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

  “Damn my bad luck!”


  Zhang Zian looked at the sky and shouted exasperatedly.

  He had looked up several Chinese lunar calendars, all of which indicated that today was suitable for opening ceremonies. That was why he had been counting on today to reopen his pet shop. However, when he got up this morning and pulled open the curtains, he immediately threw those lunar calendars out his window! An old lady who was collecting trashed papers happened to walk past his pet shop, and she instantly picked them up as if she had found treasure.

  It was going to f****** snow today!

  He had gone through an entire pile of Chinese lunar calendars, yet forgot to pay attention to the weather forecast!

  An opening ceremony was intended to attract as many customers as possible. Who was going to visit his pet shop on a snowy day?!

  Whatever, the ceremony was delayed. He didn’t inform many people to attend anyway, so he could choose another day, whatever one he deemed fit.

  Accustomed to the cozy and comfortable lifestyle he had grown into during the period where his pet shop was closed for renovation, he felt timid thinking of the busy days to come after the reopening. If he could hire a reliable employee soon, he could continue being a boss without doing anything.

  Every resident was doing what they normally did in his pet shop. Galaxy was playing hide-and-seek, Fina was taking a nap, Old Time Tea was drinking tea, Snowy Lionet was displaying its affection towards Fina, and the clamorous Richard was making noises all day long. So, Zhang Zian was thinking of doing what he usually did: lying on the recliner and daydreaming about a rich and glamorous girl that would fall in love with him…


  When he had just sat down on the recliner, the automatic door of the shop slid open and in came in a couple of customers whose bodies varied enormously in size.

  Glancing at them, Zhang Zian was dumbfounded.

  If he was right, he was looking at two foreigners who had high-bridged noses, deep-set eyes and chiseled facial contours!

  The prophecy had come true! There were foreigners visiting his pet shop!

  The man on the left was extremely muscular with a bald head and red face. If he was 10 years younger, he would look exactly like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. The woman on the right was relatively petite with fair skin and curly blonde hair. Though she was not young anymore, Zhang Zian could see that she must have been a beauty when she was younger—but that was not the point!

  As soon as Zhang Zian saw them, cliché plots from soap operas were playing in his mind. For example, these two were actually famous lawyers that had been painstakingly searching for him. They came here to tell him that a relative residing abroad, whom he had never met before, had deceased, leaving behind the legacy of a coastal European-style old castle and millions of dollars in cash. Since the unlucky guy had no immediate relatives, Zhang Zian would be the one inheriting this huge fortune. From now on, he would become a winner who had it all…


  However, after looking at them more carefully, he put off this unrealistic idea, for they didn’t look like famous attorneys at all, especially the big guy on the left, who seemed more like a man sent by a debt collection agency.

  Besides, why were they pulling two huge luggages? Zhang Zian swallowed nervously, and now his mind was occupied by the bloody scenes in horror movies.

  Are they going to chop me into pieces and stuff me into the luggages? And then feed my flesh to dogs? Grandpa Tea, please do something— though I’ve been practicing Wing Chun for a while, there’s no way I can rival with this big guy!

  He looked at Old Time Tea as if asking for help. But Old Time Tea just kept drinking tea and watching TV leisurely, and had no intention to help!

  After patting off the snow on her head and shoulders, Lauren stood on her tiptoes and helped pat off the snow on her husband’s shoulders. She looked around the shop. Since she had watched the videos repetitively, she was familiar with the layout and display of the pet shop, but Fina, sleeping on the cat tree, still drew her attention because of her powerful aura.

  She secretly elbowed her husband and whispered, “Darling, look at the golden cat on that shelf.”


  Tim had been looking at the kittens that were running freely inside the shop and were playing happily. And then he noticed the cat litter boxes lining the wall. As he counted, the number of cat litter boxes equaled the number of kittens plus one, just like in his shop. The equation also applied to the food bowls and water basins.

