Chapter 651: Hah’Er’s Progress

After helping promote Hah’Er’s New Year’s paintings during the Spring Festival, Shen Yibin had only made a single Weibo post about the Hah Hope Primary School’s foundation ceremony. He hadn’t updated in a long time, so when this new post suddenly appeared, his fans immediately went wild. "Whoa, Bin’s come back from the dead!"

"Hah’Er looks a little thinner, doesn’t he? Bin, confess! Have you been mistreating Hah’Er? If you have, I’m heading to Yunzhong City right now to rescue him!" Hey, that was the result of exercise, not starvation, okay?

"Finally, another video of Hah’Er! Need a link, send the source! Any vets out there got the goods?" Ahem, Hah’Er was filming an MV, not the kind of V that starts with an A! Are you serious right now?

Weibo instantly blew up. For a moment, the post even overshadowed the news of two young heartthrobs confessing their love. "Hah’Er" and "MV" quickly shot to the top of Weibo’s trending list, leaving Qianqian, who was watching from the sidelines, too excited for words.

"Oh? Hah’Er filmed an MV? For a song about pandas? I’ll definitely buy a copy to show my support when the new album comes out. Bin, how long until the album is released? Where can we buy it?"

"Oh, the recording for the new album is almost finished. Sun Qian’s vocals have improved even more since she sang the ’Panda Hero’ theme song. The director of this MV is also an old friend of mine and Hah’Er’s, Director Kong. With a master at the helm, the quality is guaranteed." After giving Sun Qian a promotional boost, Shen Yibin posted the pre-order link. "Everyone, click this link or scan the QR code below to go to the pre-order page... The new album is scheduled for official release on the fifth of next month."

With today’s advanced logistics, Sun Qian’s studio was relying on online sales as its main distribution channel. As for the traditional distributors, their initial terms had been too harsh for Sun Qian to accept. But now that this Weibo post was out, they would be the ones getting anxious. He figured they’d be knocking on her door with a new proposal very soon.

Sure enough, less than ten minutes after the post went up, Qianqian’s phone rang. "Hello, President Liu... Yes, that’s right, we’re filming the MV in the mountains right now... It’s not that I didn’t tell you beforehand. Director Kong and Hah’Er were both brought on by friends. The whole thing was only finalized yesterday! This wasn’t even in the works the last time we met... Oh, I’m afraid that won’t work. I have to stay here and help for the next few days, so I don’t have time to go out... How about this? I’ll contact you when I get back..."

After some back-and-forth, Qianqian finally fended off the client. But before she could even take a sip of water to soothe her throat, the phone rang again. She glanced at the screen—it was another distributor.

"Why don’t you go take your calls over there? We’re about to start filming again!" Seeing the situation, Director Kong had no choice but to step in and send her away. They’d never get any filming done if this kept up.

"Captain Qi, why don’t you go with Qianqian?" Shen Yibin quickly called over to Qi Jian. This wasn’t downtown Yunzhong City; he was worried about her going off on her own. Qi Jian gave Shen Yibin a quick hand signal, caught up to Qianqian in a few strides, and followed her as they disappeared behind a large boulder.

"Alright, scene six, get ready!" With the distraction gone, Director Kong announced that filming would resume. Hah’Er and Sun Qian went to the edge of a stream. Sun Qian took out an apple, washed it in the clear water, and handed it to Hah’Er. The panda took it with both paws and started munching away. Halfway through, he seemed to remember that Sun Qian hadn’t eaten either, so he handed the remaining half of the apple back to her.

One paw held the half-eaten apple while the other scratched the back of his head, an embarrassed look on his face. He looked so adorably naive and lovable. Seeing this, Director Kong beamed, his eyes crinkling at the corners. ’Looks like Hah’Er’s acting has improved again. I wonder how much better he’ll be by the time we shoot Panda Hero 2. It’s really something to look forward to!’

This time, they filmed straight through until five or six in the evening. Director Kong only reluctantly called a halt when the light grew too dim to continue. Watching Hah’Er perform was such a joy these days that he hated to stop. He even found himself regretting that Sun Qian was only willing to shoot one music video.

He was tempted to coax Sun Qian into shooting a couple more, but after asking around, he learned that only one song on the album was written for Hah’Er. Even if they did film a second MV, there would be no opportunity for the panda to appear, so he reluctantly dropped the idea.

"We’ll be spending the night here, so everyone, please be careful. Do not go into the woods alone. If you need to go anywhere, take a partner with you..." Shen Yibin reiterated the safety precautions, then got ready to make dinner. He scanned the campsite a few times but saw no sign of Qianqian or Qi Jian.

’Huh? Where’d they go? Don’t tell me they had an accident. That shouldn’t be possible. Captain Qi is a seasoned pro, how could he slip up in a place like this? This terrain might be a bit tricky for the average person, but for an outdoorsman like Qi Jian, it’s nothing.’

"I’ll go look for them. You guys can start washing the rice and vegetables," Shen Yibin said, handing the pot to Sun Qian. He headed toward the large boulder where the two had disappeared.

As he walked behind the boulder, he heard a rustling sound, and then Qianqian stumbled into view, her clothes a mess. "What happened?" Shen Yibin hurried forward to steady her.

"Hah, she dropped her phone a minute ago. When she reached for it, she tumbled down the slope after it!" Qi Jian said, panting as he climbed up from below. "Good thing this is a grassy slope, or that could have been dangerous."

"I’m so sorry! The call was from the head of a major company, and I got so excited I forgot where I was!" Qianqian apologized profusely. Shen Yibin looked her over carefully and, seeing that she was only a bit disheveled and otherwise unharmed, finally relaxed.

"No call is so important that you forget about your safety! Okay, okay, we’re done with filming for the day. You can head back to camp to finish your calls," Shen Yibin reminded her.

"No need. The battery’s completely dead. I was on the phone all afternoon, and we’ve used up both my and Captain Qi’s power banks!" Qianqian said, waving her phone. "I’ve talked myself hoarse. Right now, even if the Grammys were calling, I wouldn’t want to speak. I just want to drink some water and rest my voice."

"Well, well. Looks like you’re really hitting the big time now!" Getting so many calls meant the market saw a bright future for Sun Qian. Shen Yibin couldn’t help but feel happy for her.

’The new album is coming out next month. I wonder how many copies it’ll sell. Two hundred thousand? Five hundred thousand? Or could it even sell over a million?’