She Called Me Cold, So I Gave Her The Rabid Dog

Chapter 1

My self-righteous neighbor across the hall kept a drooling stray dog in the fire-exit hallway. She insisted that every living creature deserved compassion and that anyone who refused to help was heartless.

In my previous life, I warned her that the dog showed signs of rabies and insisted that building management remove him. In return, she launched a smear campaign against me through her livestreams. I lost my job, and one of her fanatical followers eventually ran me down with a car.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day she shoved a camera in my face and tried to shame me into buying expensive dog food.

"You're dressed that nicely, and you can't even buy a can of premium dog food for a poor fur baby?"

I smiled, stepped away from her camera, and opened her apartment door for her.

"You're right. He's so pitiful. You should take him into your bedroom and sleep beside him."

'Since you're so compassionate, you can deal with the rabies yourself.'

The harsh light from her phone shone straight into my face, blinding me for a moment.

"Everyone, look at this! She's the well-paid executive who lives in our building. I asked her to donate one can of premium dog food to a fur baby who's practically starving, and she pretended she couldn't hear me. She dresses so well every day, but how can anyone's heart be this cold?"

My neighbor, Emily Dawson, held up a selfie stick and denounced me to her livestream audience.

Her camera tilted downward. In the corner of the fire-exit hallway, a filthy stray dog lay curled up.

His eyes were unfocused, and he recoiled from the light. His mouth hung slightly open as thick strings of saliva dripped onto the concrete floor.

For a moment, the agony from my previous life came rushing back: the car slamming into me, my ribs breaking, one of them puncturing my lung.

I drew a deep breath. The cold air cleared my mind completely.

It had happened right here in this hallway.

The first time around, I had immediately recognized that something was terribly wrong with the dog. His symptoms strongly suggested rabies. For everyone's safety, I warned Emily not to approach him and called building management and security to have him removed.

Emily secretly recorded me "heartlessly driving away a stray animal," cut the video to remove all context, and posted it online.

The cyberbullying campaign soon exposed where I worked. I lost my job, and eventually an unhinged follower from her livestream ran me down in the street.

Emily, meanwhile, turned my death into content and built her popularity on it. She became an "angel of animal rescue" adored across the internet and made a fortune.

"You're dressed that nicely, and you can't even buy a can of premium dog food for a poor fur baby?"

When I remained silent, Emily assumed I was intimidated. She pushed the camera even closer and became more aggressive.

The eager, calculating look on her face as she tried to stir up a confrontation for views made my stomach turn.

I reached for her door handle and pressed it down. The latch clicked.

The door wasn't locked. Her living room, complete with an expensive vintage-style rug she had bought to impress people, was suddenly on display to hundreds of thousands of viewers.

"You're right. He's so pitiful." I looked directly into her camera, my voice gentle but clear. "The hallway is cold and drafty. Since you care so much about him and think leaving him out here is heartless, why don't you take him into your bedroom and let him sleep with you?"

I pointed toward the agitated dog.

"That fur baby obviously feels unsafe. If you really love him this much, bringing him home is the least you can do."

The live comments froze for a second, then began racing across the screen.

A: Exactly! Emmy, take the dog home!

B: That's our animal-rescue influencer. It's freezing out there. Bring him inside!

C: If she lets the dog sleep in her bedroom tonight, I'll send five Universe gifts right now!

Livestream gift effects began flashing across the screen, but Emily's expression soured instantly.

She had paid for a deep cleaning just 1 week earlier and maxed out a credit card to buy that rug just to make the place look expensive.

She had left the dog tethered in the shared hallway for one simple reason. She could build a compassionate image and collect livestream gifts without letting the animal dirty her own home.

"Well... I just had my apartment treated with some strong cleaning products," Emily said with a strained laugh, her eyes darting away. "They could be bad for a fur baby's respiratory system."

I didn't let her off the hook.

"Really? I could have sworn you told the building group chat yesterday that you bought top-of-the-line pet-safe disinfectant specifically to welcome this poor little guy." I smiled at her without warmth. "Or is your compassion only useful when you're pressuring me to pay for dog food? You won't even give him a roof over his head yourself?"

"That's a lie!" Emily shrieked. I had clearly struck a nerve.

People in the livestream were already questioning her.

As the comments turned against her and the top donor urged her to follow through, Emily clenched her teeth.

With real money on the line, she finally gave in. She wrapped her hand in a napkin, clearly disgusted, and picked up the frayed nylon leash tied around the dog's neck.

"Who said I wouldn't let him inside? Buddy, come on. Mommy's taking you home!"

Forcing herself to keep smiling, she dragged the rabid dog into her spotless apartment.