Chapter 386

Hearing that the Panda Car had been blocked by tourists and couldn't move, Wei Ming immediately grabbed a loudspeaker and went out to coordinate.

A crowd had gathered around the vehicle, all straining their necks to see—most Hong Kong residents had never seen a giant panda in their lives, yet the rarity and cuteness of giant pandas was universally acknowledged.

Even Ocean Park's killer whale, Hui, had been marketed as the "aquatic giant panda" due to its black-and-white coloring.

Hu Shiyong, a local tough guy, had never seen a giant panda either; after hearing from a neighbor that Ocean Park had one, he brought his one-and-a-half-year-old daughter Zhi Zhi to see it—but the neighbor hadn't been clear: yes, there were pandas today, but they wouldn't be visible today.

After traveling all the way to Hong Kong Island just to see some fish, he was utterly disappointed—until he spotted a van emblazoned with panda images pulling in. Hu Shiyong was the first to notice it; he immediately incited other tourists to block the vehicle, hoisted his daughter onto his shoulders, and led the chant: "See the panda! See the panda!"

Wei Ming passed by him, thinking: What kind of manners are these? But the little girl's pretty—suck suck suck.

"Please make way, I'm Wei Ming!" he shouted through the loudspeaker, but clearly, even he had no authority now—not even the Viceroy would get through.

Still, Wei Ming circled the van once and came up with an idea, then squeezed back to the front of the vehicle.

At that moment, Old Wei was trying to persuade the driver to let Gang Dan out for a quick public appearance, but the driver firmly refused—any injury to or by the panda would be a major incident, possibly even triggering diplomatic trouble.

"Uncle Wang, can you hear me, Uncle Wang?" Wei Ming spotted Old Wei's colleague from the North Transport Office and shouted through the loudspeaker.

Uncle Wang quickly rolled down the window: "Little Wei, we're stuck—what do we do now?"

The driver said: "Mr. Wei, the tourists are too enthusiastic—should we call the Flying Tigers?"

Wei Ming lowered the loudspeaker and whispered to Uncle Wang: "I've got a plan. Tell my father."

Uncle Wang nodded and relayed Wei Ming's suggestion.

Upon hearing they'd agree to let Gang Dan out, Old Wei was delighted—but only to open the cage inside the van, no leaving the vehicle.

There was also a small gate at the rear of the van, a square twenty-some centimeters on each side, operable from the inside.

As Old Wei began acting, Wei Ming immediately used the loudspeaker to inform more and more tourists: "Thank you, dear tourists, for your love of the giant panda. To satisfy your curiosity, please move to the rear of the vehicle—you'll be able to see the panda from there."

The problem now was the front path blocked by tourists; Wei Ming's move redirected them to the rear, allowing the van to move forward easily—it was only a short walk to the panda pavilion.

Upon hearing Wei Ming's announcement, Hu Shiyong reacted instantly, shouldering his daughter and sprinting to the rear, while Old Ghost immediately opened Gang Dan's cage: "Show yourselves, little treasures!"

Suddenly, a black-ringed panda head pressed against the gate, peering curiously at the strangers—but its head couldn't fit through, only half its face visible.

"Ah, the panda!"

"It's so fat!"

"Oh so cute cute cute!"

"Eyeshadow really does make eyes look bigger!"

Even Zhi Zhi, perched on Hu Shiyong's head, waved her hands and mumbled: "Mao mao~"

With the front path clear, the van immediately started moving—but slowly, so the trailing tourists could keep up.

Then Old Wei released Ba Si, who couldn't stand being cooped up; Gang Dan immediately yielded the ventilation gate to his bride-in-law so she could breathe some fresh capitalist air.

But because Ba Si was slimmer and had a smaller head, Gang Dan couldn't squeeze through—yet Ba Si managed to push her entire head through the gate, and guess what? She got stuck!

"Hahaha!"

Tourists laughed, amused by the adorable sight of her head protruding, some even taking photos.

Inside the van, Old Wei slapped Ba Si's wriggling rear: "Is she really stuck? Gang Dan, come push her!"

Old Wei thought it wasn't serious—if the head could get in, it could get out; his main concern now was calming Ba Si so she wouldn't hurt herself, so she remained with her head sticking out the entire way—embarrassing for a panda.

Tourists chased after, laughing—the van entered the panda pavilion, and Wei Ming ordered security to seal the entrance immediately, then shouted through the loudspeaker: "Gang Dan and Ba Si will meet everyone again at Christmas—don't forget to come see them!"

Shuowantaganjinzhuizhechezijinqu ， Basizheshizahuishiera ， Naodaibeimenkale ？

When Wei Ming reached the van, Old Wei was pushing the panda's head from outside while Gang Dan pulled from within—the two of them finally managed to free Ba Si from the gate.

The Ocean Park driver sighed in relief—he'd nearly called the fire department to cut open the door.

Next, Old Wei and his colleagues led the two pandas into their living area; looking at the lavishly built panda pavilion, Old Wei and the others couldn't help but gasp—this living environment was more comfortable than being human!

