570 Relaying Messages (1/2)

Masanori Suzuhara usually contacted her classmates and seniors in Japan using Line, but she'd started using Wechat after coming to China. School hadn't started yet, and she only had a few Wechat contacts, including the counselor and Zhang Zian.

She went back to the international student's residence, and set up a cozy spot for Snoopy. Pets weren't forbidden in the residence, but otherwise she would have to rent a room outside. Rent in China was cheaper than Japan and there was no need to pay unnecessary money. Still, she wanted to get to know more Chinese friends during her limited days in the country.

Although she'd taken care of former Snoopy in the lab for a long time, technically this was still her first time owning a pet of her own. She didn't know that beagles often annoyed the neighbors and she started to grow anxious after remembering the conversation between Zhang Zian and Qian Bowen.

This Snoopy was well trained by Zhang Zian at the pet shop, and only barked once or twice since it had arrived at the residence. She remembered Zhang Zian's advice and resisted the urge to look back at it. She stared at her phone, and didn't even turn her head when it barked.

She received lots of Line greetings from her lab seniors, asking her how she was doing in China, what it was like around her, and if she was being mistreated by anyone.

Masanori Suzuhara read the messages and smiled. Before coming here, all she knew about China was through TV news and costume dramas, which easily could have exaggerated the way things actually were. The seniors' worries were understandable.

Snoopy barked two more times, but she continued to ignore it. After that, it stopped barking, and sniffed around the room the explore the new territory.

Masanori Suzuhara had been paying attention to its movements, and felt reassured after seeing that it had finally stopped barking. The former Snoopys were kept in a lab that had good sound insulation, and even then, nobody was there during the night time. Nobody cared how much they barked. But the residence was different.

She responded to all of the greetings from her seniors, and tried her best to clarify their misunderstandings about China, telling them not to worry as she tried to adapt to her new life.

In addition, some of her close girl friends were asking her if she'd been eating properly, and if she could ever get used to the food in China. They told her to take more local products from Japan with her the next time she travelled back.

The most frequently asked question, from either her seniors or classmates, was asking why she hadn't updated Twitter in such a long time, and if she had run into any difficulties or trouble.

Regarding this subject, she just told them it was a long story. She wanted to complain, but she wasn't able to actually say anything.

After answering all of the greetings, she asked her seniors about the biomedical device company that had been cooperating with the lab, along with inquires about their contact information.

The seniors did some research and sent her the company's information.

Her phone vibrated. The delivery man had arrived at the international students' residence, and was calling for her to pick up her stuff. The cage she ordered from the pet shop had arrived.

Masanori Suzuhara put aside her other business, picked up the cage downstairs, paid for the courier, and then started to set up a cozy space for Snoopy. She was following Zhang Zian's advice. It was necessary to use a cage before Snoopy was fully trained.

She put an old blanket in the cage, and put another layer of waterproof cloth on top, in case Snoopy peed or pooped while inside. The old blanket was actually only a few days old.

After that, she put a pair of old gloves on top of the old blanket. According to Zhang Zian, when she was not in the room, it would be better to let Snoopy keep on smelling her. It would calm the dog down, so it wouldn't panically bark for its missing owner.

The shopping bag from the pet shop was on the table, and the QR code was too glaring to be ignored. She took out another item from the bag. It was the last resort to stop the beagle from barking; a dog mask. The dog couldn't open its mouth once it was on, thus preventing it from making any noise. However, she didn't want to use this unless she had to.

The dog mask was much different from a shock collar. It was defensive, practical, and useful.

When Zhang Zian recommended the dog mask to Masanori Suzuhara, he took the time to educate her about the reality of China.

When walking a dog outside, no matter how friendly the dog was, if it was not as obedient as a police dog, it would always be better to use a mask. Apart from preventing bad situations of biting and barking, the mask could also prevent the dog from eating unknown food. Every year, many dogs died from poisoning after eating random food from outside.

If some person hated either the dog or the owner, they could place poisonous bait in their residential areas. The dog would die as soon as it consumed it, leaving no time for medical aid. If a regular dog had not been fully trained to resist this type of food, it was necessary to put on a mask when it went outside, before something terrible happened.

She was horrified after hearing this, and immediately agreed to buy the mask.

After entering the cage, Snoopy barked a few more times. Maybe it didn't want to be locked up. But Masanori Suzuhara ignored it, opened her laptop, and started writing out an email using the contact information provided by her seniors. The email address they gave her was not an official company address, but the personal email of a business manager whom the seniors knew very well and often had drinks with.