Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

  Because of the loud noises and dust during renovation, Zhang Zian had been telling Little Celery not to come over the past few days. Today was the first time she saw the pet shop after its upgrade, Little Celery yelled surprisingly, “Brother Store Manager, it’s so beautiful!”


  Zhang Zian smiled complacently, “More beautiful than before?”


  “Much more beautiful than before, it’s so spacious and bright!” Little Celery raised her head and looked around, “I can barely recognize it.”


  Zhang Zian knew that Little Celery would not tell lies or flattery. If she said it was beautiful, she really meant it.

  “By the way, have uncle and auntie come home yet? They would be so happy seeing this!” she mentioned unintentionally.

  Zhang Zian suddenly felt blue.

  The invisible Old Time Tea looked at him in concern and tried to comfort him, but it was inconvenient for it to speak right now. If it suddenly muttered words, Little Celery and her classmates would think a ghost was talking in the air and would be frightened.

  Zhang Zian had never told Little Celery about his parents’ deaths. He just told her that they had gone to travel around the world. So, it wasn’t strange that Little Celery would ask such a question. He didn’t want to lie to Little Celery. He could see that she had been quite close to his parents and he was afraid that she would feel sad after learning the truth. When she became old enough to truly understand what “death” was, he would tell her then.

  Little Celery observed his strange look and asked in confusion, “Brother Store Manager, are you sick?”


  Zhang Zian drudged up a smile and sniffed, “You got me. I’ve caught a cold, I have been coughing and my nose is stuffy.”


  Little Celery answered quickly, “Brother Store Manager, you can boil some water with brown sugar and ginger. Whenever I get a cold, my mom cooks this for me. I feel warm after drinking it and will recover the next day.”


  “Okay, thank you, Little Celery.” Zhang Zian smiled. He remembered when he was little and he got a cold, his mother would also boil water with brown sugar and ginger. It seemed like this method really worked. He planned to cook some later today, hoping to recover from the cold sooner.

  It was the first time Sunny and Chuan Chuan had come to the pet shop, and they couldn’t take their eyes away from the kittens playing around and the puppies inside the display cases.

  Yi Le and the other three boys were standing at the door, frightened, stretching their heads to peek into the pet shop. The scene where the small rock was suspended in the air left a strong impression on them, making them worry about any possible supernatural forces inside the pet shop.

  In the end, it was Yi Le, their leader, who stepped in first. He looked around and sneered, “There’s nothing to be scared of!”


  He turned around and demanded his three followers, “Come on in!”


  But the three boys stared at something behind him. Their faces turned pale, they began to yell and they ran away.

  Yi Le swallowed his saliva nervously, and turned his head around, his heart beating rapidly.

  A kitten in black and white had appeared in front of him. Yi Le swore that a moment ago, it was not there! He didn’t see it in any corner of the first floor! Where did it come from in a blink of an eye? This was so horrible!

  Yi Le finally understood why the three idiots ran away. They must have witnessed how it appeared. If he had seen that, he would run away too!

  Looking into its silver-grey eyes, Yi Le had remembered that he had seen it before. The special colors of its eyes were very impressive.

  “What… What do you want?” he stepped back and stared at it nervously. He didn’t think this black and white kitten could speak, he just asked this question intuitively out of anxiety.

  “Meow, do you admit your mistakes?” Galaxy suddenly spoke up.

  Suddenly, the pet shop became quiet. Whether it was Sunny who was chasing after the kittens, or Chuan Chuan who was sticking her tongue out like the puppies in the display cases, or Little Celery who was talking about methods to cure a cold to Zhang Zian, all of them stopped talking and looked at Galaxy.

  Only Zhang Zian could see Richard in its invisible state besides Galaxy. That sentence was spoken by Richard, who had perfectly imitated Galaxy’s voice.

  Sunny and Chuan Chuan didn’t believe pets could speak in the beginning, but after seeing the magic in front of the pet shop where the small rock was suspended in the air, they were uncertain and dubious. When they saw the adorable puppies and kittens in the pet shop, they had forgotten about the issue about them speaking. And now that the black and white kitten had spoken, there was no reason for them to doubt Little Celery anymore.

  “It’s true… The kitten was speaking!” Mouths covered, eyes wide open, they screamed in surprise.

  Finally proving herself, Little Celery restored her spirits and even her two braids appeared perkier. She said proudly, “I told you the pets here can speak but you didn’t believe me! Not only this kitten, but Xiao Ling and Er Duo can also speak… Oh, right, Xiao Ling is a hamster, and Er Duo is a lop-ear rabbit, they are both my good friends! Let me introduce you to them later!”


  Sunny and Chuan Chuan felt embarrassed, and they apologized to Little Celery sincerely, “Little Celery, sorry, it’s our fault… We shouldn’t have suspected you… Please forgive us…”


  Little Celery held up their hands generously, “It’s okay, there’s no need to apologize, I just want you to believe me! Xiao Ling and Er Duo are my good friends, and you are also my good friends! We are all good friends!”


  Zhang Zian walked over to them and bent over, “As friends, you should support each other, share fortunes together, meet challenges together, and help to mend the wrongdoings of one another. Understand?”


  The girls nodded in unison.

  The invisible Old Time Tea smiled kindly. It stroked its white whiskers and meditated about the benevolence it felt.

  “He who loves others is constantly loved by them.”


  “Love others as one loves himself. Extend humble love into great love by loving his hometown, country and people all around the world.”


  “If everyone could be benevolent, a world of harmony and peace will be reached soon.”


  Zhang Zian was just interacting with and teaching the girls, but Old Time Tea was so moved and couldn’t help expressing its sentiment.

  “Oh, by the way,” Zhang Zian winked and smiled mysteriously, “Let me tell you a little secret. Two conditions must be met before the pets in my shop can speak.”


  “What are the conditions, Brother Store Manager?” Chuan Chuan also called him Brother Store Manager as Little Celery did, for she really adored the puppies. If they could speak, she would beg her parents to buy one for her.

  It was the first time Little Celery had heard that there were conditions for the pets to speak, and all three of them couldn’t wait to hear the answers.

  Zhang Zian stretched out two fingers and said seriously, “First, the pets can only speak inside this shop— they won’t speak elsewhere.”


  Before the little girls’ disappointment showed up, Zhang Zian continued, “Second, the pets will only speak in front of people they really like, and the people must be loving, responsible, brave and have a sense of justice. If one day, you lose your innocence as children and become terrible adults, you will never be able to hear them speak again.”