When Selina returned with a car full of stuff, Luke went to meet her, and they carried the stuff inside.
Gold Nugget lay lazily in the new kennel on the porch and looked at the snow.
The house had to be cleaned up, and it wasn’t convenient for it to help out here, so it had been chased out.
However, it had a tablet in front of it and snacks next to it. It could watch TV shows while the fiend worked; this treatment couldn’t be any better.
As Selina sorted out the items, she asked, “Did Aurora piss you off again?”
Luke threw the various unwanted junk into a big cardboard box. “No.”
“You don’t look very happy,” she said.
As Luke continued to throw things in, he told her about the Soderberg family and the conflict with Monroe.
Selina moved a table lamp around the living room and tried to find the best place for it. “Hearing you say that, I get it now. If it were my father, he would probably go after that person with a gun.”
Luke smiled. “Would you keep in touch with a drug addict despite Mario and Sandra’s objections, and give him so much money?”
Selina snorted. “If I gave that person five thousand dollars, they’d probably beat me up and call me stupid.”
Luke asked, “Are you sure?”
Selina said, “In my father’s words, kids have to be taught a good lesson when they go astray. I took a beating when I was young.”
Luke was curious. “How?”
Selina glared at him angrily. “I was too young so I don’t remember, but when I was five, I took money from my dad’s wallet to buy a cowboy hat. He gave me a thrashing when I got back.”
Luke found that odd. “I’ve never heard Sandra mention this before.”
When he went to her place for dinner, Sandra would often tell embarrassing stories about Selina’s childhood.
Selina chuckled. “Because I bought the hat for Dad. Strictly speaking, I didn’t steal any money. I just bought him a birthday present with his money.”
Luke didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Then didn’t you suffer for nothing?”
Selina finally put the vase down and nodded in satisfaction. “Not really. Since then, my father never touched me again. We talk it out instead.”
“A blessing in disguise,” Luke concluded simply.
They chatted as they cleaned up the villa.
Luke could have gotten a housekeeping service to do it, but he felt more comfortable doing it himself.
He was a man who was slightly obsessed with cleanliness and a little OCD. He had never used a housekeeping service at all.
His family would be living here in the next few days, and he didn’t want anyone else touching places like the bedroom.
Suddenly, his ears twitched. Putting down the cabinet he was holding, he went outside and looked at Gold Nugget’s kennel on the side.
A little girl was squatting in front of Gold Nugget with pleasant surprise on her face. “Hey, golden puppy, give me a smile.”
Gold Nugget couldn’t be bothered with this sort of low-level coaxing. It continued eating its snacks unhurriedly.
Of course, it didn’t hate the little girl in front of it. At the very least, she hadn’t come barreling over to pull its fur.
The little girl leaned forward and slowly stretched out her hand. “Be good. Let me touch you. Just once.”
Gold Nugget was unmoved. As it ate its cake, it watched a TV show on a tablet.
It could tell that the little girl’s hands were clean, unlike some brats who would touch it with greasy and muddy hands.
If Gold Nugget got dirty, Selina would nag at it while she helped bathe it. It was very annoying.
The little girl finally touched it.
The big golden retriever just looked at her indifferently before it continued looking at the phone. She was overjoyed.
This was the big golden retriever she dreamed of — genuine, open, tolerant and elegant, like an elder.
But this golden retriever liked to watch TV dramas? This… wasn’t strange. There were dogs who liked to watch football games.
She couldn’t help but want to touch the dog’s head.
It was huge and furry. It would definitely feel nice to touch.
In the end, a pair of black dog eyes glared at her, and it sneezed in dissatisfaction, before it moved its head away.
The little girl chuckled and continued trying.
She could sense that the big golden retriever wasn’t angry, but just a little unwilling to let her touch its head.
Then… she had to touch it.
“It’s watching a TV show. You’ll disturb it if you touch its face,” someone said not far away.
The girl tilted her head and saw a young and handsome man waving at her with a smile. “Hi, Mindy. Long time no see. Where’s your dad?”
Mindy was blank for a moment, as if trying to recall something.
Suddenly, she was shocked, and she pointed at him. “Are you that big, warm blond from the plane?”
The corner of Luke’s mouth couldn’t help but twitch. Since when was he like a golden retriever?
Women, even minors, indeed had very strange logic.
“I’m Luke.” He could only give his name.
After all, he had only met her once with this identity. Even if Mindy had a deep impression of him, she might not be able to recall his name.
Mindy blinked. “Oh, nice to see you again, Luke.”
She wasn’t too sorry for her slip of the tongue, since a big, warm blond was how she had labeled Luke in her heart.
Although she had complained about this guy at the time, his gentle temperament had left a vivid impression on her after the incident.
“Is this your dog?” Mindy immediately asked.
It was quite suitable for a big, warm blond to raise a golden retriever.
Luke chuckled. “Sort of, but it’s very old. You can’t go crazy with it.”
Mindy said, “Can’t I touch it?” She looked disappointed.
Luke said, “Touch the back of its head. Just don’t block it from watching TV.”
Mindy immediately touched the back of Gold Nugget’s head.
She couldn’t touch its face, but the back of the dog’s head was fine.
Gold Nugget couldn’t be bothered to resist.
It didn’t have any objections to this level of petting. Dollar even liked it when people touched it like this, so it let the little hand do whatever it wanted.
“What’s its name?” Mindy asked as she looked at the cute golden retriever.
“Gold Nugget and Dollar are both its names,” said Luke.
Mindy found that odd. “Two names?”
Luke shrugged. “Your dad calls you Mindy, but also calls you darling or sweetheart, right?”
Mindy said, “But there’s only one name.”
Luke asked, “Can dogs differentiate between names and nicknames?”
Mindy paused and thought for a moment, before she shook her head helplessly. “Probably not.”
Gold Nugget glanced at her again. Foolish little girl, tricked by the fiend again. Sure enough, she was all breasts and… Hm, she was no breasts and no brain.
“Where’s your dad?” Luke asked as he looked around.
Mindy said, “He’s out doing some sketching. I’m going to the supermarket to buy something for lunch.”
Luke asked, “You? Make lunch?”