Future Pet Shop

Chapter 92: Going to Sichuan

Bai Yanni had recently taken on a major case and had been busy for a long time before finally wrapping it up. She managed to get a two-day vacation and wanted to ask Shen Yibin to hang out. But to her surprise, the moment she walked into the store, she saw Sun Qian. For some reason, she suddenly felt flustered.

"She’s the new employee I hired for the store. I can’t handle everything by myself anymore. I searched for a whole month and finally found a suitable person. Sun Qian, this is Officer Bai. Officer Bai has helped our store out a lot in the past," Shen Yibin explained.

"Hello, Officer Bai," Sun Qian greeted politely, silently admiring her. ’This Officer Bai is beautiful, and there’s a heroic air about her. She really is a charming woman.’

"Hello." Bai Yanni’s reply, however, was a bit cold. She couldn’t help but grumble to herself, ’You searched for so long just to hire a pretty young thing like this? Did you hire for ability, or for looks?’

"Hah’Er, let’s go. We’re going to Nanshan today. Cheeky, are you staying in the store or...?" Shen Yibin, whose emotional intelligence had always been rather low, didn’t notice any problems and excitedly prepared to head out. "Uh, Qian, you’re on your own for lunch. I’ll probably be back before closing time. If I’m late, you can just head home. Just make sure to lock the door."

In the end, Cheeky decisively chose to stay in the store and listen to music. Shen Yibin had no choice but to take Hah’Er, pack some outdoor gear, and get into Bai Yanni’s car.

"Hey, how come Cheeky didn’t come today?" Bai Yanni was a little curious. In the past, Cheeky had always joined them on their excursions. What was different today?

"Oh, I sold Cheeky. That young lady is its new owner now. It’s fickle and abandoned me for someone new," Shen Yibin joked.

"Sold? For how much?" Bai Yanni felt even more annoyed. She had no idea that purchasing Cheeky required a certain level of affinity. She herself had thought about buying Cheeky in the past. ’If you had sold it for a huge price to some rich tycoon, that would be one thing. But judging by Sun Qian’s appearance, she probably doesn’t have much money. If that’s the case, why didn’t you sell it to me?’

"Thirty-eight thousand, three hundred eighty-four yuan and thirty-eight fen. The price has never changed," Shen Yibin replied, still oblivious to the change in Bai Yanni’s tone.

"SCREECH~~~" Bai Yanni suddenly slammed the brakes and pulled the car over to the side of the road. After hearing what Shen Yibin said, she completely lost all interest in their outing. ’I can afford thirty-eight thousand too! Why didn’t you sell it to me?’ "Oh, so you just went ahead and gave the parrot away because you thought the little lady was pretty?"

"That’s not it! I didn’t just decide to sell it. The other day, I went to a Western restaurant for dinner, and she happened to be playing the piano there. Cheeky hit it off with her instantly. That’s the only reason I was willing to sell," Shen Yibin said, telling the truth and recounting the tale of how Cheeky and Sun Qian had their little ’conspiracy.’ "Um, why’d you stop the car?"

’So that’s what happened? Looks like I misunderstood Bin.’ A blush crept onto Bai Yanni’s face. "It’s nothing. I just twisted my ankle for a second, but it’s fine now." She restarted the car, her mood having improved considerably.

"Twisted your ankle? Is it serious? There’s a hospital up ahead, should we go get it checked out? Also, let me drive instead," Shen Yibin asked with concern.

"It’s fine, no need for a hospital. It was just a slight twist, it won’t affect my driving." ’This silly boy, he really believes whatever you tell him.’ Bai Yanni quickly changed the subject. "Now that you’ve hired someone for the store, you can finally relax a bit."

"Yeah, once she gets the hang of the store’s procedures, I can head to Sichuan," Shen Yibin, whose attention was easily diverted, replied with a nod.

"Why are you going to Sichuan? For vacation or for business?" Bai Yanni went along with the new topic, relieved as long as they didn’t have to talk about her ankle anymore. "How long will you be gone?"

"The timing isn’t set yet. I need to contact Professor Wu Gui at the Sichuan Giant Panda Base first." Shen Yibin pointed to Hah’Er in the back seat. "I’m taking this guy for a physical check-up and to do some matchmaking for him, see if we can find Hah’Er a girlfriend." Shen Yibin was too embarrassed to mention that Hah’Er was meant to become a breeding male.

"Oh, so even Hah’Er is getting a girlfriend?" ’Damn it, even a Panda is getting a partner, so why am I still single?’ Bai Yanni unknowingly took 10,000 points of psychic damage.

It wasn’t until they arrived at Nanshan, had a blast playing in the mountain forest with Shen Yibin and Hah’Er, and tasted Shen Yibin’s cooking that Bai Yanni’s mood finally recovered.

"Hah’Er, hurry and get down! It’s time to go back!" This time, Hah’Er had climbed to the top of a tree again and was stubbornly refusing to come down, which made Bai Yanni roar with laughter as she continuously snapped pictures with her phone.

’Sigh, I need to make money faster,’ Shen Yibin thought. ’Then I can buy the storefronts on either side, expand the pet shop, and build Hah’Er a sunroom just like the one at that Western restaurant. I’ll plant bamboo and a big tree in it, so he won’t be so reluctant to come home every time we go outdoors.’

After a great deal of effort, they finally coaxed Hah’Er down from the tree. The three of them set off on their way back. When they returned to the store, a glance at his phone showed it was just about dinnertime. Shen Yibin took the initiative to invite her to stay. "Officer Bai, why don’t you stay and have dinner with us?"

Bai Yanni was just about to agree, but the sight of Sun Qian made her mood turn cold again. ’He calls her "Qian" so affectionately, but he calls me "Officer Bai"? What’s that supposed to mean?’

"Forget it. I have something to do tonight. You guys eat by yourselves." Without waiting for Shen Yibin’s reply, she started the car and sped off, leaving Shen Yibin and Hah’Er scratching their heads, completely bewildered about what had just happened.

Over the next few days, Shen Yibin continued to train Sun Qian. Gradually, she became capable enough that it wouldn’t be a problem for her to look after the store by herself for a few days. Thus, the plan to take Hah’Er to Sichuan was officially put on the agenda.

"Professor Wu Gui, hello, it’s Bin... Yes, yes, that’s right. I have some free time recently, so I’m calling to see if it’s a convenient time for you... Okay, okay, great, that’s good. I’ll be as quick as I can... I’ll call you again before I leave to confirm the time... There’s no need to send someone to pick me up, right?... Oh, right, right, I’d forgotten about that if you hadn’t mentioned it. Then I’ll have to trouble you... Okay, okay... I’ll hang up now, then."

On the phone, Professor Wu Gui sounded very eager. He not only urged Shen Yibin to get to Sichuan as soon as possible but also offered to send a private car to pick up him and Hah’Er from the airport. Shen Yibin had wanted to refuse, but when he considered how difficult it would be to travel with Hah’Er, he accepted.

Sun Qian, for her part, had no problem looking after the store for a few days. "It’ll be tough on you for the next few days, then," Shen Yibin said. "There are two bedrooms upstairs. If you feel like the commute is too much of a hassle, you can stay in the empty one for now."

After arranging things at the store, Shen Yibin began preparing for his trip. He didn’t need to worry about hotels or anything, as Professor Wu Gui was taking care of those arrangements. All he had to do was get himself to Sichuan.

So, Shen Yibin took out his phone and started dialing the airline’s number. "Hello, yes, I’d like to ask, what’s the procedure for flying with a pet?"