Our building has returned to peaceful tranquility.

The elevator is functioning smoothly.

I haven't seen the family with the naughty kid for a long time; I guess they may have moved out.

After all, things had become so tense that they probably couldn't continue living here.

But a week later, I encountered the naughty kid again.

It turned out their family had gone on a trip for a break and just returned today.

Recently, the restrictions on dog ownership have made many dog lovers in the community quite uneasy.

There are a few stray dogs in the community, usually fed by the residents.

It's been a long time since we saw the Paw Patrol.

Someone mentioned in the property management group asking if the property management had taken them away, but Xiao Zhang from the property management explained that they hadn't caught any dogs.

No one paid much attention to it, since they were stray dogs and could have run out of the community.

One day, the cleaning lady in the community found a dog's carcass in a trash bin.

That's when we realized that there might be a dog abuser in the community.

The only dog owner in our building was the big brother on the 13th floor; he had a Shiba Inu named Da Huang.

Recently, he had been highly stressed, keeping the leash very short when walking the dog.

I messaged him to make sure he kept a close eye on his dog.

But that day, his dog still went missing.

He immediately checked the community surveillance but found nothing.

This indicated that his dog might still be in the building.

He carefully recalled the scene of the day; he opened the door first, the dog squatting at the doorway waiting for him to put on his shoes. When he looked up after putting on his shoes, Da Huang was gone.

He searched up and down the building but couldn't find any trace of the dog.

Da Huang was very intelligent; he would definitely respond when called by the owner. But even after calling around the whole building, there was no response.

My fists clenched tightly, and my molars were grinding. An ominous feeling crept into my heart.

Da Huang might have ended up like those stray dogs.

But I didn't say that out loud.

Once a pet is given a name, it forms a lifelong bond with its owner.

The owner's grief is something I can't fully understand.

Property manager Xiao Zhang also helped put up missing dog notices, and neighbors helped share the search on social media to find Da Huang.

On this day, the auntie from the house opposite mine suddenly noticed a foul smell.

She followed the scent and found it coming from 20-1-2.

That household was the home of the naughty kid.

After triple-checking, the auntie confirmed that the smell was indeed coming from inside.

In the summer, the hallway wasn't ventilated, so the smell couldn't dissipate outside.

Very soon, residents throughout the building started to notice the odor.

We called property manager Xiao Zhang and demanded to know the source of the smell.

Xiao Zhang led the way and knocked on the door of 20-1-2.

After knocking for a long time, the naughty kid's mom opened the door.

She looked disdainful: "What’s up with you people again?”

“My kid didn’t hog the elevator or litter."

"What's the matter this time?"

As soon as the door opened, a strong, rotten odor hit us.

It was so pungent it stung our eyes.

Covering his nose and mouth, Xiao Zhang said, "Ma'am, what's that smell in your house? It's suffocating."

"Can you handle it?"

All of us residents stepped back a big step.

The smell made our eyes water.

I thought, "My God, can anyone even live in this house?"

The big brother from the 13th floor suddenly started shaking violently beside me.

He made a low, guttural sound from his throat, like sobbing and anger mixed.

He shoved Xiao Zhang aside and rushed into the house, grabbing a red bell from a table.

His fingers were trembling, and his teeth were chattering.

"This, this is Da Huang's bell."

He suddenly realized and stared inside, "Where's Da Huang? What did you do to Da Huang?"

He cried out and ran around in the living room.

The naughty kid's dad came out of the bedroom and blocked his way.

"You are trespassing! I can sue you."

Seeing things get tense, I stepped forward and pulled the big brother outside.

"Big brother, are you sure this bell belongs to Da Huang?" I asked cautiously.

"I'm sure. Bells can be bad for dogs' hearing, so I deliberately removed the small iron bead from inside. Look, this one still has the scratch marks from removing it."

"This must be Da Huang's bell."

The big brother answered firmly, his eyes burning with rage.

The naughty kid's mom felt unnerved by his stare and said, "Don't make baseless accusations. Just because of a broken bell?"

"Maybe my son picked it up downstairs?"

"Anyway, didn’t you know that the city has recently banned dogs? Even if someone did kill your dog, they were doing a good deed." She spoke confidently but couldn't hide the guilt in her eyes.

"Ma'am, the city is banning unrestrained dogs and has a list of banned breeds. Not all dogs are banned."

"Taking someone's dog and killing it is illegal," I said, standing in front of the big brother.

"I don't have time for this nonsense." She stepped back and forcefully slammed the door shut.

The bang completely enraged us.

"My Da Huang must have been taken by them," the big brother from the 13th floor slumped against the wall in despair.

"But we have no proof," I scratched my head in frustration.

Just then, the naughty kid came home from school, led by his grandmother.

"You jinxes are here again causing trouble!" His grandmother stomped and spat at us.

"Woof, woof, woof," the naughty kid suddenly barked at us, his eyes filled with a mocking look.

I noticed a dark red stain at the corner of his backpack.