As time passed, Sabre's stomach gradually swelled, and it stopped eating. Tuanzi, after regaining her senses, continued chatting with Bai Yuze, sometimes laughing so hard at Bai Yuze's jokes that she couldn't close her mouth.
Bai Yuze suddenly realized he didn't know the exact time, so he pulled out his phone, ignored the no-signal characteristic of the eerie instance, and focused on the time displayed on his phone.
The time was three in the afternoon, which made Bai Yuze feel something was off. He had chatted with Tuanzi for at least an hour, but his phone's time hadn't even reached half an hour.
This immediately made Bai Yuze stand up. It seemed the temporary instance was affecting time. If time was being influenced by the instance, then there must be an item in this house that could restore the flow of time to normal.
"Tuanzi, do you have any clocks or wall clocks at home?"
Yui Yuigahama saw Bai Yuze suddenly look like he had thought of something. Having experienced instances herself, she immediately checked the time. Seeing that the time was wrong, she thought for a moment, then ran upstairs and rummaged through the storeroom, finding an old pendulum clock.
"Uh, is this it?"
"I don't know, let's clean it up first!"
Guessing wouldn't yield an answer; it was best to get to work immediately. Sabre had also finished eating, so Tuanzi carried Sabre to the front door, patting Sabre's head to soothe it.
"Sabre, I'm counting on you. Once we're safe, I'll reward you with more delicious food!"
Sabre made a retching expression upon hearing this!
These guys are too mean! After finishing all their chatting, they had nothing to do but tease it. It had actually been full for a long time; every bite after that was not eaten willingly!
No matter what, as the one in a million peerless rich dog! It had an obligation to protect weak humans. When it achieved fame and success, and when it naturally aged... it would slowly sigh on its deathbed.
"It was just a little bit of hardship..."
So Sabre immediately took on the duty of a sentry, not even a fly could escape its eyes!
"Xiao Ze... can you fix it?"
"Uh... I think so, why don't we try?"
Bai Yuze scratched his head. An old pendulum clock was too complicated; it wasn't as convenient as a Shin-chan brand watch...
The pendulum clock was covered in dust. When Tuanzi just placed it on the floor, the pendulum clock shook off a lot of dust onto the floor!
Bai Yuze looked back at Sabre. Sabre was still staring intently at the front door. Bai Yuze turned on the stopwatch function on his phone.
"Xiao Ze, what are you timing?"
"I want to see how long it takes my intelligence to fix this old thing."
Tuanzi felt bewildered; boys' minds were so strange, like children... but she didn't dislike it.
After Bai Yuze started the timer, he was about to begin working when his hand accidentally brushed away some dust, which attacked Tuanzi's face.
"I'm sorry... hold it in... you must hold it in!"
Due to the dust entering her nose, Tuanzi opened her mouth wide. From her hazy eyes and the opening and closing of her mouth, it was clear a disaster was about to unfold!
Bai Yuze wanted to leave immediately, but his legs wouldn't move. He could only try to soothe Tuanzi with words, asking her to try and restrain herself.
Unfortunately, the disaster still struck!
"Achoo!!!"
As the saying goes, a drop of kindness should be repaid with a gushing spring. So, a speck of dust should be repaid with a dust storm!
"Hehehe, I'm sorry, but who told you not to inform me! Hmph!"
Tuanzi scratched her head sheepishly, but then, thinking she was in the right, she immediately straightened her back! Her proud assets also provocatively challenged Bai Yuze.
Seeing Bai Yuze extend his hand, Tuanzi immediately fled to Sabre's side, turning to make a face at Bai Yuze.
"Nyah nyah nyah! I won't bother you anymore! I'm going to play with Sabre... ahem! I'm going to monitor Sabre!"
Watching Tuanzi's playful antics, Bai Yuze withdrew his hand and smiled helplessly. However, Tuanzi didn't notice the flash of cunning in Bai Yuze's eyes...
Tuanzi kept Rule Four in mind: Do not stare at the door for too long. So she kept her eyes on Sabre, and Sabre continued to stare unblinkingly at the front door. There were a few times the doorbell rang, but before the two could react, Sabre would bark loudly at the door.
Therefore, Sabre bought Bai Yuze and Tuanzi a lot of time.
Bai Yuze was sweating profusely on the side. He disassembled and reassembled this old pendulum clock repeatedly, but he just couldn't fix it. Frustrated, Bai Yuze kicked the old pendulum clock.
The sound startled Yui Yuigahama. She remembered Bai Yuze wasn't the type to get angry easily. Could it be that this pendulum clock was really that difficult to fix?
But something Tuanzi never expected happened! The clock, after being kicked by Bai Yuze, actually emitted a long-awaited 'click'!
The pendulum clock was fixed... by being kicked!
Bai Yuze turned around at this moment, giving Tuanzi a handsome smile. Although Tuanzi was already stunned, she gave emotional value very promptly, immediately giving him a thumbs up!
"As expected of Xiao Ze! Was this also part of your plan! So cool!"
Bai Yuze scratched his head awkwardly, seemingly embarrassed by Tuanzi's praise. His eyes silently watched the pendulum clock that had started moving. Although there was no expression on his face, he was secretly delighted inside...
"Check the time, is the flow normal now?"
Hearing Bai Yuze's instruction, Tuanzi immediately pulled out her phone to check, then broke into a happy smile!
"Wow! It really returned to normal! Half an hour has passed!"
Although they didn't know why only half an hour had passed, this progress represented a huge advantage for the two of them.
Bai Yuze placed the clock on the sofa table. Just then... the doorbell rang again!
Sabre, uncharacteristically, made no sound, but wagged its tail, making an impatient sound.
Tuan Ma's voice also came from outside the door.
"Yui, why did you lock the door? Open up!"
"Mom?! Is Mom back?"
Though joyful, Tuanzi remained calm. She cautiously approached the peephole and saw Tuan Ma standing outside the door, arms crossed!
"It really is Mom!"
Tuanzi immediately broke into a joyful smile. She was about to reach out and open the door, but her hand was held by Bai Yuze.
Under Tuanzi's confused gaze, Bai Yuze mocked Tuan Ma outside the door.
"The disguise is good this time! But your brain still isn't good enough!"
The creature outside the door was silent for a moment, then slammed the door once before leaving.
Tuanzi's eyes widened at this! She didn't understand. Sabre had eaten its fill of dog food, and it was Mom's figure outside the door, so why was it wrong?
Bai Yuze picked up Sabre, sat on the sofa, patted the spot next to him, and smiled at Tuanzi.
"Come here, I'll explain it to you slowly."
Bai Yuze shook his phone's stopwatch timer, which clearly displayed exactly half an hour!
Without Tuanzi and Sabre noticing, Bai Yuze and the creature outside the door had engaged in a silent game of wits...