Future Pet Shop

Chapter 82: You Can’t Do This to Me

"Uh, yeah. I participated in a commercial event to help find a suitable owner for Cheeky. That shouldn’t be a problem, right?" Shen Yibin replied timidly, afraid something was wrong.

But, of course, his worst fears came true. The Future Pet Shop immediately hit him with a devastating blow. "This parrot is currently on consignment with you. Any money earned through this parrot during this period should not belong to you."

’No way! Are you saying you’re taking the money back?’ That blow left Shen Yibin seeing stars. He had just been fantasizing about what to do with over seventeen million, and now he was hit with this terrible news. Who could possibly accept this?

"Therefore, you must return the seventeen million, as well as all subsequent payments. If you spend any of it, you will have to bear all the consequences yourself." The Future Pet Shop didn’t seem to care what a massive blow this would be, adding its supplement in the same cold, robotic tone.

’Is there no justice in this world? Are there no laws? I worked my butt off to earn this money with Cheeky, and you’re just going to take it away? The only thing more painful than being poor must be this—giving someone a huge sum of money, letting them get happy, and then suddenly snatching it back.’ Looking at the check, then back at the Future Pet Shop’s reply, Shen Yibin was in absolute agony.

After a long while, he finally worked up the courage to ask, "And what if I don’t return the money?"

"Heh heh." The Future Pet Shop merely sent back those two words, but they sent Shen Yibin’s imagination reeling with terrible possibilities. ’That’s right, they have me by the balls right now. Forget everything else; if they just canceled Hah’Er’s identity papers, I’d be spending the rest of my life in prison.’

Besides, given the incredible power the Future Pet Shop had displayed before—memory transplants, forged documents—Shen Yibin knew he wouldn’t be able to handle even the smallest of their tricks.

’Am I just going to watch this ten-million-plus... no, wait, with the subsequent payments, it’ll be over thirty million... Am I really just going to watch over thirty million fly away from me? Damn it, how long would it take me to earn that on my own? This is just too cruel.’

’Should I bite the bullet, keep the money, and go to prison, or should I just accept my fate?’ Looking at Hah’Er rolling around on the floor and thinking of his friends and family, Shen Yibin’s resolve finally softened. ’Sigh, thirty million is great, but freedom is more precious.’

’Besides, even if I dug my heels in and refused to pay, I’m sure the Future Pet Shop has a way to transfer the money away anyway, right? Judging by how they handled Hah’Er’s identity documents, the entire internet is basically wide open to them. Moving money around can’t be more difficult than creating a legal identity for Hah’Er.’

"BOO HOO HOO! Hah’Er, your villa is gone! Your bamboo forest is gone too!" Shen Yibin wailed, hugging Hah’Er. This blow was just too brutal. "Cheeky, your Amazon rainforest sunroom is gone! And your harem is gone too!"

"Sigh. I knew you couldn’t pull it off." Cheeky, however, had long seen through Shen Yibin’s true colors and flopped listlessly onto a pillow.

"Mmm! Mmm!" Hah’Er didn’t seem to realize what had happened, or perhaps the allure of villas and bamboo forests wasn’t that strong for him. Seeing Shen Yibin crying like this, he quickly reached out a paw to try and wipe away his tears.

After crying for a good long while, Shen Yibin finally pulled himself together. ’Sigh, forget it. Cheeky came from the Future Pet Shop anyway. Without it, forget thirty million; I wouldn’t even have Hah’Er and Cheeky here with me. So even though I gained and then lost thirty million, Hah’Er is still by my side, right?’

’Who else in the world gets to privately own a Panda as a pet?’ Shen Yibin could only console himself with this thought. He wiped his tears and began typing a new message in the chat box. "So what should I do with this money? Transfer it to you?" ’WeChat and Alipay transfers have limits, don’t they?’

Transferring seventeen million to the Future Pet Shop didn’t seem like something that could be done in a day or two. And for every extra second the money stayed with him, Shen Yibin felt another second of torment. It was absolute torture.

"No need. You don’t have to transfer the money to me. As long as you don’t use it for yourself, you can do whatever you want with it. I don’t want to take the money back; I’m merely reminding you that you are not entitled to it." The Future Pet Shop’s reply, however, was somewhat unexpected.

’It doesn’t want it, but it won’t let me spend it, either. So what am I supposed to do with it?’ Shen Yibin was dumbfounded. ’For crying out loud, if you don’t want it, why make things so difficult for me?’

"This is just a reminder that you should not profit from commercial activities using pets consigned to you by this shop. The only profit you are allowed to receive is the commission from the sale of the consigned pet. Of course, you are completely free to earn profits through your own pets. We have no say in that," the Future Pet Shop explained.

’That actually seems to make some sense. Logically, Cheeky isn’t my pet right now, so the money earned through him shouldn’t belong to me. But I’ve already bought Hah’Er, so there’s no problem with me deciding what to do with any money he earns.’

’BOO HOO HOO! Why on earth did I turn down all those business proposals for Hah’Er?!’ Shen Yibin was now deeply regretting it. And when he thought about how much money Cheeky’s future owner could make, he felt utterly depressed.

"So what on earth am I supposed to do with this money?" Shen Yibin’s head ached. He couldn’t spend it himself, and he didn’t have to return it. What was the proper way to handle this?

"That is your business. In any case, it cannot be used for personal consumption, investment, or other purposes. In other words, you cannot gain any personal benefit from this money. How you specifically handle it is none of my concern." The Future Pet Shop seemed ready to end the conversation. "Alright, figure something out soon. Try to get it settled. And another reminder: there are only forty days left until the sales deadline for this parrot. You’d better hurry up and find a solution."

’You’re even crueler than the landlords of old,’ Shen Yibin thought, speechless. ’First you stab me in the heart, and now you’re rubbing salt in the wound. It’s like you’re afraid I might actually be in a good mood.’

He couldn’t spend it, nor could he profit from it. So how was he supposed to deal with this massive sum of over thirty million? Shen Yibin’s head throbbed as he leaned back on the sofa, lost in thought.

’Hmm? I wonder if this would work...’ After a long time, an idea suddenly came to him.