The Supporting Male Characters Who Died Alone All Those Years Later

Jiang Shiguang woke up from anesthesia. His first reaction was to check on his own testicles, but his view was blocked by the wide anti-licking collar around his neck. After a struggle, he finally realized that he was still a complete man—no, a dog…

He breathed a sigh of relief. Although his body wasn’t his own, being mutilated would still leave psychological scars!

After regaining his dignity, Jiang Shiguang began to examine his surroundings. The room was filled with large pet carriers, and he was in one of them. Several nurses were coming and going outside, and after discovering he was awake, they came in to check on him.

Jiang Shiguang was tugged by two nurses for an examination and felt a sense of despair.

“Recovery is going well.”

“Of course, it was Dr. He’s surgery.”

An older nurse said, “Stop being so starry-eyed. You don’t have a chance. I heard the woman who brought this dog in is Dr. He’s childhood sweetheart. Childhood friends are inseparable; there’s no room for anyone else.”

After their gossiping, the two nurses left together.

Jiang Shiguang moved his dog ears. So, Tao Tao had a childhood sweetheart.

***

The next day, He Dongchen went to the hospital and made a point to wander around in front of Jiang Shiguang. He was surprised to find that the dog was indeed a dog, with its head buried in a bowl of dog food, eating voraciously. There was no trace of the refined and elegant CEO from a good family.

A nurse came forward to explain, “This dog didn’t eat or drink anything last night and was lying there lifelessly. We were worried, but as soon as the sun rose, it was full of energy and howling from hunger.”

He Dongchen pondered. It seemed the dog had different modes for day and night.

Is the male protagonist a CEO by day and a dog by night?

Really interesting. He Dongchen chuckled lightly and gave a couple of instructions before leaving the room.

In the evening, after work, Tao Tao, braving her boss’s death glare, hurried to the hospital. After glancing at the dog, she went to He Dongchen’s office.

Inside, a pretty young nurse was cleaning. Seeing her, the nurse said, “Dr. He has already left for the day.”

Tao Tao’s lips turned down. She had clearly sent a message saying she would come after work, but He Dongchen hadn’t waited for her and had left directly.

For a moment, Tao Tao felt a mix of emotions.

Seeing her standing at the door for a while with that expression, the nurse, curious, asked, “Are you looking for Dr. He?”

Tao Tao snapped back to reality, smiled, and explained, “I came to check on my dog here.”

“Oh.” The nurse, who had been on the night shift and hadn’t seen Tao Tao before, mistook her for one of the many women who brought pets to bother Dr. He. She spoke earnestly, “I heard Dr. He has a childhood sweetheart he’s very close to. You might be wasting your time; you’re just causing trouble for yourself and your pet.” If there had been a chance, the nurses would have been the first to seize it.

Tao Tao was stunned, then suddenly felt a pang in her heart, a feeling of suffocation.

She had never been to He Dongchen’s workplace before, but everyone knew about his cherished childhood sweetheart. While she felt her life was lacking excitement, He Dongchen had rejected all passions for her.

Tao Tao returned to the ward in a daze, stroking the husky’s back and murmuring, “So he really likes me…”

Jiang Shiguang tried to turn his head and raise his paw to swat away the annoying hand on his back, but his movements were restricted. He could only snarl at Tao Tao in frustration!

This subordinate is incredibly audacious!

And! No wonder she seemed distracted at work during the day! She was thinking about romance!

Jiang Shiguang bared his teeth in dissatisfaction.

Tao Tao finally reacted and looked at him with concern. “What’s wrong with Xiao Ha? Is it the leg injury? Or is it hunger?”

Jiang Shiguang was furious. How dare you call me Xiao Ha!

***

The next day, as usual, He Dongchen went downstairs for his morning run and breakfast. When he left, he noticed the front gate was wide open, with movers carrying furniture in and out. He realized that new neighbors had arrived.

As he entered the elevator, He Dongchen vaguely heard a few cat meows.

At the pet hospital, he followed his usual routine. Due to his outstanding looks and demeanor, most of his clients were women who came with various pets, asking trivial questions. Of course, they often bought a lot of pet supplies when they left, contributing significantly to his sales performance.

As a result, many male doctors in the hospital were quite envious, saying he was breaking the rules and relying on his looks to get ahead.

He Dongchen took it all in stride. As long as clients behaved properly, a few glances wouldn’t hurt. Besides, he was wearing a mask, so there was an extra layer of separation.

In the afternoon, He Dongchen welcomed a new client. The person was dressed in long clothes and pants, with not even an inch of skin visible. She held an orange cat in her arms and entered nervously, like a frightened deer, constantly on edge and wary of any lurking danger.

He Dongchen smiled gently. “It’s very safe here. What are you afraid of?”

The visitor, embarrassed, bit her lip. “I was bitten by a dog when I was a child. I’m afraid of dogs.”

Afraid of dogs but bringing a cat to a pet hospital; true care indeed.

He Dongchen knew that psychological issues formed over many years wouldn’t disappear easily, so he didn’t say much. He offered some comforting words and took the orange cat from her arms.

The orange cat bared its teeth, meowing loudly and even trying to scratch him with its short little legs. He Dongchen held the cat up and, after a moment of silence, thought it looked somewhat familiar.

