Future Pet Shop

’When something goes wrong, don’t panic. You have to calm down and figure out how to handle it. In a situation like this, you have to muddy the waters—drag Chen Qian, who was originally uninvolved, into it. Turn her from a bystander on the moral high ground into a participant. Let’s see how she’s going to explain it to her sister then. Could she say, "Sis, that guy... I found out he’s degenerated into hitting on girls everywhere... all because he has a secret crush on *me* and couldn’t have me?" How would Chen Xi treat Chen Qian then? Would she thank her for exposing my true colors, or would she resent her for ruining things? Chen Qian just had to go home and think about it for a moment to know the answer. At that point, would she still tell her sister everything? Long Sheng was confident she wouldn’t make such a foolish decision.’

’Alright, that’s settled.’ Long Sheng shrugged and calmly opened WeChat. He saw a message from Xia Shixuan. ’Hmm? She wants me to go to the suburbs to paint a sculpture? That’s fine by me. Although the situation has been temporarily suppressed, it’s probably best if I don’t show my face in front of those two sisters for a while, to avoid escalating the conflict and causing things to spiral out of control.’ So, Long Sheng quickly replied, "Send me the specific address. I’ll grab a cab and head over right away."

Xia Shixuan immediately sent her location. Long Sheng hailed a taxi and, before long, arrived at Shen Yibin’s estate. The first thing he saw after getting out of the car was the Totem Pole soaring into the clouds, with Xia Shixuan and the others standing below it. And then... he was floored. "No way... Shixuan, you’re not actually going to make me paint this Totem Pole, are you?"

By a rough estimate, the Totem Pole was at least fifty meters tall. This was a monumental task that would take an incredible amount of time and energy. If he had to stay here for a long time, it wouldn’t be a good thing for Long Sheng. ’I still have to go into the city to hit on girls.’

"Duh, why else would I call you here? Hurry up and help me get this done. Our boss will make it worth your while." Xia Shixuan didn’t care whether he was willing or not. She reached out and pulled him over to Shen Yibin. "Boss, this is Long Sheng. He’s unemployed and gets by doing freelance art gigs. But his skills are pretty good. You can have him give it a try later, and if he’s a good fit, just let him handle it."

Although he complained bitterly, Long Sheng never refused Xia Shixuan’s requests. They had been childhood friends who grew up together. Long Sheng had plenty of girls he could take to a hotel room, but Xia Shixuan was the only one he could chat with easily and without any ulterior motives. So he cherished their relationship. Hearing her say this, he quickly dropped his earlier complaints and puffed out his chest, assuring Shen Yibin, "Mr. Shen, it’s a pleasure. I’ve often heard Shixuan speak of you. I’m honored to be able to participate in such a magnificent project." This part was actually true. A Totem Pole over fifty meters tall was likely one of a kind in the entire country. Even in the United States, a Totem Pole of this scale was probably rare.

"Mr. Long, a pleasure to meet you. You haven’t eaten yet, have you? Come on, I set up a grill by the river. We can eat and chat." With a shout, he called Wen Yuan, Hah’Er, and the others down from the elevator. The group went down to the bank of the Yunshui River together. This stretch of riverbank was situated perfectly between two hills, the slopes blocking it from outside view. It created a private, quiet space where they could enjoy life without being disturbed.

Once they reached the river, Hah’Er excitedly jumped into the water, his big eyes fixed on the surface. From time to time, he would swing his paws, slapping small fish onto the sandy bank. He had started preparing ingredients for tonight’s barbecue dinner. Li Shiqing quickly brought a bucket over and started picking up the small fish one by one. Bald Qiang watched from the bank for a moment before jumping into the water with his mate. The two of them herded schools of fish toward Hah’Er from upstream and downstream, helping it get a bigger catch.

Shen Yibin took the small fish from Li Shiqing, scaled and gutted them, then added seasoning to marinate them. He set them aside to let the flavors sink in. Then he picked up some pre-marinated lamb skewers and started grilling them. Meanwhile, the rest of the girls started spreading out picnic blankets and taking out all sorts of drinks, sipping them while they waited for Shen Yibin to finish grilling.

’Wow, there are so many beautiful women here! If I’d known, I would have been hitting up Shixuan every day to get closer to her circle.’ Long Sheng was momentarily dazzled by the sheer number of beauties. He couldn’t help but let his old habits take over. He picked up his cup and started making the rounds, trying to chat them up one by one. Xia Shixuan saw this but didn’t stop him, merely smiling without a word.

Soon, Long Sheng suffered a crushing blow. Whether it was the shop employees like Li Shiqing and Xie Nannan, the classmates like Qiao Wenqi and Mo Xiaomo, or friends like Officer Bai, they all met his advances with nothing more than a few lukewarm replies. His usually foolproof pickup lines were completely useless now.

"If you want to pick up girls, you’d better go back to the city. You probably don’t have much hope here," Xia Shixuan said with a shake of her head and a smile, seeing Long Sheng return to her side, dejected.

"Sigh, it’s not meant to be." Long Sheng recovered quickly, though. He was, after all, a seasoned veteran of the game. He quickly recognized the reality of the situation. These girls’ hearts were already completely occupied by someone else; there was absolutely no room for him to wedge his way in. A few casual glances were all it took to see it. Even though the girls were all busy with their own things, the focus of their attention was always on Shen Yibin. Whenever it seemed like he might need a hand with something, more than one girl would rush over to help before he even had to ask. If he couldn’t even see that, then all his years of experience would have been for nothing.

"Boss, do you need the cumin? I just remembered I left it in the car. I’ll go get it for you!" Just as he was about to say a couple more things to Xia Shixuan, he saw her suddenly get up and dash back toward the construction site.

’Damn, Shixuan, not you too?’ The sight left Long Sheng dumbfounded. He never expected that even his own childhood friend had fallen.

Now Long Sheng was really unsettled. He grabbed a can of beer and began to observe Shen Yibin while taking small sips. ’Hmm, the kid is pretty handsome. Being able to open such a large pet store and live in such a big estate means he’s extremely well-off. Smelling this barbecue and seeing how much the girls are enjoying it proves his cooking skills are incredible too. And looking at all the pets gathered around him proves he’s a very caring person.’

’No matter how you look at it, a guy like this should be incredibly popular with the ladies. No wonder all these girls look at him that way. But I heard Shixuan say he’s still single?’

’Sigh. Bro, you’re really wasting your talent!’