Future Pet Shop

Chapter 321: Chapter 321: Bin, I’ll Test Your Kung Fu Again Next Time

"I wasn’t even rolling just now." The cameraman slapped his thigh in frustration. But then he immediately remembered that his wasn’t the only camera on set. "Right, the camera that’s specifically filming behind-the-scenes footage must have caught it."

The cameraman and Director Kong hurried over to the behind-the-scenes camera. The BTS cameraman proudly took credit, "Someone just reminded me that something seemed off with Hah’Er, so I immediately turned the camera over and caught the whole scene." After speaking, he replayed the recording for Director Kong.

"Good, great work! I’ll give you a big bonus later!" Director Kong happily slapped his shoulder. "As soon as we’re done for the day, send me this video clip immediately. I’ll edit it and send it to the publicity department. Have them post this short clip on the official Weibo, Twitter, and Facebook for early promotion."

From the very beginning of the production, Director Kong had arranged for a dedicated person to film all sorts of behind-the-scenes footage, planning to use it for early promotions, DVD releases, and so on. Now, it seemed this arrangement was paying off in a major way. As long as this hilarious video was released, it would definitely attract the attention of movie fans and panda lovers all over the world, encouraging them to buy tickets and contribute to *Panda Hero*’s box office. This short clip, barely ten-odd seconds long, could bring in millions in revenue. Director Kong was absolutely ecstatic.

"Alright, everyone else get ready. Let’s start filming the next set. Martial arts choreography team, work with Mr. Shen and start training." After his initial excitement, Director Kong immediately issued orders. They moved the scenes that didn’t currently require a stunt double to the front of the schedule and started filming. Meanwhile, Shen Yibin began practicing with the help of the choreography team.

Shi Gaofei’s previous "torment" of Shen Yibin had greatly improved his reflexes, flexibility, explosive power, and ability to learn. He quickly mastered moves that would take an ordinary person a long time to learn, causing the members of the martial arts choreography team to marvel. Director Kong and the other crew members repeatedly gave him a thumbs-up. "Mr. Shen, your martial arts skills are amazing!"

"Okay, let’s continue with the previous scene." Now that they had a replacement for the stunt double, they could resume filming. Director Kong immediately arranged for Shen Yibin to enter the set.

At first, since he wasn’t familiar with the process, Shen Yibin made his fair share of mistakes. For instance, he’d miss his mark, preventing the camera from properly capturing the action, or he’d accidentally expose his face to the camera, forcing them to reshoot the take... If it had been a regular stunt double, they probably would have been chewed out mercilessly by Director Kong long ago, and the other crew members wouldn’t have hesitated to complain about him wasting everyone’s time.

But Shen Yibin was different. This wasn’t his job in the first place; he had stepped up to save the day at a critical moment. Without Shen Yibin’s help, they would have had to wait for Director Kong to borrow a stunt double for the big brother character, wait for that stunt double to fly back from the US, and then restart filming. They would have been stuck on set for several more days.

Shen Yibin stepping in had saved them several days of work. They were more than grateful, so how could they possibly be dissatisfied? Besides, he had just started and was already getting the moves almost perfectly. Surely, he would get through the adjustment period quickly and complete the shoot smoothly. So, not only did they not complain, but they also came forward to offer Shen Yibin advice, helping him quickly adapt to this way of working. The filming proceeded more and more smoothly.

"Alright! That’s a wrap for today!" In the end, they calculated that they had only run an hour over schedule. It looked like the first phase of filming could still be completed the day after tomorrow.

Things went just as Director Kong had predicted. Over the second and third days, Shen Yibin’s performance became more and more polished. He nailed almost every appearance in a single take, sparking discussions among the crew. Since Shen Yibin had such great martial arts skills and wasn’t lacking in looks or charisma, if he were willing, he could instantly become the film industry’s most watched new action star with Director Kong’s help. His future would be limitless.

In fact, Director Kong had indeed brought this up while having drinks and chatting at Shen Yibin’s store. He guaranteed he could tailor-make a script for Shen Yibin and fund the movie. He even said he would consider giving Shen Yibin an important role in the *Panda Hero* sequel—judging from the current filming and the feedback from promotions, the movie was sure to be a blockbuster, so a sequel was a given.

However, Shen Yibin rejected this kind of opportunity that most people could only dream of. In his own words, being a star was nice, but you lost a lot of freedom. The thought of being watched by countless pairs of eyes for everything you do was terrifying. ’Besides, I’m not exactly short on money now, so there’s no need to go sell my face!’

This made Director Kong feel a bit regretful. He knew Shen Yibin was a man of firm principles, so he didn’t press the issue, only saying that if he ever changed his mind, he could come find him anytime.

"Sigh, an opportunity others beg for, and you don’t care about it at all. Oh well, if that’s what you want, so be it." After a few rounds of drinks, Director Kong felt he’d had enough and prepared to leave. "Alright, I should get back and rest. I’m taking the team to Shanghai tomorrow. I’ll call you when the preliminary work is settled and we can start filming."

"Okay, I’ll bring Hah’Er over as soon as I get the call." Shen Yibin walked Director Kong to the door. "What time is your flight tomorrow? I’ll see you off at the airport!"

Early the next morning, Shen Yibin took Hah’Er and Maphario to the airport to see them off. The appearance of a famous director, celebrities, and a panda caused a small commotion at the airport.

With their departure imminent and their next meeting two months away, many of the actors seized the last chance to leave a good impression on Shen Yibin.

"Bin, your martial arts skills are amazing! I hope we can test your real skills again in Shanghai," Murong Li said loudly, giving Shen Yibin a big hug.

Her voice reached the ears of the surrounding travelers and reporters. Hearing this, they immediately perked up. What was this? The famous star Murong Li was praising an unknown man’s fighting skills? Could this be her boyfriend?

"Bin, if your skills weren’t so good, these past few days would have been torture for me." Fang Yun sidled up as well. What she meant to say was that without Shen Yibin, they would have certainly been stuck in Yunzhong City for a few more days, but to an outsider’s ears, it sounded a bit suggestive.

"Mr. Shen, your..." Fang Yuanshan also tried to join in on the fun.

"Alright, alright, the plane is about to take off. You should get going!" Shen Yibin cut him off before he could finish.