Seeing Renee Jennings looking like she was ready to get physical, the middle-aged woman panicked. "What are you doing? Are you going to hit me?"
"Hit you?" Renee Jennings stopped in front of her, crossed her arms, and spoke with casual contempt. "I'm afraid I'd dirty my hands."
The middle-aged woman's face, as puffy as a steamed bun, flushed with anger. "What do you mean by that?"
Renee Jennings spoke unhurriedly. "If the surveillance footage didn't capture who bullied the puppy, then let's have the puppy itself tell us the truth."
Hearing this, the middle-aged woman laughed in fury. Seeing passersby casting curious glances their way, she immediately raised her voice. "Everyone, come and listen to how horrible this family is!"
A number of passersby were drawn over by the commotion.
"Her kid injured my dog, and bullied my child!"
"I demanded an apology and compensation, but they insisted on checking the security footage!"
"The footage didn't show anything, so to avoid paying, she's now saying the dog will tell the truth itself! How is that possible? She's obviously trying to shirk her responsibility! Everyone, come and help us decide who's right!"
The middle-aged woman's tearful tirade made it seem like she had suffered a terrible injustice.
Many people, hearing only her side of the story, began to condemn Renee Jennings. Some even took out their phones to record.
"She looks so young, but her character is terrible."
"What's the use of being pretty if your personality is rotten!"
"How can a dog tell the truth? Dogs can't talk!"
"..."
Jasmine, who had never experienced a scene like this, felt wronged and scared. "Mommy, everyone is yelling at Auntie. What do we do?"
Zane's brow was also furrowed, his little face etched with worry.
'I can't believe Auntie is actually standing up for my sister!'
'Even though Auntie usually bullies me and my sister, she's being really nice to us today.'
'Should I protect my aunt too?' Zane wondered.
'I have to be brave, just like Ultraman.'
Renee Jennings didn't care what the onlookers said about her. She just wanted to clear Jasmine's name.
She looked at the miserable-looking puppy in the pet carrier. Just as she was about to say something, she caught a glimpse of a small figure dashing like a whirlwind out of the corner of her eye.
Zane spread his arms and stood protectively in front of Renee Jennings, his clear voice holding a faint tremble. "Don't you bully my auntie!"
Renee Jennings stared at his small figure, stunned. Her eyes stung, and a warmth flooded her heart, making the whole world feel warmer.
"Zane." She walked to the boy's side, placed her hand on the top of his head, and said softly, "It's okay. Auntie will take care of this."
Zane turned his head, his clear, bright eyes filled with worry.
Renee Jennings gave the boy a reassuring look, then swept her gaze over the gawking crowd with a smirk.
"Someone just hit the nail on the head. How can a dog talk? Well, dogs *can* talk, they just don't speak human."
The middle-aged woman immediately sneered, "Then why did you say you'd let the dog tell the truth? No one can understand dog language!"
Renee Jennings raised an eyebrow. "That's the funny thing. As it happens, I can communicate with pets. I can understand their language."
The middle-aged woman was stunned for a few seconds, then she and her companions burst out laughing.
It wasn't just them; even the onlookers thought it was absurd.
"That's hilarious. How could a person possibly understand what an animal is saying?"
"Of course she can't. She's probably just going to make something up!"
"This is outrageous. To get out of paying, she's actually claiming she can understand dog language!"
"..."
A smile played on Renee Jennings's red lips as she said unhurriedly, "Then let's give it a try."
She led Zane to the pet carrier and squatted down in front of the little puppy, looking at it.
It was a Samoyed. Its snow-white fur was stained red in several places where its skin was split open, revealing raw, red flesh.
Likely from the pain, it was curled up in a ball, its whole body trembling.
[System 009: New mission triggered: Save the puppy. Mission reward: Poultry Dictionary. Mission failure: Electric shock.]
Renee Jennings said softly, "Hello, little one. My name is Renee Jennings. Are you in a lot of pain? Can we talk?"
The little Samoyed slowly opened its eyes to look at her and let out a weak, low whimper. "Can you understand what Bella is saying?"
Renee replied, "I can."
The little Samoyed began to whine. "Miss Renee, Bella is in so, so much pain. Can you save Bella?"
Renee Jennings furrowed her brow. "I'll find a way to save you, but first, I need to ask you a few questions."
Enduring the pain, the little Samoyed perked up. "Okay!"
"Hey, the young woman says something, and the puppy barks right back. Don't tell me she can actually understand it?"
"No way! Dogs just like to respond to people!"
Renee Jennings ignored the chatter and continued to communicate with the little Samoyed. "How did you get these injuries?"
The little Samoyed whimpered, "Xan did it! It hurts so much!"
Renee asked, "Then why won't he admit it?"
The little Samoyed replied, "He's definitely scared of getting yelled at! He's always like this! He's the one who beat my mommy to death with a stick! Xan also got the others to help him by promising to buy them McDonald's!"
Renee Jennings turned her head to look at the group of children. Among them was only one boy: a chubby kid with permed, curly hair.
'He must be the Xan the Samoyed was talking about.'
"You get some rest. I'll take you to the vet in a bit," Renee Jennings said, then stood up.
Zane followed her closely, his dark eyes brimming with admiration.
'Auntie is so cool! She can actually talk to the puppy!'
Renee Jennings walked up to the middle-aged woman, her voice cold. "I've gotten to the bottom of it. The injuries on your Bella were caused by a child named Xan. It has nothing to do with my niece."
As soon as she finished speaking, the expression on the chubby little boy named Xan changed. His eyes darted around in a panic, and then he started to throw a tantrum.
"You're lying! I didn't hit Bella! It was clearly that nasty girl of yours who hit Bella! Phoebe, am I right?"
The girl called Phoebe was the same one who had accused Jasmine at the very beginning.
She quickly said, "That's right! Xan didn't hit Bella, she did!"
Phoebe pointed her finger at Jasmine.
Jasmine's eyes were red as she retorted, her little voice fierce, "I didn't!"
The short-haired woman, hearing Renee Jennings sling mud at her son, was instantly displeased.
"My Xan has a kind heart! He would never hurt a small animal! Stop slandering my son!"
Renee Jennings ignored the agitated short-haired woman and instead looked at Phoebe and the other two little girls.
"Bella told me that you all framed my niece in exchange for McDonald's."
Hearing this, Phoebe and her two little friends stared with wide eyes.
Xan, who was being protected in his mother's arms, also looked shocked.
'How could she know about the McDonald's thing?'
This wasn't the first time the children had done something bad, so they all tacitly denied it.
"No, we didn't!"
"Yeah, you're making stuff up!"
From inside the pet carrier, Bella used all its strength to cry out, "Liars! You're all liars!"
"Bella says you're lying," Renee said.
The middle-aged woman said angrily, "This person is clearly putting on an act to shirk responsibility! Everyone, you have to stand up for us!"