Crown Princess who'd grown up with everyone fawning over her—know the first thing about sincerity? The fact that she seemed to like Lin Meng now was just her rebellious, competitive nature acting up.

Yun Huaizhu had no interest in figuring out exactly how she'd offended Su Yutang. She only knew that if Su Yutang kept competing with her, she would pay any price to kick her out of the game.

Yun Huaizhu's marksmanship was decent. When she'd practiced with blanks at an outdoor range, she could hit the seventh or eighth ring. Indoors, her accuracy was even better.

Just as she was practically trying to shoot a hole through the bullseye on the target across from her, Aunt Fang walked in and stood respectfully at her side.

Yun Huaizhu set down the laser gun and removed her protective goggles. "What's happened?"

Aunt Fang replied, "Miss, I just received word from Madam Su. Su Yutang seems to have run away from the old estate. Madam Su is having people search everywhere. She said if you see Su Yutang, you must stall her first; she'll send people over immediately."

Yun Huaizhu let out a cold laugh at that. "Su Yutang ran away, so why would she come looking for me? Only Su Yurong would think that."

Still, Su Yutang running away was beneficial to her as well. The Yun family's public-facing company was already an empty shell, while her newly founded Mingzhu Technology was just getting off the ground. If Su Yutang thought she could crush her outdated company and then found it had no effect on her, Yun Huaizhu wondered if she'd be furious enough to breathe fire.

Aunt Fang continued, "Miss, should we still keep an eye on Su Yutang's movements?"

Yun Huaizhu's mood had improved considerably. She switched to a gun loaded with BB pellets and aimed at the bullseye. "Finding Su Yutang is Su Yurong's problem. But now isn't the time to fall out with Su Yurong. Just put on a good show."

Aunt Fang nodded. "Yes, I know what to do."

After Aunt Fang left, Yun Huaizhu kept firing at the target she imagined was Su Yutang, until the human-shaped target was riddled with holes and she finally stopped.

Yes, every time she saw Su Yutang getting close to Lin Meng, she wanted to kill her. But for the sake of her so-called "grand plan," she had to swallow her pride and watch Su Yutang get intimate with Lin Meng.

Everything in this world required time to prove itself. Yun Huaizhu wished time would speed up, ideally skip straight to the moment her plan was complete.

Then she wouldn't have to smile through gritted teeth while gauging others' expressions, or endure Su Yutang's provocations.

She really wanted to be with Lin Meng right now.

This intense feeling drove her to change. Her thoughts were no longer as simple as they'd been in her girlhood; her schemes had grown far more intricate.

As Lin Meng reminded her on the phone every day, she had become incredibly strong now. Anyone who wanted to harm her would have to weigh their own worth before making a move.

Sure enough, loving someone made you stronger.

With that thought, the desire to see Lin Meng grew even fiercer in Yun Huaizhu's heart.

...

Su Yutang scrolled through the old, laggy phone Lin Meng had given her. The only thing on it was an old QQ alt account Lin Meng had once created. She'd used that account to message Lin Meng, but Lin Meng still hadn't replied.

When she tried to look at something entertaining, the phone's agonizing lag completely killed her mood.

Lin Meng's crappy company's work hours were pure torture. Why did they make employees stay until six every evening?

Lin Meng came home every day looking exhausted, like she'd been through hell and back. And lately, they'd basically been ordering takeout for every meal.

Lin Meng's favorites were omurice and rice noodles, sometimes fried chicken...

In the past, people had knelt and begged Su Yutang to eat these things, and she wouldn't have taken a single bite.

But now, under someone else's roof, Su Yutang could only eat whatever Lin Meng ate. If she didn't eat, she'd go hungry.

She could go out and buy something nice for Lin Meng, but she was afraid Su Yurong's people would recognize her. After all, there was nowhere in all of Jing City that Su Yurong's reach didn't extend.

The takeout didn't taste that bad, but eating it every single day—no one could stand that!

Out of boredom, Su Yutang rummaged through Lin Meng's fridge and found a few eggs.

Frying an egg should be dead simple, right?

Lin Meng's face looked terrible every day after work.

Imagine this: after a long day's work, you come home and not only is there no food waiting, but you have to face a freeloader.

Just thinking about it made Su Yutang's temper flare up.

She carefully took out the eggs, ready to show Lin Meng her cooking skills.

...

Lin Meng came home from work as usual. She normally ordered takeout after getting back, but this time she'd deliberately bought some steamed dumplings and stir-fried dishes on the way. She'd noticed Su Yutang had grown sick of takeout too, and she herself wanted a change of pace today. So this young miss could enjoy something nice with her for once.

