In the municipal governnt’s press conference room, all sorts of preparations had already been made. There was a backdrop wall adorned with photos of Yunzhong City’s major tourist attractions and Hah’Er, a hall packed with reporters, and a wide variety of cara equipnt.
In the lounge next door, Mayor Wang kept glancing at his watch, looking sowhat anxious. He had seen what transpired on Weibo the day before, which had raised his estimation of Hah’Er’s influence to a new level. The thought of the imnse prestige this could bring him made Mayor Wang a little nervous.
"Mayor, they’re here," an assistant said, rushing to Mayor Wang’s side. He had just gotten word from the entrance that Qin Qing’s car had arrived downstairs.
"Let’s go. We’ll go out and welco them." Mayor Wang imdiately stood up and led the group out in single file. He wasn’t going to greet Shen Yibin, of course. Shen Yibin didn’t have that kind of clout. Hah’Er, however, was a different story. The mayor welcoming a tourism ambassador would make for a fine anecdote.
"Mr. Shen, thank you so much for your support of Yunzhong City’s tourism industry." Upon eting them, Mayor Wang shook Shen Yibin’s hand, then bent over, preparing to say sothing to Hah’Er.
"Hrmph!" But unexpectedly, Hah’Er copied Shen Yibin, extending his right paw. Even a seasoned veteran like Mayor Wang was montarily stunned. He quickly grasped Hah’Er’s paw. This gesture from Hah’Er was a delightful surprise, and the reporters who had followed them began snapping photos furiously.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Mayor Wang led them into the press conference room. Mayor Wang and Hah’Er took the centermost seats, with Shen Yibin sitting beside the mayor.
The host began by briefly introducing the guests in attendance, after which Mayor Wang started his address. Perhaps taking into account that getting a panda to sit still and quiet would be no easy feat, the mayor’s speech was remarkably concise—a stark contrast to his usual lengthy orations. It was over in less than three minutes.
"...In light of this, we at Yunzhong City have specially invited Mr. Hah’er to serve as our city’s tourism ambassador. We hope that Mr. Hah’er will use his imnse influence to promote Yunzhong’s tourism resources to the rest of the country and, indeed, the entire world..." Mayor Wang set down the microphone, took the letter of appointnt from a staff mber, and presented it to Hah’Er with both hands.
Hah’Er couldn’t speak, so the ambassador’s acceptance speech was waived. They moved directly to the appointnt ceremony. Shen Yibin gave Hah’Er a few hand signals, and the panda quickly understood. It stood up on the chair, reached out with both paws to take the letter of appointnt, and examined it with curiosity. ’Is this thing edible?’ he seed to wonder.
With one hand steadying the certificate and the other resting gently on Hah’Er’s shoulder, Mayor Wang struck a pose for the reporters. This imdiately set off a new flurry of cara flashes. The only difference was that in every previous photo-op, Mayor Wang had been the center of attention. This ti, however, he was rely an accessory to Hah’Er.
"Mr. Hah’er, the great responsibility of promoting Yunzhong’s tourism resources now rests on your shoulders," Mayor Wang said reflexively after the photoshoot.
"Hrmph!" Hah’Er seed to understand him, nodding in acknowledgnt. This drew another collective gasp from the reporters. ’That must have been rehearsed, right?’
Next ca the official contract signing. Mayor Wang signed his na on the contract and prepared to hand it to Shen Yibin, who would be signing on Hah’Er’s behalf as his owner.
However, after finishing his signature, Shen Yibin didn’t imdiately hand the contract back to Mayor Wang. Instead, he passed both the contract and the pen to Hah’Er. Hah’Er awkwardly gripped the pen in his right paw, glanced at Shen Yibin, and then laboriously drew a lopsided circle on the signature line.
"Haha!" This scene completely took Mayor Wang and the reporters by surprise, but the effect was spectacular. As Hah’Er "signed," the cara flashes were relentless. Mayor Wang was grinning from ear to ear. ’This is all fantastic promotional material!’
"Mayor Wang, could you let us get a shot of Mr. Hah’er’s signature?" the reporters imdiately clamored. Who had ever seen a panda’s signature before? A picture like that would definitely be a huge draw for readers.
"No problem!" Mayor Wang imdiately took the contract and held up Hah’Er’s signature for the reporters to see. "Such innocent and artless brushwork," he joked. "The strokes are so unconventional. It’s a true masterpiece of calligraphy, a rare sight to behold! Much better than my own ssy scrawl, that’s for sure."
Shen Yibin couldn’t help but blush at his words. ’Seriously? If you call yours a ssy scrawl, what does that make mine? Chicken scratch?’
Next up was the reporters’ Q&A session. Mayor Wang went on and on about the many benefits and profound significance the contract would bring to Yunzhong City. anwhile, Hah’Er was munching away on a specially prepared apple, which repeatedly drew the eyes of the reporters who were supposed to be listening to the mayor.
Considering Hah’Er was no ordinary tourism ambassador, the Q&A session was kept short. After the reporters left, Mayor Wang warmly invited Shen Yibin and Hah’Er to his office to discuss the plans for the upcoming promotional video.
In the office, Qin Qing served Shen Yibin tea. After checking with him, she also poured Hah’Er a glass of freshly squeezed juice. She then handed a thick stack of docunts to Shen Yibin. "This is the promotional plan the relevant departnts pulled a few all-nighters to put together. Please have a look, Mr. Shen."
"We plan to invite the renowned director from Xiangjiang, Mr. Kong Riguang, to direct the promotional video. Mr. Kong has already tentatively accepted our invitation and will be bringing his team to Yunzhong City in the near future," Mayor Wang explained happily. Normally, given Yunzhong City’s national standing, getting a big-na director like Kong Riguang would be next to impossible. But as soon as Director Kong heard the star of the video was a panda, he agreed without a second thought, even offering them a very generous rate.
"I’ve seen Mr. Kong’s films as well. It’s a great honor to have the chance to work with him," Shen Yibin said. He had long heard of the famous director. His artistic achievents aside, the gossip surrounding him and the famous starlets of Xiangjiang was enough to make Shen Yibin green with envy.
’If only I could learn so of Director Kong’s tricks for picking up girls...’ Shen Yibin daydread as he looked over the proposal. Mayor Wang didn’t interrupt, simply smiling as he waited for Shen Yibin to finish reading.
A docunt that thick couldn’t be read in just a mont, of course. Shen Yibin felt awkward making Mayor Wang wait the whole ti, so he just skimd through it before setting it down.
"So, what do you think of our proposal?" Mayor Wang asked, concerned.
"Um, well... I think it might need a few changes," Shen Yibin finally said after a long hesitation, voicing his honest opinion.
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