Future Pet Shop

"Oh, not at all. My time was far from good." On his way back, Shen Yibin had specifically asked a staff member; the time he’d taken didn’t even rank among the competitors. That was normal, though. Even with Carmen guiding him, the gap between Shen Yibin’s driving skills and car performance and that of the professional racers was simply too wide. Carmen’s excellence couldn’t make up for all his shortcomings. This made him a little curious. ’Why would a lousy performance like mine even catch Driver Han’s attention?’

"Don’t be so modest. I honestly thought you’d be dead last, but your time wasn’t bad at all. For an amateur, you’re actually quite impressive. And I’m guessing you probably weren’t even giving it your all, were you?" As he spoke, Driver Han walked over to the car, knocked on its hood, and then pointed at the off-road vehicles next to it. "Look at your car, then look at theirs."

’Huh? What’s there to see?’ Shen Yibin followed Driver Han’s finger. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. They were all parked just fine... ’Wait a minute.’ Their cars were all covered in mud splatters, but his own car’s hood had barely a mark on it. It didn’t look like it had just been in an off-road race at all.

"See? If I didn’t know for a fact that you followed us the whole way, I’d almost suspect you just drove here from the main road. We ran into plenty of muddy tracks and marshes along the route. All of our cars are covered in mud, but yours is the only one that’s still so clean. I wouldn’t believe you if you said you weren’t holding back." Driver Han ran a finger lightly across the hood, then pulled it back and rubbed his fingertips together in front of his eyes. There was hardly even any dust.

"I really wasn’t holding back. The key was my amazing guide, who found the safest and most reliable routes the entire way. We didn’t have to plow through any marshes or mud pits. It had nothing to do with my driving skills." Shen Yibin felt a bead of sweat. He never expected such a small detail would cause this kind of misunderstanding. But then again, a perfectly clean car parked among a group of mud-caked vehicles was indeed quite eye-catching.

"Oh? A guide? That makes sense. You’re a local, so the guide you found must be better than ours. Come on, bring them out and let’s go grab a couple of drinks. It’s not like we have any other plans for tonight anyway." With that, Driver Han pulled open the passenger-side door. "Hey, buddy, come on out! Why are you still in the car..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Driver Han froze. ’What’s going on? There’s a dog in the passenger seat? What happened to the god-tier guide we were talking about?’ He hadn’t been paying attention to what Shen Yibin said near the main stage earlier.

"Hmm?" Seeing the door open, Hah’Er raised a paw and gave Driver Han a little wave. Hah’Er was a polite child, after all, and knew to greet people.

"And a panda?" Driver Han felt like his brain was short-circuiting. ’What is going on?!’

Shen Yibin hurried forward to unbuckle Hah’Er and Carmen’s seatbelts. "This is Carmen. She was the one who guided me just now. And this is Hah’Er. This little guy insisted on tagging along."

"Oh~ so this must be the star of *Panda Hero*, right? And you’re Shen Yibin?" Driver Han finally recognized who Shen Yibin was. Having been a director himself, he naturally knew a little about Shen Yibin, especially since *Panda Hero* had caused such a massive stir. "I only heard you were bringing Hah’Er to the opening ceremony. I had no idea you’d also registered for the race."

"I was just bored, so I thought I’d join in for fun," Shen Yibin said with a casual smile. "Mr. Han, do you have any plans for tonight? If not, why don’t you come over to my place for a simple meal? My cooking isn’t half bad. You can bring your friends from the racing team, too." Based on his impression so far, Driver Han seemed like a decent guy, so Shen Yibin extended the invitation.

"No problem, I’ll go get my guys. Ah, it’s a shame I didn’t bring my daughter this time. She would’ve been thrilled to see Hah’Er." Driver Han was about to turn around but then whipped his head back. "Wait a minute. You’re telling me your guide was this Shiba Inu? It can give directions to people? That’s impossible, right?"

"If a panda can star in a movie, then a Shiba Inu giving directions isn’t that strange. Why don’t you ride in my car in a bit and see her skills for yourself?" Words could only do so much; facts were more convincing. Shen Yibin made the offer directly.

"Deal, I’ll go get my guys!" Driver Han waved and left. Shen Yibin checked with a staff member and confirmed there were no other scheduled activities for the day, so they were free to go. He then made a quick call to Li Shiqing and Xia Shixuan, telling them to wait at the intersection and that he’d be there shortly. When Li Shiqing heard that Driver Han would be a guest at Shen Yibin’s home, she was so excited she nearly lost her mind.

"Mr. Shen, these are my teammates." After the introductions, Driver Han had his teammates get into his own car, while he himself sat in the back of Shen Yibin’s, next to Hah’Er. The front passenger seat, of course, belonged to Carmen.

"Could I video call my daughter with Hah’Er for a second?" As expected of "the nation’s father-in-law," Driver Han never missed a chance to dote on his daughter. He pulled out his phone and asked.

"No problem. Hah’Er, say hi to the nice little girl!" Shen Yibin naturally wouldn’t refuse and agreed immediately. Driver Han quickly started a video call and let his daughter chat with Hah’Er for a little while. He ended the call when the car started, planning to continue it once they arrived at Shen Yibin’s house.

"Next time I’m in Shanghai, I’ll let you know in advance. You can bring your daughter out, and we’ll let Hah’Er cheer her up," Shen Yibin said casually as he started the car.

"WOOF!" Just as Driver Han was about to speak, he heard Carmen start issuing commands again. Shen Yibin slickly made a left turn.

"WOOF! WOOF!" Shen Yibin decisively turned right. After one or two times, Driver Han figured it out: Carmen was really directing Shen Yibin’s route.

"Holy crap, no way... This dog can actually navigate!" Driver Han was completely dumbfounded. On the entire drive from the competition grounds to Shen Yibin’s estate, not a single one of Carmen’s commands had been wrong. Thinking back carefully over the route they’d taken, Driver Han felt that even if he had known the road conditions in advance, the decisions he would have made wouldn’t have been any better than Carmen’s.

’What kind of dog is this? She’s better than AutoNavi, Baidu Maps, Tencent Maps, and Google Maps all rolled into one! If I had a dog like this, I’d sign up for the Dakar Rally next year! I can’t say I’d place in the top few, but I could definitely set a new record for Chinese drivers in the competition!’

The thought alone made Driver Han unable to contain his excitement. The moment Shen Yibin brought the car to a steady stop, he asked eagerly, "Mr. Shen, is this dog of yours for sale?"