Future Pet Shop

The biggest selling point for the movie *Panda Hero* was, without a doubt, Hah'Er. Photos previously uploaded to Facebook and Twitter by people like Lunfei'Er and Famite had already attracted millions of followers. These fans all expressed their eager anticipation for the film's release. Thanks to this and the series of promotional campaigns Director Kong had already arranged, *Panda Hero* was now arguably one of the most anticipated films of the year.

Countless fans across America had already heard the news of Hah'Er's arrival in Los Angeles. Naturally, these people wanted to see Hah'Er in the flesh, so a fan meet-and-greet became an essential part of Shen Yibin's trip. To better organize the event, Director Kong first had his people release tickets online. However, the fan response was so overwhelming that they were forced to change their plans repeatedly. The planned venue was moved from a small theater to a large one, and finally, they just rented a stadium that could hold over ten thousand people. Even so, they couldn't meet the demand from all the fans.

As a result, fans had to pay exorbitant prices to buy tickets from scalpers for what was supposed to be a free event. By this point, tickets were being resold for as high as five hundred US dollars each. In other words, if Director Kong had decided to sell the tickets, he could have earned five million US dollars just by having Hah'Er make an appearance at the stadium. That amount was enough to cover Fang Yuanshan's entire salary for the film. It was a clear indicator of just how obsessed Americans were with Hah'Er.

After leaving the China Grand Theater, they arrived at the stadium to find the area outside completely packed with people. Fans were wearing T-shirts printed with panda heads, had panda markings drawn on their faces with paint, or were holding up panda-themed signs. The scene looked even more lively than a baseball game.

"The stadium is already full, and there are at least another ten thousand people outside. Seeing them like this, I'm now completely confident about *Panda Hero*'s box office performance," Director Kong said to Shen Yibin after hanging up the phone. "At this rate, I don't think I'd be worried even if we were up against Marvel's *Infinity War*."

"That's great! It looks like you're about to set a new box office record for Chinese-language films!" Shen Yibin replied with a smile. He wasn't just happy about the potential box office numbers, though. Director Kong was a friend now, and he was genuinely happy to see his friend's film succeed. Furthermore, seeing a Chinese-made film dominate the global box office filled him with an irrepressible sense of national pride.

"Heh, being the top-grossing Chinese film is nothing," Director Kong said. His ambition was far greater than that. "This time, I'm confident we'll break into the top ten of the all-time global box office rankings." With no outsiders in the car, he finally revealed his true thoughts to Shen Yibin.

'The top ten on the all-time global box office chart?' Shen Yibin quickly pulled out his phone to look it up. In first place was *Avatar*, with a total global gross of 2.7823 billion US dollars. It was followed by *Titanic*, *Star Wars: The Force Awakens*, *Jurassic World*, and a slew of other household names. The box office numbers for each were staggering. Even the tenth-place film, *Beauty and the Beast*, had a global gross of 1.2597 billion US dollars.

Shen Yibin checked the current exchange rate. To break into the all-time global top ten, *Panda Hero* would need to gross at least 8.6 billion RMB. This was no easy feat. After all, the highest-grossing Chinese-language film to date, *Mermaid*, had a global gross of just under 3.8 billion RMB, placing it at 143rd on the all-time global chart. If Director Kong's words got out, they would surely cause a massive stir in the entertainment industry.

Shen Yibin was so shocked by this news that he was left speechless. However, once they were inside the stadium and he saw the massive sea of frenzied fans, he started to think Director Kong's confidence wasn't entirely baseless. "I'm starting to believe what you said earlier might actually happen," Shen Yibin said. He and Director Kong exchanged a smile, with everything left unsaid.

"PANDA! PANDA! PANDA!" Even before they made their entrance, they could hear the frenzied chants from the fans. But when Shen Yibin led Hah'Er out onto the field, the crowd suddenly fell silent. Shen Yibin later found out that they were afraid of scaring Hah'Er with noises that were too loud.

Today, Hah'Er was dressed in his costume from the movie. He wore the Phoenix Wing Purple Gold Crown, the Golden Chain Armor, and a bright Red Cloak. On a handsome, dashing young man, the outfit would have been devastatingly cool. But on Hah'Er, it was just inexplicably hilarious. Even though the fans had seen this look countless times online, seeing it in person still made them double over with laughter. Hah'Er hadn't even done anything, yet the entire stadium was already in hysterics. The ticketless fans outside gazed at the stadium with immense envy, desperately scanning the crowd for scalpers. At this point, they would have willingly paid even a thousand US dollars for a ticket.

A typical celebrity fan meeting involves singing, or perhaps chatting with the host and fans. But how could Hah'Er do any of that when he couldn't talk? Fortunately, the little guy had learned to dance from Egg before, so he wasn't without a presentable act. Accompanied by the stirring rhythm of "Most Dazzling Folk Style," Hah'Er began a cheerful dance in the center of the field.

At first, the fans just subconsciously nodded their heads to the beat. Before long, however, they could no longer control themselves and began to dance along to the music, mimicking Hah'Er's movements.

After the dance number, the host selected a few lucky winners for a chance to go on stage and meet Hah'Er up close. The audience members who won were so excited they nearly went insane; almost every single one of them shed tears of joy on stage. They subsequently became the most envied people in America that day.

Building on the momentum from Los Angeles, when they arrived in New York, the crowds of fans were even larger and more frenzied. By the time Shen Yibin finished the American promotional tour and was ready to take Hah'Er back home, countless people online were crying out for Hah'Er to stay in the United States.

"Let's sever diplomatic relations with China so Hah'Er can stay in the US!" Such comments gained the support of tens of thousands of people online, leaving Shen Yibin at a loss for whether to laugh or cry. 'Hey, I came here to promote Sino-American friendship! Is this really okay?'

But an even more bizarre comment was yet to come. One netizen posted on Facebook, "What do you guys think about trading Trump for Hah'Er? We'll toss Trump to China and let Hah'Er stay in America." This remark garnered the support of over a hundred thousand people, and it was hard to tell whether they were more eager for Trump to leave the US or for Hah'Er to stay.

Shen Yibin merely scoffed at the idea. 'Who the fuck would pay to watch Trump eat bamboo?'