Future Pet Shop

Chapter 62: The Draft Assembly Launches

No one had to worry about being forced to drink, nor did they have to second-guess whether they’d said or done something wrong. For these guys who had just started slugging it out in the working world, it was a rare chance to truly let loose. All in all, they had a wonderful time.

After Xu Ye finished singing, it was finally Cheeky’s turn. It had Hah’Er help hold the microphone above its head, then flew up to perch on Hah’Er’s head, turning the panda’s big, fluffy head into its personal stage. It belted out song after song, each one sounding just as good as the original, earning round after round of applause from the crowd.

Hah’Er, seemingly infected by the atmosphere, started twisting its waist and shaking its rump, breaking into a dance that had Shen Yibin and the others rolling on the sofa with laughter.

They partied wildly until midnight, when everyone reluctantly dispersed. Xu Ye drove Qiao Wenqi and Mo Xiaomo home, while Shen Yibin took Cheeky and Hah’Er back to the shop.

"Sigh, I’m exhausted. Let’s all get to bed early. I have a feeling tomorrow’s going to be another busy one!" Just as they had discussed, the executives from the livestreaming platforms and the big spenders were supposed to come by tomorrow to submit their proposals.

Before going to bed, Shen Yibin glanced at Cheeky, who was already dreaming in its basket. ’I really can’t bear for this little guy to leave,’ he thought. ’If only the Future Pet Shop didn’t have so many restrictions.’

He woke up, ate breakfast, and tidied up a bit. Shen Yibin cautiously opened the shop door, and the packed crowd outside told him that there was no hope of taking Cheeky and Hah’Er for a walk in the park today.

At the front of the line were, unsurprisingly, the same few big spenders and livestreaming platform executives. This time, however, they hadn’t paid for their spots. When Shen Yibin had returned from the karaoke bar last night, he’d seen their underlings and assistants setting up tents outside, preparing to queue all night.

"Please, come in," Shen Yibin invited. "I don’t have any particularly good tea, so I won’t be serving that. I’ll go squeeze some fresh juice for you all instead." He figured they’d look down on his tea anyway. Fortunately, they had brought some nice fruit yesterday.

"Don’t trouble yourself, Mr. Shen. Let someone else handle these things," said Li Yinchen, the executive who had proposed the talent show idea yesterday. He beckoned with his hand, and a pretty female secretary immediately came forward, took the fruit from Shen Yibin, and got to work. A few moments later, several glasses of fresh juice were served.

"Mr. Shen, here is the proposal we put together yesterday." Li Yinchen handed over a thick stack of documents. "Allow me to give you a brief overview. After a full night of discussions, we’ve reached a preliminary consensus."

’Yep, I can tell from your dark circles you didn’t sleep a wink last night,’ Shen Yibin thought, nodding for him to continue.

"The five livestreaming platforms and seven independent investors have decided to register a new company to operate this venture. These representatives behind me are now all colleagues at this company," Li Yinchen said, gesturing to the people behind him. "We know you don’t like dealing with troublesome details, Mr. Shen, so we’ve taken care of these trivial matters for you."

"We’ve already booked the Yunzhou City Indoor Stadium as the venue for this talent show. We expect the auditions to officially begin in seven days." This was clearly about finding a new owner for Cheeky, so how did it turn into a "talent show"? But then again, no one could come up with a more suitable term, so they just went with it.

"The audition process will be similar to other shows. Contestants will come on stage one by one to perform, and a judge will score them to decide if they are eliminated or advance. The slight difference is that our only judge this time will be Cheeky." At this point, Li Yinchen and the others were actually hoping Cheeky wouldn’t find an owner too quickly. They would be thrilled if the show dragged on for as long as possible.

"But I still have to run the shop every day. I’m not sure I’ll have that much time," Shen Yibin questioned.

"No need to worry about that. We’ve scheduled the show from 8 PM to 10 PM every evening. You’ll only need to spare two hours a day, so it won’t interfere with your business at all." At this, the big spenders and executives all felt a familiar frustration. If he would just accept any one of their offers, tens of millions in cash would be thrown his way. Why would he still care about this tiny little shop?

"That works for me. So, how long is this talent show expected to last?" ’It can’t go on for too long,’ he thought. The Future Pet Shop had only given him three months. If they couldn’t find a suitable customer during the show, Shen Yibin would have to figure out some other plan.

"Of course, we’re hoping it will last as long as possible. It really just depends on your availability," Li Yinchen said frankly. To make the offer more persuasive, he dangled a huge carrot. "According to our projections, this talent show is certain to generate substantial profits. After discussion, we are willing to give thirty percent of the profits to you, Mr. Shen."

PFFT! Shen Yibin nearly sprayed out the mouthful of juice he had just taken. Judging by the audience’s rabid enthusiasm during Cheeky’s livestreamed singing performance yesterday, he knew this talent show was bound to be incredibly lucrative. And they were willing to give him thirty percent of the profits?

"By the most conservative estimates, that thirty percent will be in the tens of millions. So, what do you say...?" Li Yinchen added, fanning the flames.

"Let’s make Cheeky’s decision the priority. If he finds a suitable owner on the first day, then it ends on the first day. Also, if we still haven’t succeeded within a month, it ends then, too." ’Sigh, all the money in the world is useless if you’re not around to spend it,’ Shen Yibin thought, never daring to forget the Future Pet Shop’s warning.

"Mr. Shen, we’ve invested so much into this event! We have to spend a huge amount of time and energy on promotion, marketing, and venue setup. If it only lasts for one day, we probably won’t even recoup our costs!" Li Yinchen said, getting anxious.

"If that’s a problem, then let’s just forget the whole thing." Shen Yibin tossed the proposal onto the coffee table. "Of course, in my estimation, it’s highly unlikely something that coincidental would happen." ’Given the Future Pet Shop’s usual bullshit and Cheeky’s high standards,’ he mused, ’finding it a suitable owner won’t be easy.’

After some more back-and-forth, Shen Yibin refused to budge. Li Yinchen and his group had no choice but to concede. Of course, the main reason they gave in was that they had already signed contracts amongst themselves. Whoever won the right to purchase Cheeky through this talent show would be required to sign with the new company for promotion and packaging. They wouldn’t be short of opportunities to make money.

Shen Yibin had a few lawyers review the contract. After some minor revisions, he signed his name. And with that, the unprecedented talent show was officially underway.

Videos of Cheeky immediately began to spread like wildfire across the internet. The talent show quickly became a trending topic, and everyone was speculating about who would become the owner of this magical parrot.