"I’m so sorry to trouble you to make another trip," Dong said apologetically as he welcomed Shen Yibin into the zoo. "Why don’t you come to my office for some tea? The reporters will be here soon."

"No need. I’ll drop Hah’Er off at Xiong Mountain to play first. When the reporters get here, you can take them on a tour of the zoo. Let them get plenty of shots of the run-down areas. That’s a form of publicity too, right?" Shen Yibin had been hounded by reporters during the last talent competition, so he was more than comfortable dealing with them now.

Hah’Er followed behind him, cradling a large bag. It looked like a gift for the family of three black bears. As Shen Yibin led the way for Hah’Er, he said, "Once they’ve seen everything, bring them over to Xiong Mountain for a few photos of Hah’Er. After that, they can direct any questions to me."

"Alright, I’ll do as you suggest." Several major media outlets were coming this time. If they helped with publicity, he could probably raise a lot more in donations. If this kept up, not only could they properly repair the existing enclosures, but there might even be enough left over to build new exhibits and bring in some more popular animals.

Thanks to the recent publicity push, many parents had already started bringing their children to visit the zoo, and some even made a point to leave a donation. The zoo seemed to be returning to the bustling state it was in many years ago. Dong wanted to seize this opportunity to attract even more visitors. Donations could only provide temporary relief; the zoo’s long-term survival depended on its own efforts.

He had already started discussions with a few business planning firms to try and map out a path forward for the zoo. He hoped that in the future, the zoo would not only attract local residents of Yunzhong City to visit regularly but also draw in tourists from out of town. The zoo had to thrive to make the hard work of Shen Yibin, Xu Ye, and Hah’Er worthwhile.

Shen Yibin was very supportive of this. The better the zoo developed, the easier it would be for him to solve any future problems. ’Who knows what kind of pet the Future Pet Shop will send me next?’ he thought. ’I’ll definitely need to rely on Dong and his team again down the line.’

"Hah’Er, go on and play. I’ll come get you later." At the entrance to Xiong Mountain, a keeper opened the gate to let Hah’Er inside. Shen Yibin sat on a bench overlooking the enclosure, watching Hah’Er amble toward the little black bear.

"Whoa, Hah’Er’s here again!" Today was nothing like before. The zoo was already teeming with visitors, and Xiong Mountain was a major point of interest. The crowd gathered by the enclosure was thrilled to see Hah’Er. They quickly whipped out their phones and cameras, snapping away before eagerly posting to Weibo and their social media feeds to show off.

Some were so excited they started calling their friends, urging them to hurry to the zoo to see the panda. If they missed this chance, who knew when they’d get another one?

Hah’Er paid them no mind. It gave the tourists a gentle wave of its paw and continued toward the cave entrance on Xiong Mountain. A little black bear, which had been lazing in the sun at the mouth of the cave, twitched its nose. It had caught Hah’Er’s scent. It scrambled to its feet and dashed toward Hah’Er with an agility rarely seen in black bears.

The cub’s parents sat up behind it, watching their little one start to roughhouse with Hah’Er. They must have been happy too. While they never had to worry about food or drink here, life was undeniably boring. Hah’Er’s visits helped ease their loneliness.

"Hmph!" Hah’Er clutched the paper bag to its chest, giving the little black bear a shove that sent it tumbling onto its backside. Then, it reached a paw into the bag, pulled out a honey bun, and offered it over.

Shen Yibin had baked these specially for the black bear family the previous night, using pure, wild honey. ’They’re sure to love it, right?’

Sure enough, as soon as the little black bear got the bun, it licked it eagerly. The taste of wild honey sent it into a state of bliss. It devoured the bun in just a few bites and then immediately tried to stick its head into the paper bag in Hah’Er’s arms. The taste was just too good.

"Hmph!" Hah’Er was not at all pleased with this behavior. ’What a selfish little bear! How can you just think about yourself when there’s good food? Don’t you want your parents to have a taste?’

So, it ignored the squawking little black bear, carried the paper bag over to the cave entrance, and pulled out two more honey buns to give to the parents.

The delicious honey buns won over the cub’s parents as well. The father bear swallowed his bun in a single gulp. Before the mother bear could even take a bite of hers, the father, having just finished his own, stretched his head over and chomped off half of hers.

Tsk. The sight made him so jealous. ’In the human world, what husband would dare snatch food from his wife’s mouth? Wouldn’t he be afraid of being forced to kneel on a lightbulb until dawn?’ The husbands standing by the enclosure watched the male black bear, their faces filled with envy.

Hah’Er seemed quite displeased by this food-snatching. So, for the next round of buns, it only gave the father bear half. It stuffed the other half directly into the mother bear’s paws.

However, the mother bear didn’t seem to appreciate Hah’Er’s kind gesture. Instead, she fed her half-bun to the father bear. Watching this, Shen Yibin’s heart sank. ’Damn it, even the bears are showing off their love and making me feel single. This world is so cruel to us single guys.’

And so, the three black bears—two large, one small—and Hah’Er, the black-and-white bear, all four of them lazed about in the sunniest spot at the mouth of the cave. They munched on honey buns and soaked up the sun, completely at ease.

"Is Hah’Er visiting relatives? I think this picture could be called ’A Xiong Mountain Family’." This heartwarming scene simply melted the hearts of countless onlookers.

’I should bring Hah’Er out more often. He looks so happy right now.’ A smile crept onto Shen Yibin’s lips. He quickly snapped a photo of the "A Xiong Mountain Family" and sent it to his group chat, immediately drawing envious replies from Sylvie and the others holding down the fort at the shop.

Hah’Er hadn’t brought that many buns, and before long, the four of them had polished them all off. The little black bear, still wanting more, licked its lips and stuck its head right into the paper bag to lick the insides.

"AHAHAHA!" The sight of the little black bear with the paper bag over its head was just too cute. Shen Yibin and the rest of the audience were cracking up.

The little black bear, however, had no idea its popularity had momentarily eclipsed Hah’Er’s. It kept pawing at its face, clearly uncomfortable with the sudden darkness. Next to it, Hah’Er covered its eyes with its paws, as if to say, ’I don’t know this idiot!’