Future Pet Shop

"This fella considers everything when planning a route, except whether his own body can fit through! I have no idea how his brain is wired!" Shen Yibin shook his head, exasperated. 'If he could just fix this one bad habit, I wouldn't have to worry about finding him a home at all!'

"He's already amazing just like this. Ordinary dogs could never do that." Perhaps because Carmen and Sakai Kaori were both from Japan, she kept finding ways to praise him.

"That's true," Shen Yibin nodded in agreement. Being from the Future Pet Shop, he was bound to be far superior to any ordinary pet. Even with this flaw, Carmen was still much smarter than the other dogs at the shop. The question was what kind of owner to find for him. 'If it weren't for this habit of getting stuck, he'd be the perfect guide dog. But as he is now...' Shen Yibin didn't dare sell him to a blind person. If Carmen got stuck while with him, he could be rescued right away. But if he was with a blind owner and got stuck, it would be a disaster.

'Let's see what other talents you have,' Shen Yibin thought. He walked onto the beach and picked up his hat. "Come on, take us for a walk. Miss Sakai hasn't been to the forest behind the manor yet, has she? Even though it's winter, there are still some nice views in there." Shen Yibin put Carmen on a leash and let him lead the way. Sakai Kaori and Hah'Er followed behind, ambling leisurely into the woods.

Sure enough, with someone on the other end of the leash, Carmen's route planning now took other people into account. He deliberately avoided the narrow spaces Shen Yibin couldn't fit through, winding around large trees and over rocks as he wove through the forest. A path that was normally a strenuous trek for Shen Yibin became incredibly easy with Carmen leading. With hardly any effort, they ascended the small hill behind the villa and were treated to a commanding view of the beautiful scenery along the Yunshui River.

"Wow, it's so beautiful here!" How could the little rivers and streams of Saitama Prefecture ever compare to the Yunshui River? Even Japan's longest river, the Shinano River, paled in comparison. Gazing out at the magnificent, sprawling vista from the hilltop—and with Shen Yibin right beside her—Sakai Kaori was completely captivated, wishing she could stay here forever.

Unfortunately, they had only been wandering on the hilltop for about an hour when Shen Yibin's phone rang. "Boss, are you guys coming over for dinner? If not, we're just going to order takeout," Xia Shixuan said, sounding pitiful. After getting used to Shen Yibin's cooking, how could they possibly stomach takeout?

"I promised Mrs. Wang and the others I'd bring Egg over to dance with them tonight, so I'll eat dinner at the shop. Can you check if there are enough ingredients in the kitchen? If not, just buy some from the grocery store next door. I'll head over with everyone else now." After a few quick words, Shen Yibin hung up. "Miss Sakai, we should head down. If you like it here, I can take you to an even higher spot with a better view tomorrow."

"Then it's a deal! Mr. Bin, you can't go back on your word." The thought of walking through the woods alone with Shen Yibin again tomorrow made Sakai Kaori's annoyance at Xia Shixuan's interruption completely vanish.

Wen Yuan had a business dinner that evening, so he wouldn't be joining them. Shen Yibin went down and gathered Sun Qian, Mr. Long Sheng, Cheeky, and the others. They all got in the car and drove out of the manor, quickly merging onto the Yunzhong City ring road. It was almost rush hour, and the number of cars on the road was noticeably increasing. He pulled up the navigation map; all the main routes into the city were colored red, indicating heavy traffic.

"Ugh, it looks like the next two exits are both backed up. Which one should we take?" To get from the ring road to the pet shop, they had to pick one of these two exits; they were the most direct routes. Any other way would be a long detour. Shen Yibin was torn.

Choosing the wrong exit and getting delayed in traffic would be a problem. It didn't really matter for the others—eating a bit earlier or later was no big deal. But Lv Tiantian, a high school senior, was still at the shop. Ever since her grandmother started working there, she had been eating dinner with Xia Shixuan and the crew every evening. If they got back late, Lv Tiantian would have to leave for her evening self-study session at school. 'Can't let the girl go to class on an empty stomach, can we?'

"The red line for the first exit looks a little thinner, which means the traffic might not be as bad. Why don't we take that one?" Sun Qian suggested, leaning forward from the back seat to look at the map.

"But this one is usually more congested. The second exit is normally the better bet," Shen Yibin muttered with a frown. The red line indicating traffic for the second exit was clearly much thicker. Which one should he choose?

"WOOF! WOOF!" Just as he was agonizing over the choice, he saw Carmen reach a paw forward from the back and tap the second exit on the screen, as if telling Shen Yibin to take that route.

'Huh? You can't possibly see that far, can you? How would you know which road is the better choice?' Shen Yibin was dumbfounded. But in that moment of hesitation, the car had already passed the first exit. There was only one option left.

Who would have thought that by the time they reached the second exit, the red line indicating traffic had gradually faded away. Shen Yibin took the exit and merged onto the city streets with almost no delay.

'Was that a coincidence, or something more?' Shen Yibin couldn't help glancing at Carmen in the rearview mirror several times. 'Could it be that this afternoon's test didn't fully uncover your latent abilities?' In a flash, they were at another intersection. 'Should I turn left here, or at the next one?'

"Carmen, should we turn left now or wait?" 'Come on, let's see what you've got.' Shen Yibin wanted to test if the previous incident had been a fluke.

"WOOF! WOOF!" Carmen barked, his eyes fixed straight ahead, showing no intention of looking to the left.

"Alright, your call! We'll keep going straight!" Without a second thought, Shen Yibin drove forward. From then on, at every intersection, Shen Yibin followed Carmen's lead. It was truly bizarre. Usually, when he drove this route, he would inevitably hit some traffic or red lights. But today, he didn't encounter a single one, arriving at the pet shop with incredible smoothness.

As he got out of the car, Shen Yibin instinctively glanced at his watch. His travel time today was a full eight minutes faster than usual! It was all thanks to Carmen's guidance.

'Wow, you're way more useful than the expensive GPS I bought!' Shen Yibin thought, patting the dog's head in silent praise.