Dream Pet Shop

"During the half-year period, after the audition, group stage, knockout stage, and tonight's final, these three outstanding singers finally stood in front of us. Then came the most exciting moment Alright, let me count down the final vote count together and witness the birth of the king on this stage together, 3, 2..."

"Kach——" The rebroadcast program on the TV was turned off, and the screen was pitch black, reflecting the thin figure of a young man nestled on the sofa.

The young man closed his eyes, leaned his head on the sofa, and said nothing.He was pale, with a deep livid black under his eyelids.The mobile phone placed on the sofa vibrated, and the young man opened his eyes and took a look.

It was a WeChat message from former assistant Chen Xin: "Brother Xu, I brought you back the things that the fans of the support club gave you. Please open the door for me later."

The young man put down his phone after reading it, and closed his eyes again without replying, as if he was very tired.

His name is Xu Jie, and he participated in the "New Voice" talent show half a year ago. Because of his good singing skills, he was soon signed by a brokerage company, and Chen Xin was his assistant assigned by the company.Relying on his strength, he had a smooth journey in the draft and passed all the tests. If he hadn’t withdrawn from the competition due to the sudden damage to his vocal cords a month ago, he should have stood on the stage of the finals last night instead of sitting alone like he is now. In front of the TV.

After a while, there was a knock on the door.Xu Jie heard the first knock, but he sat still, until the door knocked for a while, then he sighed and got up to open the door.

After the door opened, it turned out to be Chen Xin who came with big bags and small bags. Xu Jie didn't care about anything after opening the door, turned around and sat back on the sofa.

Chen Xin didn't mind either, she leaned against the door and carried the things into the room one by one. After carrying all the things in, she closed the door and found that the lights in the room were not turned on.

"Brother Xu, why don't you turn on the light when it's so dark?" Chen Xin was ready to turn on the lights in the living room.

"Don't open it, it's fine like this." Xu Jie said.

Chen Xin sighed, didn't turn on the light, but went straight to the balcony, and "swish--" opened the curtains neatly, the sun was shining outside the window, and the room was suddenly brightened.

"..." Xu Jie raised his hand reflexively to block the glare from the window.

"Brother Xu, I have told you many times that you must open the curtains during the day, bask in the sun, and carry out photosynthesis, so that you will be in good spirits." Chen Xin said to himself, and tidied up the room in the middle of the living room. coffee table.

There were several empty beer cans on the coffee table, and Chen Xin threw them into the trash can, and then instructed: "Brother Xu, the doctor said that you should avoid drinking beer for three months after the operation."

Xu Jie's eyes gradually adapted to the light, he put down his hands, stared blankly at the blue sky and white clouds outside, and did not speak.

Since he was discharged from the hospital, Chen Xin has become accustomed to this appearance.After tidying up the tea table, she moved all the gifts from fans over, put a cushion on the floor, and began to unwrap the presents one by one, introducing them to Xu Jie as she unwrapped them.

"This is a q-version figure made by a fan named Outstanding Girl. The card says I wish Brother Jie happy every day and get fatter." Chen Xin put the q-version figure on the coffee table and said to Xu Jie: "Jie Brother, look how cute this is, even fans think you are too thin, you should eat more."

Xu Jie still didn't speak, she opened the second gift, it was a diy photo album, it was covered with Xu Jie's photos, most of them were captured on the spot when going to the talent show, very attentively, Chen Xin picked up the card and read Said: "To the best brother Jie forever, your voice is the best I have ever heard, love you!"

At this time Xu Jie finally spoke lightly, but his voice was low and hoarse, which was not very pleasant: "Chen Xin, don't you have to go to work in the afternoon?"

"Going to work at two o'clock in the afternoon, and it's not even 12 o'clock yet." Chen Xin continued to unwrap presents, and this time it turned out to be a large bottle of honey, and she read: "Brother Jie, this is the honey produced by the bees raised by my grandfather. It is especially good for your voice, I hope you recover soon and return to the stage, we will all be waiting for you."

After Chen Xin finished reading, she immediately put the can of honey in the refrigerator like a treasure, and said, "It's such a good thing, brother Xu, you must remember to drink it every day." Then she opened a small bag and found four honey in it. Little lucky charm.

