Future Pet Shop

Chapter 244: Pingtou, Let’s Go

’Sigh, having a female driver in the store probably isn’t a good thing. What if she’s a bad influence on Gao Shu, Li Shiqing, and Xie Nannan?’ Shen Yibin suppressed his racing heart as he returned to the store. He quickly took a cold shower to cool off, then climbed into bed and passed out. Shi Gaofei had really put him through the wringer today.

The next morning, he wanted to sleep in a little longer, but unfortunately, Shi Gaofei woke him up with the dog leash again. This time, Shen Yibin gave up resisting and obediently got out of bed. He prepared to take Shi Gaofei, Hah’Er, and Sylvie to the park. He left the task of picking up Xia Shixuan to Xie Nannan. She had a driver’s license, after all, and Shen Yibin was now a little afraid of seeing Xia Shixuan.

CLACK! When they reached the door, Hah’Er put the skateboard on the ground. That’s right—the little guy had been hugging his skateboard ever since he got out of bed. It looked like he planned on riding it to the park.

Sylvie and Shen Yibin quickly flanked Hah’Er, one on each side, afraid he would fall on the way. The street wasn’t the store; it would be dangerous if he accidentally fell in the middle of the road.

However, much to Shen Yibin and Sylvie’s surprise, Hah’Er made it to the park smoothly. Although he wobbled left and right the entire way and looked like he could fall at any moment, he never lost control of the skateboard. During the trip, Shi Gaofei kept looking back to size up Hah’Er on the skateboard, apparently very curious about the contraption.

Once they arrived at the park and greeted the familiar uncles, aunties, and children, Shen Yibin was once again dragged on a frantic run around the lake by Shi Gaofei. After three laps, Shen Yibin was leaning against a large tree, panting heavily. He handed the dog leash to Hah’Er’s paws. It was now Hah’Er’s turn to be walked by Shi Gaofei.

"Mmph!" Hah’Er took the leash, wrapped it a few times around his front paw, and then climbed onto the skateboard. It looked like the little guy planned to ride it while Shi Gaofei ran.

’Hey, have you forgotten what happened last time when I wore rollerblades and Shi Gaofei tripped me?’ Shen Yibin tried to talk him out of it, but the strenuous exercise had left him breathless, and he couldn’t get the words out in time. By the time he finally caught his breath, Shi Gaofei was already dragging Hah’Er far into the distance.

Hah’Er had originally planned to push off with his hind paws a few times to get the skateboard moving, just as he’d learned yesterday. But Shi Gaofei couldn’t wait and had already taken off. Shi Gaofei pulled the leash, the leash pulled the skateboard, and with no effort from Hah’Er, the skateboard began to glide forward swiftly. Hah’Er quickly steadied himself, adjusting his posture to keep the ride smooth and occasionally steering to stay right behind Shi Gaofei.

’Damn it, why is it that when I was on rollerblades, you did everything you could to trip me, but when Hah’Er’s on a skateboard, you leave him alone?’ Watching Hah’Er whoop and holler with excitement on the skateboard, Shen Yibin felt his heart ache with injustice.

Having expended almost no energy, Hah’Er was dragged for a full lap by Shi Gaofei. Moreover, Shi Gaofei didn’t seem to have had enough. Instead of stopping to roughhouse with Shen Yibin as he had on previous days, he just kept running, dragging Hah’Er along.

The cool wind on his face made Hah’Er very excited. He waved his front paws, flicking the dog leash as if he were a coachman brandishing a long whip, urging Shi Gaofei to go faster.

Seeing this, Shen Yibin couldn’t help but picture a scene in his mind: the dog leash in Hah’Er’s paw had turned into a long whip, which he cracked on Shi Gaofei’s back while shouting, "Pingtou, let’s go!" In response, Shi Gaofei immediately took off at a full sprint, like a wild dog let off its leash.

The image was just too perfect, and Shen Yibin’s heart filled with jealousy. He glanced back and forth between Shi Gaofei and Hah’Er on the skateboard. ’I wonder if Shi Gaofei could pull me if I sat on it?’

’Ah, better forget it.’ Shen Yibin subconsciously rubbed his knee. It had ached for days after Shi Gaofei tripped him when he was on rollerblades. He figured Shi Gaofei wouldn’t give him the same treatment he gave Hah’Er.

After running three laps in a row, Shi Gaofei was finally satisfied. He flopped onto the lawn, panting heavily, and it took him a while to recover. Meanwhile, Hah’Er had started riding the skateboard by himself, wobbling his way around the lake. He couldn’t have been having more fun.

However, it wasn’t a total loss for Shen Yibin. At least, when it was time for Shi Gaofei to roughhouse with him, Shen Yibin noticed that both the speed and force of the attacks had decreased. It seemed that pulling Hah’Er for those few laps had used up a good deal of his energy. Pingtou might be fierce, but his stamina was ultimately limited.

’So, for tonight’s practice, would it be better to let Hah’Er go first?’ Shen Yibin’s mind started scheming. ’If Shi Gaofei pulls Hah’Er for three laps first, will things be easier for me? At the very least, his speed should have dropped by the time it’s my turn, right?’

And so, even though the morning’s workout had just ended, Shen Yibin was already looking forward to the afternoon session. Hopefully, things would go just as he’d imagined.

As it turned out, bad luck doesn’t last forever. When the afternoon training session began, things developed exactly as Shen Yibin had hoped. With a low growl from Hah’Er, Shi Gaofei immediately took off at a frantic pace, dragging him and the skateboard along. His speed seemed even faster than it had been in the morning. Watching them, Shen Yibin began to seriously wonder if he should install a metal ring on the front of the skateboard for the leash. That way, Hah’Er could control the board more easily.

After three laps, Shi Gaofei finally remembered Shen Yibin. But this time, his enthusiasm for "walking" Shen Yibin was clearly much lower. He ran two listless laps and then refused to run anymore.

However, when it came time for sparring, Shi Gaofei regained the same strength as yesterday and gave Shen Yibin a sound thrashing, only stopping once he was satisfied.

After the training session, Shen Yibin returned to the store and chatted with Bai Yanni on WeChat for a while. As they had agreed, he was supposed to take Shi Gaofei to the K-9 unit for his first lesson the next day, and there were a few details they needed to confirm.

"Tomorrow at eight in the morning, drive over with him and pick me up downstairs. Then we’ll go to the K-9 unit together." After setting the time and place, Bai Yanni went to wash up and go to bed. Shen Yibin then started chatting with Sun Qian, who was attending a music festival in Sichuan, and Sakai Kaori, who was hosting a festival.

Sakai Kaori also sent Shen Yibin a few photos. In them, countless locals at the festival were kneeling and bowing to Egg. Egg, for his part, was on a high platform, heedlessly slapping his belly and dancing his heart out. It looked like he was living the good life.

After finishing his chats, he was just about to head back to his room to sleep when his phone rang. ’Huh? Who’s calling me this late? What could they want?’