Chapter 17

Hu Yuanfei had really gone all out this time. Apart from the two thousand yuan he had just earned, he invested the rest all into advertising.

Determined to protect his last bit of wealth, he decided to go out again that evening to catch some rats for food.

Fortunately, the money spent yielded some results. The next day, he received several calls—some wanting rats caught, others looking for cats or dogs, and even one asking for a bird.

Hu Yuanfei was thrilled, but after carefully checking the locations, he realized most of these customers were outside the city. If it were a neighboring city, he could afford to go at his own expense, but crossing several hundred kilometers was impossible.

After ruthlessly declining orders from distant places, only one remained within reach—a lost dog case.

At least he still had work. Hu Yuanfei wasn’t picky. Glancing at the weather outside, the sky was overcast today, with no rain forecast but quite windy. The snow from a few days ago had mostly melted, leaving patches of ice piled in the corners.

He asked Lang Xiao beside him, “Are you coming along or staying home with Qingyao?”

Before Lang Xiao could answer, Qingyao’s head suddenly turned toward them. She quickly crawled out from the pile of toys and buried her head in his arms.

“Pa pa, let’s go.”

Hu Yuanfei scooped her up with a laugh. “Haha, so Qingyao wants to come too? It’s cold outside, are you scared?”

Qingyao didn’t know what fear was. Clinging to his neck, she repeated, “Pa pa.”

Hu Yuanfei said, “If you want to go, you have to ask Mother Wolf first.”

Since Qingyao had started talking, she’d been calling both of them “Dad” and “Mom.” Though her pronunciation was unclear, the meaning was obvious. The two monsters, who had never been parents, found the titles awkward. They tried correcting her several times but never succeeded, so they just let it be.

After all, according to the household registration, they were indeed a family of three. Qingyao wasn’t wrong.

Qingyao understood Hu Yuanfei’s meaning immediately and wriggled free from his arms to crawl over to Lang Xiao. Like a cat, she hugged her leg and climbed up. Her limbs were surprisingly strong, and she really managed to clamber onto Lang Xiao’s thigh.

“Mom.”

Lang Xiao lifted her up with one hand. “You want to go?”

“Yes!”

“All right then, let’s go together.”

Taking a child meant they had to take a taxi. Lang Xiao quickly packed a small bag with essentials—wet wipes, diapers, a baby bottle, boiled water—she was now very familiar with these infant supplies.

Qingyao clutched her cloth doll toy obediently, waiting for Lang Xiao to pick her up and leave.

The customer was on the other side of the city, about ten kilometers away, but luckily there was an overpass, so the trip took only half an hour.

When they arrived, the customer was anxiously waiting at the community entrance—a gentle-looking man wearing glasses.

Seeing them arrive with a child in tow, looking like a family out for a spring outing, the customer was stunned for a moment, almost wondering if he had called the wrong people.

“Ah, are you the boss of the rat-catching company, Mr. Hu?”

Already promoted to “boss,” Hu Yuanfei nodded immediately. “That’s us. The child had to come along, no choice. Let’s go into your home to take a look first.”

“Okay, this way. I’m Li, Li Li. You can just call me Dali.”

Li Li lived on the tenth floor of a building with two elevators serving four apartments per floor, with adjacent units connected side by side and no hallway doors separating them. Their apartment was the middle unit.

As soon as they stepped out of the elevator, the two monsters were startled by the clutter piled high in the right hallway. This community was far more upscale than their own resettlement housing. Their neighborhood, mostly elderly residents, didn’t have things stacked like this.

Li Li kicked aside a pile of shoes that nearly blocked their front door in embarrassment. “Sorry, the neighbors here have no manners. No matter how many complaints we file, nothing changes. Come on in.”

Just as they were about to enter, a faint noise came from the next door, and a narrow crack appeared in the door. A pair of eyes peeked through silently, watching them.

The eyes were low, seemingly belonging to a child.

The two monsters glanced indifferently before shifting their gaze elsewhere—at the end of the corridor, light from another unit also flickered, revealing a pair of eyes watching.

Hu Yuanfei smirked slightly. This place was certainly interesting.

Li Li’s apartment was a small three-bedroom layout, filled with signs of a dog living there. The dog bowl still had food, there were dog beds on the balcony and beside the sofa, and dog toys and chew sticks scattered on the floor and tables. Two large marrow bones lay around. It was clear this family cared deeply for their dog.

Li Li’s parents had gone out searching for the dog and weren’t at home.

Hu Yuanfei looked around and asked, “What kind of dog? When was it lost?”

Li Li hurriedly pulled out his phone to show a video. “It’s a Golden Retriever named Yuanbao. Very gentle, just two years old. I usually work during the day, so my parents take care of him. If I get off early, I take him for a walk in the evening. But last night I had to work overtime, so my dad walked him. Every time they go out, he’s on a leash and they always go to familiar places—from the front door to the park, play for a while, then come back. The dog was still there when they left, but near home, my dad saw some people playing cards on the roadside and stopped to watch. He said he didn’t watch long, but I don’t know exactly how long. When he was about to leave, he realized Yuanbao was missing from the leash. He asked around, but no one saw anything.”

