Just as Wen Nan was lost in thought, a message popped up in his mind from the Wenna Guild's chat group—

[Winter.: My portable item was taken by a dog]

[Winter.: What should I do]

[Winter.: Help, please QAQ]

[Chill Wind: ?]

[Chill Wind: Why did you give your portable item to a dog?]

[Chill Wind: Oh, I remember now, you're trying to conquer a dog, right?]

[Chill Wind: My condolences]

[Winter.: No, don't say that, can someone help me?]

[Winter.: Little P.'s saliva is so corrosive, if it melts my portable item, am I done for?]

[Jiu cilang: The item and the dog are with me @Winter.]

[Chill Wind: ?]

[Winter.: ! Great! I'll head upstairs now! President, wait for me!]

Closing the chat box, Wen Nan looked at the huge Chow Chows in front of him.

This fellow, even lying down, had a belly almost as high as Wen Nan's waist, like a giant brown bear.

Seeing Wen Nan's gaze on itself, the Chow Chows' eyes filled with anticipation, its tongue hanging out one side of its mouth, drooling all over the floor.

It made a "hum-hum" sound in its throat and wiggled its body, every hair pleading for a pat.

Wen Nan sighed, bent down, and gently patted the dog's clean, saliva-free belly.

Surprisingly, it was quite soft.

The Chow Chows' huge paw landed on Wen Nan's hand, pressing down on the candle he was holding, and looked between its tail and the candle, then back at its tail again.

Wen Nan paused for a moment, and finally activated the skill—

9527: [Your skill Mind Reading Technique is now in effect, total duration 10 minutes.]

That eager voice immediately echoed in his mind—

'Brother, brother! Little P. really likes you!'

'Brother, brother! Pat Little P.'s head! Quickly pat Little P.'s head!'

'Pat Little P.'s belly! Quickly pat Little P.'s belly! Mm~ mm~ comfortable, comfortable, so comfortable~ Little P. loves having its belly patted by brother the most!'

Wen Nan: ...

No, you don't want to!

Can this Mind Reading Technique be turned off midway?

Whose dog is this, has it accidentally entered spring?

"President!"

Xu Dongsheng gasped as he ran upstairs, seeing the big dog lying with its belly exposed in front of Wen Nan, he nervously covered his mouth, holding his breath, and cautiously approached.

The big dog had already smelled Xu Dongsheng's scent, its eyes turned towards him, but quickly looked back at Wen Nan, continuing to wildly hint with its eyes for Wen Nan to use the candle.

Wen Nan sighed and directly handed the candle back to Xu Dongsheng.

The dog's previously open mouth immediately closed, it stopped smiling, turned over and stood up, pulling its ears back, and lowered its tail, looking at Xu Dongsheng with a hint of wariness.

Xu Dongsheng also looked at Little P. apprehensively, after all, it was a beast that constantly drooled "concentrated sulfuric acid".

Seeing the person and the dog staring each other down, Wen Nan felt a bit helpless, thought for a moment, and handed Xu Dongsheng the [Little P.'s Meat Bone] he'd obtained from a previous side quest.

Wen Nan guessed that Little P. liked him so much probably because he had thrown this meat bone to it twice before, gaining two extra friendship emotion points.

Since it was now clear Little P. was Xu Dongsheng's target, Wen Nan figured this meat bone was more important to him than it was to Wen Nan.

Xu Dongsheng took the meat bone, gratefully thanked the president, and said, "I'll leave now, don't want to disturb your rest."

After saying that, he was about to turn and leave, but was called back by Wen Nan.

Xu Dongsheng turned back, "What is it, president?"

Remembering the contents he heard from the Mind Reading Technique, Wen Nan hesitated and asked, "Uh, do you... like furry?"

"...What?" Xu Dongsheng looked confused.

Wen Nan coughed twice and continued, "I mean, human and beast, are you okay with that?"

Understanding the hint, Xu Dongsheng's eyes widened in disbelief, "President, I—I don't quite understand what you mean..."

Seeing that he was almost on the verge of tears, Wen Nan sighed, "Forget it, never mind, pretend I didn't say anything."

Xu Dongsheng seemed relieved, holding the meat bone in one hand and the candle in the other, with his head down, he quickly walked to the stairway.

The Chow Chows Little P. instinctively chased after the meat bone, took a couple of steps, and reluctantly looked back at Wen Nan.

Wen Nan sighed helplessly, closing the door.

Sitting back down by the bed, he looked back up at the dark door on the ceiling, as a question popped into his mind:

"Why did I suddenly fall asleep just now? And what was I thinking before I fell asleep?"

Feeling a bit groggy, Wen Nan leaned back, lying on the bed, his gaze wandering over the twelve zodiac symbols on the dark door.

The Pisces symbol quickly caught his attention.

This symbol, perfectly composed of two symmetrical "∈", isn't this his...

...

...

[?]

[Damn, fell asleep again]

[Not again, really fell asleep]

[Is this a sleep stream?]

[Speaking of which, Xu Dongsheng's task, could it really be human-beast*? So thrilling?]

[This is a horror game, not a x-rated one, seems like you've been completely led astray by Jiu cilang, no turning back]

[*Short and Fat*: Uh, it's clearly not human-beast, in my experience, that portable item is the key]

[*Short and Fat*: I remember, the one associated with Little P., Azi, when she appears in ghost form, has a candle on her head, her entire skin charred black, likely burned to death]

[*Short and Fat*: If I'm not mistaken, Little P.'s past life death is related to a candle, which is why TA instinctively fears candles]