  These had made good impressions on Tim. He was a professional who didn’t bother to discuss with laypersons. Though the overall qualifications of this pet shop owner were still unknown, at least he seemed much better than that moron Allen…


  Reminded by his wife, he looked at the top of the cat tree and saw the golden cat she had mentioned. And he and Fina happened to look at each other in the eyes.

  Fina usually didn’t care about the customers, but she had sniffed their scents the moment these two entered the shop. Opening her eyes and seeing their appearances, which were different from that of Asians, she felt cordial. Ever since she appeared in this ancient country, Fina had been looking at the faces of Asians every day. Suddenly seeing two people from the West with high-bridged noses and deep-set eyes, Fina felt like she had returned long ago to the old days.

  Lauren wasn’t in charge of the daily operation of Blue Climax, so her ability to recognize the breed of a cat was not as good as that of her husband. Tim often took their cats to attend tournaments of the CFA, and had seen hundreds of cat breeds during the competitions.

  Tim could identify an ordinary cat easily, but he didn’t say anything to his wife out of caution until he had stared at this golden cat for several seconds. “It seems like it’s an Egyptian Mau, but I’m not quite sure…”


  Lauren held his hand to suggest he put aside this matter, for a young Chinese man, the pet shop owner, who had appeared in the videos was walking towards them.

  “Ni hao!”


  This was the only Chinese expression Lauren knew. She learned this from a soap opera and hoped she could use it someday, and today, her wish came true…


  Zhang Zian was walking very slowly on purpose while contemplating the intentions of these two people. Eliminating the rare possibilities of estate lawyers and duns, logically, they were probably travelers visiting China— that’s why they were holding two luggages in their hands. But why were tourists visiting a pet shop? Were they going to buy a pet and take it home? They seemed exhausted. This was probably their first stop after getting off the plane, because they hadn’t left their luggages at their hotel.

  Was it possible… that they were just asking for directions?

  He looked at the cloudy gray sky outside. The snowflakes were falling from the sky silently, and soon, the ground would be covered with a layer of frost.

  Maybe they were just seeking shelter from the snow. If that was the case, he didn’t mind them taking a rest in his shop, so they could feel the hospitality of the Chinese.

  This was Zhang Zian’s thought, but then he heard Fina say lazily, “There are the scents of cats, many cats, on them.”


  After saying this sentence, Fina closed her eyes and kept on sleeping. A snowy day was suitable for sleeping, although Fina slept in all kinds of weather.

  To Lauren and Tim, Fina’s talking sounded just like normal cat meowing.

  Zhang Zian stopped walking for a moment.

  If he remembered correctly, Fina had said this sentence before. A female cattery owner was going to spy in his pet shop, and Fina had sniffed the scents carried by her.

  So, it was not a coincidence that these two foreigners were in his pet shop. They were possibly professionals in the pet industry, whether they were cattery owners or pet shop owners. Their intentions were still unknown, if they were trying to pry information. That was a long way for them to go to pry business secrets…


  He almost burst out laughing by the weird pronunciation of “Ni hao” by this blonde lady. He recalled how his English teachers in junior high and senior high had taught him, cleared his throat and said in English, “Hello, how can I help you with?”


  Lauren and Tim pleasantly looked at each other in surprise. This pet shop owner could speak English more fluently than they had expected. It seemed like their concern before was unnecessary, for they could have normal interactions in English.

  “Hello, my name is Lauren Keller, and this is my husband Tim. Nice to meet you! We run a cattery in the suburb of Los Angeles, and we are professional breeders. After watching the videos on YouTube, we are deeply attracted by the amazing dancing kittens, so we are making this special visit to your pet shop.”


  Lauren warmly extended her hand towards Zhang Zian. She knew that her husband’s figure would frighten others easily, so she initiated the self-introduction.

  Zhang Zian was completely lost!

  Overestimating his proficiency in English, Lauren was speaking too fast and included some slang. Zhang Zian hadn’t spoken English for years, and all he had heard vaguely was that her name was Lauren and her husband was Tim.

  Helplessly, he turned around and yelled towards the second floor, “Richard, come down and greet these clients!”