Future Pet Shop

"Alright, I’ll stop teasing you. If I keep going, I’m afraid we won’t be getting any dinner," Xia Shixuan said with a sigh. "You were gone for so long, and I’ve gotten so thin... I should probably wait until I’ve filled out again." As she spoke, she intentionally-yet-unintentionally glanced down at her chest, making her words all the more suggestive.

’Huh? She doesn’t look any thinner to me.’ Shen Yibin subconsciously followed her gaze. He only managed two peeks before he felt it was improper. His face flushed red, and he quickly turned away, which only made Xia Shixuan roar with laughter.

’Damn it,’ Shen Yibin thought. ’I should go make you some papaya soup! Aren’t you worried they’re too heavy to carry around all day?’ He slammed the cleaver down with a THWACK-THWACK, venting his frustration on the innocent ingredients. Of course, he would never dare to actually make papaya soup. If he did that, God knows how Xia Shixuan would tease him. It was better to just make some soup to ward off the cold, lest Hah’Er catch one. ’Sigh, Hah’Er is really one of a kind. How do you even fall into a river while you’re asleep? I have no idea how it managed to climb trees all this time without falling out.’

Fortunately, Hah’Er was already in great shape and often exercised with Shen Yibin. Furthermore, Yunzhong City was in the south, so even at this time of year, the river water wasn’t freezing cold. As a result, Hah’Er didn’t catch a cold and was still its usual energetic self, which allowed Shen Yibin to finally relax.

"Let’s go, Hah’Er. Time to exercise with me." Early the next morning, Shen Yibin dragged Hah’Er out of bed. He drove it, along with Maphario and Xiaoliu, to the area around the villa and started jogging along the Yunshui River. As for Bald Qiang and his mate, the stream’s water level had dropped for the winter, so they were busy all day reinforcing their dam to keep the water high. They didn’t have time to play for now. Shen Yibin figured that since it wasn’t convenient to return to the shop anyway, he would go over and help them pass branches and such after his workout.

"Nn!" Hah’Er was even wearing a special headband today. Before they started running, it stood there twisting its waist and stretching its legs, looking thoroughly prepared. But after just a few steps, it was already panting and grunting from behind. Shen Yibin had to keep slowing down just so it could keep pace. Perched on Hah’Er’s head, Maphario was incredibly frustrated. It had been looking forward to a nice breezy ride, but things had turned out like this. It was about to fall asleep from the slow pace. After a moment’s thought, it decided to just use the headband to secure itself to Hah’Er’s head, shut its little eyes, and start dozing. The little guy was determined to get its morning nap in.

"You got a shock from that cold water yesterday, and the chill probably hasn’t left your system yet! You have to work up a sweat this morning to avoid catching a cold," Shen Yibin said, jogging behind Hah’Er to cheer it on. Even so, they only managed a round trip of about two or three kilometers before Hah’Er flopped onto the ground and refused to get up, no matter what he said.

"Sigh. If this keeps up, you’re going to get even fatter," Shen Yibin said, shaking his head in resignation. He took out a towel to wipe Hah’Er’s sweat, then got down on the ground beside it and started doing push-ups. Hah’Er might have been exhausted, but Shen Yibin hadn’t finished his workout yet.

"Nn?" Having recovered a bit of energy, Hah’Er watched Shen Yibin’s body rising and falling. The sight reminded it of when they first met. It wobbled to its feet, climbed up Shen Yibin’s legs and onto his back, and began to add weight to his exercise, just like old times.

"SQUEAK SQUEAK!" Xiaoliu, who had been squatting in a tree enjoying the show, seemed to find this game amusing. It promptly leaped down from the tree, and, mimicking Hah’Er, sat on Shen Yibin’s back as well.

"Whoa! You two are going to be the death of me!" Shen Yibin could barely handle Hah’Er’s weight alone, but adding Xiaoliu on top was a real struggle. He managed to squeeze out ten more push-ups before he couldn’t hold on any longer. With a THUMP, he collapsed onto the ground and yelled breathlessly, "Get off, both of you! You’re crushing me!"

Once they got off, Shen Yibin rolled onto his back, gasping for air. It took him a long time to recover. Unfortunately, his morning workout wasn’t over. Seeing that he had caught his breath, Xiaoliu tossed a branch over to him. It was time for Swordsmanship practice. Since there was no fruit to cut today, Xiaoliu would personally serve as Shen Yibin’s sparring partner.

Thus, Shen Yibin was once again soundly thrashed by Xiaoliu. Later, when he was heading back to change, Xia Shixuan happened to see the marks and exclaimed in surprise, "Oh my, Boss, I never knew you were into... that kind of thing! I know a thing or two about it myself. Want me to find a whip so we can give it a try? It doesn’t matter who holds it, you know." Her words sent Shen Yibin fleeing in embarrassment.

For the next several days, Shen Yibin didn’t return to the shop, staying out in the suburbs instead. At night, he rested at Xu Ye’s villa. During the day, he took the animals out to exercise and play around the estate, and also helped Bald Qiang and his mate repair their dam. Marc also returned a couple of times. Mr. Long Sheng had sourced some fine wood from somewhere, which Marc then carved and Mr. Long Sheng painted. Together, they created several beautiful art pieces for Shen Yibin to decorate his new house with.

After a few busy days, Bald Qiang’s dam was fully repaired. The water level in their pond rose back to its usual height, covering the underwater entrance to their lodge. The pair could once again rest peacefully in their home.

After this period of relaxation, Hah’Er had also fully recovered its energy. It was back to its high-spirited self, happily roughhousing with Shen Yibin every day. Seeing this, Shen Yibin began to wonder: was it time to start looking for the next pet?

He opened his messaging app, found the chat with the Future Pet Shop, and explained the situation. Less than half an hour later, a new pill was delivered near the construction site for his house. As usual, Shen Yibin couldn’t find any trace of the delivery person.

"Come on, I’ll take you out to have some fun!" Shen Yibin said, stroking Hah’Er’s head. He opened the Pet Radar and began searching for the new Mutant Animal.

"Nn! Nn!" Hah’Er nodded eagerly, clearly excited. Hearing this, Xiaoliu also jumped down from its tree and hobbled over to Shen Yibin’s side. It looked like it wanted to come along as well.

’This pet seems to be pretty far away.’ Shen Yibin zoomed the Pet Radar out to cover the entire southwestern region, but he still couldn’t see the orange dot. He did, however, notice that Shi Gaofei’s position had changed. ’I wonder if he’s on a mission with Hong Mian.’

’There we go, finally found it. Good, this one isn’t across the border, so it won’t be too much of a hassle.’ Shen Yibin zoomed in on the orange dot’s location and quickly pinpointed the spot.

However, the location gave him slight pause. He turned to look at Hah’Er. "Hah’Er, how would you like to go see some snow?"