The screen lit up.
Lock screen.
Silas-the-dog stared at the password input box.
For a brief moment, an unmistakably human seriousness appeared on his dog face.
He hesitated.
Then he turned his head toward the kitchen.
Lin Wan was standing over a scorched pan, baring her teeth at the burnt mess.
Silas turned back.
Carefully, he raised a paw.
Too big.
The soft pad pressed multiple keys at once.
Wrong.
Again.
Wrong again.
Irritation flickered through his eyes. He scratched the surface of the coffee table impatiently with his claws.
Then—
The phone on the other end of the table suddenly lit up.
A Weibo special-follow notification slid across the screen:
[@IndustryInsider: SHOCK! Reversal in the disappearance of Top Idol "S"? Suspected massive debts after failed investments… (Expand)]
Only part of the post was visible.
But the keywords—
Top Idol S.Disappearance.Debt.
—were more than enough.
Silas's ears shot straight up.
His pupils shrank.
He abandoned the laptop instantly.
In one smooth motion, he jumped onto the sofa, kicked off, and landed on the floor without a sound.
He padded over to Lin Wan's phone.
The screen dimmed.
Silas nudged the side button gently with his nose.
The screen lit up again.
The notification was still there.
He stared at it.
A low, suppressed growl rumbled deep in his throat.
Then he spun around and rushed back to the laptop.
This time, there was no hesitation.
He raised his paw—not to type—
But slammed the side of his paw against the closed lid.
"Smack!""Smack!"
The sound wasn't loud.
But between Lin Wan clattering pots and pans, it still felt out of place.
"Er-Dog? What are you doing with my laptop again?" Lin Wan called without turning around."I told you—this thing is how I make a living. Don't mess with it. Get your paws away!"
Silas froze.
He glanced toward the kitchen.
A flash of frustration crossed his blue eyes.
But he didn't give up.
He softened his movements, hooked the edge of the screen carefully with the tip of his claw, and pried it open a little wider.
Then he leaned in.
His nose was almost touching the screen.
He studied the lock-screen wallpaper intently—searching for any hint.
A familiar number.A pattern.
Anything.
His focus was so intense that even his tail stopped moving.
The livestream chat suddenly exploded.
[Streamer! Look at your dog! He's studying your laptop!][That posture—those eyes—he's trying to go online, isn't he?][Teacher Er-Dog: Let me see which lowly subject dares slander this king!]
Lin Wan turned off the stove and walked back, wiping her hands.
The moment she saw Silas's solemn face inches from her laptop screen—
Her heart skipped.
In the past week, there had been strange things.
Late at night, faint sounds in the living room—like paws tapping hard surfaces.
In the morning, her laptop seemed slightly moved.
Sometimes there were suspicious water marks near the mouse.
She'd blamed it on sleepiness.
Or Silas sleepwalking.
But now—
"Er-Dog!" she raised her voice.
Silas jumped in fright.
He whipped around, spun in place like a guilty thief, then pretended nothing had happened.
He trotted over to the "luxury playground," grabbed the ugliest squeaky chicken, and began shaking it violently—
as if the dog trying to crack human technology seconds ago had never existed.
Lin Wan narrowed her eyes.
She looked at him.
Then at her laptop.
The screen was still on—lock screen showing a photo of her stupid dog.
Nothing unusual.
But suspicion spread through her mind like ink dropped into water.
She said nothing.
She simply closed the laptop, turned to the camera, and smiled.
"He probably smells potato chip crumbs in the cooling vents.""Alright, the nutrition meal failed. Let's order takeout instead."
"Today's livestream ends here.If Teacher Er-Dog destroys the house tonight, I'll notify everyone!"
Ignoring the protests in chat, she ended the stream instantly.
Silence fell.
Only the squeak-squeak of the chicken echoed through the room—harsh and grating.
Lin Wan sat on the sofa and opened Weibo.
She didn't even need to search.
Her feed and the trending list were already filled with new posts about Silas Moore.
More "scandals."
Failed investments.Debt disputes.Vague accusations of a messy private life.Claims of bullying newcomers.
All posted within the last one to two hours.
Several marketing accounts moving together.
The writing and images carried that familiar scent—
Sloppy on purpose. Carefully arranged chaos.
Lin Wan looked up.
In the corner of the living room, Silas had dropped the squeaky chicken.
He stood with his back to her, facing the wall.
Motionless.
Only the tips of his ears twitched occasionally.
That rigid silhouette looked—
Lonely.
Tense.
She remembered how he'd slapped the laptop earlier.
The late-night noises.
The tie he once wore.
The look in his eyes when he saw her phone notification.
A ridiculous—
yet disturbingly logical—
theory began to take shape in her mind.
This dog—
No.
This top idol—
Was he somehow watching the public opinion?
Following it?
Maybe even trying to interfere—
In ways she didn't know?
Lin Wan opened her barely-used alternate Weibo account.
She found the earliest post spreading the "Silas in debt" rumor.
The comment section was already a battlefield—
Silas's fans, calling themselves "Silent Frames,"versus rival fandoms and haters.
The argument raged uncontrollably.
Lin Wan stared at the screen.
Then slowly—
She smiled.