Chapter 20: What Can't Be Let Go

  Quietly watching No. 1 round face chubby leave, An Yi also pressed down his own 'mobile phone'.

  A black hole appeared, and An Yi tried his best not to look at the corpses left on the ground again, taking a step out of the black hole.

  Bloody game, An Yi found himself gradually giving up his original principles.

  Pursuing, pursuing that tiny bit of hope... but at the cost of other people's lives.

  During regular season games, Yi Jianlian could still use evasive language to shirk responsibility. But at this time...

  The nine-death-one-life cleansing match undoubtedly put all this cruelty directly in front of An Yi's eyes.

  Stepped out of the black hole, back to his own home again.

  The dog heard the movement and ran over to gently nuzzle An Yi's pant leg.

  With a forced smile on his face, An Yi rubbed the dog's head.

  Some things can't help but think! An Yi also dare not think! No matter what the purpose is, An Yi found that in the end it was because of himself, harvesting other people's lives.

  Yes! It's a cruel game, if you don't move forward, it means death. But...

  Everyone has the right to live. What right does anyone else have to dominate other people's lives?

  He shook his head hard and forced himself to drive away the tangled thoughts that had just risen in his heart.

  These things, An Yi didn't dare think about them anymore. Afraid that in the end he would despise himself and lose the motivation to keep moving forward!

  Sitting on the sofa, An Yi leaned back against the backrest, with her legs lazily draped over the dog's back.

  The dog is lying quietly in front of An Yi, looking like a soft and cuddly plush toy.

  Knock knock. The door was suddenly knocked from outside.

  An Yi raised her eyelids in surprise and looked at the time that had already reached dusk, unable to think of who would come home at this hour.

  Hesitating for a moment, An Yi stood up and walked over to open the door: "Who is it?"

  At the door stood a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl, with long hair that was smooth and silky, combed to one side, and on her forehead was clipped a cute bear hair clip.

  The girl's figure has gradually matured, but her cheeks still retain a hint of greenness... and a slightly shy and silly lovely feeling.

  "Excuse me, are you the one who posted that notice to find the owner of the dog...?" The girl's face was flushed as she spoke, and her two small hands were unconsciously clutching the hem of her floral skirt.

  "Are you Xiao Xiaoxiao?" An Yi was taken aback for a moment before reacting and realizing who the girl in front of him was.

  When he called earlier, Anyi did ask about the girl's name. At that time, when he heard the girl's name, Anyi couldn't help but laugh a little.

  Xiao Xiao laughs? Laughing laugh?

  The girl is very fond of smiling, I don't know, but An Yi can see that the girl's parents must love her dearly. Just from the name alone, it can be seen that a pair of parents are eager for their daughter's happiness and joy.

  "Huh? How did you know my name..." The girl seemed a bit airheaded, having already forgotten what she had said to An Yi on the phone. As soon as she finished speaking, she furrowed her delicate eyebrows and thought for a moment before suddenly remembering what she had said.

  She looked at An Yi with a shy expression and Xiao Xiao chuckled awkwardly, lowering her eyelids: "That, that..."

  An Yi smiled and shook his head, stepping aside: "Come in."

  An Yi had just finished speaking, and he was a little regretful. The words were a bit too abrupt, the two people had only met for the first time, although the girl was already at his doorstep, but inviting the other party in like this was indeed not very good.

  The two are now only slightly familiar strangers, and the other party may not necessarily feel at ease entering a strange boy's home. But...

  An Yi just wanted to turn around and speak, but Xiao Xiao nodded foolishly: "Okay."

  Xiao Xiao said as she walked into An Yi's home, glanced at An Yi with a hint of embarrassment, and then looked around the living room.

  An Yi silently watched as the girl walked into the house in front of him.

  What a silly girl... so naive and not even afraid of encountering bad people.

  Shaking his head, An Yi pointed to the sofa and then walked towards the dining room: "Sit anywhere. By the way, what do you want to drink?"

  "Huh?" The girl seemed a bit distracted, still looking around blankly: "Anything is fine, anything."

  "Orange juice? It's not good for girls to drink carbonated beverages." An Yi walked into the dining room, grabbed a can of orange juice and walked back to the living room to hand it to the girl.

  "Thank you. Ah, oh?" Xiao smiled shyly and accepted the orange juice, politely thanking An Yi, but then suddenly came back with a sentence like a slow-motion replay: "Isn't it bad for girls to drink carbonated drinks? Why is that?"

  "Why?" An Yi's mouth twitched slightly, and it was really hard to answer this question.

  Compared with other types of beverages, carbonated drinks are indeed not very good.

  These things were often nagged by An Yi's mother when she was still alive, and after being nagged many times, An Yi instinctively remembered them.

  It's just... An Yi's mom's nagging words, An Yi really didn't want to say it to a girl.

  For example, boys who drink carbonated beverages are more likely to affect their fertility; for another example, girls who drink carbonated beverages are more likely to affect the fertilization of eggs; and so on, children and the elderly who drink carbonated beverages are prone to calcium loss.

  An Yi's mother is a doctor, and besides nagging her own son, it's not a big deal. But if An Yi were to say these things to a girl, especially one he had just met once, that... would be too shameless.

  "Cough. Nothing." An Yi covered up the awkwardness on his face, nodding in a pretentious manner: "It's just that development isn't going too well."

  "Didn't develop well?" Xiao Xiao smiled a bit foolishly, her reaction slow, but in some ways, girls are much more sensitive than boys. After reacting, her small face flushed red.

  As soon as he finished speaking, An Yi regretted it too.

