372 New Employee (1/2)

Chapter 372: New Employee

Translator: Nyoi-Bo StudioEditor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Zhang Zian went back to the shop, wondering what should be done today.

Since Tim's cat food,shipped from the United States, was expected to arrive today, he would not be able to travel far from the shop, and could only stroll around the neighborhood, like buying groceries from the supermarket.

Fina was staring at him, reminding him that it was time for him to fetch breakfast.

Zhang Zian reluctantly put on the jacket. He needed to trouble Uncle Li to prepare breakfast again.

The business was still rough in Uncle Li’s restaurant, for only a few people were having breakfast there, which was even worse than the times Uncle Li was selling dim sum on a cart. He asked Uncle Li for help, and Uncle Li, though in dismay, agreed to help him in no time.

When Zhang Zian returned to his shop holding a foam insulation box, he found a girl wandering around in front of the entrance.

She wore a knee-length down jacket, a pair of wool gloves, and a red scarf, looking around nervously like an underground worker. The fringe on her forehead was so long that it covered her eyes, and her scarf was pulled up so high that it had blocked her chin. With a pair of big, thick glasses too, almost her entire face had been concealed completely, a look perfect for robbing a bank.

”Uh, who are you looking for?” asked Zhang Zian.

She hurriedly pulled down the scarf, revealing a small part of her face and exhaling white breath, ”Mr. Store Manager, I... I want... to work here.”

The girl seemed very nervous. Stuttering and hands crossed, her face blushed.

Zhang Zian frowned and looked at her face, ”You are...What’s your name again? Sorry that I can’t remember.”

”Lu Yiyun,” she said.

The girl who came was Lu Yiyun.

Recently, Lu Yiyun’s illustration work was getting better and better, and her life became well-off, compared to living short of money when she had just entered the illustration industry. Even her cat, Jasmine, had gained some weight—when she took it for a bath at this pet shop, Zhang Zian said that Jasmine may be a descendant of Chinchilla, but now she increasingly suspected that it was an Orange Tabby. It was said that almost every Orange Tabby was fat…

However, despite having more money and purchasing better digital equipment and supplies, she horrifically found another problem—Since she practically did not communicate with others in real life, after six months of living alone, she was so nervous around others that she stuttered when she talked to people.

Lu Yiyun was not content with drawing illustrations for others all the time. She knew that it was not a promising career. Her ultimate goal was to become a cartoonist. Although this job had not been accepted by the Chinese public for now, and she still had a long way to go before becoming a cartoonist, she was striving towards her goal step by step. However, another problem arose when she submitted her works to comic websites or magazines. The editors often replied: the painting is excellent, but the topics and characters are mundane, and the dialogues are stiff and banal. Hope you can improve on these aspects.

She was only good at drawing and couldn’t write very well, plus with the fact that she seldom communicated with people in the real world, she was always at a loss when writing a conversation. She knew this was her drawback, but she didn’t know how to change the situation.

When she learned from Snowy’s live broadcast that the Amazing Fate Pet Shop was recruiting an art designer, she thought she might give it a try. The apartment she rented was located in a nearby neighborhood of Amazing Fate Pet Shop, so it was convenient for her to work there. Most importantly, she had met Zhang Zian twice, so talking with him would be easier than with complete strangers.

As a super indoor otaku girl, she was frightened of the outside world and of talking with people. So, going out to work was a huge ordeal for her. In fact, she had intended to visit the shop a few days ago, but lost her courage when she was about to leave her house.

She hated her cowardice and knew that if she went on like this, she would slowly decay in this narrow rental house until she was completely separated from the society and was forgotten by all… She could not help but think of the news that she had read online. Some loners had died from sudden illnesses and were not noticed by their neighbors until the corpses gave off rotten odors… She didn’t want to end up like this! She was fed up with being judged by her neighbors, and the last thing she wanted was to be talked about by them when she died.

Today, she finally decided to go out of her home.

She had never worked in a company before, but she knew she must nail the interview before she was offered a job.

Along the way here, her mind was filled with all kinds of questions, such as how to act if she was rejected in the interview, or if the store manager had already recruited someone else… she had been thinking of going back home, like a startled cub retreating to its lair. Luckily, her rental house was close to the pet shop, and she arrived there soon.

When talking to Zhang Zian, she was sweating nervously. She had told herself she must not stutter, but it clearly didn’t work out as she expected.

Fortunately, Zhang Zian did not seem very concerned about it. He said casually, ”You want to work here? Come on in, it’s cold outside.”

He pulled open the shutter door, ”Please.”

Lu Yiyun followed him into the shop, and found that the interior was completely different than it had been before. It was recently refurbished, and there were more kittens and puppies, plus a seemingly fierce large German Shepherd.

Zhang Zian turned around and saw that she was scared while staring at Famous. He comforted her, ”Don’t be afraid, it doesn’t bite, it's an angel.”