He Doesn’t Like It
Xia Xinghe held back his anger, wondering if he’d misjudged Bai Qingzhou. He tried to calm himself and asked, “Which Bamboo character?”
Bai Qingzhou’s tone was still flat. “Just ‘bamboo’—that green plant.”
Xia Xinghe was puzzled. “The dog isn’t even green. Why name it Bamboo?”
Bai Qingzhou glanced at him, justified and unbothered: “Wife cakes don’t have wives in them, Husband and Wife Lung Slices don’t contain couples. Why can’t a dog be called Bamboo if it’s not green?”
Hearing its name, Bamboo, lying nearby, got visibly excited, wagging its big tail and sweeping it across Xia Xinghe’s leg with a fluffy, innocent expression, as if to say, “I’m Bamboo! It’s me, it’s me!”
Xia Xinghe: “…”
He knew Bai Qingzhou had done it on purpose.
Xia Xinghe’s WeChat name came from his pen name, and Bai Qingzhou knew it well.
When he first started writing, they were still together. The day he applied for his pen name on a whim, he’d immediately told Bai Qingzhou.
“Ban zhu zhi, ban zhu zhi—this plant is the most lovesick,” he’d said, leaning on the desk, smiling brightly. “I’m calling my pen name ‘Bamboo’—doesn’t that sound cultured?”
Bai Qingzhou had been reading at the time, eyes still on the book, and answered absentmindedly, “Mm, little Bamboo.”
His voice was soft, and the last character was spoken lightly. That gentle tone had felt like a soft hook brushing over Xia Xinghe’s heart, making his face flush instantly.
His gaze had fluttered back to the computer screen, and not long after, he’d quietly opened his phone and changed his WeChat name to “Little Bamboo.”
Thinking about it now, “Little Bamboo” had once held such a sweet memory. But the sweeter the past, the more ridiculous the present seemed.
Xia Xinghe pouted, thinking: Was it that serious? Just because I brought up the breakup first?
He didn’t even like me anyway, so why hold such a grudge that you’d name your dog after me?
Xia Xinghe twisted open his soda water and took two big gulps, grumbling, “Fine, whatever—it’s your dog, you can name it whatever you want.”
Bai Qingzhou’s brows furrowed slightly, clearly not expecting that reaction. He looked like he wanted to say something, but held back.
But Xia Xinghe no longer cared. Combined with Bai Qingzhou’s string of strange behavior back at the hospital, his pride and stubbornness surged. All he could think was how blind he must’ve been to fall for someone so petty and vindictive.
After a moment of silence, he suddenly stood up. “Well, I have something to do, so I’ll be going now.”
His tone was stiff, and he turned toward the entrance without a glance back.
“Woof! Woof!”
Bamboo didn’t understand what was going on. It looked innocently at Xia Xinghe’s back, then anxiously lunged forward and bit onto his pant leg.
It had rushed too fast and twisted its back leg, letting out a small whimper—but even so, it clung stubbornly to Xia Xinghe and refused to let go. Xia Xinghe’s heart softened for a second. Something about the way Bamboo held its back leg didn’t seem right. But then he remembered the name and, in the end, forcefully pulled his pant leg free and slammed the door shut behind him.
“Awwooo\~”
The door closed with a bang. Bamboo barked at it a few times, then turned pitifully toward its owner. Bai Qingzhou patted its head, then reached out and picked up the bottle of soda water that Xia Xinghe had drunk from but hadn’t taken with him.
“Bamboo,” he murmured, rubbing the bottle’s surface with his fingertip, his gaze low. “He seems to not like that name.”
Bamboo tilted its head in confusion, clearly not understanding its owner’s mood.
…..
On the way back from Bai Qingzhou’s place, Xia Xinghe swore to himself that he’d never interact with that man again.
When he got home, still fuming, he threw down his backpack—only to see that his computer screen on the desk was still lit.
Xia Xinghe fell silent.
After a moment, he silently picked up the backpack he had thrown on the sofa…
…and tossed it even farther away.
He still needed to write the story—but it didn’t have to be Bai Qingzhou’s dog.
It was just a dog, after all. There were plenty of adorable dogs at the shelter, more than enough for him to observe and find inspiration.
Xia Xinghe looked up the information for a nearby animal rescue center online, contacted the person in charge, and made arrangements. The very next day, he packed his things and headed over.
There were many stray cats and dogs in the modern city, and shelters were always understaffed. Naturally, the rescue center welcomed Xia Xinghe’s arrival.
The shelter he arrived at was run by an elderly couple. They were kindhearted, lifelong animal lovers who took an instant liking to Xia Xinghe. As soon as he arrived, the auntie wordlessly went to wash a peach for him, and the uncle handed him a bowl of sunflower seeds.
