Chapter 646 - 536: Real Kung Fu Panda

Chapter 646: Chapter 536: Real Kung Fu Panda

In just a few days, Meng Lan, the dancing panda, went viral all over the internet.

It made the Anjing Zoo a must-visit destination for anyone traveling to Anjing.

The zoo didn’t take the opportunity to raise its prices.

As the oldest zoo in the country, its main draw was its affordability.

A combo ticket for general admission and the Panda House cost only 19 yuan in total.

But to manage the crowds, the zoo was forced to cancel on-site ticket sales, allowing reservations only through their app in advance.

They also limited entry to the Panda House.

Each person was only allowed to stay for five minutes.

Even with these measures, the daily number of visitors continued to climb steadily.

In previous years, visitor numbers peaked during the May Day and National Day holidays, often exceeding 100,000 on a single day.

But now, it was easily hitting 150,000.

And that was without fully opening up reservations; otherwise, there would have been even more people.

It couldn’t be helped. Meng Lan was just too popular, too camera-friendly.

The internet was flooded with videos of Meng Lan.

He would occupy several spots on the trending lists.

When he played, he’d go wild, "dance," do handstands, and lean against a tree stump to give the tourists a seductive little wiggle.

When he got tired, he would snuggle into Shen Xin’s arms, and any random photo would capture a perfect scene of harmony between man and nature.

By association, Shen Xin also became famous.

Tourists affectionately called Xu Haisheng "Grandmaster Xu."

As for Shen Xin, because he was handsome, he and Meng Lan were dubbed the "Justice Duo" online.

Because "good looks are justice."

It got to the point where Shen Xin had to wear a mask to work.

He even switched cars.

Shen Xin knew that while it was easy to get famous online, it was even easier to have a public scandal.

It was especially not good for him, a police officer, to be too famous.

With everyone having a phone, a casual snapshot posted online could easily be misinterpreted.

For example, a "mere" panda keeper like Shen Xin being chauffeured to work in a car with a license plate starting with OA.

Netizens would surely start speculating wildly about Shen Xin’s background.

The fallout from that would be really bad.

Unfortunately, he was recognized as soon as he entered the zoo.

From a distance, two young women started shouting at Shen Xin, calling him "Shen Shuashuai."

A certain group of people had taken to calling him that.

The two girls ran up, asking to take a photo with him.

It made Shen Xin feel like he was a real internet celebrity.

The zoo needed this kind of engagement, so Shen Xin had no choice but to play along.

After that, he couldn’t move.

A crowd surrounded him, asking for photos and what "program" Meng Lan would be performing today.

"First, I need to clarify, it’s not a performance."

Shen Xin quickly reiterated.

Zhu Fengmao had specifically instructed him not to tell the public that the zoo was intentionally making the panda perform.

It was Meng Lan who enjoyed putting on a show; he had a strong desire to perform, and it had nothing to do with the zoo.

"As for today, you can look forward to it," Shen Xin said, leaving them in suspense.

The zoo’s stance was to enrich the interactive content as much as possible, provided it didn’t tire out the giant panda.

Tiring him out was unlikely.

Meng Lan’s energy was anything but ordinary.

Besides, they needed more activity; it was good for their health.

Shen Xin readily agreed and came up with a new idea: teaching Meng Lan how to box.

One, it was something he was good at.

Two, it fit the whole "Kung Fu Panda" theme.

The crowd was too large, and Ding Yuwei was pushed to the side.

Lin Wei was there too. After spending a few days together, they were more familiar with each other. He said with an amused smile, "He’s really famous now."

Ding Yuwei glanced at Lin Wei.

After Meng Lan went viral, the zoo’s visitor numbers surged, and Shen Xin’s public profile rose, Lin Wei stopped slacking off in the parking lot and started following Shen Xin around.

’Looks like my guess was right. He’s not just a driver; he’s here to protect Shen Xin.’

"It’s fine. He knows what he’s doing," Ding Yuwei said with a smile, not worried.