“Fatty, stop making trouble and behave,” she said with a warm smile, awkwardly reaching out to grab the cat’s mischievous paws.

The orange cat was only 3 months old and small in size. When Wen Hanxiao grabbed its paw, she accidentally brushed against He Dongchen’s hand, causing her to jerk it away as if she had been shocked. Realizing she had overreacted, she blushed and tried to make amends.

“It’s a bit stuffy in here,” Wen Hanxiao said, fanning the air with her hand, her face showing an awkward but polite smile.

He Dongchen smiled faintly and, being considerate, shifted the topic to the cat’s condition.

“The tear stains are still quite heavy. I’ll clean them up for you,” He Dongchen said, securing the cat on the table and taking out some saline solution and cotton balls from the toolbox. He began to clean the cat gently.

However, the orange cat seemed to hold a grudge against him and was very uncooperative, struggling in various ways.

Wen Hanxiao felt embarrassed and explained, “It’s usually very well-behaved at home.”

“Hmm.” He Dongchen nodded and continued, “Could you help hold it for me?”

Wen Hanxiao stepped in, gently holding the orange cat and being careful not to brush against He Dongchen’s hand again. She spoke softly, “Be good, Fatty.”

The orange cat gradually settled down, and the room became quiet. He Dongchen began to discuss some precautions. “Since the cat is so young, don’t feed it cat food too early. You can give it some goat’s milk and supplementary food. Avoid adding oil or salt. I’ll prescribe some medicine for you to mix with its food…”

Wen Hanxiao took notes diligently, wishing she had a small notebook to jot everything down.

Seeing her serious demeanor, He Dongchen found it amusing and asked, “Is this your first time raising a cat?”

Tear stains were a very common issue.

“Yes, it’s my first time,” Wen Hanxiao replied, nodding, as she stopped soothing the cat.

“Meow!” The orange cat immediately voiced its displeasure, shaking its head.

He Dongchen worked faster, finishing the cleaning and applying some eye drops. When he let go, the orange cat leaped back into Wen Hanxiao’s arms, turning its back to him.

Wen Hanxiao could only feel helpless. Her poor Fatty was causing her so much embarrassment today.

***

She smiled at He Dongchen, holding the cat and the list, and was about to leave when she suddenly saw a husky charging into the doorway, heading straight for her. Wen Hanxiao’s face went pale, and she retreated with the cat in her arms.

“Be careful,” He Dongchen said, supporting her across the table.

It was still daytime, and the CEO hadn’t taken over, so the husky, very energetic, was jumping around the room with great enthusiasm.

Seeing that Wen Hanxiao had gone completely stiff, He Dongchen quickly bypassed the table, shielded her with his body, covered her eyes with his hand, and shouted outside, “Someone, get this dog out!”

Tao Tao, who had chased the husky inside, immediately saw He Dongchen protecting a young girl in his arms.

She suddenly remembered that, back in college, when a bicycle had lost control and was heading straight for her, He Dongchen had also shielded her without hesitation.

“Don’t block the doorway, let us in,” two nurses, hearing the commotion, rushed in, pushing past Tao Tao. They grabbed the rambunctious husky, each taking hold of one end, and carried the dog out of the room.

“It’s alright now,” He Dongchen said gently, lowering his hand.

Wen Hanxiao regained her vision, saw that the dog was indeed gone, and breathed a sigh of relief, supporting herself on the table with a shaky leg.

When the husky had charged at her, it felt like being transported back to that night in her childhood when a pack of dogs had chased her. Even now, she still had a scar on her leg, and the fear had never fully left her.

Those who haven’t had such experiences wouldn’t understand, and might even think she was being overly sensitive. After all, dogs are so cute, what’s there to be afraid of?

But it should be known that wild dogs in the countryside, more than a decade ago, used to form packs and often fought in the streets. Even adults were intimidated.

In just that short time, Wen Hanxiao was already covered in sweat.

“Here, use this.” He Dongchen pulled a clean handkerchief from his pocket. It was a habit from the previous world, and since he continued as a doctor in this world, he always kept a handkerchief with him.

Wen Hanxiao took the handkerchief, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and then felt a pang of regret. Don’t I have tissues in my bag? Why accept this handkerchief? Now it would be rude to return it without washing it, and she’d have to come back to the pet hospital to do so.

After such a scare, Wen Hanxiao felt she might not have the courage to return for a long time.

After some hesitation, Wen Hanxiao had a sudden idea. “I really like this handkerchief. Where did you buy it?”

She planned to buy one herself and have it delivered.

He Dongchen raised an eyebrow, understanding her concern. He didn’t want to make things awkward for her, so he picked up his phone from the table and said, “I’ll send you a link.”

“Great,” Wen Hanxiao replied, holding the cat in one hand and pulling out her phone from her bag with the other. They exchanged WeChat contacts, and He Dongchen shared a store link with her.

Tao Tao stood at the door with a stern expression. Based on the nurse’s comments from yesterday, she had assumed Wen Hanxiao was one of those women who bothered He Dongchen with their pets.

She watched how Wen Hanxiao pretended to be afraid of dogs, asked for WeChat, and was given it by He Dongchen!