Future Pet Shop

Chapter 104: Going Home

Princess Sylvie had important diplomatic duties, so it was already a feat for her to spare so much time for the Giant Panda Base. She left reluctantly as soon as she exited the enclosure, rushing off to her next destination. At last, Shen Yibin and Hah’Er had some peace and quiet.

"How about I cook for you tonight? You must be tired of only eating bamboo and apples these past few days, right?" Shen Yibin asked, rubbing Hah’Er’s head. He had just used the excuse that Hah’Er had already eaten inside the enclosure to politely decline the staff’s invitation to stay for a meal, and instead brought Hah’Er back to their room. The suite was fully equipped with kitchenware, allowing him to put his cooking skills on full display.

"Mhm! Mhm!" Hah’Er nodded eagerly, practically drooling. He then glanced toward the refrigerator; he clearly wanted a beer again.

"Okay, you be good and wait here for a bit while I go buy groceries." The base had a supermarket for its staff, so getting some basic ingredients wouldn’t be a problem.

Hah’Er picked up the tablet, sat down on the sofa, and waved a paw at Shen Yibin, as if to say, ’Hurry back.’

After leaving the room, Shen Yibin suddenly thought of a serious problem. ’Wait, did I ever delete those "educational videos" from the tablet? Hah’Er’s mating season is over now. Would watching those kinds of films be a bad thing?’

Because of this concern, Shen Yibin picked up his pace, quickly buying the ingredients and seasonings before rushing back to the hotel. However, Hah’Er wasn’t watching the "educational videos" at all. He was hugging the tablet and watching cartoons, which meant Shen Yibin had worried for nothing.

Shen Yibin breathed a sigh of relief, washed his hands, and started cooking. Soon, the aroma of twice-cooked pork filled the room, causing the hungry Hah’Er to repeatedly turn his head and urge him to hurry up.

After a delicious meal, they took their beer cans out to the balcony to enjoy the gentle breeze and the beautiful scenery of the base. Life couldn’t be more relaxing. For some reason, however, Shen Yibin found himself missing the hustle and bustle of his pet shop. He missed the chatterbox Cheeky, the other pets in the store, and maybe even his familiar friends like Sun Qian, Bai Yanni, and Qiao Wenqi.

"Say, Hah’Er, you think we should be heading back?" Shen Yibin asked after taking a sip of his beer.

"Hmm~" Hah’Er had been staring wistfully at his beer bowl. There was only a thin layer left, and he was reluctant to drink it. Hearing Shen Yibin’s sudden question, he tilted his head in thought for a moment, then nodded decisively. "Mhm!"

’The scenery here is beautiful, the air is fresh, and there are so many fun things to do and friends to play with,’ Hah’Er thought. ’But the food is nowhere near as good as it is back at the shop.’

’What the hell? You just mated with all those female pandas, and you’re not even a little bit sentimental about it? How could you agree so readily? I never noticed this side of you before! Hah’Er, with that simple, honest face of yours, you’re actually a "hit it and quit it" kind of guy! I completely misjudged you. Don’t you dare call yourself my pet from now on! If people think I’m that type of person too, my reputation will be ruined.’

Shen Yibin stared blankly at Hah’Er for a long while, at a loss for words. ’Is this what "honest-looking guys" are really like?’ he wondered. ’All innocent on the surface, but secretly full of bad intentions?’

"Alright then. For the next two days, I’ll take you around to play with your little buddies, and then the day after that, we’ll go home." With that, Shen Yibin took out his phone and called Blue Sky Airlines to book return tickets for himself and Hah’Er.

Thanks to their previous arrangement, booking the tickets went smoothly. He then called Professor Wu Gui to inform him of their plans. Professor Wu Gui tried repeatedly to persuade them to stay, but to no avail. They had no choice but to agree that Shen Yibin would bring Hah’Er back next year to continue his "arduous" duties as a stud.

"Bin, look how much fun Hah’Er is having. Why don’t you let him play for a few more days?" The next day, Professor Wu Gui accompanied Shen Yibin as they brought Hah’Er to a new enclosure. The professor had specially gathered many other pandas of a similar size to play with him, hoping this would entice Hah’Er to stay longer so he could collect more data.

"We’ve been away for a long time," Shen Yibin replied. "I have a small shop to look after, and with only a new employee there, I can’t help but feel a little uneasy." He had spoken with Sun Qian on the phone the previous night, and while she said everything at the pet shop was fine, he was still worried.

"Why don’t you come work here?" Professor Wu Gui wasn’t ready to give up. "I’ll offer you a high salary. You won’t have to do anything at all—just keep Hah’Er company and play with him."

"I think I’ll pass. I’ll come back again next year." ’Who knows what kind of pet the Future Pet Shop will send me next?’ Shen Yibin thought. ’If I stay here, how am I supposed to sell it? I’d better get back to Yunzhong City and look after my shop.’

Professor Wu Gui was out of options. He could only remind Shen Yibin to be sure to return next year and to call him immediately if Hah’Er showed any unusual behavior.

After playing to his heart’s content with his buddies, Hah’Er followed Shen Yibin on a tour of every corner of the Giant Panda Base. They spent two full days enjoying the beautiful scenery.

「On the third day」, it was time for them to leave. Professor Wu Gui personally saw them off at the airport. Escorted by Blue Sky Airlines staff, they took a special passageway into the terminal. After a flight of a little over an hour, they arrived in Yunzhong City.

"Thanks for all your hard work these past few days." Back at the shop, Shen Yibin saw that it looked the same as when he left. The only difference, it seemed, was that the other bedroom on the second floor was now occupied.

"My landlord recently decided to take back the apartment I was renting, and I haven’t found a new place yet," Sun Qian explained, looking a bit embarrassed. "I’ll move out as soon as I do."

"Don’t worry about it. Stay as long as you need. The room would just be empty otherwise," Shen Yibin said, not minding at all. He handed her the local specialties he’d brought back from Sichuan. "Here, a gift for you and Cheeky. Give it a try and see if you like it."

"Oh? Is there any fruit?" Before Sun Qian could even respond, Cheeky flew over. He rummaged through the bag with his claws for what felt like an eternity, but after failing to find what he wanted, he flopped down on the coffee table in a sulk.

He called Qiao Wenqi, Xu Ye, and his other friends to invite them out to dinner, where he distributed the gifts. And just like that, Shen Yibin’s first day back in Yunzhong City came to a close. The last gift was for Bai Yanni; he had thought about inviting her to dinner as well but decided it would be better to give it to her in person.

「The next day」, business at the shop returned to normal. Sun Qian opened the cash register to go over the accounts with him. "Sales have been good for the past few days. We’ve sold about a third of the pets, so you’ll probably need to restock soon. Right now, the total in the cash register is..."

"Okay, I’ll deposit the cash in a little while. And I’ll go ahead and pay out your commission from before I left," Shen Yibin said after a quick look at the sales records. Finding no problems, he prepared to give her the money.

"Excuse me, boss, are you still hiring?" a voice asked from the doorway.