Though he had come to help, he ended up being waited on instead. Xia Xinghe felt a bit embarrassed, quickly accepted what they gave him with both hands, and after a brief rest, joined in to help.
That day’s task was giving baths to the shelter’s cats and dogs. Autumn had already settled in, and the weather would only get colder. It would become increasingly difficult to bathe the animals, so the couple planned to wash all the rescued furry kids, so they could pass the winter clean and comfortable.
There were a lot of animals in the shelter, and bathing them wasn’t easy. Fortunately, Xia Xinghe had volunteered with his university’s animal welfare organization and was quite experienced. Working with the elderly couple went smoothly.
They started with the large dogs. The uncle held the dog in place, the auntie calmed it, and Xia Xinghe managed the faucet, ensuring the temperature and water flow were just right.
Their three-person teamwork was far more efficient than two. By noon, they had finished bathing most of the large dogs in the shelter.
The last one left was an elderly German Shepherd named Duoduo. It had a strong body and sleek, shiny fur. It was one of the first dogs taken in by the shelter and had never been adopted out. It had stayed with the couple for years, more like a friend than a pet.
Duoduo, now old and stubborn, wasn’t as well-behaved as the others. It shook off its fur and barked, soaking the uncle’s clothes, but he didn’t mind at all. Instead, he bent down and lovingly kissed the dog’s head.
Standing beside them, Xia Xinghe smiled as he turned off the water. “You’re so kind to him.”
“Duoduo is actually really smart,” the uncle replied with a smile, squeezing some shampoo from a big bottle and working it into the dog’s fur. “When it first came, it was cold and aloof. On the first day, it left two deep scratches on my hand. We thought it was just mean, but a later check revealed its leg had been broken—someone had beaten it. Even after suffering so much from humans, once it got used to us, it became incredibly affectionate. It knows we’re good to it—won’t leave even if we try to shoo it. It watches the house, keeps us company… been with us for many years.”
As he spoke, the uncle pointed to one of Duoduo’s hind legs. “Right here. Its fur was so thick we didn’t notice at first. But we saw it walking funny, and when it bumped that leg, it would cry out. Only then did we realize something was wrong. Sadly, it had been too long—it was too late, and now it’s permanently disabled.”
Duoduo seemed to understand that they were talking about it. It whimpered softly and nuzzled the uncle’s hand with its wet fur. Xia Xinghe looked closely and noticed that the dog did, in fact, limp a little when it walked.
For some reason, he suddenly thought of Bamboo—the dog at Bai Qingzhou’s house.
The way Bamboo walked had seemed a bit strange too. From appearance alone, nothing looked wrong, and since Bai Qingzhou had hired a part-time worker to care for it regularly, Xia Xinghe hadn’t given it much thought.
But now that memory hit him like a jolt.
He couldn’t help asking the uncle, “What if a dog, kind of like Duoduo, doesn’t show obvious signs when walking but starts to limp when it runs…?”
“That usually means something’s wrong with the leg,” the uncle replied before he could finish. “Dogs can’t talk, so they can’t explain what they’re feeling. If something seems off, you have to take them in for a checkup right away. Otherwise, like Duoduo, it might become a long-term issue.”
Xia Xinghe’s heart sank.
“What’s wrong?” the uncle asked. “Does your dog walk like that?”
“No.” Xia Xinghe quickly shook his head and forced himself to stop thinking about it. He had already decided to sever ties with Bai Qingzhou. Whatever happened to Bamboo was none of his business.
He smiled and continued helping the couple bathe the dogs.
…..
By the time he left the rescue center, it was already 7 p.m.
After a full day of work, they had managed to clean dozens of dogs. Xia Xinghe had also gathered quite a few interesting stories and creative inspiration from the couple. After arranging a date for his next visit, he leisurely headed home.
The rescue center was only three stops away from his place. Once he got on the bus, he started scrolling through his phone like usual. But when he looked up again, he realized something was off—the scenery around him didn’t match his memory.
…He must have taken the wrong direction.
Xia Xinghe hurried off the bus, only to find that the stop he’d gotten off at happened to be right in front of the hospital. And at the sight of the hospital, thoughts of Bai Qingzhou and Bamboo came rushing back.
The uncle’s words still echoed in his ears. Xia Xinghe had originally intended to harden his heart and leave. But in that brief moment of hesitation, something compelled him—almost like muscle memory—and he found himself walking toward a familiar place he had visited often not long ago: the iron fence deep in the small garden.
Just one more look.
That’s what Xia Xinghe told himself.
He rushed to the fence, planning to glance at Bamboo and then leave. But what he saw inside the yard stopped him cold.
White and round like a dumpling, Bamboo was cowering in a corner with its tail tucked tightly under its body. That part-time worker, Xiao Liu—the one who always fed and watered it—was holding a big broom and was mercilessly beating it.
Again and again. It looked so painful Xia Xinghe couldn’t bear to watch.