It was already dark then. Winter nights were cold, and passersby paid no attention to the whereabouts of a Golden Retriever. Li Li searched the nearby shops one by one until he finally saw signs of Yuanbao running on a certain street segment. Surveillance footage showed the dog running forward, not returning home. They didn’t know what he was chasing.

“We just moved here this year. He’s always been leashed and taken to fixed spots. I don’t know how far he could have run. I thought he might have gone back to his old home, but we checked—no luck. He’s very well-behaved and knows this route well. Many people in the community know him. Even if he got lost, he would be waiting somewhere in the neighborhood for us. But we can’t find him anywhere. I think he must have been caught by someone.”

Li Li said sadly. The whole family loved this dog and treated him like one of their own.

“I also checked the dog leash later. It was a bit loose from wear and tear. It’s my fault for not checking it properly.”

Hu Yuanfei comforted him, “No one wants accidents. The important thing now is to find your dog.”

“Exactly. You’re professionals at finding pets. Please, you must help me find Yuanbao. I promise I’ll reward you well once he’s found.”

Hu Yuanfei loved hearing words like that and immediately headed outside. “Let’s go find him.”

The dog’s scent was strong in the apartment; he didn’t even need to sniff the dog’s belongings to remember the smell.

Li Li was a bit dumbfounded when they turned to leave so quickly and followed after them.

“Wait, you’re going straight out? Not going to look around more? What’s the plan?”

They all waited for the elevator together. The two monsters noticed the crack in the neighbor’s door was still slightly open, and those eyes remained.

The elevator was slow. Lang Xiao, growing impatient under the gaze, was about to act when suddenly the neighbor’s door swung open.

A middle-aged woman in thick pajamas came out carrying a trash bag, yelling loudly, “Wu Zijie! What are you standing there for? Have you finished your homework? Want to go out again? You’re always roaming around, do you think your father or mother is outside? Get inside now!”

She tugged a boy out by the arm.

The boy looked about thirteen or fourteen, stocky and dark-skinned, not very tall, with short, spiky hair. He shot his mother an annoyed glance, then looked at their group before quickly running back inside.

Hu Yuanfei and Lang Xiao twitched their noses and glanced at the boy a few more times.

Just then the elevator doors opened. The woman hurried in with the trash bag.

Inside the cramped elevator, they had to stand tightly facing each other. The woman glanced at Hu Yuanfei and the others, then casually greeted Li Li.

“Dali, is this your relative? What do they do? Your child’s so pretty!”

Li Li’s mouth twitched, reluctant to respond. He said curtly, “Friends.”

“Oh, friends. Why haven’t I seen you before? Here to help find your dog? Still haven’t found him? I tell you, it’s been a whole day and night. That dog’s probably been taken by some dog trader and killed. You’re just wasting your time. I’ve always said owning a dog is a bad idea—dirty, smelly, noisy. I couldn’t sleep well because of it; nearly had a nervous breakdown. The doctor told me to get more pets, but I was about to talk to you about it. Now look, it’s quiet. No need to buy this or that for the dog. Wouldn’t it be better to spend that money on yourselves?”

Li Li’s anger surged. His fists clenched tightly. If not for his restraint, he would have punched her in the face.

Yuanbao had been gone long enough. He rarely barked or made noise at home. No neighbors upstairs or downstairs had ever complained about the dog. It was the neighbor next door who had been picking fights since they moved in, complaining to the property management countless times.

“Enough!” Li Li shouted, startling the woman. She was about to retort but the elevator doors opened. Li Li strode out, and the woman barely managed to call after him, “Watch your language!”

Once they were some distance away, Li Li relaxed. “Sorry, the neighbors here have always been like this. We’ve tolerated it for a long time. If it weren’t for the house, we’d have moved already. My parents are planning to sell the place and move once we find the dog. Living next to people like this is a heart attack waiting to happen.”

Hu Yuanfei casually agreed. He didn’t like noisy neighbors either. Thankfully, their current neighbors were an elderly couple—only the TV was loud sometimes, but otherwise peaceful.

At the community gate, Hu Yuanfei stopped Li Li from going further.

“The dog’s not in the community. We’re going out now to look. You stay home and wait.”

Li Li blinked, puzzled and surprised. “You already know where to look?”

Months of experience had taught Hu Yuanfei to keep some secrets. He shook his head. “That’s hard to say. We have our own methods. We’ll definitely find your dog.”

With that, he and Lang Xiao headed toward the roadside. Li Li watched their backs until they disappeared, still unsure if this was reliable.

Outside, the two monsters sniffed the air eagerly. The Golden Retriever had always walked this route, and the scent marks from its urine were strong and clear along the roadside, almost overwhelming their noses.

Qingyao looked left and right, then imitated them, trying to sniff with great effort.

“Sniff sniff.”

The two monsters turned to look at her and saw her furrowing her brow, trying hard to sniff the air. Afterward, she wiped her nose with her hand.

Why wasn’t her nose moving?