  Not developing well? What kind of nonsense is this! Although it's not as good as what my mom used to say, this still counts for something.

  "Uh, uh..." Xiao Xiao's small face turned red and she looked down, embarrassed.

  "Right, you're here to see the dog, aren't you?" An Yi was also a bit embarrassed, but it was much better than the girl in front of him. He quickly thought of another topic.

  "Huh? Oh yeah... That..." As soon as the dog was mentioned, Xiao Xiang suddenly became spirited: "Can I see the dog?"

  Xiao Xiao said with a silly look on her face, glancing around in all directions.

  Looking at the girl in front of him, An Yi finally realized what she was looking for when she came in. It turned out... she was looking for a puppy.

  "He was just here a moment ago, and then he ran off in the blink of an eye." An Yi shrugged and whistled.

  When Xiao Xiao heard An Yi whistle, her small face flashed with an inexplicable look of admiration, looking at him eagerly.

  An Yi's mouth twitched slightly.

  What's wrong with this girl? She blows a whistle and calls the dog, why does she make such an expression? Hasn't she ever seen anyone blow a whistle before?

  But...

  After whistling for a while, An Yi felt a bit embarrassed.

  The dog... has no bird itself.

  "What's that? Maybe, maybe it's drying in the moonlight on the balcony." An Yi awkwardly got up and walked towards the balcony.

  An Yi's awkwardness was met with Xiao Xiao's oblivious expression, her face even lighting up with excitement and eagerness.

  In the evening sky, the sun's rays were still lingering, and the dog was lazily lying on the balcony. When it saw An Yi walking onto the balcony, it didn't even lift an eyebrow, but only slightly moved its ears and wagged its tail.

  "How cute." Xiao Xiao couldn't help but have stars in her eyes when she saw the puppy for the first time.

  The originally lazy dog opened its eyes in the first time when it heard Xiao Xiang's voice, curiously looking at this girl.

  "May I touch it?" The girl looked shy, but her courage seemed not as small as imagined. As she spoke, she squatted down to pet the dog.

  "Be careful with that, it's not usually allowed for outsiders to touch..." An Yi's words were barely out of his mouth when the corners of his lips began to twitch. In fact, a look of utter speechlessness filled An Yi's face.

  An Yi didn't lie, usually the dog is indeed not allowed to be touched by outsiders. But...

  Still no shame, the girl in front just stretched out her hand, this dead dog actually shamelessly flipped over, exposing its belly.

  Dogs, unless they are very trusting of a person, will generally not roll over onto their backs and allow themselves to be petted. This is an expression of affection and trust, continuing the instinct of most medium-to-large-sized mammals.

  Looking at the dog's shameless appearance, An Yi was embarrassed. He had just said that he didn't allow outsiders to touch it, but now...

  An Yi originally felt a bit embarrassed, but seeing the girl in front of him with that silly and oblivious expression, he realized that she hadn't noticed his awkwardness at all.

  Xiao Xiao gently stroked the dog and looked at An Yi with excitement: "It's so well-behaved."

  "Haha, yeah, yeah, good boy." An Yi responded awkwardly.

  Actually, Anyi really wanted to say that it's not obedient at all. But... this is too weird. How did this dog suddenly become so shameless? If I were to speak randomly, I would feel uneasy myself.

  Suddenly... a strange idea floated into An Yi's mind.

  Dogs are indeed not allowed to be touched by outsiders. However... however, An Yi thought for a moment, those outsiders were mostly men.

  This dog... doesn't it have somewhat of a perverted tendency?

  An Yi hid the strange expression on his face, took another look at the comfortable eyes, and enjoyed the girl's touch on the dog, the more he looked, the more it seemed to be true.

  "That, that dog, have you really decided to give it away? Can you bear to...?" The girl suddenly hesitated and lightly bit her lip: "If you regret it later, forget it."

  It's clear that although the girl doesn't have much experience taking care of dogs, she really likes them.

  The relationship between humans and dogs is often secondary to experience, it's a kind of affectionate and joyful emotion that can maintain trust between different species.

  He silently sighed, An Yi smiled: "Regret, and then regret. But I really don't have time to take care of it. It's obvious that you like it a lot, and it seems to get along with you too. If you..."

  An Yi didn't continue speaking, but his meaning was already very clear. If you want to, then take her away...

  After An Yi's dad and mom passed away, it was the dog that kept him company. How could An Yi bear to part with it? But... what good would it do to be unable to bear parting with it?

  What if I die in that eerie world?

  Then what? The dog starves to death at home?

  The silly girl didn't notice the brief silence on An Yi's face, and foolishly smiled: "Great! I was afraid you'd regret it. So, can I really take it away?"

  The girl said and got up to leave.

  "You can't take it away like this, it definitely won't follow..." An Yi said, his words trailing off in his mouth, his face full of speechlessness.

  At the moment when the girl got up, the dog followed her and stood up with a whoosh, following the girl out with a wagging tail.

  "What? What did you say?" The girl turned her head back and asked An Yi.

  "No, nothing." An Yi shook his head and sent the girl to the door, but couldn't help reminding her: "I hope you can take good care of it."

  "Mm-hmm." The girl's mind was all on the dog, and she hadn't heard An Yi's words clearly. She smiled and teased the dog as they walked out, waving at An Yi: "I'm leaving!"

  Watching the dog following behind the girl, flattering and bootlicking without any dignity, An Yi felt both angry and amused, with a hint of sadness that couldn't be concealed.

  Gone. The last member of the family has left.

  An Yi sat on the sofa in a daze after closing the door behind her.