Ch 109: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World

Chenglan General Hospital, 19th Floor, VIP Patient Room.

The window was half open, and the breeze rustled the curtains.

Qin Meng lay on the bed, feeling an itch on her cheek. In a daze, she murmured, “Sugar, stop licking.”

“Who’s Sugar?” Assistant Zhao, sitting by the bed, brushed a stray lock of hair from Qin Meng’s face.

Qin Meng suddenly opened her eyes, her gaze unfocused from sleep. She turned to see her assistant, her voice hoarse. “How long was I asleep?”

Zhao Qiong glanced at the time. “It’s five in the afternoon.”

Qin Meng frowned; only three hours had passed.

She felt as though she had been wandering somewhere far for a long time, but couldn’t recall it.

It was like a strange and extraordinary dream.

Qin Meng raised her hand and suddenly noticed her wrist was bare. Surprised, she asked, “Where’s my bracelet?”

Assistant Zhao was startled. “Could it be on the other hand?”

Qin Meng lifted both hands. “No, I always wear it on my left hand.”

Assistant Zhao’s face darkened. “This is a VIP room; there’s no way someone took it.”

In the past, Qin Meng would have thrown a fit.

That bracelet was a gem bracelet she cherished deeply. It wasn’t the most expensive, but its fresh, delicate style struck a chord with her girlish heart.

Assistant Zhao stole a glance at her expression.

Since Qin Meng was hospitalized for her injury, she had frequent temper flare-ups. She’d find issues out of nowhere, and with the bracelet missing, who knew what would happen.

Her head began to ache.

Qin Meng rummaged in her pocket and pulled out a small note.

“Written personally by Lu Yao, owner of Little Pet Cafe. Ms. Qin Meng has recharged her card with 18,000 yuan, with 300 yuan spent. The balance is 17,700 yuan.”

Beside the owner’s signature was a small cat paw print.

Qin Meng frowned at it for a moment, then felt strangely calm. She slowly folded the note, saying, “Forget it. I might have misplaced it somewhere. It might turn up one day. You’ve been watching over me, which must be exhausting. Go get some food and rest.”

Assistant Zhao was surprised. Qin Meng didn’t lose her temper and even asked her to take a break.

Qin Meng didn’t feel like explaining. She couldn’t quite say why, but she suddenly felt at peace.

After Assistant Zhao left, Qin Meng took out the strange note again, reading it over several times. Her fingers gently traced the tiny cat paw print in the corner, and her heart felt soft and light.

That nap was truly refreshing.

…

Garbage Sea, Little Pet Cafe.

Lu Yao came back from scavenging with a basket of fresh sea urchins and crabs.

Trailing behind her were a small manta ray and an unfamiliar coconut octopus.

Inside the shop, Ji Feiming was keeping an eye on things, and two customers lay on the floor, playing with the kittens.

This was the shop’s recent daily routine.

Every day, Lu Yao diligently dived into the sea, scavenging garbage, and along with the manta ray, ahe’d visit the fish schools nearby to “catch the tide” and attract customers.

The reclusive fish population was vast, with varying degrees of aloofness. Every day, a few would be drawn in by this one-woman-one-ray team.

Out of curiosity, they’d find their way to Little Pet Cafe and gradually become regular patrons.

Some would frolic in the shop, only to quickly transform into bubbles and drift away.

Others, like Du Qingmei, would frequent Little Pet Cafe but could never leave.

On the day Qin Meng left the shop transformed into a clownfish, Du Qingmei was also desperate to escape.

After two or three days of effort without results, she completely gave up and even offered herself to Lu Yao as a shop assistant.

Every day, the little manta ray accompanied Lu Yao diving in the sea, diligently helping attract customers and setting the mood.

Lu Yao agreed to hire her as a shop assistant, at least until she decided to leave.

Lu Yao opened the shop door and stepped aside to let the coconut octopus in first—this was the new guest.

The method to distinguish between regular fish and “person-fish” was quite simple: fish with a vivid red cross-shaped wound were guests, while fish without such markings were just ingredients.

