Future Pet Shop-Chapter 53: The Pet Store Is Mobbed

"Bin, Hah’Er is..." Shen Dalong subconsciously wanted to fill Hah’Er’s bowl with beer, but when he saw clearly who was holding the bowl, he quickly stopped. ’If the panda gets sick from drinking the beer I poured, how many years would I get?’

"Hah’Er, we already agreed. Why are you starting again?" While cooking earlier, Shen Yibin had painstakingly persuaded Hah’Er for a long time. He had finally gotten the little guy to promise not to drink during dinner, but the moment Hah’Er saw the beer, he forgot everything.

"Hmph~" Hah’Er ignored him this time, still holding the bowl and looking eagerly at Shen Dalong. The moment this rascal saw beer, he couldn’t care about anything else. He just wanted to satisfy his craving first. As for how his master would scold him after everyone left, that was a problem for later.

"Uh, Hah’Er can have a little bit of beer, but only one bowl. Any more and he’ll get drunk." Seeing the little guy wasn’t budging, Shen Yibin had no choice but to compromise. He shot Hah’Er a harsh glare. ’I’ll deal with you after dinner.’ But... even after Shen Dalong and Bai Yanni left, what could Shen Yibin really do? He couldn’t bring himself to scold Hah’Er.

"Are you sure?" Shen Dalong, Bai Yanni, and the other officers all felt like their brains were short-circuiting. ’Is this a panda from the Sichuan Giant Panda Base or a Storm Brew summoned from Warcraft? Could its hometown not be Sichuan, but Pandaria? If it drinks too much, is it going to hit us with a Fire Breath?’

"Heh, there happened to be a troop of monkeys living near Hah’Er’s place in Sichuan. You’ve all seen *Swordsmen*, right? Ever heard of Monkey Wine? That’s when Hah’Er started to like drinking." Shen Yibin had no choice but to make something up. After a long-winded explanation, he finally came up with a reason that could barely pass. "But I don’t dare let him drink too much now. After this one bowl, no matter how much he begs, you can’t pour him any more."

After his explanation, the group finally accepted his reasoning. Shen Dalong carefully poured the beer for Hah’Er. The hands that had once held a sniper rifle with perfect stability now trembled slightly. The pressure was just immense.

After he finished pouring, everyone watched Hah’Er without blinking. Hah’Er giggled foolishly a few times, quickly lifted the bowl to his mouth, and began to take small sips. ’Sigh, there’s no way I can drink to my heart’s content tonight. I’d better savor it slowly then.’

"Captain, Hah’Er really does like to drink," Bai Yanni said, dumbfounded. The others automatically tuned out the aroma of the food, staring motionlessly at Hah’Er’s drinking form.

"Everyone, please eat... eat! Try my cooking." With some effort, Shen Yibin managed to snap them out of their daze, and they began to taste the meal he had prepared.

"Bin, I never knew you were such a good cook! If you ask me, you’d make a lot more money opening a restaurant than a pet store." The group was quickly won over by Shen Yibin’s cooking, which had been honed under Hah’Er’s guidance. They showered him with endless praise, their chopsticks moving like a blur, even forgetting to drink.

This brought some relief to Shen Yibin. If they started drinking enthusiastically, Hah’Er would inevitably start pestering them again. It was for the best that they were just eating without drinking.

An hour later, everyone finally finished their meal. During that time, Hah’Er had raised his bowl several times, trying to get Shen Yibin or the police officers to give him a refill. Although they felt a little soft-hearted, they all held the line and didn’t let him succeed. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

After helping clear the table, Shen Dalong and his team got up to leave. "Bin, don’t worry too much about tomorrow. The department has arranged for more people to help you maintain order. If that’s not enough, the department can mobilize even more. Once we get through the peak of these next few days, things will quickly get back to normal."

The online frenzy would come in waves. It was bound to be a big deal at the beginning, but as time went on, even the biggest events would be replaced by new hot topics and then fade into obscurity. Shen Yibin just needed to seize this opportunity to find a suitable owner for Cheeky.

After seeing them off, Shen Yibin took Hah’Er to feed the other pets and clean up before heading back to his bedroom to sleep. Right before he drifted off, he couldn’t help but wonder, ’Just how many people will show up tomorrow?’

"Qiqi, do you think Bin’s shop will be packed with people today?" The next morning, as they were heading out, Mo Xiaomo asked Qiao Wenqi the same question.

"Definitely a lot. Didn’t you see how many times that Weibo post was shared? His store’s address has already been dug up. Even if only one in a hundred thousand of the interested people show up just to see what’s going on, that’s enough to give Bin a major headache." Qiao Wenqi was worried too, but she wasn’t worried about Shen Yibin. She was worried about whether she’d be able to get close to the panda. The dancing Panda in the video was just too cute; she had to get a few pictures with it later.

Although they had mentally prepared for the worst, when they arrived at Shen Yibin’s shop, they were still stunned by the scene before them. The storefront was a sea of people. More than a dozen police officers were desperately trying to maintain order as the jostling crowd threatened to break down Shen Yibin’s door.

"It wasn’t even this crazy when I went to see Jay Chou’s concert!" Mo Xiaomo was at a complete loss for words. The two of them had woken up much earlier than usual to see the panda, but they never expected so many people would have come even earlier.

"With so many people, do you think it might scare the panda?" Qiao Wenqi asked worriedly. She still hadn’t given a thought to Shen Yibin’s well-being.

"Line up, line up! Everyone get in line, no cutting!" Right at the shop’s entrance, a parrot stood proudly on a police officer’s shoulder, directing the enthusiastic (and bored) netizens who had flocked from all over to see the panda. "Twenty people at a time! Each group gets five minutes to visit! Once you’re done, come back out!"

"Why can’t we watch for longer?" someone complained. They weren’t hung up on Hah’Er’s identity, as the Giant Panda Base and the Yunzhong City police department had already issued a special explanation on Weibo the day before.

"This is a pet store, not a zoo. I have no obligation to let you in for a tour," Cheeky immediately retorted. "You’re lucky to get five minutes. What more do you want? If you don’t want to see him, then go home! It’s not like I’m charging you for tickets."

Everyone was floored. This parrot was way too sharp-tongued, wasn’t it? Soon, someone noticed something. "Huh, this parrot’s voice sounds a little familiar, doesn’t it? You guys hear that? Doesn’t it sound like the singing voice from the video?" Even though Hah’Er’s performance in the video was a perfect imitation, the true singer had unavoidably left hints of its own distinct accent in the recording. And now, that tiny slip-up had just been exposed.