⌈Don’t eat any of it.⌋
“Crunch, crunch.”
The sound of Da Huang gnawing on the chicken drumstick echoed around the dinner table.
Oblivious to the tense undercurrents at the table, Da Huang, being just a simple dog, focused on his meal. His owner had allowed him to eat, so he happily indulged.
The little dog devoured his food with gusto, even nudging the plate around with his snout, making it clink and clang.
A heavy silence settled over the rest of the table.
Lu Ran’s actions had been so quick, so brazen, that everyone was left dumbfounded. By the time Da Huang had eaten half of the chicken drumstick, no one had yet processed what had just happened.
Madam Shen’s chopsticks, poised to grab a chicken leg, froze mid-air.
Shen Xingran, who had been reaching out his hand to take food, also halted, stunned.
It wasn’t until Lu Ran pulled the chicken bone out of Da Huang’s mouth, saying, “Hey, cooked bones aren’t safe for dogs,” that the silence broke.
“Ah!”
Madam Shen let out a sharp scream.
She had completely forgotten her carefully cultivated etiquette. With her chopsticks, she alternated between pointing at Lu Ran, who was casually eating, and Da Huang, who was chomping away at the food beside him. “You—you dare let a dog sit at the table? And steal Xingran’s chicken leg?!”
As she spoke, Lu Ran had already snatched the second chicken leg and placed it on Da Huang’s plate.
Shen Xingran was equally flabbergasted by Lu Ran’s audacity.
However, he quickly recovered and feigned a frightened expression at the sight of Da Huang, violently pushing his chair back with a loud screech.
Though stunned by the two slaps Lu Ran had given him earlier, deep down, Shen Xingran was actually a little pleased.
If Lu Ran kept acting this way, there was no way the Shen family couple would ever accept him. This meant he no longer had to worry about his position in the Shen household being threatened.
Despite his satisfaction, a lingering sense of unease crept in—those slaps had genuinely hurt.
As he moved his chair back, the scraping of wood against the floor created a piercing sound.
Normally, such a noise would have immediately drawn the attention of Madam Shen and Shen Hongyuan, but no one asked after him.
Confused, Shen Xingran lifted his head, only to find Madam Shen clutching her chest, on the verge of fainting from anger.
Shen Hongyuan, on the other hand, was gripping his chopsticks so tightly that his hand was shaking, his eyes glaring daggers at Lu Ran.
Although Shen Hongyuan and Madam Shen were furious, their focus remained entirely on Lu Ran.
Shen Xingran felt a surge of frustration and glanced over at Shen Xingzhuo.
Shen Xingzhuo, however, wasn’t looking at Lu Ran. Instead, he stared blankly at the yellow dog licking its plate, lost in thought.
Shen Xingran had no choice but to speak up, “Dad, Mom, please don’t get so upset!”
He looked up at Lu Ran as if wanting to say something, but then timidly lowered his head and covered his cheek. “The dog… it’s kind of cute…”
Despite calling the dog cute, his hand still rested on the “bite” mark left on his other hand.
“Lu Ran! What are you doing? Get that dog out of here!” Shen Hongyuan shouted, slamming his hand on the table.
“Hurry and take it away! Look at how it scared Ranran. Ranran, don’t be afraid, it’s just a dog…” Madam Shen tried to comfort Shen Xingran.
“Maybe… maybe Brother just likes this dog too much,” Shen Xingran said softly while preparing some tea1not literally.
Meanwhile, the sound of “Crunch, crunch” came from Lu Ran and Da Huang, as they continued enjoying their meal.
Completely ignoring the chaos around him, Lu Ran kept eating, unmoved by the drama unfolding at the table. The food prepared by the Shen family’s expensive chef was a far cry from the tasteless fare served at his school’s cafeteria. Besides, because of Shen Xingran’s “serious injuries”, Madam Shen had instructed the kitchen to use less oil and salt, making many dishes perfectly suitable for Da Huang to enjoy.
“You’re still eating?!”
“Lu Ran, have you lost your mind?! First, your dog bites your brother, then you slap him twice, and now you dare to bring that same dog to the table? Do you even respect me as the head of this family?” Shen Hongyuan was livid at Lu Ran’s blatant disregard.