Coconut octopuses live in the gravelly seabeds, always searching for a suitable shell to use as a home to protect their soft bodies.

But they particularly love using coconut shells, which is why they’re called coconut octopuses.

When there’s no suitable shell, jar, or coconut nearby, they even build their own shelter.

This is an octopus with a particular obsession with housing.

Xu Rumin stumbled into a transparent membrane and fell onto the white sandy beach. Getting up, he spotted two men lying flat on the ground, shamelessly wiggling cat toys to entertain the two kittens in the shop.

He hadn’t wanted to visit this strange, newly-appeared Little Pet Cafe—petting cats and relaxing were all consumerism traps, in his opinion.

But this was under the sea; he could just catch a few fish to pay for petting the cats.

Recently, he’d overheard fish discussing how many people-turned-fish came to this shop and found ways to escape the sea.

Xu Rumin also wanted to leave as soon as possible.

He was an ordinary office worker, thirty-five, single, with a heavy mortgage.

His life was simple and frugal—working, earning wages, repaying his mortgage, and repeating the cycle.

That morning, as usual, he’d woken up on time, taken his green bike three kilometers from his rental apartment to the subway station.

It was windy on the way, and as he rubbed his eyes, he found himself in the sea, transformed into an octopus.

He needed to return to work as soon as possible; taking a day off would reduce his wages, making his mortgage repayment seem even further away.

Strangely, the more anxious he felt about returning, the harder it became to move his body.

Trapped in that place, forced to backfloat.

Xu Rumin wasn’t interested in petting cats; he just wanted to leave quickly.

He handed over a sufficient amount of fresh fish and, following the strategy he’d heard, ordered some seafood and a drink, then sat at the low table by the window, lost in thought.

Lu Yao carried the fish to the kitchen, using magic to clean them. He sliced sashimi, stir-fried two plates of spicy crab, and made a few pieces of sea urchin sushi, which Du Qingmei brought out to serve.

After days of effort, she finally accumulated enough popularity points to upgrade the deep-sea aquarium. Eagerly, she prepared a separate dimension in the kitchen corner, planning to perform maintenance after closing.

In front of Xu Rumin sat a plate of translucent sashimi, a dish of stir-fried crab, five pieces of sea urchin sushi, and a small dipping sauce dish.

He rarely ate such food; not only did he dislike raw food, but typically, this was far too expensive for him.

A simple meal like this would cost his entire mortgage payment for a month.

Perhaps because he’d transformed into a sea creature or been influenced by the shop owner and the little manta ray, Xu Rumin couldn’t help but salivate at the sashimi.

He recalled the little manta ray saying every day how sweet the raw sea fish and sea urchins tasted here.

Xu Rumin picked up his chopsticks, intending to eat a slice plain.

“Meow~”

A sudden, unusual force nudged at his feet as if struck by a “pig.” Xu Rumin looked down.

Er Xin affectionately rubbed his palm, her green stone-like eyes fixed intensely on his chopsticks, her voice delicate and persistent: “Meow~ meow~”

Xu Rumin felt awkward. This cat was pampered, with a round, fluffy face, chubby body, and considerable strength as she pushed against him.

After a while of coaxing, this human still didn’t feed her.

Er Xin grew slightly annoyed, gracefully leaping onto the low table and leaning in to sniff at the sashimi.

Only then did Xu Rumin realize she wasn’t interested in him but in his food.

Feeling amused but also a bit irritated, he glanced around but didn’t see the owner. So, he called out to Du Qingmei, who was lying on the floor with a cat, “Can cats eat sashimi?”

Du Qingmei sat up, “Only the raw fish slices; don’t feed too much, and avoid the dipping sauce.”

Xu Rumin placed a piece of sashimi at the edge of the table.

Er xin quickly gobbled it up, then looked up at him and nuzzled his palm again, “Meow~”

Xu Rumin picked up another slice, warning, “This is the last one.”

Er xin ate it, then looked up, “Meow…”

Xu Rumin: “Really, this is the last one.”

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