With the first argument came the second. Zhang Chang gradually realized that he and Duo Duo had no shared hobbies or interests. The adorable qualities he had once seen in her no longer seemed enough to sustain the relationship. It was like Tokyo Tower and Xi Gua—they got along fine when outside but would fight if confined to the same room. Disappointed and increasingly irritable, Zhang Chang couldn’t help but feel that their differences were insurmountable. Duo Duo, however, remained as calm and indifferent as ever. It felt as though Zhang Chang had only one option left. When Duo Duo returned from a business trip, he finally said, “Our personalities aren’t compatible. Let’s break up.”
For once, Duo Duo was so angry her face turned red. “Give me Xi Gua, and I’ll leave immediately.”
Although they broke up, they still lived in the same residential area, with buildings so close that it was impossible not to run into each other. Zhang Chang often encountered Duo Duo walking Xi Gua. The dog was just as affectionate as ever, straining against the leash and desperately trying to run to him. Duo Duo, for her part, didn’t hold a grudge. She greeted him with the same distant politeness as before.
Zhang Chang couldn’t shake the feeling that something was unresolved, a lingering unease he couldn’t explain.
One night, Duo Duo suddenly called him in a panic. Xi Gua was vomiting and had diarrhea, accompanied by a high fever. Duo Duo was so flustered she didn’t know what to do. In the middle of the night, with no one else to turn to, she thought of Zhang Chang.
He quickly dressed, went downstairs, and drove her and Xi Gua to the emergency pet clinic. After Xi Gua received IV fluids, Duo Duo, utterly exhausted, let out a yawn, tilted her head to one side, and fell asleep on a bench.
Zhang Chang watched as her head bobbed, gradually leaning further off the edge of the bench. Unable to bear it, he adjusted his position slightly, letting her head rest against his shoulder. She slept deeply and soundly, her small head nestled comfortably against him.
By the time Xi Gua finished its IV drip, it was already 3 a.m. Duo Duo sat in the passenger seat, rubbing her eyes and thanking Zhang Chang. He couldn’t hold back his curiosity any longer and asked, “Why would a girl like you decide to get a sled dog like this?”
Duo Duo, slightly embarrassed, told him the truth: “I’m really lazy. I hate any kind of exercise. People said Huskies are super energetic and playful, and that walking them is great for losing weight, so I got one…” She gently stroked Xi Gua’s head, her tone softening. “At first, I wasn’t used to it at all. The dog turned my house into a complete mess, and even when I was dead tired, I still had to walk it. I wanted to give it away. But after a while, things changed. No matter how exhausted or lazy I was, I’d come home, see it locked up all day, and feel like I had to take it out for a walk. Before I knew it, it became an essential part of my life.”
Her smile was faint, hidden in the car’s darkness. “I guess it’s what people call ‘starting with the wrong intentions but growing attached over time.’”
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