Middle-aged, Shen Hongyuan had grown accustomed to expressing his anger during meals. His three sons each reacted differently to his outbursts, but they all reacted—except for Lu Ran, whose indifference stoked Shen Hongyuan’s fury.
Lu Ran picked up an entire slice of salmon, making it clear with his actions that he couldn’t care less about Shen Hongyuan’s authority as the head of the family.
“Do you think now that you’ve returned to the Shen family, you can do whatever you want?”
“Look at your brother, and then look at yourself! What are you, besides a source of trouble for this family? What else can you do?”
“And what are you studying? Veterinary medicine? Do you want me to tell everyone that my, Shen Hongyuan, son is a veterinarian?”
But Lu Ran remained focused on his meal, paying no attention to Shen Hongyuan’s ranting.
Da Huang seemed to sense that the human across the table was scolding his owner. He stopped eating the meat in his bowl and lifted his head, gazing at Lu Ran with those dark, concerned eyes.
Shen Hongyuan’s words were all coming from his heart. The pain of losing his youngest son had long faded. When he first heard that Lu Ran had been found, his initial reaction was annoyance.
If Lu Ran turned out to be successful, that would be one thing, but if he wasn’t, it would reflect poorly on the Shen family’s reputation. Now, all his pent-up frustration was being unleashed.
“And you dare ask for one billion? Do you think it wasn’t your fault you got lost back then? It happened because you ran off! You’ve been nothing but trouble for this family since the day you were born!”
“That director from the orphanage, that Lu guy—is that how he raised you? No wonder he died of illness last year. Karma!”
Hearing this, Lu Ran’s movements paused for a moment. He calmly pressed Da Huang’s head down and whispered, “Keep eating.”
At first, everyone at the table was focused on Shen Hongyuan’s scolding. Only Lu Ran continued eating, but he and Da Huang ate with such enjoyment that it almost felt like watching a live food broadcast.
Watching them eat, someone’s stomach audibly growled.
Madam Shen couldn’t help but tug on Shen Hongyuan’s sleeve, signaling him to let it go. Eating was more important right now.
Even Shen Hongyuan, who had been ranting, began to feel hungry. As he reached for his chopsticks, Lu Ran suddenly burped, took a napkin, and wiped his mouth.
He looked at the others, who hadn’t yet touched their food, and smiled calmly.
“If you don’t want to eat, then don’t.”
The Shen family members, just about to dig in, were taken aback.
Then Lu Ran turned to Da Huang and said, “Da Huang, don’t hold it in. Go poop.”
The moment those last two words came out, everyone at the table thought they were hearing things. Even Da Huang was stunned for a second.
He looked a bit embarrassed and glanced at Lu Ran as if asking for confirmation, then barked.
“Do it,” Lu Ran said simply.
Da Huang anxiously spun in a circle on the chair before finally hopping down and, on the floor, left a healthy pile of dog poop.
The distinctive smell began to waft through the room.
The Shen family, chopsticks in hand, turned green.
Even Shen Xingran lost control of his expression, his features twisting in disgust.
“You—you!” Shen Hongyuan, who had been yelling all this time, now had trembling lips.
The next second, Lu Ran stood up, his face calm.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a plastic dog waste bag, without hesitation picking up Da Huang’s poop from the floor.
But he didn’t leave.
Under the horrified gaze of the entire Shen family, Lu Ran, with one foot on a chair, climbed onto the dining table, holding the bag of poop in his hand.
With a swift kick, he knocked over the dishes and began to wildly swing the bag around.
In an instant, chaos erupted. It was pure, indiscriminate carnage.
Shen Xingran instinctively wanted to scream but immediately shut his mouth when he felt something unknown brush past his face.
Amidst the chaos, Lu Ran first approached Madam Shen.
While swinging the bag, he pointed at Shen Xingran and asked, “Do you think he’s the one being wronged?”
Madam Shen was in complete shock.
Her eyes were glued to the bag in Lu Ran’s hand, her whole body pressing back into the chair, arms raised high as if even her hair was screaming for distance.
Lu Ran was displeased with her reaction. He crouched on the table, inching closer. “You think he’s wronged? What does that have to do with me? If you want to be a doormat for your adopted son, fine, but don’t drag me into it.”