"A very effective lucky charm, it can make wishes come true! I wish Brother Xu all wishes come true!" Chen Xin looked at the lucky charm in his hand, and immediately exclaimed in surprise: "Hey, I know this lucky charm, it is really effective , I didn’t expect a fan to send you off! Hurry up! Hurry up and hang up.”

So Chen Xin took out a green health symbol and hung it on Xu Jie's phone.

Xu Jie's pale fingers flexed, finally clenched into fists, and then let go. He put his hands on his head and said sullenly, "Chen Xin, please go quickly."

Chen Xin was very heartbroken seeing him like this, but she pretended to be relaxed and said: "I have worked so hard to make a trip, Brother Xu, why don't you treat me to a meal? Why don't we go out to eat?"

Xu Jie: "..."

"Brother Xu, it's not good to be bored in the room all day, it's better to go out and get some air." Chen Xin walked up to him and knelt down.

"I can't eat, I have no appetite at all." After Xu Jie finished speaking, he slowly raised his head to look at Chen Xin.

Chen Xin saw the deep blackness in his eyes, frowned and asked him, "Brother Xu, do you... want to see a psychiatrist?"

Surprise flashed in Xu Jie's eyes for a moment, as if he realized something, then it quickly dimmed, and he shook his head.

Chen Xin persuaded again: "Brother Xu, you have to cheer up. There will be opportunities in the future, you have to be prepared from now on, and everyone is waiting for you."

Xu Jie finally couldn't take it anymore, and shouted in a broken voice: "There is no chance, listen to my voice! If the singer's voice is down, this life will be over! No one will wait for me, and no one will give me another chance! You go !you go!"

Xu Jie stood up from the sofa suddenly and pushed Chen Xin out of the door. When the two pushed and pushed, they tripped over the gift bags lying on the floor. Xu Jie bent down to pick them up again and threw them all out of the door.

Chen Xin knocked on the door outside: "Brother Xu, at least you have to put away these gifts, these are the wishes of your fans!"

"Tell them not to waste any more time in the future!" Xu Jie yelled towards the door, his throat hurt and he became dizzy.

The door finally fell silent, and Chen Xin left, fearing to provoke him again.

Xu Jie stood alone in the living room panting. He knew that he shouldn't be angry with Chen Xin, but he just couldn't take it anymore. No one could understand his sense of despair, the despair of losing his dreams.Just like being a bird can't fly in the sky, being a fish can't breathe in the water, so how can we survive?

Xu Jie felt that from the moment his throat fell down, life suddenly became very boring, as if there was no difference between living and dying.

Chen Xin has been asking him to see a psychiatrist. He also knows that his condition is not right, but he feels that even a psychiatrist cannot relieve his pain.

Xu Jie pushed open the balcony door and leaned against the railing to look down. He lives on the 28th floor, and the downstairs is a lively neighborhood, with people coming and going and heavy traffic, it looks so small from above.Xu Jie raised his eyes and looked into the distance again. In the distance were countless skyscrapers rising from the ground, just like a bustling and magnificent stage.

I don't know when he has been dreaming that one day he can stand in the center of the world stage and conquer everyone with his singing. After all, he always feels that he was born to sing.No matter how far away this dream is, no matter how much effort it takes, he doesn't care, because he firmly believes that he can reach the end.

But now, the dream has become an eternal dream, and he can no longer move forward.

Xu Jie lowered his eyes, and couldn't help but began to look back on the time when he was the most energetic.He remembered the passionate and happy college days, and immediately wanted to go back and have a look.So Xu Jie changed his clothes, put on a hat and sunglasses, and went to H University.

The overall strength of University H is not very good. It used to be a second-tier institution, and only in recent years have some majors been promoted to first-tier universities. However, the music department of University H has always been pretty good. Xu Jie has built and pursued dreams here.

Xu Jie hasn't been back since he graduated. It's summer vacation, there are not many people on campus, the path is dappled with light and shadow, and the teaching building is simple and quiet. Everything is nostalgic.Xu Jie walked to the door of the Conservatory of Music before he knew it.

There is an exhibition board at the entrance of the Conservatory of Music, which has been exposed to the wind and rain all day long and is already in dilapidated condition. There are photos of outstanding graduates of each class on the exhibition board. One of them all became Voldemort and failed.

