Chapter 62: The Prelude to Meeting the Parents
According to Lin Xia’s plan, once Ergou got hungry, he would lure the dog onto the treadmill with food, rewarding him with a piece of kibble every so often. This way, Ergou would start moving.
But Lin Xia realized he had been too naive. As the saying goes, “a dead pig isn’t afraid of boiling water”—Lin Xia’s fasting strategy was largely ineffective on Ergou. When hungry, Ergou would get up to look for food. If no one gave him any, he would just go back to lying down. His message was clear: If you don’t feed me, I won’t eat. I don’t believe you’d dare starve me to death.
Ergou refused to play by the rules, rendering Lin Xia’s plan unimplementable. This gave Lin Xia a real headache.
“Who did you learn this from?!” Lin Xia poked Ergou’s solid rump in frustration.
“Brother Lin, what should we do?” Xiao Pang asked, munching on a chicken leg while reclining on the sofa like a salted fish.
He and Wang Ziyu couldn’t resist ordering burgers and fried chicken legs, eating with gusto while Ergou drooled all over the floor from the aroma.
“It’s tricky. Ergou has no desire to lose weight, and he isn’t afraid of threats.” Ergou not only lacked motivation but also had no fear of fasting. He knew Lin Xia and the others wouldn’t actually starve him, so he just had to endure the hunger.
Lin Xia shook his head helplessly, planning to go on a pet forum to ask his peers for advice.
After Lin Xia left, Xiao Pang, who had been lying on the sofa, immediately sat up. He grabbed a handful of kibble from his pocket and fed it to Ergou.
“Keep it down. Don’t let Brother Lin find out, or you won’t get anything to eat,” Xiao Pang whispered to Ergou.
Xiao Pang had a deep bond with Ergou and couldn’t bear to see him go hungry; Ergou’s hunger pained him the most. Although Ergou was on a diet, he had only fed him a handful of kibble—not even a tenth of his usual intake—so it should be fine. Besides, where would he get the strength to lose weight without eating?
After Ergou licked the last piece of kibble from Xiao Pang’s hand, Xiao Pang carefully wiped the dog’s mouth and picked up the crumbs, destroying the evidence so Lin Xia wouldn’t notice. Once everything was done, Xiao Pang returned to the sofa as if nothing had happened.
Little did he know, Lin Xia was sitting at the counter, watching Xiao Pang’s every move on the computer monitor. He finally understood who gave Ergou such fearless courage. No wonder Big Sister Sui said they had controlled Ergou’s food intake after the last checkup, yet the dog still got fatter and fatter—it turned out Xiao Pang was constantly sneaking him food.
Ergou was getting fatter, and Xiao Pang was getting fatter too. If this continued, it would sooner or later affect their health. Lin Xia had reminded Big Sister Sui, but she was also helpless; she couldn’t control Xiao Pang. Even when scolded, Xiao Pang continued to overeat. Lin Xia predicted that if Big Sister Sui continued to let Xiao Pang eat like this, one day Xiao Pang would become like Ergou—severely overweight and struggling to walk.
“Aowu?” Daddy, what are you thinking about? Seeing Lin Xia spacing out, the White Dumpling knew he was deep in thought.
“Nothing.” Lin Xia snapped out of it and picked up the White Dumpling. His baby was still the best—obedient, sensible, cute, and clever. No need to worry about him.
“Aowu?” Daddy, when is Papi coming to the pet shop? the White Dumpling asked again.
“Papi will come over after having lunch at Great-Grandma’s. Papi’s grandma made small cakes for Baby, he’ll bring them to you later.” Tang Yinlang had said he needed to stay and have lunch with his grandparents. His grandmother had made some cakes for the granddaughter-in-law and great-grandson she had never met, which he would bring over when he came to the pet shop.
“Aowu!” Happy to have small cakes to eat! The White Dumpling stood on his tiptoes happily, holding onto Lin Xia as he spun in a circle.
Watching the White Dumpling spin, Lin Xia really wanted to buy him a pink dress; he would surely look adorable spinning in it.
Unaware of Lin Xia’s little thought, the White Dumpling finished spinning and picked up the phone to chat with Tang Yinlang.
“Aowu?” Papi, are you coming over yet? The White Dumpling sent a voice message to Tang Yinlang.
“Still eating. Have you guys eaten?” Tang Yinlang replied instantly.
“Aowu…” An An and Daddy ate Maocai. An An ate lots of big meatballs… The White Dumpling seriously described what he had for lunch to Tang Yinlang.
“It seems An An is very full. Do you still have room for Great-Grandma’s small cakes?” Tang Yinlang chuckled, causing the others at the table to look over curiously.
“Is that my precious great-grandson?” Tiger Grandma stopped eating and asked.
“It’s An An.” Tang Yinlang nodded.
“Can I speak to him?” The little great-grandson’s voice was soft and adorable, sounding incredibly cute.
“Let me ask.” Since he hadn’t yet properly introduced Lin Xia and the White Dumpling to his grandparents, Tang Yinlang thought it might not be appropriate for his grandmother to speak to An An abruptly.
“An An, Great-Grandma wants to talk to you, is that okay?” Tang Yinlang asked for the White Dumpling’s opinion.
“Aowu?” Daddy, Papi says Great-Grandma wants to talk to An An. Is that okay? The White Dumpling immediately asked Lin Xia.
“Of course. Great-Grandma is Papi’s family, which means she is Baby’s family too. We will visit them in the future.” Being with Tang Yinlang meant inevitably interacting with his relatives. Lin Xia planned to find a suitable day soon to visit them and officially introduce the White Dumpling to the family.
