Future Pet Shop

"Bin, will it be okay for Hah'Er's paws to touch the cement?" Director Kong asked on the way to the Hollywood Chinese Theater. He had left his own handprints here before. He recalled that besides real people, some fictional stars like Optimus Prime from Transformers and the Blue Elves had also left their handprints at the China Grand Theater. However, he wasn't quite sure if any animal actor had ever received this honor before Hah'Er.

Unlike some celebrities, Hah'Er wouldn't just be pressing his handprints at the entrance of the China Grand Theater for them to be put into storage by the management. Instead, his would be given a permanent spot at the entrance, just like the more than two hundred other people who represented outstanding achievements in the global film and entertainment industry.

A regular animal actor certainly wouldn't receive such an honor. But who could say no to Hah'Er? He was a panda, and pandas deserved this kind of special treatment. This, combined with the efforts of Director Kong and the Hollywood distribution company, was how Hah'Er managed to receive such an honor even before the movie was released. Likewise, they would use this opportunity to whip up another promotional frenzy for Panda Hero.

"It should be fine. Have you forgotten those photos Xu Ye took for the Yunzhong City Zoo? There were shots of Hah'Er carrying bricks and mixing cement. Nothing happened back then, so it shouldn't be a problem now." 'The cement for the handprints should be safer than construction-grade cement, logically speaking, right?'

The Beverly Hills Four Seasons Hotel was only a few kilometers from the China Grand Theater. About ten minutes later, the car pulled up to the entrance. Director Kong led Shen Yibin and Hah'Er out of the car. The reporters, who had been waiting there for some time, all raised their cameras, and camera flashes lit up the area in a blinding wave. Luckily, Shen Yibin and Hah'Er were prepared and were both wearing sunglasses, so they weren't blinded by the intense light.

But a panda wearing sunglasses? Hah'Er's new look sent the reporters and the tourists who'd rushed over into a frenzy. A panda already has its own natural black eye patches, and now he was wearing sunglasses on top of them. No one had ever seen such a style before! And so, the camera flashes grew even more ferocious, only subsiding after a long while.

There are two major honorary landmarks around the Hollywood Walk of Fame. One is the two thousand five hundred five-pointed terrazzo and brass "stars" embedded in the sidewalks of the Walk of Fame. Each star serves as a permanent monument to people with outstanding achievements in the entertainment industry, mainly from film, television, music, radio, recording, and theater. The other is in the forecourt of the Chinese Theater, which contains over 200 concrete slabs bearing the handprints, footprints, and signatures of various celebrities. These "imprints" are an honor and a memorial to those who have made outstanding achievements in the global film and entertainment industry. Those who receive this honor are invariably the greatest talents of their time.

In the past, Chinese and Chinese-American figures like Huang Liushuang, Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Zhen Zidan, and Lin Yibin had also received this distinction. Director Kong himself had previously left his handprints and received a star here. Just as people were wondering which Chinese person would be the next to leave their mark, Hah'Er came out of nowhere to claim the spot. Though Hah'Er wasn't human, as China's national treasure, he definitely counted as one of their own!

The man in charge of the handprints, the owner of the China Grand Theater, was already waiting. As soon as the flashes subsided, he rushed forward and gave Director Kong a big hug. They had worked together many times before, but today, he didn't chat warmly with the director as he usually did. He pulled away almost immediately, turned, and scurried over to Hah'Er. Crouching down, he said in heavily accented, broken Chinese, "Hah'Er, ni hao! Welcome to the China Grand Theater!" He then cautiously extended his right hand, looking terrified that Hah'Er might ignore him.

"Nn!" Without any prompting from Shen Yibin, Hah'Er calmly extended his paw and gave the man's hand a light shake. This thrilled the owner, who immediately beckoned his photographer to hurry up and take a picture. The surrounding tourists murmured in envy, wishing they were the ones getting a photo with Hah'Er.

"It's a shame my grandson has a cold, or I would have definitely brought him along. He's the biggest panda fan," the owner said with regret. It wasn't that his grandson was too ill to come, but rather that the owner was worried about the boy passing his cold to Hah'Er, so he had reluctantly given up on such a perfect opportunity.

Next, he stood up and shook hands with Shen Yibin, Fang Yuanshan, and the other crew members one by one. He led them to a prepared podium and delivered an enthusiastic speech, explaining the reasons for Hah'Er leaving his prints there. Then he invited Hah'Er to the slab of wet cement to make his mark.

"Hah'Er, look. Just put your paws out like this and press down on it gently," Shen Yibin demonstrated from the side. Hah'Er quickly mimicked Shen Yibin's actions, extending his two front paws, leaning forward, and pressing his prints into the cement slab. The reporters' camera flashes went off in another blinding wave.

"Now, sign your name here!" Making Hah'Er write was obviously asking too much of him, so Shen Yibin took over the task. He had already practiced many times, and with elegant, flowing strokes, he wrote Hah'Er's name in the cement.

"Alright, the cement will dry and set quickly." The owner handed a handkerchief to Shen Yibin to help Hah'Er clean his paws. "From now on, Hah'Er's paw prints will be neighbors with those of Marilyn Monroe, Tom Cruise, and Jack Cheng!"

Once the ceremony concluded, the reporters and onlookers applauded in celebration. They also began pulling out their phones, logging into their social media accounts, and spreading the news. Soon, people all over the internet were seeing photos of Hah'Er in his sunglasses, clumsily pressing his paw prints in front of the China Grand Theater. His adorable antics melted countless hearts.

"I staked out the Four Seasons Hotel all night, and they ended up coming here instead!" It was hard to tell if this person was a paparazzo or just a die-hard panda fan.

"Aha! I'm on the Walk of Fame right now! I'm heading over to find them!" Huge numbers of panda fans who saw the news began flocking to the theater, running and calling their friends to come along.

Director Kong had anticipated this. After briefly answering a few questions from the reporters, he quickly ushered Shen Yibin and Hah'Er away, heading for the next stop on their promotional tour.

"After the movie has a successful release, who knows? Maybe next time you'll be eligible to get your own star here!" Director Kong said with a cheerful laugh.

'Give a star to Hah'Er?' Shen Yibin's mind couldn't help but start playing an incredibly catchy, cheesy pop song. 'I'll pluck a star from the sky for you, I'll pull down the moon for you...'