Director Kong looked at Shen Yibin, feeling conflicted. The stunt double’s performance was holding up the shoot, but Shen Yibin wasn’t a stuntman. He couldn’t bring himself to ask for help. Shen Yibin had volunteered the last time, but it would be out of line to order him to step in now.
Fortunately, the crew knew how to phrase things. They framed their request as a desire to witness Shen Yibin’s incredible skills, which made the situation less awkward. With an excuse like that, Shen Yibin could step in without anyone losing face.
"I don’t have a problem with it, but..." Shen Yibin glanced at the stunt double. ’This is basically taking his job. I hope this doesn’t cause any hard feelings.’
"No problem. My skills just aren’t there yet; I can’t blame anyone else." The stunt double was well aware of Shen Yibin’s position on the film crew. If another stuntman had stepped forward, he would have definitely refused. But Shen Yibin wasn’t in this line of work. At most, he would help complete today’s scene. If the stuntman got himself together by tomorrow, he would naturally resume his duties. Someone of Shen Yibin’s stature certainly wouldn’t be doing this long-term.
"Bin, help us out. Just give it a shot! I’ll treat you and Hah’Er to dinner later." Director Kong finally spoke up. An assistant nearby hurried over with a contract.
After the contract was signed, the day’s shoot was finished quickly and efficiently, sparing them the major hassle of having to re-apply for a permit to block off the streets. The entire crew breathed a collective sigh of relief, especially the stunt double. If his failure had caused the production’s costs to skyrocket, it would have been difficult for him to find work in the industry again.
Once the shoot wrapped, the crew headed back to the hotel. Director Kong took Shen Yibin to a private kitchen—the kind of exclusive place only someone as well-connected as the director could find. An ordinary person probably couldn’t even get through the door.
The restaurant’s owner came out to greet Director Kong, and he was quite surprised when he saw Hah’Er. His establishment had entertained plenty of politicians, business tycoons, and brilliant celebrities in the past, but this was the first time he’d ever hosted a panda. "Um, what kind of flavors does... this esteemed guest prefer? Old Kong, what should I prepare?"
"Bamboo shoots and meat will be fine. It loves to eat those," Shen Yibin replied quickly. The owner breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that; he could whip up a few of his signature dishes with those ingredients.
Before long, the food and wine were on the table. Director Kong brought out the Monkey Wine that Shen Yibin had given him and poured some for Shen Yibin and Hah’Er. He also invited the owner over to try a couple of glasses. As Director Kong poured the wine for the owner, it pained him. Every sip of this stuff meant there was one less sip in the world. Even with red wine from a top Bordeaux winery, he had ways of getting his hands on dozens of bottles to enjoy at his leisure. But this Monkey Wine... he could only hope for Shen Yibin’s generosity. Even if he were willing to spend a fortune, there was nowhere to buy it.
"When you said you had a good wine for me to try, I didn’t really pay it much mind. I mean, is there any part of your collection I *don’t* know about?" The restaurant owner and Director Kong were friends of many years, so he knew the director’s tastes inside and out. He held his glass, reluctant to put it down, and sighed. "But now that I’ve had a taste, I realize everything else I’ve ever drunk might as well have been water!"
"You two stay seated. I’m going to go make you a few of my signature dishes!" Since Director Kong had brought out such an incredible wine, the owner felt he had no way to repay the gesture except with his culinary skills.
When the signature dishes arrived, Director Kong and Shen Yibin were full of praise. After a few rounds of drinks and several courses, Director Kong put down his wine glass and got down to business. "Bin, we might be facing a bit of trouble soon. I’m going to have to ask a lot from you and Hah’Er."
"Hm? What’s wrong? Aren’t all the preparations finished? Today’s shoot went smoothly, didn’t it?" The issue with the stunt double was a minor incident. ’It surely doesn’t call for such a serious tone, does it?’
"It’s not a problem with our film crew, and it has nothing to do with Shanghai," Director Kong said, shaking his head with a wry smile. "Bin, you run a pet store, so you’ve surely heard of animal rights organizations, haven’t you?"
"I have, but what does that have to do with our movie? The domestic organizations won’t bother us, will they? And as for the foreign ones, do they have any say over what we do here?" Shen Yibin was still confused.
"If this film were only being released in China or across Asia, it wouldn’t be an issue. But we’re aiming for a simultaneous global release, so we can’t avoid them. These animal rights organizations are incredibly influential in Europe and America. They have their own teams of inspectors who are responsible for protecting the welfare of animal actors, and they monitor the production of 4,000 films a year. If they protest our film, theaters will have a hard time justifying screening it." Fearing Shen Yibin still didn’t grasp the gravity of the situation, Director Kong provided some examples. "You’ve seen *The Lord of the Rings*, I assume? *The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers* missed out on an Oscar specifically because it failed to get a positive assessment from animal rights organizations. During the filming of the Dustin Hoffman horse-racing series *Good Luck Racing*, some horses were injured, and HBO canceled the entire show. When Ang Lee was filming *Life of Pi*, the tigers received better treatment than anyone else on the entire crew..."
Hearing Director Kong’s explanation, Shen Yibin finally understood. The star of *Panda Hero* was a panda, and pandas were extremely popular in Europe and the United States. It made sense that animal rights organizations would be deeply concerned about Hah’Er’s well-being. They were planning to fly to Shanghai just to check up on Hah’Er and see if he was being mistreated on set. If they found any issues, they would demand that Director Kong halt production. If he refused to comply, *Panda Hero* would have a very difficult time getting a smooth release in the West.
"That shouldn’t be a problem, right? Could they possibly dote on Hah’Er more than I do? Besides, our contract has very clear provisions for his care." Shen Yibin patted Hah’Er’s head. "Hah’Er, is making this movie tiring you out?"
"Nn~" Hah’Er shook his head and went back to hugging his cup and drinking his wine.
"See? Even Hah’Er has no complaints. What could they possibly have to say?" Shen Yibin said dismissively.
"Bin, you can’t let your guard down. People from these animal rights organizations tend to be zealous. Plenty of big-name directors have been burned by them," Director Kong warned urgently. "What you consider good care might be far from meeting their standards. Plus, they’ll be shadowing Hah’Er the entire time. You need to be mentally prepared."
"Ah, you can’t be serious?" ’It’s a good thing for people to care about animal welfare, of course. But when that concern becomes excessive, it gets pretty obnoxious.’ Shen Yibin was reminded of those extremists online who seemed to love their pets more than their own spouses. ’If we run into people like that, this is going to be a real headache.’
Unfortunately, many things were beyond their control. Despite the reluctance of both Director Kong and Shen Yibin, the foreigners arrived in Shanghai right on schedule and made their way to the film set.