Chapter 3531: Owner (12)

Chen Hong didn’t suffer any major issue. She had simply fainted from inhaling the gas. Her mother, who had also fainted, was now awake as well. Likely due to the shock, the older woman remained visibly shaken.

The doctor informed the family that Chen Hong’s mother might be in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. The symptoms weren’t very obvious yet, and while it was normal to be forgetful at her age, they needed to stay vigilant.

The family’s expressions turned grim upon hearing it might be Alzheimer’s. It was mild now, but if it worsened, she might forget her own name, her husband, and even her children.

Chen Hong’s brother apologized to Ying Zhi. “We had no idea Mom’s condition was like this. If we had known beforehand, we never would have let her look after my sister and the baby.”

Ying Zhi had originally been very angry. He had told his mother-in-law not to use the stove, and that if she had to, she should wait until more people were home.

In the end, his well-meaning mother-in-law had turned on the gas to cook something, failed to close it properly—or perhaps forgot to turn it off entirely—and then went out to go shopping.

The consequences were severe. Ying Zhi didn’t dare to imagine what might have happened.

However, his mother-in-law had come specifically to help him look after his wife and child. Now that they were both safe, he realized she had acted out of the kindness of her heart. She cherished her daughter and granddaughter enough to move in just to help, so it wouldn’t be right to blame her now.

“No one knew this would happen. Fortunately, we caught it early.” Ying Zhi still felt a lingering fear whenever he thought about it. If Beibei hadn’t gone home and discovered the situation, something terrible would have happened by now.

The house might have burned down, and his wife, child, and mother-in-law could have all perished.

“Mom can’t look after the baby anymore. She’s sick now too,” Chen Hong’s brother said with a sigh.

Ying Zhi pursed his lips. He wondered if he should stop working until the baby was a bit older. If Chen Hong were left to care for the child alone, she definitely wouldn’t be able to manage.

If something like this happened again, Ying Zhi felt his heart might actually give out. He couldn’t take any more scares.

He decided he would resign and be a stay-at-home dad until the child was two or three years old and could walk.

Raising a child was just too difficult.

When Ying Zhi told Chen Hong his plan, she shook her head in disagreement. “I can take care of the baby. Don’t stop working. The expenses for a large family are quite high.”

“I don’t feel safe leaving you alone,” Ying Zhi said.

The couple went back and forth, unable to reach a consensus.

Ying Zhi was terrified that another incident like yesterday’s would happen and scare the soul out of him. A bit of salary was nothing compared to the safety of his family.

He usually didn’t spend much money anyway. Aside from his own basic needs and buying dog food for Beibei, he had saved a significant amount over the years.

Furthermore, Ying Zhi felt deeply that he could not lose his wife and child. Through this marriage, he had realized that marriage was not easy—especially since he was blind. Without Chen Hong, he would likely have stayed single for the rest of his life.

Not to mention, the child carried his own bloodline.

Because she hadn’t come easily, he cherished it all the more.

After a series of tests, the baby showed no obvious signs of harm. However, the doctor suggested they return for check-ups periodically, as brain damage was the most likely potential complication.

The couple’s hearts wrenched when they heard this. They prayed their child would grow up healthy.

Hearing the doctor’s words made Ying Zhi even more determined to stay home until the child was older before returning to work.

Chen Hong worried about the family expenses. With a dog included, there were four mouths to feed, and they would be living off their savings.

By the time she was discharged, the two still hadn’t finished debating whether Ying Zhi should go to work or stay home to help her with the baby.

Once they were home, the couple carried the baby and brought gifts to their neighbor to thank her for saving their lives.

Although the woman across the hall seemed difficult to get along with—loud, fussy, and prone to nagging—she had helped them in a crisis. They even had the baby recognize her as a godmother.

As neighbors, they could look out for one another.

Chen Hong’s mother was overwhelmed with guilt. She called Chen Hong to say her mind was too muddled to look after the child.

Chen Hong told her mother to get some rest. She didn’t mention the early-stage Alzheimer’s diagnosis; the whole family was keeping it from her.

Her mother simply assumed she was getting old and her memory was failing.

Ying Zhi bought a large bag of dog treats for Ning Shu as a reward.

Honestly, Ning Shu was quite happy to see the bag. It would last her a long time. The dog food tasted good too—at least better than literal trash—and it was quite clean.

The biscuits were more expensive than food meant for humans.

Hahaha…

Ning Shu felt joyful. She stretched out her tongue to lick Ying Zhi’s hand and wagged her tail. It was nice to be able to act cute in exchange for food.

The couple treated Ning Shu as a member of the family, not just a guide dog.

Her status was currently only slightly lower than the baby’s.

Ning Shu panted and let out a long breath, resting her head on the floor.

Now that this matter was resolved, she wondered what else was left.

Ning Shu suspected that in the original storyline, a fire must have broken out. Ying Zhi’s wife, child, and mother-in-law likely all met with an accident.

One could imagine what a devastating blow that would have been to him.

Ning Shu didn’t know the actual storyline, so she could only guess.

In reality, a task like this was not relaxing at all. She was living as a dog but worrying like a human.

Furthermore, because she was in a dog’s body, the language barrier was a major limitation.

She didn’t feel like she was on vacation at all. Ning Shu didn’t even know how many times she had run back and forth, sprinting as if her life depended on it.

It was exhausting!

2333, you better compensate me for my mental distress!

Ning Shu gnawed on a beef-flavored bone, making loud crunching sounds as she watched the baby in the crib. The child was sucking her thumb and looking at the colorful toys hanging above her. She reached out her tiny hands to grab them.

From the looks of it, the child seemed healthy.

Her brain didn’t seem to be damaged.

From the time Ying Zhi started dating to the wedding and the birth—and now that the child was over three months old—Ning Shu had been in this world for quite some time. She wondered if there was something else keeping her from leaving.

If that were the case, Ning Shu would have to shed a tear of sympathy for Ying Zhi.

His life really was full of disasters.

From the time Chen Hong was pregnant until after the birth, Ning Shu had been in a constant state of unease. This was likely an animal’s instinctive perception of danger.

Now that they had survived a major catastrophe, Ning Shu felt more relaxed, yet she still had an inexplicable feeling that something else might happen.

She preferred to believe she was just being paranoid. After all, surviving a great disaster usually brought good fortune later.

Besides, with two people taking care of one child now that Ying Zhi wasn’t going to work, Ning Shu could stay home every day and help watch the baby.

If anything unusual happened or if the gas leaked again, Ning Shu would be the first to know.

She would prevent any danger from occurring.

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