87 Calm Down

Xiu Jin woke up on a futon laid out on the tatami mat. Even though his wife forgave him, he still slept in a separate room from her.

As he walked further down the hall, he could hear a man's wail coming from the lawn area. Out of curiosity, he went towards the sounds. When he opened the door to the living room, he saw his wife in a yukata, with her hair up in a low bun, pointing a gun at a wounded man who was kneeling at the lawn.

He gasped in surprise. Igarashi Aoi heard this sound coming from him and slowly turned her head to glance at him.

Xiu Jin wished he could evaporate right then! Afraid that the gun might get pointed towards him, he looked down and murmured a barely audible 'sorry.'

"Tsk." Aoi Xiu felt annoyed. This husband of hers would truly ruin her reputation someday. She turned her head back to the kneeling man. "What else do you know?" She glared at him.

"I-Igarashi-sama, there's nothing else!" he replied in Aoi's native tongue.

"Do you know what happens to something I find useless?" Her hand seemed to be itching to pull the trigger.

Other minions in different heights and builts, with tattoos or none, continued to witness the interrogation.

As Xiu Jin saw the determination in his wife's eye to pull the trigger heightened, he walked towards her.

He bravely put a gentle hand on her arm with the gun and looked her in the eyes. "Sweetheart, calm down."

_______________________

Riley laughed heartily as Michelle jumped onto the bench.

"Wha-why do you have a dog?!" She screamed.

"This is Butter." He patted the full-grown golder retriever on the head, as it continued to gaze at Michelle while wagging its tail.

"Bu-butter?" She was still stuttering in fright.

He was still chuckling. "Yeah...I had two of them, but my ex kept Scotch." He scratched the back of his head, tussling his golden locks.

Instead of registering the backstory in her head, Michelle was too frightened of the friendly dog.

Seeing her expression, Riley sighed. "Butter, sit." The dog followed his order.

Then he held out his hand to her. "Get down from there. Don't hurt yourself." He had a gentle expression on his face.

She reluctantly took his hand and sat down on the bench.

He sat beside her. "Sorry. I didn't know you were afraid of dogs." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"I...I was bitten..." Her expression turned gloomy, as if recalling the incident.

"Was it your pet? What kind of dog was it?"

"It...it was my brother's... It...it was...a chihuahua."

Riley snorted, then burst out laughing.

Michelle glared at him. "It was very vicious, I tell you!"

He tried hard to calm himself down. "I...I'm sorry..." He was still laughing. "It's just that, it was such a small dog." He chuckled. "How can you not dodge...ow!"

Michelle hit him hard on the arm. "I was not able to dodge the dog, so what?! I was five!"

Riley was taken aback by the information. However, his smile remained as he asked, "What did you do to provoke a dog?"

"Nothing! I was playing in the garden then it attacked me! Do you know how many shots I had to endure?! I was five for pity's sake!" She was letting off steam.

"Okay, okay. I get it now." He took her hand.

She was mortified when he placed her hand on the dog's head. "What are you doing?!"

"Calm down." He continued to lead her hand on petting the dog.

Butter responded with happy eyes, sticking its tongue out, and wagging its tail.

"See, Butter likes you." Riley smiled at her.

Michelle, who still had some tears in her eyes, chuckled. "Yeah...hello, Butter."

The dog stood and came closer to her, propping its head on her lap.

She laughed, then turned to Riley. "Can I keep it?"

Riley's expression was incredulous. A moment ago, she was screaming and doing stunts to get away from his dog. Now she wanted to keep it?

He sighed. "I can't give you Butter. However..."

"What?" She can't wait for the possible condition. She was determined to have the friendly dog which obviously likes her.

"You can stay with me. Butter will be as good as yours." Riley had a bright smile with his bright idea.