Qiao Sang froze for a second, then burst into delight.
She thought she’d have to wait another month, but her mother’s efficiency far exceeded her expectations, opening the pet shop in just around a month.
After all, a pet shop is not like other stores; because it involves pet beasts, even just getting a small business registration has stricter approval procedures than most physical businesses.
Some people wait half a year for approval, so her mother’s efficiency was impressive.
That’s what a career-driven woman is capable of!
“Where’s the shop located?” Qiao Sang asked with an irrepressible smile.
“77 Yumin Road. Just 200 meters left from our complex. The previous owner was looking to transfer, so I took it over, including the equipment…” At this, Ye Xiangting paused, as if remembering something, and then frowned at Qiao Sang, saying nothing.
Qiao Sang couldn’t help but ask, “What about the equipment? Why did you stop?”
Ye Xiangting was silent for two seconds. “What exactly did you have Ice Qiya sing earlier?”
“I’m sorry!” Qiao Sang apologized instantly.
Entry-level Healing Soundwave won’t cut it! The effect duration is way too short!
After another long pause, Ye Xiangting said, “What was I asking you before?”
Qiao Sang hesitated. “You asked about what Ice Qiya’s song does.”
“No, not that.” Ye Xiangting glanced at Qiao Sang.
“I asked you earlier: When did you break through the brain domain, and why didn’t you tell me about contracting a new pet beast?”
Qiao Sang looked blank.
“Didn’t I answer both of those already?”
Ye Xiangting’s face darkened.
“Look at what you said! It’s the same response you gave when I asked why you didn’t tell me about Little Treasure's evolution! You didn’t even change a punctuation mark! Did everything happen at the same time? Little Treasure's evolution, your brain domain breakthrough, and contracting a new pet beast?”
Qiao Sang: ...
Speechless, Qiao Sang thought to herself: Healing Soundwave has risks; use with caution!
---
Opening a pet shop was a big deal, and although Qiao Sang wanted to visit right away, she had told her mother she was too busy.
So, she had to wait until the weekend.
Saturday morning, Qiao Sang mounted Yabao and set off for the address her mother had sent.
“Yap!”
Yabao was unusually excited, walking faster than usual.
For pet beasts raised by humans, finding an excellent beast master to bond with is life-changing. The more precious a pet beast is, the larger its designated area in the pet bases.
Now that her beast master’s family had opened a store specializing in raising his kind, it meant that all the areas were for his kind!
Yabao felt that his species had gained significant status!
But as soon as they arrived at the store, Yabao’s wildly wagging tail drooped instantly.
This is too small! What happened to the grand space?
“This is way too small!” Qiao Sang couldn’t hold back a complaint.
The store was only about 70 square meters, with two glass display racks in the center and on either side holding around twenty Fire Fang Dog eggs.
And that was it…
“We’re lucky just to have it open.” Ye Xiangting said.
“Family funds are tight. I even hired a breeder, which adds quite a bit to the monthly costs.”
So, it’s still a matter of money.
Understanding dawned on Qiao Sang, and she sighed.
To open a pet shop, it’s essential to employ a qualified breeder, just like how restaurants need chefs and schools need teachers. The higher-ranked a breeder, the more customers the shop can attract.
Many pet shops promote themselves by displaying the honors and qualifications of their in-house breeders.
Since the research institute hadn’t yet figured out the evolution requirements for Fire Fang Dogs to become Flame Hounds, attracting customers was left entirely up to the breeder.
And breeders command very high salaries.
Qiao Sang glanced around and, seeing no one, asked, “Where’s the breeder you hired?”
“It’s not working hours yet.” Ye Xiangting took out her phone and gestured for Qiao Sang and Yabao to smile.
“Smile; I’m making a promo poster.”
Qiao Sang instinctively flashed a big grin.
“Yap…”
Yabao also grinned, giving a polite but uneasy smile.
“All done.” Satisfied, Ye Xiangting looked at the photo on her phone.
After a moment of silence, Qiao Sang suggested, “Mom, make sure to touch it up a bit.”
“Yap.”
Yabao nodded in agreement.
Ye Xiangting: …
---
That evening, Qiao Sang lay on her bed, lost in thought.
She remembered the Vice Principal had said that from project application to approval, research projects typically take three months at minimum.
And that’s just the beginning, who knows how long it will take for results to come out.
Although her mother hadn’t said anything about the family’s finances, Qiao Sang guessed that with a hired breeder, they might not be able to hold out until the research results are published.
Feeling a headache coming on, she pulled out her phone to scroll and unwind.
After replying to a few messages from friends, she opened SuperBlog and logged into her account.
Flame Hounds were pretty popular, and even after not posting for a long time, she still got new comments every day.
Her latest post was a photo of Yabao wearing cyberpunk-style tech glasses.
Qiao Sang opened the comments.
[Totally stunned by the cool factor!]
[I don’t have the words, but wow, you’re so cool.]
[Why hasn’t the evolution condition for Flame Hounds been published yet? My Fire Fang Dog can’t hold back much longer!]
[There are so many fake videos online, all showing Flame Hounds flying. They don’t even hide the editing marks, have you seen them, blogger?]
[Forget flying; I saw a video where a Flame Hound used telekinesis and teleportation. They’re even saying online it has psychic abilities. I think those pet dealers are money-crazy, pulling stunts like this. Fire and psychic types together, who do they think we are, leeks ready to be harvested? Only fools would fall for it.]
Qiao Sang suddenly realized that one big reason for Flame Hounds’ dip in popularity was that people didn’t know it genuinely had psychic abilities.
If people knew and believed that Flame Hounds had psychic abilities, would that push it back into the spotlight without waiting for the research findings?
After some thought, she replied to the comment doubting Flame Hounds’ psychic attributes.
[It’s true. My Flame Hound genuinely have psychic abilities.]
Within two minutes, the comment section exploded.
[Unfollowing. I thought you were trustworthy, but you’re treating me like a fool.]
[Oh wow? How much did you get paid?]
[You’ve got to be kidding. If Flame Hounds had both fire and psychic attributes, they’d be worth at least a million each by now.]
[Wow! The blogger actually replied!]
[Is the account hacked or something?]
[I don’t believe it. Show us a video if it’s real!]
[A video wouldn’t mean anything either; there are too many fake videos around now.]
[We’re rational leeks.]
A flood of comments made Qiao Sang rethink posting a video.
Without official confirmation or witnessing it firsthand, most people would stick to their own judgments, even if she did post a video.
After pondering for a moment, she closed SuperBlog and called the Vice Principal.
After two rings, the call connected.
“Hello.” The Vice Principal’s low voice came through the speaker.
“What’s up? Trying to take leave again?”
Is that the impression she gives people…?
Qiao Sang was speechless, then cleared her throat and said, “No, not asking for leave. Vice Principal, I just wanted to ask: When does the National Campus Beast-Mastering League officially begin?”
“October 27.” Liu Yao answered.
“Will there be media coverage?” Qiao Sang asked.
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