But when she stepped inside, she suddenly smelled a heavy, burnt-oil stench. She couldn't help but cough as she breathed it in, and her eyes stung red in an instant.

From the smell alone, Lin Meng knew something was very wrong. She didn't even take off her shoes before rushing inside.

As soon as she ran in, she saw Su Yutang standing there in her little apron, smiling at her awkwardly, an embarrassed look on her face.

She looked like a kid caught doing something bad, guilt written all over her face.

Lin Meng could barely contain the fury in her chest. "What on earth did you do to my house?"

Seeing that she was genuinely angry, Su Yutang immediately dropped to her knees with a pitiful expression. "I'm sorry, darling! I just couldn't bear the thought of you coming home to no food every day, so I tried to fry you some eggs. But I didn't expect the pan to be so disobedient—every egg I fried came out burnt, and the fire almost singed my hair. I nearly went bald trying to fry you an egg!"

Su Yutang's face was also smudged black from the smoke. Her on-the-verge-of-tears expression was almost comical.

"Boohoo... darling, please forgive me for the sake of my good intentions. It's my first time cooking for someone too!"

Lin Meng raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Really?"

Su Yutang held up her fingers. "Really! I swear on my life I've only ever served you, or may lightning strike me dead!"

Honestly, there was no need for such a terrible oath.

Su Yutang was a young miss who'd never lifted a finger her whole life. How would she know how to cook?

She probably had meant well.

Seeing Lin Meng's resolve softening, Su Yutang quickly took the bags from her hands. "Darling, you've had a long day at work. Leave these to me."

Lin Meng's hands felt lighter. After hearing Su Yutang's sob story, she wasn't actually that angry anymore—but when she saw the smoke filling the entire apartment, her reason came rushing back.

She suppressed her anger and unease and walked into the tiny kitchen. A moment later, an explosive roar of despair erupted from within: "SU—YU—TANG!!"

Su Yutang was so frightened she clapped her hands over her ears. She, a dignified young miss, had lowered herself to stay in this rundown place, and when she occasionally tried to do something nice, she got yelled at.

If word got out, Huo Yi and the others would laugh themselves to death.

But... Lin Meng was really angry.

After Lin Meng finished venting, Su Yutang swore to her over and over that she would clean the whole apartment until it was spotless.

Only after hearing her promises did Lin Meng's anger subside a little.

She'd only gone to work, and Su Yutang had turned her home into this. If she ever came back late one day, would Su Yutang burn the whole place down?

After opening all the windows, Lin Meng sat at the dining table in a sullen mood. Seeing that her expression was still dark, Su Yutang quietly slipped back into the kitchen.

She brought out the one egg she'd managed to fry successfully and placed it in front of Lin Meng. "Darling, don't be angry... see, I still managed to fry one egg."

As she said this, Su Yutang's eyes reddened instantly. She held out her hand, where oil splatters had raised red blisters, toward Lin Meng. "See... I meant well but made a mess. I hurt my hand for this egg. Darling, please forgive me for the sake of this?"

Honestly, what Su Yutang had done today had made her truly furious.

But when she saw the very real, red, swollen blisters on Su Yutang's jade-like hand, her heart felt like a shattered spice rack—a mix of every flavor, complex and overwhelming.

She reached out and took Su Yutang's injured hand, blowing on it gently. "Does it still hurt?"

Su Yutang quickly shook her head. "As long as darling forgives me, it doesn't hurt at all."

Lin Meng gave her a speechless look, then went to get the burn ointment from her first-aid kit. She carefully applied it to Su Yutang's hand, just as Su Yutang had done for her that night on the rooftop of Grace.

The sharp pain mixed with a cool sensation traveled from the back of Su Yutang's hand to her brain. She watched Lin Meng, so gentle and focused as she applied the medicine—right now, Lin Meng truly belonged to her alone, a little puppy who would only apply medicine for her, who would feel sorry for her.

Right now she had nothing, and she'd almost burned Lin Meng's kitchen down because she couldn't cook, yet Lin Meng was still so patient and gentle with her. Lin Meng must like her, right?

Not Su Yutang the Su family heir, but simply Su Yutang for who she was.

Fortunately, there was still half a tube of the burn ointment Su Yutang had given her last time. That should be enough to fade the scars on Su Yutang's hand.

She noticed that the bite mark on Su Yutang's wrist had faded to a faint ring now. Maybe Su Yutang wouldn't even need a full week at her place before she could leave.

