Volume One, Chapter Two: The Green Hat and the Dog

Opening the door and stepping inside, Jiang Ning kicked off her high heels. She was too exhausted to wash up, so she groped her way to the sofa with half-closed eyes and collapsed onto it.

When she opened her eyes again, it was already past ten in the morning.

Her head was heavy and muddled, her legs felt weak, her mouth was parched, and her stomach churned with discomfort—drinking water made her want to vomit.

She lay sprawled on the sofa for another ten minutes before finally forcing herself to get up and remove her makeup, wash her face, brush her teeth, wash her hair, and take a shower.

Once she’d cleaned herself up, her mind gradually emerged from its fog. Standing in front of the mirror, she dried her hair with one hand while scrolling through her phone with the other.

Her phone clung to life with a mere three percent battery. Countless unread WeChat messages and missed calls filled the screen, nearly all from Cao Huixian.

She tapped open the chat—wall-to-wall voice messages, the shortest lasting forty seconds.

She didn’t need to listen to know what Cao would say. Jiang Ning simply selected them all and deleted them.

Back on the main screen, a sudden bank notification caught her eye. She clicked into it instinctively and saw that in the early hours of the morning, she’d made a nine-hundred-eighty-yuan purchase.

Nine hundred eighty?!

Wasn’t it supposed to be ninety-eight?

Jiang Ning picked up the bag she’d tossed by the door. Last night, the packaging had seemed dazzling; now it looked utterly unremarkable.

What a useless thing to sell for nine hundred eighty. Was it really that easy to take money from adults?

She didn’t need it, but it was a waste to throw away. Annoyed, she stuffed it into the entryway cabinet and raked her hand through her hair, turning it into a bird’s nest.

But the regret over her impulsive spending didn’t last long.

Perhaps because she’d been caught in the rain the previous night, she started running a fever.

She had medicine at home, and with the mentality of “either the virus or the host must die,” she swallowed ibuprofen, some antiviral solution, banlangen granules—whatever she could find.

She’d hoped a good night’s sleep would cure her, but the next day, her condition worsened. Her mercury thermometer nearly hit forty degrees.

She couldn’t hold out any longer. After a quick wash, she threw on a loose hoodie and went to see a doctor.

Maybe it was the seasonal change, but the local clinic near her apartment was packed with patients.

Jiang Ning took a seat by the door on a stainless steel chair, clutching her queue number handed out by the nurse. She didn’t even want to look at her phone, just leaned her head against the chair back and closed her eyes.

Her fever-addled head spun; she dared not move much, her body drained of strength. She’d even thrown up on the way there.

In a daze, she heard someone shout, “A dog’s come in!” Jiang Ning opened her eyes just in time to see a tiny creature squeezing between her feet and crawling under the chair.

A little ball, ears flat—it was a puppy.

It looked like a stray, its filthy, yellow-gray fur making its breed unrecognizable.

A long, thin cord was tied around its neck, dragging behind.

Frightened, the puppy darted about under the chairs, the cord tangling around the chair legs and tightening around its neck. The more it struggled, the tighter the noose grew. The pup kicked desperately, trying to free itself, whimpering in panic.

Jiang Ning forced herself off the chair, squatting down despite her dizziness to rescue the dog.

It struggled mightily, but it was small enough to grab in one hand. She quickly untangled the cord.

She picked the puppy up, intending to carry it outside.

An auntie nearby warned, “Be careful—it might bite you.”

Jiang Ning smiled and was just about to reply that it wouldn’t, when a sharp pain stabbed her thumb.

The ungrateful little thing bit her right on the hand.

By reflex, she let go. The puppy dropped, and, worried it would get hurt, Jiang Ning reached out with her other hand to catch it. The pup landed in her palm, scrambled frantically away on its stubby legs, tumbled to the floor with another yelp, then rolled over, got up, and bolted out with the cord trailing behind.

Two tiny beads of blood welled up from Jiang Ning’s thumb knuckle. She frowned, anger flaring to the top of her head.

It seemed lately she was fated to clash with dogs.

Not just this ungrateful little mutt, but also that ex-boy-“dog” who’d left her with a shining green hat.

That’s right: Jiang Ning had been cheated on.

And it all began four months earlier.

At the start of summer, her longtime boyfriend Han Fang returned from overseas for business. It happened to be the weekend, so they rented a car and took a trip to a neighboring city.

Late at night, he took her to a wide riverbank to stargaze.

