Ch 136: Guide to Running a Shop in Another World

In the Coral Room, five little puppies surrounded Lu Yao, their wet eyes filled with affectionate devotion as their tiny tails wagged joyfully, climbing up and down her legs.

She held one in her hands, its four small, chubby paws soft and pink, accentuating its fluffy, snow-white fur.

Unlike cats, puppies openly displayed their affection for humans—their tails wagging wildly, their eyes lighting up, and their whimpers as they nuzzled close, often rolling over at the slightest pet.

Being with them made happiness come easily.

On the way back, Lu Yao had used some popularity points to have the system do a quick health check and deworming for the puppies in advance.

They were temporarily isolated in the Coral Room and hadn’t yet met the shop’s resident pig-cats.

Lu Yao planned to give them a few days to adjust before introducing them, hoping they’d get along well.

Aside from slight size differences, the puppies looked almost identical.

Unlike the pig-cats, who each had unique markings and distinct features, the puppies wore collars of different colors to tell them apart.

Lu Yao had also given them names, arranging them by size: from “One Maru” to “Six Maru.”

System: [… Such a lazy naming scheme…]

Lu Yao defended herself, “You don’t understand. They’re already cute enough; they don’t need fancy names to add to that.”

System: [You’re just taking advantage of the fact that puppies can’t talk back.]

Lu Yao picked up the leader, wearing a red collar, and, using mental communication while saying its name, asked, “One Maru, One Maru, One Maru, do you like this name?”

“Woo~” One Maru’s tail wagged as it tilted its head to look at her.

“One Maru. One Maru. One Maru.”

After a moment, a soft, young voice sounded in Lu Yao’s ears, “One Maru… what is that?”

“That’s you, silly puppy.” Lu Yao tapped its nose, slightly damp, “One Maru.”

One Maru’s mind was blank, hesitating for a long time, still unsure if “One Maru” was its name, but it tilted its head and nuzzled Lu Yao’s fingertip, “Ah, I really like this.”

Lu Yao beamed, “It says it likes it.”

System: *[Ever consider it might like *you, not the name?]

Lu Yao grinned even more, scratching One Maru’s soft ears, “Such a clever puppy. Extra meat for dinner.”

System: … Annoying!

Just then, she heard voices coming from the deep-sea tunnel. A female voice said, “It’s too quiet here in the Coral Room. The Octopus Room is more fun.”

Then a young man’s voice replied, “It is a bit empty here—more cats would liven it up.”

The puppies perked up at the sound of voices, eagerly trotting over like little balls of fluff rolling across the floor, making soft, squeaky barks.

“Huh, did I just hear puppies barking?”

“I heard it too. Are they really puppies?”

“Woof woof~”

“Awoo~ awoo~~~”

When the guests entered and saw the room full of little white fluff balls, their eyes widened.

The girl quickly stepped forward and scooped up a puppy, “Is this… a Marumaru Dog from Star City Eight?”

Lu Yao nodded. “Our shop’s newest fluffy staff members. Go on, say hi to the sister and brother.”

“Woof~”

“Woof~”

“Awoo~”

Surrounded by the snowball-like Marumaru puppies, the guests’ hearts nearly melted.

The young man sat down, and the puppies, showing no shyness, wagged their tails as they climbed onto him. “Wow, how are they this tiny?”

“I saw an introduction to Marumaru Dogs from Star City Eight on TV when I was little,” the girl said, kneeling on the ground, petting Three Maru’s belly as it rolled over for rubs. “I begged my mom for one ever since. Later, a neighbor tried secretly raising a duckling, but it didn’t survive, and when they found it in the trash, the fine was five thousand, and it even made the news. My mom said Night Light City’s environment wasn’t suitable for raising ducklings or Marumaru Dogs. As a kid, I was scared and thought having a pet would get you in trouble, so I never brought it up again.”

The girl eventually understood; Night Light City, where even trees were artificial, wasn’t suitable for animals.

She never expected that as an adult, she’d get the chance to cuddle a real Marumaru Dog under such circumstances.

“Boss, did you actually go to Star City Eight?” she asked.

Lu Yao shook her head and briefly explained the “adoption” process for the puppies.

The girl found it unbelievable. “You’re pretty lucky they actually handed the dogs over to you.”

The young man joked, “Maybe they know the boss—maybe they’re even regulars.”

The girl considered it and thought it might actually be possible.

News of the new fluffy staff members at the Little Pet Cafe spread quickly among the customers, and when they heard Marumaru Dogs were involved, excitement surged.

The once-quiet Coral Room became lively, with guests lining up to pet the puppies.

Lu Yao heard that many guests had always wanted a Marumaru Dog when they were kids.

Some guests, originally from Star City Eight, had come to Night Light City for school and stayed for work. Seeing the Marumaru Dogs brought them a sense of homecoming.

…

After Lu Yao left, Jiu Hua was left in a dilemma.

