Chapter 318: Snowball Might Not Make It

Chapter 318: Chapter 318: Snowball Might Not Make It

Cream Puff’s husband fell silent again when he heard her words.

"Honey," Cream Puff said, her voice trembling. "What exactly happened? Please, just tell me."

"Okay." Cream Puff’s husband stepped away from his workstation and lowered his voice. "The dog we have at home right now... it really isn’t Snowball. It’s his brother, Snowcake."

"Then where is Snowball?" Cream Puff asked, her anxiety mounting.

Her husband pressed his lips together. "I’m coming home now to tell you in person. Wait for me."

He was afraid she would break down if she heard the news over the phone. He needed to be by her side to comfort her.

Cream Puff hung up and quickly apologized to her stream viewers. "I’m so sorry to keep you all waiting."

Renee Jennings noticed her reddened eyes and said softly, "It’s alright. Did you ask your husband?"

Cream Puff explained, "He admitted the dog at home is Snowcake, but he said he’ll tell me the rest when he gets home."

Renee Jennings nodded, then looked at Snowcake. "Do you know what happened to Snowball?"

"I only know he got sick," Snowcake said, shaking his head. "The male owner paid for me and said my name was Snowball from now on. I don’t know anything else."

"Okay." Renee Jennings relayed the dog’s words to Cream Puff. "Snowcake doesn’t know much. We’ll have to wait a little longer."

"Okay." Cream Puff’s eyes filled with tears as she nodded. "Host, should I go offline for now? I don’t want to waste everyone’s time."

"That won’t be necessary," Renee Jennings said with a gentle shake of her head. "Everyone is very concerned about Snowball."

Cream Puff raised a hand to wipe her eyes, saying gratefully, "Thank you all for your concern."

[I hope Snowball is okay.]

[As a dog owner, this is too hard to watch.]

[This is suddenly so sad.]

Cream Puff started telling the audience the story of her and Snowball.

Snowball was five years old. Her grandmother had given him to her the year she graduated from college. Two years ago, her grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. She had forgotten everyone, but she still remembered Snowball...

About twenty minutes later, Cream Puff looked up toward the door. "I think my husband is back."

She set her phone down and got up to walk over.

"Flora, I’m home." Cream Puff’s husband opened the door, changed his shoes in the entryway, and said, "Just a moment."

He went to the bathroom to wash his hands before returning to the living room.

"Flora." Her husband stood before her and explained softly, "I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hide this from you."

Cream Puff didn’t speak, waiting quietly for him to finish.

Her husband pressed his lips together before continuing, "You were on a business trip, and work was already stressing you out so much. I didn’t dare tell you that Snowball was sick."

"Flora, do you remember when I told you Snowball had suddenly lost his appetite?"

"I remember. Is that when he started getting sick?"

"Besides his lack of appetite, he wasn’t moving much. He just lay there all the time, and sometimes he would cry out in pain."

A mist clouded Cream Puff’s eyes. She choked out, "And then what?"

"I took him to the vet for a check-up. The doctor said he had a tumor."

Cream Puff covered her mouth as tears streamed down her face.

"It was an emergency, so the vet scheduled surgery for Snowball right away. But his condition didn’t improve much after the operation..." Her husband’s voice trailed off. His eyes were red, too, and his voice was hoarse. "Flora, it’s all my fault. I didn’t take good care of Snowball."

"How is Snowball now?" Cream Puff demanded anxiously, clutching her husband’s sleeve.

"He’s at the animal hospital," her husband said. "Snowball... he might not make it. I was worried you wouldn’t be able to handle it."

Cream Puff said through her tears, "No matter what, he’s still my Snowball. No other dog can ever replace him. Take me to see him. Right now."

"Okay," her husband agreed immediately.

Cream Puff quickly picked up her phone and said to Renee Jennings, "Renee, Snowball is still alive! I’m going to see him now."

Cream Puff’s husband knew Renee Jennings was the animal streamer his wife followed. He’d always heard her muttering about why she could never get connected, and it turned out she had finally succeeded today.

’So this streamer must be the one who told her about Snowcake,’ he thought.

On the way home from the office, he had been wondering how his wife found out.

Cream Puff grabbed a coat to throw on over her pajamas. While waiting for the elevator, she said to Renee Jennings, "Renee, I don’t want to hold up your stream any longer. I’ll let you know once I have news about Snowball."

"Alright." Renee Jennings nodded gently. "I hope Snowball pulls through safely."

"Thank you, Renee." Cream Puff said a quick goodbye to the stream’s audience and disconnected.

She sent a gift to Renee Jennings and then left the stream.

Inside the elevator, Cream Puff turned her head to look at the man beside her.

"Flora." Her husband took her hand. "I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean to hide this from you."

At first, he had been afraid of distracting her during her business trip. Later, when Snowball’s condition became critical, he just didn’t know how to tell her...

Cream Puff’s voice was muffled. "From now on, no matter what happens, you can’t hide things from me."

"I know." Her husband quickly agreed, letting out a small sigh of relief internally.

**

「Meanwhile.」

In a fit of anger, SizzlingPork left Renee Jennings’s stream and even unfollowed her.

She refused to believe her own daughter would steal from their home.

Her daughter was away at a boarding school, so she couldn’t ask her right now even if she wanted to.

The more SizzlingPork thought about it, the more upset she became. She walked out of her room, knocked on the door to the utility room, and called out, "Zane, are you asleep?"

Zane pulled open the door. "Anna."

"I’m asking you, did you or did you not take my things?" SizzlingPork demanded, her face grim as she stared at her.

Zane shook her head, her tone calm. "I didn’t."

"Then how could my things just go missing?" SizzlingPork’s gaze was sharp as she scrutinized her. "If you stole them, just be honest about it. I won’t press charges."

Zane frowned and shook her head again. "Anna, I really didn’t steal your things."

’Didn’t Renee just tell her the truth?’

"You..." SizzlingPork felt a surge of irritation. Suppressing her anger, she said, "Zane, I know you’re from the countryside and your family is poor. You probably haven’t seen many nice things growing up. It’s normal to feel a bit greedy seeing the valuable items in our house, and I can understand that. But if you stole something, you have to admit it."

"I really didn’t steal anything." Zane felt a sense of injustice and retorted, "Anna, my family may not have money, but that doesn’t mean we weren’t raised right. My parents taught me not to steal."

That last sentence seemed to trigger SizzlingPork. She raised her hand and slapped Zane hard across the face, snarling, "Who are you saying wasn’t raised right?"

She had used all her strength. Zane’s cheek instantly felt hot, a fiery, stinging pain spreading across it. Tears immediately welled up in her eyes.

"Anna." A trace of anger entered Zane’s gaze as she looked at her. "I said I was raised right. I never said anyone wasn’t. I didn’t say anything wrong. Why did you hit me?"

SizzlingPork knew she was in the wrong and couldn’t meet the other woman’s eyes. She turned her head away and snapped, "Just looking at you is annoying. Crying at the drop of a hat. You think crying makes you tough?"