Future Pet Shop-Chapter 51: Weibo Explosion

This feeling of showing off a panda without worrying about anyone coming to arrest me was awesome! It was like flexing hard in a group chat without worrying about the admin banning you. The panic I felt when I accidentally posted Hah’Er’s photo before was completely gone, replaced by the secret glee of anticipating endless envy. Thinking about this, Shen Yibin couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

"What time is it? Still not making food? Are you trying to starve us to death?" Cheeky, a true master of ruining the mood, suddenly squawked in his ear just as Shen Yibin was lost in his pleasant fantasy.

’It’s already 12:30. Time really flies. Half a day has passed in the blink of an eye. One-thirtieth of Cheeky’s sale period is already gone.’ Shen Yibin started to feel anxious again.

’I’ll stop thinking about it. Time to make lunch.’ "Hah’Er, what do you want to eat today? How about stir-fried lamb with scallions?" The lamb they’d bought wasn’t finished yet, and it wouldn’t be fresh if they didn’t eat it soon.

"Mhm! Mhm!" Hah’Er nodded repeatedly, not forgetting to hold up two fingers at Shen Yibin.

"Are you serious? You want beer with lunch? Even I don’t crave it that much! No way, wait until tonight!" ’What did I do to deserve this? Why the hell did my stupid hands have to grab the beer last night?’ Shen Yibin was now filled with regret.

"Nnngh~ Nnngh~" Hah’Er pounced, hugging Shen Yibin’s leg tightly and refusing to let go. The small eyes in the middle of his black eye patches stared pitifully at Shen Yibin, just like a child whose lollipop had been snatched away.

’Do you have to be like this? You’re making it look like I’m abusing you or something.’ Shen Yibin steeled himself and met Hah’Er’s gaze with a firm look, but it wasn’t long before he was defeated by Hah’Er’s pitiful expression. "Alright, alright. But you only get one bowl. You can have the other one tonight."

Although Hah’Er was a little reluctant, he didn’t pester him further. He let go of Shen Yibin’s leg and followed him to close the shop door, then slowly went up to the second floor. He moved a stool and climbed up on it, staring at Shen Yibin and constantly giving pointers on his cooking technique. Before long, a plate of stir-fried lamb with scallions that looked and smelled delicious was ready. Of course, he hadn’t forgotten to prepare a fig salad for Cheeky, though it was still missing the Italian Balsamic Vinegar, Mozzarella Cheese, and Greek olive oil.

"Here, just one bowl." He placed the dish on the table, then went to get juice and beer. He poured juice for Cheeky, then poured a shallow bowl of beer for Hah’Er. To prevent Hah’Er from pestering him for more, he simply chugged the rest himself with a GULP, GULP.

"*BURP~*" Having drunk a bit too fast, Shen Yibin let out a beery burp before sitting down to eat. This time, however, Hah’Er didn’t pick up his bowl and chug it all in one go like last night. Instead, he took small sips, as if reluctant to finish it all at once. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

’If I’d known he was going to do that, why did I have to be in such a hurry? Now I’m so bloated I can barely eat any of this delicious stir-fried lamb.’ Shen Yibin felt a twinge of regret.

While they were eating, Shen Yibin’s phone kept buzzing nonstop. After he finished eating, cleaned the table and the kitchen, and pulled his phone out of his pocket, Shen Yibin was stunned. He had expected his video to go viral quickly, but he hadn’t thought it would be this fast, or to this extent.

In just one short hour, his Weibo post had been shared thousands of times, with just as many comments. His follower count had shot up by more than 10,000. And from the looks of it, this was only the beginning; the post hadn’t even reached its peak popularity yet.

"OP, can you tell me what movie this is from? When it comes out, I’m definitely taking my girl to see it once, twice, three, four times..." Someone had mistaken it for a movie trailer.

’Dammit, got hit with a surprise PDA. Just for showing off your relationship like that, I wouldn’t tell you what movie it was even if it were real,’ Shen Yibin thought, annoyed, as he scrolled down the comments section.

"I can’t believe I just listened to the entire ’Skateboard Shoes.’ My roommate thought I was losing my mind, but when he came over to look, he was blown away too. Can anyone tell me where this panda is? I want to go see it dance in person."

"Whoa, so smooth! But this doesn’t look like the Giant Panda Base or a zoo. It looks more like a pet shop. Can you actually sell giant pandas as pets now? Where can I get one? I have to buy one."

"To the person above, can you even afford one? Not to mention the pandas our country loans to other countries cost one million US dollars a year in rent per panda. This guy’s bamboo alone would cost 300,000 a year, and with all the other miscellaneous expenses, you’re looking at a million, easy."

"So you’re saying it only takes 10 million, max, to raise a panda for a year? That actually sounds like a pretty good deal when you put it that way, huh?" Shen Yibin was nearly blinded by this comment. Who was this rich guy? He took another look and saw it was the most famous second-generation rich kid on Weibo, Young Master Wang.

"Whoa, it’s Young Master Wang! A moment of silence for Wang Ke. As the saying goes, ’Internet models may come and go, but Wang Ke is forever.’ The models by Young Master Wang’s side are always changing, but Wang Ke has always been there. Is Wang Ke about to be replaced by this panda? But then again, if I had a panda, who would have time for a dog?" replied a fan who knew the backstory. Wang Ke was Young Master Wang’s beloved dog and had always been doted on. It was unexpected that after seeing Hah’Er, Young Master Wang would be ready to abandon his one true love.

As Shen Yibin browsed the comments, the number of shares and replies continued to climb. His follower count, in particular, was growing at a rate visible to the naked eye. It seemed Young Master Wang’s comment and share had brought him a flood of traffic.

Of course, some people questioned Hah’Er’s identity, and some even tagged the Sichuan police. But Shen Yibin wasn’t the least bit worried now. The Future Pet Shop had already tied up all the loose ends, ensuring that no official departments would come to harass him. Of course, this was all on the condition that Shen Yibin could find a suitable owner for Cheeky within three months. Otherwise, all of this would become evidence of his crimes.

Besides the comments and shares, Shen Yibin’s inbox was also flooded with all sorts of private messages. There were people wanting him to do advertisements, people offering to manage his Weibo account for him, and even film companies seeking to collaborate. Of course, there were also those who questioned Hah’Er’s origins and threatened to call the police.

The sad part was that almost everyone’s attention was focused on Hah’Er. Not a single person seemed to notice that the background music wasn’t coming from a playback device, but was being sung by Cheeky. If Cheeky could read, he would definitely feel it was unfair, right?

"Bin, are you there? That Weibo post you just sent, was that filmed in your shop? You have a panda in your shop?" Just as he was happily scrolling, a bunch of messages popped up on his WeChat. Qiao Wenqi had sent him a long string of questions.

’That’s right. She follows my Weibo and has been to the shop before. It’s not strange at all that she’d recognize it.’