Under the stars, all was still. Passion rose; their breaths mingled, the car seats reclined, Han Fang’s trousers halfway down when she suddenly called things to a halt.

Call her old-fashioned or unromantic, but at that moment, she simply didn’t want to go further.

In her mind, everything had its season and order. As long as she wasn’t married, she couldn’t cross that line.

The trip ended poorly. They didn’t make up until he left for the airport. After that, their love continued as always—sweet confessions over the phone, endless longing.

Until yesterday, Han Fang returned from abroad without a word and appeared at her school gates.

Her colleagues teased her, asking if good news was on the way, clamoring for wedding candy and invitations.

Jiang Ning herself thought Han Fang had come back to marry her.

Her family had been pressuring her into matchmaking, so she’d messaged Han Fang, saying she wanted to make things official. Han Fang replied that they should discuss it in person when he returned.

She’d expected to wait until the end of the year, but he came back much sooner.

See how much he cared for her!

She’d even started pondering whether to accept his proposal graciously or play it coy.

She had no inkling what was coming.

She ran joyfully to the school gate, only to see Han Fang standing there—and a young woman at his side.

The woman had a slim waist, but her belly was already rounded—a clear sign of pregnancy.

Upon seeing Jiang Ning, the woman stepped forward, slipped her arm through Han Fang’s, and handed over a gift box with a smile.

A red box, embossed with golden patterns, a large double happiness character on the front.

“You’re Jiang, right? Oh, it’s so good to finally meet you. We really owe you so much. Thanks to your support over the years, Han Fang could study peacefully abroad. We’re truly grateful.”

Han Fang came from a poor family. Even with school aid, his family couldn’t afford the overseas expenses. Out of love, Jiang Ning had emptied her savings to support him, often transferring ten or twenty thousand at a time—enough to buy a small apartment.

What was meant as love had become, in the end, charity.

In that moment, Jiang Ning’s mind went blank, a ringing in her ears.

She had no idea what expression was on her face—she vaguely remembered forcing herself to smile, but whether she managed it, she couldn’t say.

She instinctively looked at Han Fang, clinging to the hope that he’d laugh like after a successful prank, ruffle her hair and pull her into his arms, saying, “Scared you, didn’t I? Just kidding.”

Maybe he’d even produce flowers and a ring.

Proposals often involved theatrics, after all.

But none of that happened.

Han Fang barely looked at her, his arm around the pregnant woman with all the tenderness in the world.

The last light in Jiang Ning’s eyes was extinguished. Her mouth opened and closed, but no words came out.

It felt as if something had torn a gaping hole in her chest, and cold wind blew through—not a sharp pain, but a dull ache that spread through her whole body, wave after wave, until she was breathless.

The woman said something else, but Jiang Ning didn’t catch it. Her ears roared, her heart pounded, her hands shook. She clenched her teeth to keep from breaking down.

As for Han Fang’s expression, perhaps because her eyes were misted over, she didn’t see it clearly.

Her mind was a blur, her vision white and glaring, as if trapped in a nightmare.

At some point, she heard him say, “…Manman and I are married. She’s really grateful to you, and we came back just to treat you to a meal. Old classmate, you must do us the honor!”

Old classmate? Was that all?

Ha!

Jiang Ning remembered how, the last time they parted at the airport, he’d gripped her hand, eyes red, reluctant to let go.

What touching “classmate affection.”

She didn’t know how she’d agreed to the dinner or asked for leave from the office. She only knew she must have looked like a complete fool.

When she thought of Han Fang, one thought filled her heart: Some people seem human, but are worse than dogs.

In a way, her fever came at just the right time.

It was only when she was sick that she realized how important her health was. Compared to surviving a virus, a cheating boyfriend was nothing.

But being bitten by a dog—that was pure, unprovoked disaster.

The clinic doctor quickly called a nurse over to disinfect Jiang Ning’s wound and urged her to take a taxi to the central hospital for a rabies vaccine.

Meanwhile, the puppy hadn’t gone far before its cord tangled around the base of a shop’s illuminated sign.

Someone chased after it and caught it. “Stupid dog, why are you running? Let me untie you.”

The cord had cut deep into its neck, the skin broken and raw. The man picked up the pup and headed to the animal hospital, passing by the clinic, when an auntie called out to him.

“Young man, is that your dog? It just bit someone.”

Startled, the man asked, “Who did it bite?”

The aunt pointed to Jiang Ning, who was just stepping into a taxi by the curb. “Her, that girl right there!”