When Lin Meng finished applying the medicine and looked up, Su Yutang was still staring at her with an utterly infatuated gaze. Startled by that naked, undisguised look, Lin Meng quickly let go of her hand.

Su Yutang's hand fell away into emptiness, just like her mood.

But she quickly cheered herself up, because she was with Lin Meng right now, and Lin Meng cared about her. Lin Meng had just been shy about meeting her eyes.

Lin Meng was naturally an easily flustered person.

With that thought, Su Yutang pushed the one intact fried egg toward Lin Meng. "Darling, at least it's my heartfelt effort. Won't you try a bite?"

Hearing this, and considering the injury Su Yutang had sustained today, Lin Meng's heart softened. She picked up her chopsticks and the plate, and took a bite of the utterly unappetizing fried egg.

But the next moment, eggshell crunched between her teeth along with the egg.

Lin Meng's expression darkened immediately. She really didn't want to swallow that mouthful of eggshell-laced egg, but when she saw Su Yutang's eyes practically sparkling like stars, she still didn't spit it out.

She didn't know how many times she chewed before she finally swallowed that bite. Su Yutang was now practically pressed against her face. "How is it? Darling, is it good?"

Lin Meng forced a smile. "Mm-hmm, not bad... but if I eat something too greasy before the meal, I won't have an appetite. Let's eat the stir-fried dishes first. We can have this later."

Su Yutang looked a little disappointed, but she still nodded. "Okay. If darling likes it, I'll make it for you every day."

Lin Meng: "!?"

In the end, with Lin Meng's strict prohibition and a combination of coaxing and trickery, Su Yutang finally agreed not to touch the kitchen again.

After dinner, Lin Meng rushed to take a shower first. This time she guarded against Su Yutang like a thief, and Su Yutang didn't get a chance to squeeze in with her.

But thinking about it more carefully, she'd done something wrong today. She really shouldn't make Lin Meng angry again.

In ways she didn't notice, her mindset seemed to be quietly changing.

When had Su Yutang ever needed someone else's permission before doing anything?

In the past, she did whatever she wanted when she was happy and vented freely when she was angry. This high-and-mighty young miss had never been so careful and tentative as she was now.

After she finished up, Lin Meng was about to lock the door and go to sleep. Because of what had happened last time, she'd learned to bring the key into the bathroom with her. But just as she was about to go to bed—

Su Yutang dashed over. "Let me borrow your phone."

Lin Meng's brows furrowed tightly. "Didn't I give you a phone?"

Su Yutang got annoyed just thinking about it. Was that thing even a phone? The old handheld game console she'd played with as a kid ran smoother than Lin Meng's piece of junk!

Su Yutang continued, "That phone doesn't have a SIM card. I need to tell my subordinate something. If you won't lend me yours, I'll have to go find a phone booth late at night."

Hearing this, Lin Meng thought to herself: Calling a subordinate this late at night—it must be important, right?

It wasn't like Su Yutang could use her phone for anything illegal.

But she was still worried Su Yutang might do something crazy. Lin Meng thought for a moment. "Fine, but I'm giving you five minutes."

Seeing that she was still guarding against her, a dark cloud settled over Su Yutang's heart. She nodded sullenly. "Fine, five minutes it is."

After Su Yutang gave her word, Lin Meng handed over the phone. Su Yutang took it and went into the bathroom.

She knew that if she contacted Huo Yi under her own name, Huo Yi might actually sell her out for profit. So she first messaged Huo Yi using Lin Meng's account, telling her to go to the rooftop of Grace on Saturday night.

Then she dialed a number. Si Bingxia's voice came through. "Young Miss, what are your orders?"

This number was exclusively Su Yutang's—only Su Yutang could connect to it. So the person on the other end immediately guessed that the one holding Lin Meng's phone was actually her boss.

Su Yutang lowered her voice. "That small company I had you acquire before—have them adjust their work hours. Five o'clock. No, four—have them get off at four. If they keep exploiting their employees like this, all future cooperation with our company is off."

Si Bingxia: "Understood, Young Miss."

"Make sure they hurry up!"

"Yes."

After that, she wanted to scroll back and see what Lin Meng and Huo Yi had talked about, because she'd noticed there seemed to be a long chain of chat history above.

Just as she was about to scroll up, there was a knock on the bathroom door.

Lin Meng still didn't feel at ease, so she stood outside the bathroom waiting. The moment the five minutes were up, she knocked on the door for Su Yutang to return her phone.

She hadn't discussed anything explicit with Yun Huaizhu, but she had said bad things about Su Yutang to Yun Huaizhu! If Su Yutang scrolled through her chat history, that would be a disaster!