Chapter 596: It's Time for Carmen to Go to Work

Hah’Er and Xiaoliu had a great time playing. It wasn’t until dusk that they reluctantly left Hou Mountain and Xiong Mountain to follow Shen Yibin back to the manor on the outskirts of the city.

For the next few days, Shen Yibin lived a life of leisure. He slept in every day, and after his meals, he would either help Maphario tend to the orchard, take Sylvie for a walk along the Yunshui River, or ride the Disney-built roller coaster and other amusement park attractions with Hah’Er and the others. He even took two days to go camping in the mountains. For Sylvie, it felt like she had returned to that wonderful time when she and Shen Yibin were searching for Egg in the mountains.

It wasn’t until after the seventh day of the Lunar New Year that people gradually started visiting Shen Yibin’s place. However, they were all familiar faces, like Xu Ye and Bai Yanni. Sylvie had met them before back at the shop, so she didn’t need to be too reserved. While Shen Yibin was in the kitchen cooking, she would chat with the guests, and the atmosphere was quite harmonious.

Bai Yanni, however, was a bit conflicted. She subtly probed for a while until she understood that Sylvie was only staying there to experience the unique folk customs of the Chinese New Year, and for no other reason. Only then did she relax, but she couldn’t help feeling a little jealous. After all, she had her own home in Yunzhong City and couldn’t stay for an extended period like Sylvie.

Two more days passed, and Wen Yuan returned to Yunzhong City. He paid a special visit to Shen Yibin, bringing specialty ingredients from his hometown to thank him for taking in and looking after Bald Qiang and his partner. Shen Yibin took the opportunity to tell him about Sylvie’s situation. Sylvie had recently contacted Alfred, commissioning him to find a few plots of land in Sokovia with beautiful scenery—backed by mountains and facing the water—for Wen Yuan to choose from. The goal was for him to design a Chinese-style manor for her on the most suitable site.

“No problem, you can leave it to me. I’ll go back and study the materials first. If necessary, I’ll bring my team for an on-site inspection to make sure we choose the absolute best location.” The moment Wen Yuan heard he was speaking to the princess of Sokovia, he grew ecstatic. Previously, designing a manor for Director Kong had put him on the radar of the wealthy elite in Xiangjiang and beyond. Now, if he could design a magnificent manor for Sylvie, the entire European and American market would open up to him. This was a rare opportunity.

Of course, there had been world-renowned Chinese design masters like I.M. Pei, but he had grown up in a Western cultural environment and couldn’t be considered a purely homegrown talent. Later, there were masters like Wang Shu, who won the highest honor in architecture, the Pritzker Prize. Unfortunately, Wang Shu’s work was still primarily domestic, with few opportunities to break into the European and American markets. Sylvie’s arrival presented a golden opportunity for Wen Yuan to realize his lifelong dream, and he was determined to pour his heart and soul into the project.

‘Going to all that trouble to find information on Bald Qiang, dropping everything, and rushing to Yunzhong City… that was the smartest decision I’ve ever made in my life!’ This decision not only led to a complete transformation of his design skills, but through Shen Yibin, it had also massively expanded his professional network. ‘It’s as if I’ve saved myself twenty years of struggle.’ Wen Yuan couldn’t help but feel incredibly fortunate. ‘Thank goodness I was so decisive back then. Otherwise, I’d probably still be stuck in the same old place, churning out mediocre designs.’

And now, he hadn’t even finished the projects for those top tycoons in Xiangjiang, and a European princess was already seeking him out to design a manor. Wen Yuan’s ambition surged. ‘This time, I must design a timeless classic for Princess Sylvie, one that will be remembered for generations. It definitely won’t be outshone by the one Shen Yibin is living in now.’

After gathering the materials and clarifying Sylvie’s requirements, Wen Yuan returned home with a large stack of documents. It was only then that a question occurred to him. ‘Huh? Her Highness Sylvie is the princess of Sokovia… why is she living at Shen Yibin’s house? And from the looks of it, she’s been here for more than just a day or two?’

Fortunately, Wen Yuan wasn’t the gossipy type. He quickly put the matter aside and focused on studying the materials at hand. The next day, as soon as he arrived at his studio, he distributed the documents to his most capable team members, instructing them to give this project top priority and begin the preliminary work immediately.

Shen Yibin’s leisurely days continued until the Lantern Festival. This time, he made some uniquely shaped sweet rice dumplings and invited Wen Yuan’s family over to enjoy them. By then, Wen Yuan’s preliminary preparations were nearly complete. He and Sylvie had finalized the schedule; the next day, he and his team would accompany Sylvie to Sokovia for the site survey. They would choose the most suitable plot from the three current options.

The next day, Sylvie bid a reluctant farewell to Shen Yibin. She then led Wen Yuan and his team to Yunzhong City Airport, where they boarded a flight to Xiangjiang. Before leaving, Sylvie reminded him repeatedly, “If you find any interesting new pets, you have to think of me!”

After seeing Sylvie and the others off, Shen Yibin rested for another two days. Xia Shixuan, Li Shiqing, Gao Shu, and Xie Nannan had also returned to the shop, and it was time for the pet shop to reopen for business.

“Come on, let’s have a toast. Here’s to an even better year than the last!” Shen Yibin mused, ‘I should be able to level up again this year, no matter what. When that happens, the Future Pet Shop will definitely unlock even better features. The shop will have no choice but to get better and better.’

“Cheers! Let’s hope the boss gives us even bigger red envelopes next year!” Working at Shen Yibin’s shop was a dream—the pay was good, the colleagues got along well, and the environment was excellent. All the girls wanted to stay on for the long haul. Even Xie Nannan, who had planned to gain experience before opening her own store, was starting to have second thoughts. ‘Even if I opened my own shop, would I really earn more than I do working here?’

The next day, Shen Yibin’s pet shop reopened. Pet lovers across Yunzhong City had been eagerly awaiting this day. The moment it opened, they called their friends and came flooding in. The crowd was filled with children, in particular, who had received plenty of New Year’s money and were eager to buy a cute pet for themselves.

Nearly a month’s worth of pent-up customer demand had the shop filled to the brim. The four girls were clearly overwhelmed. Shen Yibin had to step in and act as a clerk to help out. Sun Qian, who had just recently returned home, also joined the effort, and only then were they able to barely keep up.

Around noon, just as Shen Yibin was about to whip up a simple meal, a familiar face appeared before him. “Mr. Bin, your business is really booming!”

“Captain Qi, are you here to pick up Carmen?” Seeing Qi Jian, Shen Yibin finally remembered. ‘Right,’ he thought, ‘if I’m counting the days correctly, it’s about time for Carmen to go back to work!’