Future Pet Shop

"You're finally willing to sell it to me?" Xia Shixuan shot to her feet, her hand reaching for her wallet. "How much? Card or bank transfer? Oh, and you might as well sell me the freezer too. It likes living in it, and it'll save me the trouble of getting another one! And don't worry, even if I buy it, I'll still keep it at the shop most of the time. I won't hide it away at home."

"Hold on, don't get so excited." Shen Yibin quickly pulled her back down into her seat. He couldn't let her keep fantasizing; if he did, changing her mind would be much harder.

"What's wrong? Hey, you're not backing out of selling it to me, are you?" Xia Shixuan seemed to sense something was amiss and immediately grew defiant. She turned and glared at Shen Yibin, looking like she was ready for a fight if he said the wrong thing.

"Here, let me ask you something. Scarf has been at the shop for a while now. Who do you think it's closest to here? Oh, you don't have to count me," Shen Yibin said seriously, pressing her arm down.

"Who is Scarf closest to?" Hearing this, Xia Shixuan calmed down. She pondered for a moment, her brow furrowing slightly. "If we're only counting the four girls at the shop, then it's definitely closest to me. If I'm heading out, it'll get up as soon as I call, but it won't for Shi Qing and the others. Also, if we all buy Scarf ice cream, it always eats mine first." Among the girls at the shop, Scarf did indeed like her the most, but they weren't the only ones who interacted with Scarf these days. As she finished speaking, Xia Shixuan's tone grew somber. "But if we're counting other people... I think it's probably closer to Tiantian."

"Every time we have dinner, Scarf runs over to Tiantian's side. I have to switch seats just to sit next to it. When we're getting food, it always looks at Tiantian first and will only consider my food after it has finished what Tiantian gave it. Also, Tiantian wove a collar for it, and I bought it a Hermès silk scarf, but it seems to like the collar more. Whenever I go out, Scarf just crouches on the second-floor railing and watches from a distance, but when Tiantian leaves for school, it always sees her to the shop's entrance and waits until she's in the car before coming back..." Xia Shixuan rambled on, counting on her fingers. The difference between them was becoming obvious.

"It seems Scarf is closer to Tiantian." After listing everything out, Xia Shixuan had no choice but to admit it. There was no helping it; Shen Yibin had seen all this with his own eyes, so she couldn't exactly lie to his face, could she?

"So, do you think Tiantian is good to Scarf?" Seeing a glimmer of hope, Shen Yibin continued to coax her along.

"She's great with it!" Xia Shixuan had to admit this as well. "Even though Tiantian is busy with classes and only gets to spend a little time with Scarf when she comes for dinner and to pick up her grandma, she always takes meticulous care of it. She cleans the freezer until it's spotless, and during meals, she carefully picks out all the things Scarf doesn't like, leaving only its favorites. She even grooms its fur every day to make it look pretty... I don't have that kind of patience." Although these were all small things, to do them consistently over the long term was no easy feat.

The more Xia Shixuan spoke, the more dejected she became. All these details seemed to indicate she was losing to Lv Tiantian in this competition and that Scarf was slipping away from her. "Hey, you're not planning to sell Scarf to Tiantian, are you?" Before Shen Yibin could respond, she continued, "I'd probably be a bit upset if you sold it to someone else, but I'd feel at ease if it's Tiantian. But could you ask Tiantian one thing for me? When the seasons change, can she let Scarf still take us shopping for clothes?"

'Huh, I didn't expect you to be so considerate.' The arguments Shen Yibin had prepared to convince Xia Shixuan were now completely useless. He looked at the girl before him in astonishment, as if he didn't even know her.

"What are you looking at? I happen to be a very magnanimous person!" Xia Shixuan shot Shen Yibin a look. "I've been at the shop for a long time, after all. I was here when you sold Marc and Bald Qiang. I know your rules—you have to follow the pet's wishes. If Tiantian hadn't shown up, that would be one thing, but since Scarf has a more suitable owner now, I'll accept it!" Just as Shen Yibin was about to praise her, Xia Shixuan's small fists rained down on his chest. "I finally had a chance, and someone else snatched it away! It's just so heartbreaking! You have to find me a pet I'm happy with to make it up to me!"

"Alright, alright! I promise. As soon as Scarf is sold, I'll start looking for one for you!" Xia Shixuan's little fists didn't hurt much as they landed on his chest. Shen Yibin gently patted her on the back to soothe her.

"Really? Then it's a deal!" Xia Shixuan wiped her tears and started to get up. "I'm going to go congratulate Tiantian and mention the clothes shopping thing to her."

"Don't be in such a hurry to leave! I'm not done talking yet!" Shen Yibin quickly grabbed her. 'I'd love to sell Scarf directly to Lv Tiantian, but she doesn't have the money right now!' "Do you know how much Scarf costs?"

"How much? Oh, dear. It's probably not cheap, is it?" Xia Shixuan realized this as well.

"Two hundred thirty-three thousand, three hundred thirty-three yuan and thirty-three cents," Shen Yibin replied.

"That's not even that expensive." As expected, this number was nothing to Xia Shixuan. She lowered her head, leaned close to Shen Yibin, and whispered, "But Tiantian probably can't come up with that much money, right? I mean, Boss, can't you give her a discount? You know her situation. Why quote such a high price? It's not like you're short on a couple hundred thousand."

'As if I have any control over the price.' "You yourself said the price was a bargain. I'm already selling it at cost. You can't expect me to take a loss, can you? I am running a pet shop, after all. That's no way to do business." 'Sigh... It's not that I don't want to complete the mission sooner, but the Future Pet Shop forbids me from lowering the price!'

"That's true. Friendship is friendship, but business is business." Xia Shixuan's parents were both business owners, so she could easily understand Shen Yibin's point.

"Huh? What you just said seems to have given me an idea." A surprised smile suddenly appeared on Xia Shixuan's face. "You just stay right here. I'm going to go have a word with Tiantian!" Without waiting for Shen Yibin's reply, she got up and dashed up to the second floor. She put her arm around Lv Tiantian's shoulder and started whispering to her.

'Huh? What are those two up to?' Shen Yibin was a little confused. 'Don't tell me Xia Shixuan plans on becoming Lv Tiantian's sugar mama and having her use the allowance to pay for Scarf?' Shen Yibin watched from downstairs, stroking his chin as he mulled it over.