He sat down on the steps in front of the music building and suddenly felt a craving for a cigarette.In the past, in order to protect his throat, he didn't smoke or drink, but now his throat is broken anyway, so he might as well have a good time.But he sat down and didn't want to move anymore, thinking about borrowing one from a passing student later.

However, after sitting for a long time, no students passed by. Xu Jie felt bored, and just about to get up to leave, he suddenly heard the sound of a piano coming from the teaching building. The melody was very familiar, it was the song "My Microphone".

Xu Jie suddenly remembered that "My Microphone" was an introductory song for the popular male voice singing test, and it was a song that every freshman had to take the test in the first semester.

Soon, singing sounded again in the teaching building. The boy's voice was a little green, but it was very clean. Should be able to pass.

Xu Jie listened, and inexplicably began to sing along with the melody.

"Who took my microphone, it doesn't matter, I still have my throat..."

After singing a line, Xu Jie belatedly realized that his face was already wet. He smiled self-deprecatingly, took off his sunglasses, wiped the tears on his face indiscriminately, and was about to get up and leave when someone suddenly shouted.

"Eh? Am I reading that right? Are you Senior Xu Jie?"

"Oh my god! Senior Xu Jie, did you come back to your alma mater to have a look?"

When Xu Jie looked up, he found two boys standing in front of him. He immediately put on his sunglasses. He didn't expect to be recognized by someone just after taking off his sunglasses. He lowered his hat again and was ready to leave.

"Senior, senior! You have always been my male god, sign your autograph before leaving!" A junior stood in front of Xu Jie with a full face of admiration.

"Forget it, my signature is worthless." Xu Jie said in a low voice.

I don't know if the boy's voice was too loud, the singing in the classroom stopped abruptly, and soon two boys ran out, and it was Xu Jie who immediately surrounded him.

"The senior is back? Is your throat okay?"

"When you participated in the competition, all the students in our school watched it, and the dean talked about you all day long."

"That's right, it's a pity that you withdrew halfway through the competition, otherwise the championship would definitely be yours."

"Senior, senior, it's rare to come back, and pass on your singing experience to us."

……

Facing the students' questions, Xu Jie didn't know how to answer them.He was afraid of facing the disappointment of these apprentices who once admired him when they knew what they really wanted, so he could only choose to run away: "Sorry, let's do it another day."

The juniors didn't dare to stop Xu Jie from letting him go, but they didn't want to miss such a good opportunity, so they could only follow behind him and said, "Where are you going, senior, we'll see you off, and chat along the way."

Xu Jie whispered a few perfunctory words along the way, thinking that he would run away after leaving the school gate, so he must get rid of them.

Unexpectedly, he walked to the back door of University H inexplicably, and the student street of University H came out of the back door. It was the most bustling and lively place near University H, and the students who stayed in the summer vacation basically spent their activities here.

These juniors met many classmates along the way, and more and more classmates gradually followed Xu Jie, and they couldn't get rid of them.He had no choice but to take out his wallet and said, "It's so hot, let me treat everyone to drink milk tea."

The juniors cheered and went to the milk tea shop to order. Xu Jie took advantage of this gap and quickly turned into a nearby alley.Before walking far, I heard someone shouting from behind: "Where did Senior Xu go?"

Xu Jie had no choice but to run forward and out of the alley. Unexpectedly, there was a commercial street behind this, and Xu Jie hadn't noticed it when he was in college.Due to the poor location of the entire commercial street, many fronts were empty. Xu Jie heard footsteps behind him and saw a shop open not far away. He didn't even see the signboard clearly, so he hid in.

"Welcome—" Xia Ji was warmly welcoming guests when it was hot in the afternoon, but before he finished speaking, the other party made a "shh" gesture at him, Xia Ji looked confused.

Xu Jie glanced at the environment of the store hastily, and found that he was really unlucky. The store had an all-glass exterior wall and there was no place to hide.He turned his head and saw many pet cages in the corner on the left, which could provide some protection, so he immediately hid behind the cages and used the pet cages to block himself.

When he sat down, he felt something warm beside him, but he just went to look outside.