She knew deep down that Shen Xin didn’t really care about being famous or not.

At his core, the guy still loved solving cases.

After dealing with the tourists, Shen Xin’s first stop was still Walnut’s enclosure.

Yang Zeran and the others had been reviewing case files in Wudu for several days, and the four of them held video calls every night to discuss the case.

The more they learned about this case, the more difficult it seemed.

It wasn’t that the case itself was particularly convoluted or complex.

It was the nature of the case. It belonged to the most difficult category of crimes to solve.

Just like the Xiao Hong case back then—a homeless man on the national highway who killed someone over a brief argument.

No motive, no prior connection. Completely random.

Solving that case had really come down to a bit of luck.

That’s why Shen Xin increasingly felt that the hope for solving this case didn’t lie with Yang Zeran’s team, but with him—with Walnut.

As usual, he changed the water and arranged the bamboo in Walnut’s outdoor enclosure.

Shen Xin brought a bag of bamboo shoots and set them all out for him.

Originally, Shen Xin had planned to buy them himself.

But when Zhu Fengmao found out, he generously declared that the zoo would cover the expense.

The profit Shen Xin had generated for the zoo by making Meng Lan famous could cover a lifetime’s supply of fresh bamboo shoots for Walnut.

Opening the metal gate, Shen Xin went straight into the den area and started cleaning.

This was actually a very bold move.

But Shen Xin was testing the waters, gradually probing Walnut’s tolerance.

He hadn’t shown any Affection Level yet, but he was already allowing Shen Xin to hang around him.

That alone was much more progress than Ma Tao and the others had made.

’So there is progress.’ Shen Xin felt that if he persisted, he would eventually raise the Affection Level.

The gate to the outdoor enclosure was open, but Walnut didn’t budge.

Shen Xin cleaned with a broom, soon reaching the spot where Walnut was.

Although he hadn’t yet touched Walnut, Shen Xin could now get very close to him.

"Walnut, come on, move your butt a little," Shen Xin said casually.

There was a pile of bamboo shoot husks under him.

Shen Xin had only said it offhandedly, but Walnut actually reacted. He got up and slowly ambled toward the outdoor enclosure.

Shen Xin gripped the broom tightly, inwardly thrilled.

’He might have understood me. Most importantly, he responded to my words.’

’This is progress!’

After cleaning the den, he went out to the enclosure. But before he could even try to build more rapport, someone started calling for him.

They said Meng Lan was causing a ruckus again.

"Walnut, I’m leaving now."

Walnut silently munched on his bamboo shoots without the slightest reaction.

Shen Xin sighed softly.

’It wasn’t that he disliked Meng Lan. It was just as the saying goes: the one you can’t have is always the most alluring.’

It might have seemed like Shen Xin interacted with Meng Lan a lot, but his thoughts were actually all on Walnut.

A single reaction from Walnut could make Shen Xin happy for a long time.

When he reached the Olympic Hall, he could hear Meng Lan’s calls from a distance.

"Coming, coming."

Shen Xin called back.

As soon as he saw Shen Xin, Meng Lan stretched out his paws and wouldn’t stop calling.

Miss you.

What took you so long?

Shen Xin immediately heard his thoughts.

That’s right. After six days of constant interaction and playing together, Meng Lan’s Affection Level had risen rapidly. It was now at Stage 2, with two bars filled.

"Let’s go."

Shen Xin called out, and Meng Lan eagerly waddled into the outdoor enclosure.

Outside the enclosure, the many tourists who had been waiting with bated breath immediately erupted in excited gasps.

Meng Lan ran straight for Shen Xin, first hugging his leg, then tilting his head up.

Pet me.

"Okay, pets it is."

Shen Xin smiled and patted Meng Lan’s big head.

Speaking of which, Meng Lan was only just three years old, so he wasn’t technically an adult yet.

Shen Xin felt that he was like a four or five-year-old child who had a strong need for companionship. That’s why he was so clingy and loved to play with Shen Xin.

