Lin Wan returned with bottled water and a pack of chicken breast.
Silas Moore—currently wearing the body of a husky known to the world as Er'gou—had set the tablet aside. He was now staring at the interactive button toy like a strategist contemplating a battlefield. Several buttons. Different colors. Different sounds.
Opportunity sparked in Lin Wan's eyes.
She tore open the chicken breast, ripped it into thin strips, then lifted the toy.
Clear diction. Regal tone.
"Zhen… is hungry."
She hit record.
Pressed the button.
The toy replayed her voice in a comically electronic echo:
"Zhen… is hungry."
She placed a chicken strip before the button and pointed.
"Press this. Food."
Er'gou looked at her.
That look.
The unmistakable expression of a fallen superstar being asked to perform kindergarten-level cognition exercises.
Do you take me for an idiot?
Lin Wan slid the chicken closer.
The scent drifted.
Er'gou's nose twitched.One ear tilted.Three seconds of internal dignity-versus-desire warfare.
A paw descended.
Click.
"Zhen… is hungry."
Lin Wan immediately rewarded him.
Chicken delivered.
He chewed with visible disdain.
But—
the tip of his tail betrayed him.
A faint, involuntary flick.
Lin Wan grinned and kept going.
She recorded more lines:
"Rise.""Fool.""Coffee."
(That one made Er'gou's ears snap upright.)
"Action!"
Food rotated between buttons.
Er'gou began pressing.
At first sloppy.
Wrong buttons triggered.
"Fool."
Dog biscuit.
Lin Wan's doing.
Er'gou bared his teeth in offended royalty.
But learning curves bowed before genius.
Within minutes—
perfect precision.
Especially the Coffee button.
Pressed with suspicious enthusiasm.
Then something changed.
The game stopped being a humiliation exercise.
It became…
Interesting.
Er'gou lifted a paw.
Pressed:
"Action!"
Immediately—
"Zhen… is hungry."
Then—
"Fool."
He paused.
Eyes drifting to Coffee.
Hesitation.
Calculation.
He did not press it.
Instead—
he raised his head and fixed Lin Wan with a level, icy-blue stare.
Message unmistakable:
Scene complete.Bring coffee.
(Yes, even if it tasted like liquid betrayal.)
Lin Wan burst out laughing.
She poured water into his bowl.
"No coffee. Hydration's free."
Er'gou stared at the bowl.
Then at the Coffee button.
Then smacked the button with a deeply resentful paw.
Only after expressing maximum protest did he lower his head to drink.
Training session paused.
Dignity partially restored.
Afterward, Er'gou wandered toward the pile of magazines.
Nose nudging.
Paw flipping pages with surprising delicacy.
He ignored entertainment sections entirely.
(No interest in past scandals or rival faces.)
Stopped at finance.
A feature article:
Equity Shifts in Emerging Biotech Firms
He froze.
Blue eyes sharpened.
He leaned closer.
Studied.
Then—
a paw tapped a specific name.
Once.
Twice.
Lin Wan noticed.
Didn't interrupt.
Didn't understand.
But remembered.
Next—
fashion section.
Glossy spreads of haute couture suits.
Er'gou's gaze turned critical.
Scanning like a veteran judge at Fashion Week.
Reject. Reject. Mediocre. Overdesigned. Tragic.
Then—
he stopped.
A deep gray suit.
Flawless tailoring.
Clean lines.
Authority incarnate.
From Er'gou's throat came a soft sound.
Almost…
admiration.
Then—
he lifted a paw.
And tried to tear the page out.
"Hey! That's a magazine!"
Lin Wan lunged to stop him.
Pause.
Turn.
Er'gou looked at her as if she had just obstructed the preservation of high art.
This cut deserves to be archived.
He tore off a corner anyway.
Clamped it gently between his teeth.
Trotted to the room's corner.
Placed it beside another relic—
a shredded scrap featuring a rival actor's smug face.
Two fragments.
One born of contempt.
One of taste.
Lin Wan stared.
"…Your grudges and aesthetics are both disturbingly refined."
Night deepened.
Silence thickened inside Xinghe Cinema's decaying shell.
Lin Wan cleaned the small cot enough to qualify as "barely survivable."
Er'gou leapt up—
and, with absolute entitlement—
claimed most of it.
Lin Wan squeezed into the remaining space.
Sleep refused to come.
Too many thoughts.
Entropy.Gas attacks.Underground safehouses.A husky who could dismantle PR assassinations and critique suit tailoring.
She turned her head.
Looked at him.
Moonlight filtered through torn curtains, silvering gray-white fur.
When asleep—
Er'gou looked…
ordinary.
Just a handsome, slightly dramatic dog.
No trace of the industry legend trapped beneath.
Lin Wan reached out.
Gently stroked one ear.
The ear twitched.
A sleepy rumble vibrated from his throat.
And unconsciously—
he nudged closer to her hand.
Seeking warmth.
Comfort.
Trust.
Something softened inside her chest.
Superstar.Experiment survivor.Self-proclaimed "Zhen."
Right now—
he was hers to protect.
Her responsibility.
Her partner.
Her most absurd disaster.
And somehow—
her strongest shield.
Lin Wan closed her eyes.
Whispered:
"Good night, Your Highness."
"Tomorrow… we keep acting."
"Because dog life—"
She smiled faintly.
"—is still life on stage."
In the darkness—
Er'gou's tail brushed the bedsheet.
Light.
Soft.
Almost…
a reply.
Moonlight flowed.
Dust settled.
Outside, the ruined cinema slept.
Inside—
a new script was already waiting.
And this time,
the stage would be larger.
And far more dangerous.