Xia Ji stood there in a daze. At first he didn't know what this guest was doing, but soon a group of college students looking around rushed over, and he understood.

Those college students asked Xia Ji at the door: "Boss, did anyone pass by here just now? He's tall and handsome, wearing a hat and sunglasses."

Xia Ji glanced at the person hiding behind the pet cage, and the person put his palms together and made a please gesture to him.

Xia Ji had no choice but to shake his head, and the students looked into the store again. The glass wall was in full view, and there were no customers, so the students left dejectedly.

Xu Jie breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the juniors outside had left, but he didn't dare to come out for a while, because the decoration of this store made people feel too insecure.At this moment, he suddenly felt a hot and humid touch in his palm.He looked down and found that a puppy got into his arms at some point, and the little guy was licking the palm of his hand.

The dog's tongue was moist and soft, and Xu Jie's heart started to itch from the touch.He took off his sunglasses and gently rubbed the little guy's head. The little guy immediately raised his head and looked around, looking a little silly.

Xu Jie touched it, then turned his palm upwards again, and the puppy stuck out its tongue to lick him again.To be honest, the dog's body temperature is very high, and it is very hot to lie on the body in summer, but Xu Jie was not willing to push it off the body.He suddenly felt a little tired from running just now, and it would be good to just sit here and rest for a while.

"That..." Xia Ji who was standing aside said awkwardly: "Those students have left... Would you like to find a seat?"

Only then did Xu Jie come to his senses, he was still hiding in the store!

He immediately stood up embarrassedly, thinking that since the boss had helped him, he had to order something before leaving, so he immediately got up and said, "Okay, thank you just now."

"You're welcome, are you... are you a star?" Xia Ji didn't follow stars, so he didn't know much about these things, but he always felt that he had seen this face somewhere.

"No." Xu Jie habitually avoided Xia Ji's gaze, subconsciously wanting to put on sunglasses again.

Xia Ji realized it, and immediately waved his hand and said, "Ah, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, seeing how handsome you are, I guessed wildly."

Xu Jie just got up and wanted to put the puppy on the ground, but the puppy immediately barked in a low voice, "Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo" , so uneasy that Xu Jie was startled.And it kept hooking the corner of Xu Jie's clothes with its claws, unable to tear it apart.

When Xia Ji heard the dog barking, he hurried over and said, "I'm sorry, this dog is a bit clingy. Because of its bad eyesight, it usually stays in the cage by itself. Once it comes out, it will bark uncomfortably when it is away from people."

"Bad eyes?" Xu Jie immediately lowered his head to look at the puppy's eyes. No wonder when he touched it just now, he looked around, so it turned out he couldn't see clearly?

"Wooooow!" The puppy barked heartbrokenly, making people feel distressed. Xia Ji was about to come over to hug it, but Xu Jie asked, "Can I hug it and sit for a while?"

"Ah, if you don't mind being annoying, of course it's fine." Xia Ji was a little surprised.

So Xia Ji took Xu Jie to the dining table and sat down, and brought him the menu.

Xu Jie didn't look at it, and said directly: "Just give me one of the signature dishes in the store."

"Okay, wait a minute." Xia Ji turned and went to the kitchen, and ordered a wishing set meal for him.

Only then did Xu Jie have the time to take a good look at this store. There are many pet facilities, like a pet shop, but there are tables, chairs, sofas, and you can order food, and it looks like a restaurant. Xu Jie feels that the style of this store is quite mixed. of.

I don't know when a snow-white fluffy kitten came to my feet. Seeing Xu Jie holding a puppy in his arms, he wobbled away again.

The little dog nestled in Xu Jie's arms and felt very at ease. He closed his eyes and fell asleep just like that. Seeing Xu Jie was both funny and helpless.

Soon Ah Feng brought Xu Jie a wishing set meal and promoted it very hard as usual: "Your wishing set meal has arrived, remember to make a wish before eating, it is very effective!"

Xu Jie was stunned after hearing this, but he didn't understand these trendy gadgets.

However, Ah Feng saw the lucky charm on Xu Jie's phone, so she said, "So it's a regular customer! Then I don't need to say more, brother, you have a health charm on it, and you should be cured?"