As for Walnut, he was already 11 years old with a mature personality. It was a long shot to expect him to be like Meng Lan.

Even though it was a simple interaction, the crowd outside was already exclaiming nonstop.

"Meng Lan, look over here!"

"It’s the Justice Duo!"

"Meng Lan, do a wiggle!"

"Where’s your boombox? Time to hoist it up!"

The shouts from outside the enclosure were endless.

Previously, Shen Xin had actually carried a boombox on his shoulder and "performed" with Meng Lan.

After spending so much time together, Shen Xin’s gift was beginning to affect Meng Lan.

He had also entered Stage 2.

So the Meng Lan of today seemed very intelligent.

Hearing the shouts from the crowd, he even stood up and waved to the tourists.

This triggered a new wave of cheers.

He seemed quite proud of himself, excitedly running to the front of the enclosure.

He propped his arms on his wooden horse, turned his backside to the tourists, and began a series of seductive wiggles.

Shen Xin slapped a hand over his eyes.

’This little guy doesn’t just imitate me; he imitates the tourists too.’

The day before yesterday, a tourist had wiggled their butt at him, and he’d learned it.

"Meng Lan, don’t do that. It’s so indecent," Shen Xin scolded, trying to stop him.

’There are kids out there. See no evil, people!’

Shen Xin also used his earpiece to tell the rowdy tourists outside to stop teaching Meng Lan bad habits.

In principle, they couldn’t treat these antics as a performance.

So, instead of proactively performing for the tourists, Shen Xin prioritized leading Meng Lan over to eat.

’What if he eats less and exercises more and loses weight?’

With the zoo’s income soaring, Zhu Fengmao couldn’t play favorites, so he had fresh winter bamboo shoots arranged for them all.

Meng Lan loved being close to Shen Xin. When Shen Xin sat on the ground, Meng Lan would lie sprawled on his back, resting his head on Shen Xin’s thigh. As he ate, he even crossed his short legs.

His short legs made the pose look adorably goofy, which inevitably triggered another round of squeals.

After munching away heartily, Meng Lan stretched lazily and pawed at Shen Xin, wanting to get active.

He had told the tourists earlier that there was something new in store.

"You’re all in for a real treat today!"

Shen Xin shouted to the current batch of tourists outside.

Over on the side, Ma Tao and Xu Haisheng brought in a rather large standing punching bag.

The moment the tourists saw it, they got excited.

Ma Tao and the other keeper didn’t leave right away.

Ma Tao said, "He’s really turning into Kung Fu Panda."

Xu Haisheng smiled without a word. In any case, he felt that Meng Lan had become much more cheerful and lively since spending time with Shen Xin.

Shen Xin led Meng Lan to the punching bag.

"Watch closely." Shen Xin threw a straight punch, hitting the bag.

He had taught him this yesterday.

So Meng Lan immediately stood up, walked to the bag, and slapped it with his paw.

Compared to yesterday, his movements were more familiar.

With a dull THUD, the heavy standing bag wobbled violently before tipping past its limit and toppling over.

"Whoa."

Shen Xin was taken aback.

’He really is a bear. That strength is terrifying.’

Outside the enclosure, many children were already shouting "Kung Fu Panda" and "Ah Bao!"

And over here, without any prompting from Shen Xin, Meng Lan started playing on his own.

He went up and hugged the punching bag—which had taken two people to move—and lifted it back up by himself.

He began swinging left and right, sending the bag swaying back and forth.

Then he lowered his head and rammed it. THUMP! The bag was knocked straight down again.

The crowd outside erupted in thunderous applause.

Meng Lan heard it too. He grinned at the tourists and raised his arms as if to say, "Look how strong I am!"

The tourists knew how to get a crowd going. Someone shouted for Shen Xin to fight Meng Lan.

With someone taking the lead, the chant of "Fight! Fight!" rose in unison.

"Don’t be ridiculous. You really think I’m Prince Shen?"

Shen Xin quickly tried to stop them. ’What if Meng Lan hears them, understands, and actually tries to fight me later?’