After a night's rest, the Little Qilin was visibly full of energy, easily and magically leaping onto Ruan Xingwen's bed.
"Ugh..." Feeling a significant weight pressing on his chest, Ruan Xingwen groaned and rubbed his chest with his hand.
Ruan Xingwen, still sleepy-eyed, feebly threatened, "You little rascal, if you wake me up like this again, I'm going to spank your butt..."
The Little Qilin wasn't scared at all and let out an "Aw~ aw~" as it defiantly pressed its paw on the blanket.
He gently patted the Little Qilin's head, held it in his arms, and threw back the blanket to get up. Ruan Xingwen put on his slippers, walked to the window, and pulled open the heavy curtains.
The morning sunlight poured in, warmly enveloping the two of them.
"Awoo~" The Qilin's baby voice interrupted Ruan Xingwen's daydreaming.
He looked down at the little creature in his arms and chuckled, "Are you hungry? Do you Divine Beasts get hungry too?"
It turned out that the Little Qilin, looking pitiful, was trying to rub its belly in Ruan Xingwen's arms. But it was so tiny, with limbs too short to manage the action, so it angrily flailed its limbs like a child throwing a tantrum on the floor for not getting its favorite toy, extremely adorable.
With a smile in his voice, Wen Sheng comforted it, "Okay, okay, don't move around, or you'll fall." Turning to walk to the living room, "I'm going to get you something to eat. By the way, are you okay with dog food?"
Seeing the Little Qilin nod its little head, Ruan Xingwen felt relieved and marveled at how this little thing really understood him.
He reached for its special small bowl, filled it with dog food, and got another bowl for water. He sat on the sofa watching it eat happily.
Ring ring ring~ The phone rang.
Ruan Xingwen went back to the bedroom to pick up the phone, sat back on the sofa, and as soon as he answered, he heard Little Yuan's lively voice, "Xingxing, get up, time for breakfast!"
Smiling, he said, "I'm up, just about to go out for something to eat."
Little Yuan was surprised, "?! You're up this early? You usually won't get up when I call you, what's different today?"
"Because the Little Qilin jumped on me early in the morning and woke me with a thud." Ruan Xingwen helplessly rubbed his chest again.
On the other end, Little Yuan gloated, "Hahaha, is that possible? Little Qilin? Is the little dog's name Qilin?"
"Yes, I think this name is great, very majestic."
"As long as you're happy, it's your dog, you get to decide. As long as you're up, make sure you have breakfast, don't starve! Got it?"
"Alright, alright, I'm on my way to have breakfast, little housekeeper." Ruan Xingwen teased Little Yuan.
"Send me a picture of your breakfast later for inspection! If you dare skip breakfast, you're doomed, I'll supervise you every day!" Little Yuan still wasn't convinced, threatening him.
As for why a breakfast was taken so seriously by Little Yuan, it was because Ruan Xingwen had a "history"!
Last year, he participated in a program. At that time, another artist under Sister Li had just joined the group and needed help, and Ruan Xingwen finally got the chance to attend the event.
Sister Li was hesitant, but Ruan Xingwen noticed her dilemma and told her to go handle the group stuff, "Sister Li, don't worry, I'm fine here, the program is relaxed, I'll go home right after, you can go help there."
Sister Li thought for a moment, and indeed there was nothing much here, rehearsals were nearly done, and Little Yuan was present, so she left assured.
There really wasn't an issue, except Ruan Xingwen got up late and missed breakfast, but as long as he had a regular lunch, it should've been fine.
However, he forgot his attribute—bad luck.
At lunchtime, Little Yuan was called by the staff to confirm the process, and the staff handed out boxed lunches, forgot about Ruan Xingwen napping in a backstage corner...
When Little Yuan returned, assuming he'd eaten, he didn't mention food out of worry about drowsiness after eating.
Before going on stage, he did his warm-up normally, with predictable consequences—he fainted, the event wasn't successful.
Moreover, he later heard that a young star who stood in his spot during the program got injured by falling props...
For a while, Ruan Xingwen wasn't sure if he was lucky or unlucky. But those involved knew his bad luck reputation and believed it was Ruan Xingwen's misfortune that caused their program's issue.
What a regret! They shouldn't have hired him because of low appearance fees, saving a penny but losing a pound.
Ruan Xingwen felt innocent. Their show had equipment issues, yet they blamed him instead of reflecting on themselves, no wonder their show didn't succeed.
After silently voicing his dissatisfaction, the Little Qilin finished its breakfast too.
Having eaten its fill, it quietly licked its paws. It was really like a dog's habit... As if hearing his thoughts, the Little Qilin paused and then lay down as if nothing happened to rest.
Nodding at its little head, he asked, "Are you hiding something else from me? You can understand my words, can you hear my thoughts too?"
The Little Qilin's little eyes swirled around, it cuddled against Ruan Xingwen's hand again, "Awoo~"
Ruan Xingwen compromised, picking it up, "Only acting cute, knowing I can't help it with you, huh. I'll let you off, let's go for a stroll and grab breakfast, or else Sister Xiao Yuan will come after us." Imagining the scenario, a pleasant smile appeared on his lips.
Seeing the Little Qilin tilting its head with an apparent look of confusion, he didn't explain further, changed into casual loose sportswear, and held the Qilin to head out.
October's weather was always hot, even the morning sun carried scorching heat waves.
Watching the passing pedestrians and listening to the bustling street vendor calls, Ruan Xingwen smiled faintly.
This is why he didn't choose the company-arranged apartment but continues to live here.
The community where this house is located is an old neighborhood, with many residents.
You could hear various sounds daily, the street vendor Xiao Fan's calls, parents scolding children, quarrels of young couples, music from aunties doing square dancing and the clattering of chess pieces by elderly men...
These sounds were full of life, making him feel that his current life was genuine, and he loved this feeling.
Walking into a bun shop, he found a table and sat down, casually placing the Little Qilin on the chair beside him, then turning and calling out loudly, "Brother Wang, the old trio!"