"Ah?" Xu Jie looked at his phone blankly, only then remembered that this was a gift from a fan, and Chen Xin hung it on his phone. "This was given to me by someone else, so it's from your store?"

"That's right, Dream Pet Store is our store." Ah Feng said proudly.

"What a coincidence." Xu Jie sighed in a low voice. He glanced at the cake, making a wish...does it really work?

Xu Jie took a symbolic bite of the cake, and was about to leave. As soon as he moved, the puppy in his arms woke up startled, and started to bark again.

Xia Ji rushed over and said, "Give it to me."

The puppy tried its best to crawl into Xu Jie's arms, barking pitifully, and he couldn't bear to get up again, so he asked, "Aren't you a pet shop? Why do you sell dogs with eye problems?"

Xia Ji explained: "This dog was abandoned by someone. When it was picked up, its eyes were not good. It should be congenital amblyopia. We have been waiting for someone who is willing to adopt it."

"It turned out to be like this." Xu Jie struggled a little when he heard it. He felt that this little thing was very pitiful, but after thinking about it, he felt that he was no better than it.So he made up his mind to push the puppy out, wanting to return it to Xia Ji.

Sure enough, the puppy struggled again, whining and barking.

Xia Ji hurriedly stretched out his hand to hug it, trying to comfort him, but the little guy became uneasy, unable to distinguish so much for a while, and struggled harder as soon as someone touched it.

Xu Jie finally couldn't bear it and asked, "Then can I adopt it?"

"Ah?" Xia Ji stopped: "Are you sure? This dog is very clingy. If you are busy with work, then I don't recommend you to adopt it."

Xu Jie lowered his eyes: "It's...not very busy, I'm resting at home recently."

"That's it." Xia Ji saw that the dog was also very attached to him, so he said, "If you are sure to adopt it, just fill in the information."

Xu Jie took the puppy to fill in the information, Xia Ji packed all the pet supplies for him, and after receiving the information, he said as usual: "If you don't want to keep it someday, please send it back here. "

"I see." Xu Jie left the store with the dog in his arms.

It wasn't until he got home that the little guy was sitting on the ground screaming with hunger, that Xu Jie fully realized what he had done. A person who was born with nothing to love unexpectedly adopted a pet back inexplicably.

He sighed, found dog food helplessly, and fed the puppy.Then I searched the Internet for dog-raising matters, and prepared all the pet supplies, only to find out that taking care of pets is such an energy-consuming thing.

After eating and drinking enough, the little guy started sniffing around again to get familiar with the new environment, but his eyes couldn't see clearly, so he always bumped into table legs or something, which made Xu Jie laugh and feel distressed every time he saw it.He had no choice but to follow it all the time, and when it was about to hit, he stretched out his hand to protect it.

After playing for a long time, the little guy finally became sleepy and fell asleep in Xu Jie's arms.Xu Jie breathed a sigh of relief, and glanced at the time, only to realize that it was already very late.The time that used to be difficult passed by so quickly tonight.

He glanced at the green health talisman hanging on his phone, then got up, and picked up all the gifts thrown at the door.

……

On this day, after Xia Ji applied a silk mask upstairs, he went downstairs to work refreshed. He is now completely white, and his skin is more tender and smooth than before. This is also a personal test of the effect of the silk mask Bar.

When I came downstairs, I found that the girls who were regular customers had come again, so I said hello to them.The girls were envious of Xia Ji's skin again, and inquired about the mask for a long time.

After the chat, one of the girls glanced at the time, couldn't wait to take out her mobile phone, plugged in the earphones and said, "I was scared to death! Just in time, I was almost late."

The girl next to her came over curiously and asked, "What, are you so nervous?"

"The first live broadcast of my male god's comeback!"

The girl logged into the live broadcast room of a live broadcast platform, and the screen was full of bullet screens showing "Xu Jie", and a handsome face was reflected behind the bullet screen.

"Eh? Isn't this the one who participated in "New Voice" before and then retired due to illness? How did he become the anchor?"

"My brother Xu's voice is damaged. I heard that the economic company has also terminated his contract. But as long as I can still see him now, I am very satisfied!"

"It's a pity."