“Aowu!” Okay! The White Dumpling wagged his tail and continued chatting.
“Aowu!” Hello, Great-Grandma!
The soft, incredibly sweet voice came through the phone screen and into everyone’s ears. Tang Yinlang had switched to speaker mode and turned the volume up to the max so his grandmother could hear clearly, allowing everyone to hear the little tiger cub’s voice.
“Hello, An An!” Hearing the White Dumpling greet her, Tiger Grandma smiled so broadly her eyes disappeared into wrinkles of joy.
“Aowu?” Great-Grandma, did you make small cakes for An An? The White Dumpling was fixated on the cakes. The pastries Great-Grandma made last time were delicious, so the small cakes must be yummy too.
“Yes, I put melon seeds and nuts on the cakes. They are very fragrant; An An will definitely like them,” Tiger Grandma said, beaming.
“Aowu!” Wow! An An really wants to eat them, wants to eat them right now! Just listening made the White Dumpling drool.
“Then I’ll make A-Lang finish eating quickly so he can bring the cakes to you…” Hearing the sound of the White Dumpling swallowing his saliva, Tiger Grandma hurriedly urged Tang Yinlang to eat faster.
“…” So now that you have a great-grandson, you don’t care about your grandson anymore, right? Tang Yinlang was speechless, but he sped up his eating, wiped his mouth, grabbed the cakes, and left.
A day apart feels like three autumns. He had been separated from Lin Xia for less than half a day, but he missed him terribly and couldn’t wait to see him.
While the White Dumpling was chatting with Tiger Grandma, Lin Xia looked up some information to give Ergou motivation for his diet plan.
Seeing Xiao Pang and Ergou together gave Lin Xia a sudden idea.
The solution was simple: make Xiao Pang join Ergou in losing weight. With his owner setting an example, Ergou would follow suit and get moving. Ergou’s unwillingness to diet and lack of fear toward threats stemmed mainly from having Xiao Pang backing him up. If Xiao Pang was willing to lose weight, there was a high chance Ergou would follow.
The trickiest part was getting Xiao Pang to lose weight. Xiao Pang was the type who would never sit if he could lie down, making it very difficult to get him to exercise. But Lin Xia already had a plan in mind; he wasn’t worried about Xiao Pang refusing.
Lin Xia printed out the compiled information and went to find Xiao Pang.
Xiao Pang finished the last bite of his burger, hastily wiped his mouth with a napkin, and then saw Lin Xia walking over with a serious expression.
“Brother Lin, is something wrong?” Lin Xia pulled up a chair and sat opposite him, looking like he had something important to discuss.
“Xiao Pang, I saw you secretly feeding Ergou just now.” Lin Xia said with disappointment. He rarely used such a tone, which made Xiao Pang break out in a cold sweat involuntarily. “Maybe you think it doesn’t matter if Ergou eats a little bit. True, Ergou ate very little. But that’s not what I want to talk about. I want to talk about your attitude toward Ergou.”
Lin Xia continued seriously, “Ergou would rather go hungry than move because he knows you’ll feed him. Moreover, Ergou has learned your attitude and lifestyle. Like owner, like pet—however you act, Ergou follows. Honestly, sometimes I feel you and Ergou are quite similar in certain aspects.”
“This…” Xiao Pang wanted to say Lin Xia was exaggerating, but thinking about his and Ergou’s behavior, he realized Lin Xia had a point. At home, he always liked to lie on the sofa watching TV while eating, and Ergou would lie on the floor eating; he didn’t like to move, and neither did Ergou. Actually, when Ergou was a puppy, he was quite lively and loved to jump around.
“I suppose no one has ever explained the consequences of canine obesity to you in detail. Let me explain it to you now.” Lin Xia took out the printed materials, which listed the consequences of obesity in dogs along with some case studies.
Obesity in dogs not only easily leads to high blood pressure and heart disease, but the excess weight also burdens the dog’s body, damaging their joints…
Lin Xia listed them one by one, supporting his points with examples and showing Xiao Pang the heartfelt regrets of owners whose dogs were overly obese.
Xiao Pang was deeply touched after reading them. He hadn’t thought obesity would lead to such serious consequences. No one had told him that being overweight could cause severe problems. Since he was fat himself, he thought it was no big deal—aside from being less agile, everything else seemed fine. So, initially, Xiao Pang felt it didn’t matter if Ergou couldn’t lose weight, as long as he could eat, drink, and move.
But today, Lin Xia taught him a lesson, and he realized his actions were harming Ergou. Ergou was getting fatter because of his example and indulgence. If Ergou suffered because of obesity, then he would be the sinner who harmed him.
Lin Xia said that if this continued, Ergou’s lifespan would likely be… Xiao Pang wanted Ergou to be with him for a long time. The thought of Ergou leaving early due to obesity made his heart feel as if a piece had been gouged out.
“Brother Lin, I know I was wrong. I won’t feed Ergou randomly anymore.” Xiao Pang admitted his mistake and pleaded sincerely. “Brother Lin, you must help Ergou lose weight…”
“I want to help Ergou lose weight too, but Ergou has no desire to do so. Forcing him won’t work.” Lin Xia chuckled inwardly; the fish had taken the bait.
“Then what should we do? Ergou can’t not lose weight!” Xiao Pang said anxiously.
“How about this: you set an example for Ergou and lose weight together with him…”
Author’s Note: Getting ready to meet the parents…
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