Future Pet Shop

"Hah’Er! Hah’Er!" Outside the premiere theater, countless fans held up all sorts of props emblazoned with Hah’Er’s likeness, chanting his name. This left Fang Yuanshan, Murong Li, Fang Yun, and the others on the red carpet with mixed feelings. As far as the eye could see, there were hardly any of their own fans—a stark contrast to their previous premieres.

But they couldn’t really be angry. If Hah’Er were a human actor, that would be one thing, but he was a panda. No matter how arrogant they might be, they wouldn’t dream of competing with a national treasure for popularity. Moreover, this was the film with the largest domestic investment in history, and it was getting a simultaneous global release. The fact that they could be a part of such a movie and play important roles was already beyond their wildest dreams. How could they ask for more?

"He’s here, he’s here! Hah’Er’s here!" A luxury stretch limousine pulled up to the edge of the red carpet. Shen Yibin, dressed in a custom-tailored suit, stepped out of the car and then reached back in to lift Hah’Er out. Hah’Er was also wearing a high-end formal outfit, but it wasn’t a Western-style suit. It was a magnificent Hanfu, which perfectly matched his movie role as an Immortal from the Kunlun Immortal Realm.

Countless camera flashes lit up the night sky as cheers soared to the heavens. Legions of reporters scrambled to adjust their angles, ready to capture this precious moment. But Shen Yibin didn’t start walking the red carpet right away. Instead, he reached back into the car and helped Sun Qian out. After emerging from the vehicle, Sun Qian took his arm, and Cheeky flew down to land on her shoulder. Only then did the group—a man, a woman, a panda, and a parrot—set foot on the red carpet and begin their slow walk.

"Huh? Who’s that? Why is she walking the red carpet with Hah’Er?" Well, Shen Yibin was completely ignored.

"That must be Sun Qian, right? Didn’t the official Weibo account post her info before? She’s singing the movie’s theme song with Phoenix." Soon, photos of Sun Qian appeared on Weibo, making music company executives kick themselves for not signing her sooner.

"That parrot looks familiar, too! Isn’t that Cheeky, from the talent show? So he belongs to Sun Qian now." Some people recognized Cheeky as well. They sized up Shen Yibin and Sun Qian, wondering to themselves, ’There must be some untold secret here. Otherwise, why would Shen Yibin reject such a high offer only to give Cheeky to Sun Qian?’

"How are you not nervous at all? I’m so nervous I can barely walk," Shen Yibin whispered to Sun Qian, his eyes fixed forward. ’She seems so much more natural than I do.’

"I just had some Monkey Wine," she replied. "Right now, all I can think about is singing with Cheeky and Phoenix later. I don’t have the mental capacity for anything else." ’Alright, drinking before a performance,’ he thought. ’You’re really something else.’

"Bin, whether or not this is a success all comes down to tonight!" After they finished the red carpet, Director Kong ushered them inside. He was clearly a bit nervous himself. After all, a premiere night gives you a pretty good idea of how a film will perform at the box office, so how could he not be anxious?

Led by a staff member, Shen Yibin was shown to his seat in the front row of the premiere theater, while Director Kong continued to greet the other guests. ’Whoa, there are a lot of big stars here today,’ Shen Yibin thought. In addition to nearly every A-list domestic star, he was also seated near quite a few top Hollywood celebrities, many of whom had voiced characters in the English dub. He started to wonder, ’Should I go ask them for a photo and an autograph?’

"Mr. Bin, this is Robert Downey Jr. He’d like to say hello to Hah’Er, if that’s alright," Phoenix said. Before Shen Yibin could make a move, they had come to him. Phoenix had brought a dapper, bearded man over to where Shen Yibin was sitting.

"Of course! I’ve seen every single one of your Iron Man movies," Shen Yibin replied. He was a huge fan of the character, so excited he was almost speechless.

"When I was doing your voice, I kept wondering when I’d get to meet you. I can’t believe it’s finally happening today! Dear Mr. Panda, could you look over here, please?" To Shen Yibin’s surprise, Robert Downey Jr. was just as excited as he was. RDJ scrambled to crouch down, pulled out his phone, and took a selfie with Hah’Er. That’s right—he was the actor who had voiced Hah’Er in the English version.

Before Robert Downey Jr. had even stood up, the stunning Scarlett Johansson rushed over, nudged him aside, and posed for a photo with Hah’Er. She had voiced the female lead in the movie.

"Hey, can you hurry it up? I’ve been waiting forever!" Scarlett Johansson was holding Hah’Er and snapping one photo after another, taking a little too long. This didn’t sit well with Chris Evans, who was waiting behind her. He was voicing the male lead, Fang Yuanshan, in the film.

"Yeah, Scarlett, you can’t hog the Panda all to yourself! The premiere is about to start, and we have to get our pictures before all the guests are here," Elizabeth Olsen chimed in. Behind her stood Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, and a whole slew of other Hollywood stars. They all shared the same identity: the English voice cast of Panda Hero.

At that moment, they had all lost their typical Hollywood superstar composure, transforming into a mob of eager fans surging forward for a photo with Hah’Er. Scarlett Johansson had only taken a few extra seconds, but it was enough to earn her a collective rebuke from the group.

"So sorry, I’ll give you the spot right now." Though her words were apologetic, Scarlett Johansson still managed to snap several more pictures as she stood up, only then ceding her spot to Chris Evans with a satisfied smile.

’Uh, did I walk into the wrong premiere theater?’ Shen Yibin was completely dumbfounded. Iron Man, Black Widow, Captain America, Scarlet Witch, Thunder God, Hawkeye, Falcon... ’Why are they all here? Is this the premiere for Panda Hero or Avengers: Endgame?’

He had to hand it to Director Kong; getting so many Hollywood stars here as a package deal couldn’t have been easy! ’Huh? Don’t tell me he struck some kind of deal with Marvel Studios?’ Shen Yibin mused. ’Like, maybe he agreed to let Hah’Er make a guest appearance in the Marvel Universe in exchange for getting all these people to show up?’

’Then again, if Hah’Er really did cross over into the Marvel Universe, that wouldn’t be so bad, would it?’ he thought. ’The Marvel Universe hasn’t had many positive Chinese characters in the past—they’re either major villains like Lord Man or minor ones like Radiation Man. If Hah’Er joined, he’d definitely land an extremely important role. I just wonder what kind of story Stan Lee would have to cook up for that...’