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 . Igaras.h.i.+ 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-Igaras.h.i.+-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 Mich.e.l.le jumped onto the bench .

"Whwhy do you have a dog?!" She screamed .

"This is b.u.t.ter . " He patted the full-grown golder retriever on the head, as it continued to gaze at Mich.e.l.le while wagging its tail .

"Bu-b.u.t.ter?" 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, Mich.e.l.le was too frightened of the friendly dog .

Seeing her expression, Riley sighed . "b.u.t.ter, 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 .

Mich.e.l.le 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!"

Mich.e.l.le 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 .

b.u.t.ter responded with happy eyes, sticking its tongue out, and wagging its tail .

"See, b.u.t.ter likes you . " Riley smiled at her .

Mich.e.l.le, who still had some tears in her eyes, chuckled . "Yeah . . . h.e.l.lo, b.u.t.ter . "

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 b.u.t.ter . 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 . b.u.t.ter will be as good as yours . " Riley had a bright smile with his bright idea .