On the screen, Xu Jie adjusted the camera and microphone, and said to the audience in front of the screen: "Thank you for coming today. I believe everyone has a good understanding of my situation. There is indeed some problem with my throat. I have undergone surgery. At present In recovery."

Xu Jie lowered his head slightly in front of the screen, paused for a moment before looking directly at the camera and said: "I must confess to everyone that due to the change of illness, I had some psychological problems, which caused me to be negative for a while. But I I have started receiving counseling, and as you can see, I am much better now."

The barrage immediately exploded, frantically brushing up "Brother Xu, don't cry", "Brother Xu, come on"...

Xu Jie raised his hand to wipe the corners of his eyes, then moved away from the camera, showed everyone the gifts piled up behind him, and said: "I have received all the gifts everyone gave me, thank you for your concern, I will definitely work hard , after all, I now have someone to be responsible for."

The fans were still distressed just now, but when they heard this sentence, they immediately became excited again.

"What? Who is responsible?"

"I'll go! Brother Xu, don't tell me you have a girlfriend so soon!"

"Crying! I'm broken in love, but Brother Xu, I bless you!"

……

Xu Jie looked at the barrage on the screen and realized that everyone had misunderstood. He quickly bent down and hugged the puppy to the screen, and said with a smile, "I am responsible for it. The puppy I adopted is cute, isn't it?" Xu Jie held the puppy's paw and greeted the audience, and said: "Its eyes are not good, and it needs my care, so I can't be decadent anymore, I have to work hard to support my family. I can't do anything else, I can sing , After thinking about it, let’s start the live broadcast.”

"The puppy is so cute! Sure enough, animals are the most cured!"

"Support Brother Xu's family support business!"

"Reward diamond x100, and help the puppy buy dog ​​food."

……

Xu Jie turned on the microphone and said: "After talking so much, everyone is here to listen to my singing, so I will sing one first."

In anticipation of the fans, Xu Jie sang a love song with a gentle tune. Although it was much simpler than the songs he sang before, he sang this song with a slightly hoarse voice.

After a song was sung, there were a lot of rewards below, but there were also criticisms and doubts immediately.

"What's the point of singing? Several notes are broken."

"I used to be a draft singer, but now I'm reduced to being an anchor? It's sad enough!"

"What's sad? People can still live off the fans' money."

These bullet screens immediately angered the fans, and the comments were immediately torn up.

Xu Jie also saw these bullet screens. After a moment of silence, he said, "Okay, everyone, stop arguing." He lowered his head and touched the puppy in his arms, took a few deep breaths, then raised his head to face the situation again. The screen said: "I accept both criticism and questioning. After all, it is a fact that my throat is injured. But I don't think it is a sad thing to be live broadcasting now. I like to sing, and I just want to sing."

"I used to just want to stand in the center of the stage and sing. When I had a voice problem, I thought God took away my stage, and I lost hope in life. It was only later that I found out that my stage was only shrunk. As long as I live It's still there."

"So I opened this small live broadcast room and stood on my small stage to sing for those who are still willing to listen. If you disdain the performers on this small stage, you can leave at any time. But I still thank you for being here."

"I'm crying! My brother Jie is indeed the most handsome!"

"Brother Jie's stage will be guarded by me!"

"My Xiaojie has grown up! Congratulations!"

"It will get better and better, we will always be with you! Brother Jie, come on!"

……

Xu Jie picked up the microphone again, turned on the accompaniment and said, "Okay, let's continue singing."

Several girls in the dream pet shop were moved to tears in front of their mobile phones. In the live broadcast room, accompanied by Xu Jie's singing, there were a few dog barks from time to time, as if they were singing along.

One of the girls stared at the puppy that flashed across the screen and said, "Eh? Why do I feel that this dog looks like the little yellow in Boss Xia's shop?"

Xia Ji was settling accounts at the front desk when the system beeped.

[Congratulations to the host!The pet has been adopted successfully, and the reward has been issued! 】

Xia Ji clicked on the system interface to check the progress of the primary task: 8/10, with the last two pets left, the primary task is complete.

The author has something to say: Ah Feng heard about the recent live broadcast of popular karaoke songs, so she shook her little legs and sang: "Who stole my microphone, it doesn't matter, I still have my throat~~yeahyeah~~"