Future Pet Shop

"Come on, let's have a toast." Xia Shixuan raised her glass. Everyone at the table, except for Lv Tiantian who had a soft drink, stood up with their glasses raised. Hah'Er and Xiaoliu did the same. Even Scarf mimicked them, lifting the ice cream it was holding in its paws.

After the toast, they sat back down. Shen Yibin's gaze remained on Scarf. It usually squatted next to Xia Shixuan, enjoying the food she picked out for it. But today, it was squatting right between Xia Shixuan and Lv Tiantian. It ate the honey-glazed ribs Xia Shixuan gave it, and it also ate the candied sweet potatoes from Lv Tiantian. 'What's going on? It's never been like this before!'

The others didn't seem to notice this small change, continuing to eat, drink, and chat merrily. Li was getting on in years and couldn't drink much, so it wasn't long before everyone put down their glasses and focused on the food. After a while, they had all finished eating. Lv Tiantian helped Xia Shixuan and the others clear the table, then went over to the sofa to help Li with her weaving.

At that moment, Scarf immediately climbed out of the freezer, lay down on the coffee table, and stared intently at Lv Tiantian's nimble fingers as she wove. It looked completely absorbed, only occasionally tilting its head to take a bite of the ice cream Xia Shixuan offered it.

"It's getting late. I'll call a car to take you home." Once the phone charm for Xie Nannan was finished, Shen Yibin took out his phone and ordered a ride-share.

"Let's stay a little longer. I still have two more to make." Li was a bit reluctant to leave. The items Gao Shu wanted weren't finished yet, and she felt bad about it.

"You can finish the rest tomorrow. Tiantian probably needs to study. She's a high school senior now, so she can't afford to be careless." Shen Yibin knew that trying to persuade Li directly wouldn't work, so he gave her a reason she couldn't refuse. "The rest will only take half a morning tomorrow. Gao Shu isn't in a hurry."

"That's right, Li. Let's come back tomorrow," Gao Shu said, helping Li pack up the threads and cords and put them in the coffee table drawer. She did this so Li could go home and rest properly, instead of continuing to rush the work at home. The young woman was very thoughtful and considerate.

"Alright then. I'll come over first thing in the morning." Li smiled and shook her head. She could see right through Gao Shu's kindhearted little plan and gratefully accepted the sentiment.

A short while later, the ride-share arrived. Shen Yibin saw the two of them into the car and waved goodbye. As the car pulled away, Shen Yibin turned around and happened to see Scarf, also squatting by the door, gently waving its front paw. It looked as if it was also bidding farewell to Lv Tiantian.

'Huh, that's weird. If it's still like this tomorrow, I'll have to look into it.' Shen Yibin stroked his chin, then led Scarf back into the store. He called Hah'Er over, and they went to the storage room together. He put the pet food in a basket and started feeding the animals. As he fed them, Shen Yibin muttered, "Here, try this. It's a new brand of dog food I just got in. See if you like it. If you do, you'll eat this from now on. If not, we'll switch. I've got plenty of other kinds."

The dogs gathered around the food, sniffed it, and immediately began to wolf it down. They seemed quite pleased with the new brand of dog food, and soon their bellies were round and full.

Once they were full, Shen Yibin and Hah'Er opened the cages to let the pets out for some exercise. Normally, with so many different types of animals in the store—cats, dogs, hamsters, reptiles, and so on—they should be let out in batches to avoid chaos. However, with Class Monitor Hah'Er... oh, no, now that the store had expanded, Hah'Er had naturally been promoted to Platoon Leader. With Platoon Leader Hah'Er watching over them, these creatures all became incredibly well-behaved. Even when Maphario wandered through the clowder of cats, not a single one dared to take a bite.

While Hah'Er was enjoying his authority as Platoon Leader, leading the pets in their exercises, Shen Yibin went to the poolside to continue practicing Swordsmanship with Xiaoliu. This had become his nightly ritual before bed. A good workout followed by a nice shower would quickly send him off to dreamland. Not only did it improve his sleep quality, but his Swordsmanship was also constantly improving. Shen Yibin felt that if you gave him a stick now, he could take on ten guys. The next time he went searching for pets deep in the old mountain forests, he wouldn't have to worry so much about his own safety.

Half an hour later, at Hah'Er's command, the pets obediently returned to their cages. Xia Shixuan and Li Shiqing started cleaning up. Drenched in sweat, Shen Yibin went back to the second floor to shower and rest. As he passed the freezer, he glanced inside. Scarf was already asleep in its nest.

After a good night's sleep, Shen Yibin woke up the next morning and rushed downstairs to open the store without even washing his face. Just as he expected, Li was already waiting at the door. When she saw him, she quickly explained, "I just got off the bus. I was about to call you."

"Ah, there are no customers this early anyway. You don't have to work so hard." Shen Yibin figured he couldn't talk her out of it, so he thought of another solution. "I'll give you a key to the store. Next time, you can just let yourself in when you arrive." 'That's better than having her wait outside in the wind.'

He went upstairs to pour some tea for Li, then went back to wash up and prepare breakfast. After eating, he took Hah'Er to the park for some exercise. By the time Shen Yibin returned to the store, he saw Xia Shixuan bringing a customer holding a poodle up to the second floor to order a custom collar charm for the little dog. Li recommended a bone-shaped design.

Throughout the day, several groups of customers came to Li to order custom woven items, either for themselves or for their pets. Seeing this, Shen Yibin could finally relax. Li's livelihood would not be a problem anymore.

In the afternoon, Shen Yibin drove to the school to pick up Lv Tiantian. Time was tight today; she had to return to school for evening self-study right after dinner, so Shen Yibin didn't dare to delay. When they started eating, he secretly took out his phone, opened the Affinity Test app, and began testing her affinity with Scarf.

'Eighty-two points? It really met the standard.' Shen Yibin was stunned. He had previously tested Scarf's affinity with Xia Shixuan, and it had also been eighty-two points.

'What in the world is going on? Other pets have the hardest time finding just one suitable owner, but you, Scarf, suddenly have two pop up at once! Are you even going to let other pets live?' Shen Yibin grew troubled. 'Who am I supposed to give it to?'