Future Pet Shop

"Why a French name?" Li Shiqing had noticed that Shen Yibin's pronunciation sounded a bit like French, so she asked out of curiosity.

"Er, because the sculptor I admire most is the Frenchman, Rodin, so I wanted to give it a French name." 'Well, I don't care if you guys believe it. I believe it, anyway.'

Admiring Rodin means naming it Marc? 'What kind of logic is that? Why not just name it Rodin? I really have no idea what the boss is thinking all day.' Li Shiqing was completely bewildered, while the others covered their mouths to stifle their giggles. The way they looked at Shen Yibin seemed a little different now.

"Ahem, I think Marc's artwork will definitely be loved by many people," Xia Shixuan said with mock seriousness, holding back her laughter. 'Boss, I never thought that someone as prim and proper as you would be so knowledgeable about the... art... of woodpeckers.'

"Yes, yes, yes! It'll be world-renowned one day! Hey, Bin, in the future, do you think I could pick one of Marc's pieces to put in my house as a decoration?" Wen Yuan said sincerely.

"No problem. As long as there are extra pieces, take your pick. It's getting late, I should get back to bed. You all should get some rest too." 'I can't stay out here any longer. If I do, something bad is going to happen!' Shen Yibin quickly scrammed with Hah'Er. Just before he left, he vaguely heard a few words, something like "Marc-Dorcel." 'Huh? What on earth does that mean?'

That night, Marc stopped creating his art. Without the PECK PECK PECK PECK PECK sound in the shop, Shen Yibin quickly fell asleep. In his dreams, he was surrounded by countless woodpecker art pieces, making him so reluctant to get out of bed the next morning that Hah'Er had to climb onto the bed and physically drag him out.

"Thanks for everything. I'm taking Hah'Er and the others to the park for a stroll." After breakfast, Shen Yibin headed for the park with a swagger. He held Hah'Er's leash in his left hand and Xiaoliu's in his right, with Marc standing on his left shoulder and Maphario perched on his right. Behind him trailed Wen Yuan and the Bald Qiang couple. He looked just like a profligate young master from ancient times; all he was missing were a couple of fair maidens on the street to flirt with.

"Bin, out for your morning exercise again? Whoa, and a woodpecker! Can I pet it?" Shen Yibin was a celebrity now; what chance would he have to flirt with fair maidens? The moment the young women saw his adorable pets, they rushed over to flirt with *him*. 'I mean, miss, is it really okay for you to be rubbing up against me while wearing something so flimsy?'

After finally escaping the crowd, he brought them to the park. The Bald Qiang couple, who now knew better than to randomly gnaw on trees, jumped into the lake with a SPLASH and started swimming. Marc flapped its wings, flew to a treetop, and quickly found a suitable target, resuming its PECK PECK PECK PECK PECK search for insects as if it were having breakfast. Xiaoliu also scampered up a tree in a flash and began swinging around. Shen Yibin tied Hah'Er's leash to his own waist and started cruising around with the panda and Maphario.

Usually, Hah'Er wouldn't be satisfied until it had done at least three laps, but this time, it called for Shen Yibin to stop before completing even two. The moment they stopped, the little guy hugged its skateboard, ran over to the grass by the path, and began to examine it meticulously. It wiped the panda relief sculpture again and again with its paws, as if terrified of getting it dirty.

"Oh? Yesterday you were afraid he'd break your skateboard, and today you're this protective of it?" Shen Yibin teased, rubbing its head. 'His mood sure changes fast.'

"Hmph~" Hah'Er squirmed about, looking embarrassed. It looked at Marc in the distance, blinking its eyes, seemingly pondering how best to apologize to it.

"When we get back, see if you can lend him a hand," Shen Yibin suggested to Hah'Er. 'Hah'Er might not be able to do the actual sculpting, but it can certainly serve tea, pass water, and help sweep up the wood shavings, right?'

"Mmm!" Hah'Er nodded in agreement. After resting on the grass for a while, the Bald Qiang couple finished their swim, and Xiaoliu and Marc returned to Shen Yibin's side. So, he got up and led the gang back to the shop. Normally, Wen Yuan would have taken Bald Qiang and his mate to the construction site, but today, wanting to witness Marc's artistic process firsthand, both Wen Yuan and the two beavers gave themselves the day off and stayed at the shop. The whole group crowded around the pool, waiting for Marc to begin its creation.

Hah'Er even found a cup, filled it with water, and carried it over to Marc as an apology for yesterday's misunderstanding. Marc didn't stand on ceremony, taking a couple of sips before starting its work. Most artists don't like to be disturbed while creating, but Marc didn't seem to have that problem. It would glance at Shen Yibin's head for a moment as if for comparison, then go back to its PECK PECK PECK PECK PECK work.

Hah'Er sat on the ground holding the cup, curiously watching Marc's every move. It would look back and forth between Shen Yibin and the sculpture, seeming to make a comparison.

Xiaoliu squatted on a nearby branch, its eyes fixed on Marc's beak. It unconsciously waved the bamboo stick in its hand, as if treating Marc's pecking as a Swordsmanship attack and wondering if it could block it.

Maphario perched on another nearby tree root, its eyes darting between Marc and the root under its own feet. It looked like it also had the idea of imitating Marc and starting its own work.

Bald Qiang was much more decisive. After pondering for a moment, it seemed to have figured something out. It scurried over to the tree root Maphario was on, opened its mouth wide, and began to gnaw on it with its sharp incisors.

"Squeak! Squeak!" After a couple of bites, it still felt a bit uncertain and called out to Marc twice.

"KIK! KIK!" Hearing the summons, Marc flew up, circled the tree root twice, and glanced at Hah'Er. Then, it landed on the root and made a circle of PECK PECK PECK PECK PECK marks. After that, it nodded at Bald Qiang and flew back to its own root to continue creating.

'Huh? What does that mean?' Shen Yibin didn't get it, but Bald Qiang seemed to have understood completely. It picked up the root and started gnawing again. It was treating the marks Marc had pecked as guidelines; it gnawed away everything inside the lines, leaving the outside untouched. Now everyone finally understood. It was acting as Marc's assistant! Bald Qiang would gnaw out the rough shape, and then Marc would personally handle the fine-tuning.

It was a fitting arrangement. Bald Qiang's two large incisors could chew through wood much faster than Marc could slowly peck. With a flurry of determined gnawing, the rough shape of a panda's head gradually began to emerge.

Maphario now understood as well. Without a second thought, it also ran up to Bald Qiang and started gnawing. Its smaller teeth were perfect for some of the slightly more detailed work. Meanwhile, Hah'Er, holding a brush it had found somewhere, began sweeping up the wood shavings. Everyone was creating art together.