“Or do you think I’m not wronged? Huh?”
Madam Shen, too terrified to speak, frantically waved her hands, her mouth tightly shut: “Mmm! No, no! You’re right!”
After venting at her, Lu Ran turned his sharp, dark gaze to Shen Hongyuan, who had been cursing him for ages.
Shen Hongyuan, trying to remain tough, pointed at Lu Ran, about to say something more.
Lu Ran swiftly extended the bag toward him!
Shen Hongyuan’s eyes rolled back; he nearly fainted.
But Lu Ran didn’t let him. Holding the poop bag in one hand, he waved it in front of Shen Hongyuan’s face, while gripping his shoulder with the other, starting his interrogation.
“Who were you just talking about getting karma? Who gave you the right to insult Director Lu? You think you’re worthy?”
Shen Hongyuan stared at the poop in his face, first nodding, then realizing his mistake and shaking his head furiously.
“Say something! Didn’t you have a lot to say earlier?” Lu Ran’s tone wasn’t harsh, but it was unsettlingly calm.
Combined with his pitch-black eyes, there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that he was about to smear the contents of that bag across someone’s face.
For the first time in his life, Shen Hongyuan, patriarch of the Shen family, faced a life-threatening crisis. He could only purse his lips and force out a reply: “I—I’m not worthy!”
Lu Ran continued, “You insulted my profession? Veterinary medicine isn’t good enough? Say that again.”
The bag of poop was now mere inches from Shen Hongyuan’s nose.
Half-conscious, Shen Hongyuan retreated, using all his business instincts to flatter: “Good! Good! It has… great prospects!”
Only then did Lu Ran release him.
He turned his attention to Shen Xingran.
Shen Xingran, who had already stood up, tried to run but was yanked back by his hair.
“Run? Aren’t you the perfect son? When your parents are being threatened with dog poop, shouldn’t you stand by them and face it together? Why are you running?”
Shen Xingran dared not move a muscle.
Lu Ran, still holding the bag, pointed at Da Huang: “Let me ask you again, who bit your hand?”
Shen Xingran hesitated, still wanting to stick to his story.
Lu Ran showed him the tear in the garbage bag he was holding.
This time, Shen Xingran wasn’t faking it—he was genuinely about to cry.
For the first time in his life, he confessed honestly, shouting, “It was me! I did it to myself!”
While Lu Ran was questioning Shen Xingran, Shen Xingzhuo had already backed away from the table.
As someone who had always protected his younger brother, he probably wanted to step in and save him. But seeing what Lu Ran held in his hand, for the first time ever, he hesitated for a few seconds.
In those few seconds, Lu Ran turned and hurled the garbage bag toward him.
With a loud “splat”, the barely intact bag hit Shen Xingzhuo’s expensive leather jacket.
The leather was stiff.
The room fell into a stunned silence.
The other three members of the Shen family stood frozen, watching as the thin garbage bag, almost in slow motion, deformed under the pressure.
And then… it gave way.
Finally, a “squish” sound rang out.
The contents splattered everywhere—far and wide, high and low.
Standing closest, Shen Xingran felt warm, tiny droplets hit his face. He instinctively turned his head to the side.
He still hadn’t fully grasped what was on his face.
Then, the semi-solid contents completed their trajectory, raining down in a series of “splats”.
The Shen family sat in stunned silence, their expressions dazed.
For a moment, it felt like they were dreaming—no one even thought to move, let alone scream.
When the “rain” finally ceased, Lu Ran, who had swiftly dodged to the side with Da Huang in his arms, stepped forward.
He walked up to Shen Xingzhuo.
The second son of the Shen family was completely petrified, his eyes vacant.
“You think you could get away?” Lu Ran kicked him hard. “You wanted to kill my dog? Eat shit!”
He kicked Shen Xingzhuo several more times.
Under the horrified gaze of the rest of the family, Lu Ran then yanked the garbage bag off Shen Xingzhuo and slammed it down onto the dining table with force.
The Shen family flinched in unison.
With one foot on the chair and Da Huang in his arms, Lu Ran shouted:
“From today onward, no one in this house will ever dare to speak to me or my dog with disrespect again!”