Her mind was split between two voices: one urging her to accept Lu Yao’s offer and help out as a staff member, as it was only a few days and just a small favor for a friend; the other voice instinctively retreating, reminding her of her intense fear of interacting with strangers, which would make her terrible at a service job.

But if she declined, going to the Little Pet Cafe might feel awkward afterward. She wouldn’t be able to enjoy the freedom and pleasure of diving into the deep sea as before.

Hugging a pillow, Jiu Hua wrestled with the decision until she eventually drifted off to sleep.

When she opened her eyes, she had, unsurprisingly, turned into a starfish again.

Deep-sea fish swam past her, and various voices floated into her consciousness.

“Let’s hurry—the Little Pet Cafe has Marumaru Dogs now!”

“I heard they’re no bigger than a fist—adorably tiny!”

“Where did the boss even get them?”

Marumaru! Dogs!

Jiu Hua’s ears could take in nothing else as she wriggled her body toward the Little Pet Cafe.

Entering the shop, she couldn’t find Lu Yao, so she asked around and made her way straight to the Coral Room.

“Woof!”

Jiu Hua stood at the entrance to the Coral Room and saw groups of guests forming small circles, holding various little toys, trying to coax the puppies to take a few steps toward them.

The puppies were tiny, and Lu Yao had posted a sign in the room to remind guests not to overstimulate them, much like she’d previously put up a sign asking guests not to overfeed Erxin for health reasons. Most guests respected these requests.

Jiu Hua’s gaze was fixed on the Marumaru Dogs in the middle of the crowd, spinning around as they chased their tails, yet she couldn’t bring herself to step closer.

Finally, she made a decision and approached Lu Yao, who was sitting in the corner against the wall. “Boss.”

Lu Yao was delighted to see her. “You came!”

Jiu Hua asked, “When did you get the Marumaru Dogs?”

“On the way back from your place.” Lu Yao retold the story of how she’d encountered the puppies.

Jiu Hua’s eyes lit up. “Boss, how about considering Wakaba Rabbits?”

“Wakaba Rabbits?”

Jiu Hua grew excited. “They’re a unique breed from Star City Two, with long, dark green ears marked with fine patterns that look like bamboo leaves from afar. That’s where the name ‘Wakaba’ comes from. They have red eyes, are just as small as a palm when they’re young, and stay even smaller than Marumaru Dogs when fully grown. They’re absolutely adorable.”

Fluffy creatures banned in Night Light City could all come to work at the Furry Little Shop.

Jiu Hua was already envisioning her future happiness, “left and right surrounded,” buried in fluff.

Seeing the popularity of the Marumaru Dogs, Lu Yao thought Jiu Hua’s suggestion was worth considering. Bringing in fluffy creatures that guests loved but couldn’t own in reality could truly boost the shop’s appeal.

“Alright. I’ll think about it.”

Jiu Hua said, “Boss, I’ve decided. I’ll accept your previous offer.”

Lu Yao felt amused; all her previous persuasion attempts hadn’t completely swayed Jiu Hua, but a few fluffy creatures did the trick.

Humans are utterly defenseless against fluff!

After Jiu Hua officially joined the staff, she was in charge of looking after the Octopus Room and the Coral Room.

The Octopus Room was an activity area that didn’t require constant supervision, so Jiu Hua spent most of her time in the Coral Room.

Harold took care of the Jellyfish Room and the Sea Urchin Room. Xiao Ji had no choice but to stay at the main shop, handling customer orders.

His cooking skills were average but slightly better than Jiu Hua’s and Harold’s.

With Qingmei gone and no suitable replacement in the kitchen, they had to temporarily stop serving some of the more complex cooked dishes, leaving only the simplest sashimi platters, fruit plates, and a few drinks, which Xiao Ji managed in the meantime.

Although Lu Yao could cook, she was too busy completing system tasks, tirelessly dealing with the endless piles of junk in the trash heap.

The trash heap beside the Jellyfish Room had been mostly cleared out, leaving the area feeling spacious.

Lu Yao stood at the edge of the freshly cleared seabed trench, squinting as she looked down.

She wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination, but occasionally, a golden shimmer seemed to ripple from the pitch-black depths of the trench.

“Eek.” A familiar sound came from behind her.

Without looking back, Lu Yao casually replied, “Eek.”

Recently, Orca A had been frequently seeking her out, sometimes alone and sometimes with the whole orca pod.

Whenever the pod showed up, they would wreak havoc on the trash heap, scattering debris everywhere, and then leave with a swagger once they were done.

Orca A was the ringleader of this chaos, always causing trouble.

Lu Yao was feeling a bit worn out lately.

Orca A loomed over her, its massive form nearly blocking her entirely. Its small, dark eyes looked at her, and it made the sound again, “Eek.”

Lu Yao glanced back at him, “What do you want?”

“Eek.” Orca A seemed to smirk, then tilted its head and used its barely visible beak to nudge Lu Yao straight into the trench.

Lu Yao, completely baffled, thought, “???”

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