The humidity and temperature were nearly identical to Sichuan's natural habitat—definitely high-tech.

Old Wei told Old Wang: "All of us combined probably don't have as much space as these two."

Old Wang nodded: "After all, they're national treasures."

Then he thought of another national treasure—Wei Ming. Didn't Little Wei's apartment have this much space?

Wei Ming told Old Wei: "Dad, the Viceroy and his wife are here—they want to take a photo with you."

"The biggest official in Hong Kong, right?"

"Yeah."

Old Wei straightened his clothes: "Am I dressed well enough?"

Wei Ming paused: "Uh, it's with them."

Old Wei blushed: "Of course I know it's with them—come on, come on."

Wei Ming: "Watch them—they might bite someone."

"Gang Dan won't, but Ba Si might—she's still mad." Old Wei said.

There, Ba Si had curled into a glutinous rice ball, sulking alone—probably replaying how she'd gotten her head stuck.

Faced with these two utterly adorable creatures, even the Viceroy couldn't resist using his privilege to take close-up photos with the pandas—multiple angles, something he couldn't do even in Britain.

Wei Ming took the photos for them, and even offered to take one of Old Mai and Old Wei together.

He introduced Old Wei: "This is China's best panda expert—my father, Wei Jiefang."

"Jiefang," MacLehose shook Old Wei's hand, "Fine name. Pleasure to meet you."

Now dubbed "Panda Expert," Old Wei felt light as air—until Shu Fen waved him over.

She called him close and introduced Zhou Hui Min to Old Wei, exchanging meaningful glances with him.

Old Wei was no longer surprised—he already had two at home; children grow up, parents can't control them anymore.

He'd seen A Min singing on video tapes, but never this clearly or vividly—hey, her height, her looks—good, very good!

"Uncle, can I see Gang Dan and Ba Si?" A Min wanted to experience the Viceroy's privilege too.

Old Wei assured her: "Leave it to Uncle."

A Min was surprised—she spoke Mandarin to him, yet he replied in English, and both spoke terribly.

After seeing off the Viceroy and his wife, A Min was allowed inside to interact closely with the two little treasures—she fed them bamboo shoots herself, and Wei Ming took several photos of her.

Perfect. Absolutely perfect!

Since the giant pandas had just arrived in a new environment and been exposed to so many people, Old Wei and the others would have to monitor them nonstop, watching their eating and drinking.

Wei Ming asked Old Wei: "How long will this take?"

"Hard to say—we still need to assign separate rooms; we might not finish today."

Wei Ming thought: "Then let's go back first. If you're done, call this number—I'll come pick you up. If not, just call and let me know."

He then took A Min and left—didn't go home; he'd left the hotel's phone number, so he brought A Min to the hotel.

After so many days, this was the first time he'd brought A Min here—she was eager yet nervous.

After swiping her card to enter the room, Wei Ming turned on the TV: "Watch some TVB."

"You've been busy so long—why not lie down and rest?" A Min suggested.

The suggestion was tempting, but Wei Ming knew his self-control was weak: "If I rest, will you rest? If we both rest, neither of us will rest."

It was a bit convoluted, but A Min understood—right now, she wished time would hurry up and fast-forward to the age when rest was guaranteed.

…

Three years passed. In the Wei family's San Francisco estate, after a night of rain battering banana leaves, Wei Ming and A Min lay in bed, naked and panting, the floor littered with used condoms.

Like this.

…

The fantasy ended. A Min stared at the TV, then suddenly cried: "Ah! Look, TVB announced a Top Ten Golden Songs award ceremony—it'll be broadcast on TVB, and all nominees are invited to the gala. It's like a direct challenge to the Top Ten Chinese Golden Melodies!"

Wei Ming chuckled: "That was my suggestion to Run Run Shaw."

"Ah!"

Wei Ming added: "Six months from now, TVB will also launch a New Singer Competition."

Wei Ming explained the background to A Min, who immediately showered him with praise for his brilliance, wit, and endless ideas.

The news spread quickly through the music scene; many singers' first reaction was joy—last year, Wei Ming's arrival had triggered a golden song explosion in Hong Kong, and ten slots were simply too few.

But after the joy came worry: Could TVB's authority be trusted? If it couldn't win public trust, it'd just be another watered-down award.

Meanwhile, the organizers of the Top Ten Chinese Golden Melodies held an emergency meeting.

"Ah Ming, I need to use the bathroom," A Min said shyly after drinking two glasses of water.

Wei Ming: "I'll step out."

A Min thought, then shook her head: "No need—I'm not transparent."

She didn't need him to leave, but her reminder redirected Wei Ming's attention uncontrollably toward that direction.

To avoid hearing awkward sounds, Wei Ming turned up the TV volume—but minutes passed and A Min still didn't emerge.

Was it… a big one?

He turned the volume down again, then heard A Min's embarrassed voice: "Ah Ming, can you hear me? Did you leave? There's no toilet paper… Ah Ming…"