Future Pet Shop

"Over here! How did you get into the bushes again?" There was a perfectly good path right there, but this fellow insisted on weaving in and out of the woods. He hadn't gone ten meters before getting himself stuck in a bush again. It craned its neck out, panting heavily at Shen Yibin, and gave him a goofy grin, as if asking for help once more.

'I give up on you! Is the Future Pet Shop out of its mind? Why would it give me a pet this stupid!' Shen Yibin shook his head, speechless. He sighed as he stepped forward, pushed aside the branches, and freed the critter. "Come on. Stop wandering off on your own. Just walk behind me."

Shen Yibin had originally thought about pulling down a vine to use as a leash, to prevent it from running around and getting stuck again. However, he discovered that the creature didn't have a collar around its neck. This could be considered good news, in a way. Since there was no collar, the chance of it having an owner was much lower, which would save him a lot of trouble.

After a couple of steps, Shen Yibin felt this wasn't working. 'I can't see it clearly when it's behind me. What if it gets stuck somewhere again in a minute?' 'Fine, you might as well walk in front of me, so I can keep an eye on you.' He herded the Shiba Inu ahead of him, not daring to be careless for even a moment. The second it showed any sign of straying… oh, not like that, but straying from the path, he would quickly rush forward and guide it back, determined to keep it on the trail.

"Mr. Bin, where did this one come from?" As they neared the summit, they ran into an anxious Sakai Kaori who was out looking for him. The moment she saw the dog, her face filled with surprise. 'How could he disappear for a minute and come back with a creature like this?'

"Ooh, a Shiba Inu!" Mr. Liu Sheng also poked his head out, holding a stick. Shen Yibin had been gone for so long that he had gotten worried too and came with Sakai Kaori to look for him.

"Ah, I just saw this guy stuck in the bushes down below, so I helped him out. I don't know if it has an owner. I'm planning to take it down the mountain and ask around. If I leave it here, it might get stuck somewhere else and starve to death, which would be terrible." 'Huh?' Thinking this, Shen Yibin couldn't help but look at the Shiba Inu again. 'Dude, how on earth did you survive this long? It's a miracle you haven't gotten stuck and starved to death! And it's even more miraculous that you've managed to get so fat.'

"Stuck?" Sun Qian came out from behind Mr. Liu Sheng, looking completely bewildered. 'Did I hear that right? What's going on?' Before Shen Yibin could respond, the Shiba Inu got excited. It yelped twice and lunged toward Hah'Er, who was behind Sun Qian. The dog had probably never seen a panda before and wanted to play with it the moment it laid eyes on it.

The mountain path was already narrow, and with Sakai Kaori, Mr. Liu Sheng, and Sun Qian standing there, the way was completely blocked. The Shiba Inu had no choice but to dash off the trail, trying to get past them by cutting through the woods. It deftly skirted a large tree and took a light leap, attempting to jump over two intersecting saplings, and then... a misstep, and its head got stuck in an X-shaped fork of branches!

"AHAHAHAHAHA! And here I thought Fatty was the dumbest creature in the world! I never expected to find something even stupider!" After a moment of silence, Cheeky's earth-shattering laughter erupted. The creature was laughing so hard it couldn't even flap its wings, dropping to the ground and slapping them frantically against the dirt.

"Hm?"

"Gah?" Hah'Er and Egg, the two cousins, looked at each other and also started rolling on the ground with glee. Shen Yibin had quite a few dogs in his shop, and both of them had played with dogs before, but they had never encountered a situation like this!

"So this is what you meant by 'getting stuck'? I think I get it now." Sun Qian put a hand to her forehead. 'It really takes all kinds to make a world, huh.'

"Shiba Inus are just like this. I've seen so many stuck Shibas I've lost count!" Mr. Liu Sheng said, looking like an expert. "Fences, sewer grates, decorative brick walls... there's no place these guys can't get stuck. Mr. Bin, come hold it." After speaking, he tossed his stick aside and walked up to the branches. He grabbed a branch with each hand, and with a powerful heave, bent them apart. Shen Yibin hugged the Shiba Inu and lifted it upwards, and the unlucky fellow was finally freed.

"Let's go up and give it something to eat, then we can all go down the mountain and ask around to see whose dog it is. But why doesn't it have a collar?" Sakai Kaori muttered.

At this point, Shen Yibin didn't dare put it down. He carried it all the way to the summit, where he gave it some food and water. The whole time, the dog kept its goofy grin.

After they ate, the group went back down the mountain the way they came. They found some residents of a nearby village, and Sakai Kaori went up to ask them questions. She pointed at the Shiba Inu in Shen Yibin's arms and spoke a stream of Japanese, which left Shen Yibin completely dumbfounded. He could only see the residents shaking their heads continuously, as if to say it wasn't their village's dog.

'Er, if it were me, I probably wouldn't admit to owning such a stupid dog either. How embarrassing would that be? If the dog is this dumb, the owner's IQ probably isn't very high either... Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey, this thing is in my arms right now. Aren't I just cursing myself?'

They went from one end of the village to the other, asking almost everyone, but they still couldn't find its owner. Sakai Kaori came back and said to Shen Yibin, "Mr. Bin, the villagers here see it wandering on the mountain often, but no one will admit to being its owner."

'I wouldn't claim it either,' Shen Yibin thought. 'Well, at least this saves some trouble.' "So, does that mean this little guy is a stray? I wonder if I can take him with me?" he asked. 'Since nobody wants you, you might as well come home with me.'

"No problem. When we get back, I'll have someone come give it vaccinations and check its pedigree to see what kind of dog it is." There are many types of Shiba Inus, and the examination would surely be a bit of a hassle, but to Sakai Kaori, these were trivial matters. As long as she could help Shen Yibin, she was happy.

"Mr. Bin, you're so kind. With a dog this clumsy, I doubt anyone but you would be willing to take it in," Sakai Kaori praised.

'Sigh, you think I want to? I'm being forced into it, aren't I?' Shen Yibin shrugged and followed her toward the car, stroking the Shiba Inu's head. 'No idea how a creature like you managed to survive in the forest for so long.'

"Let's head back now!" Once everyone was in the car, Sakai Kaori had Mr. Liu Sheng start the engine, and they drove off in the direction of the villa.

Shen Yibin sat in the back, stroking the Shiba Inu's head and muttering under his breath, "When we get back, I'll give you some medicine. I wonder if it'll make you any smarter."