Chapter 133 - 132: A Huge Hit

Chapter 133: Chapter 132: A Huge Hit

They tried again and again, but the Yu Du TV Station’s website was lagging so badly they couldn’t get in.

The result was that the four of them stared at the constantly refreshing webpage for nearly twenty minutes. By the time the "Unable to connect to the server" window popped up again, the two episodes of *Cat and Mouse* had already finished airing.

Jiang Xia couldn’t help but sigh. He’d come to the internet cafe full of anticipation to watch the premiere, never imagining it would turn out like this. Even he, the animation’s producer, hadn’t managed to see it. ’If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve just stayed home and watched it on TV,’ he thought.

"So, the *Cat and Mouse* premiere is already over?" Wang Ming asked, still clinging to a sliver of hope.

"That’s right," Jiang Xia confirmed with a helpless nod.

An episode of *Cat and Mouse* was about seven minutes long. Factoring in the five-minute commercial break, it was now 7:20 PM. Even if they had a TV in front of them, it would be too late; the show had just ended.

Wang Ming closed the browser, a look of disappointment on his face. He was one of only two artists on *Cat and Mouse*, and not being able to see his work premiere live was a bitter pill to swallow.

"Forget it. It’s fine," Jiang Xia said, trying to console him. "The website’s server crashed. That just means the audience for *Cat and Mouse* is way bigger than we imagined. The ratings are bound to be high. From a certain perspective, our show is already a massive success."

No sooner had he finished speaking than his phone rang again. It was Zhou Lu, the editor from the children’s channel.

The four of them exchanged glances, a sudden tension filling the air. They didn’t know if she was calling with good news or bad.

After a moment’s hesitation, Jiang Xia answered and put the call on speaker. The instant it connected, a cheerful laugh echoed from the phone.

"Boss Jiang, you watched the *Cat and Mouse* premiere, didn’t you? What did you think?"

"Chief Zhou, I’m not trying to tell you your business, but your station’s website server needs an upgrade. There were too many viewers at once; we couldn’t get in at all," he said with a helpless sigh.

"Hahahaha! I heard from my colleagues on the web team that the site really did crash. It’s a real shame you didn’t get to see the premiere, Boss Jiang."

Zhou Lu laughed as she described the explosive debut. "The ratings jumped to 2% the moment it started, then they just soared. By the beginning of the second episode, they’d already broken 6%, and they finally stabilized at around 7.8%. You know what that means, don’t you?"

Jiang Xia took a deep breath. He glanced at the other three and saw the same thrilled look reflected in their eyes.

A 7.8% rating—that already made it the ratings champion in Yu Du for the year.

"It’s a hit," he declared.

"Yeah, it’s a hit," Zhou Lu agreed, her voice tinged with disbelief as she gazed at the brightly lit station headquarters. "I never imagined a short cartoon could beat out so many high-quality dramas and create a ratings miracle. And to think, this is only the premiere."

It was easy to predict what would happen next. After today, reviews for *Cat and Mouse* would surely spring up like mushrooms after a rain—and they would be overwhelmingly positive. By the time the show aired at seven o’clock tomorrow evening, after a full day of buzz, the ratings would probably climb even higher.

"I didn’t expect it either," Jiang Xia said, breaking into an irrepressible laugh. "I would have been thrilled with 4%."

"The people have spoken! It just goes to show that a truly excellent work will never go unnoticed. That’s why *Cat and Mouse* was able to take off like a rocket!" Zhou Lu said, laying the praise on thick.

’After all, a young and talented animation producer was someone worth going out of her way to connect with.’

"Then you, Chief Zhou, are the one with the eye for talent," Jiang Xia returned the compliment.

Zhou Lu chuckled. "I wouldn’t call myself a talent scout. I just got lucky that Boss Jiang gave me the time of day. Anyway, I won’t keep you from your celebration party. I have to go write up an article praising *Cat and Mouse* and explaining why it’s such a success."

"Hahaha, alright. You get to it, Chief Zhou. Talk to you later."

The moment the call ended, cheers erupted throughout the private room. Even though Jiang Xia and Lin Yanwan had known it would be a success—thanks to their rebirth—they were still overcome with excitement.

With such high ratings right out of the gate, Qitian Animation Company had firmly established its foothold in the animation industry.

With *Cat and Mouse* as its golden ticket, even if Jiang Xia only ever produced this one show, he could probably become fabulously wealthy just from the various licensing fees alone.

A few minutes later, Jiang Xia took several deep breaths, gradually calming his racing heart.

"Honey, did you withdraw the money?" he asked his wife.

"Of course," Lin Yanwan said, pulling two envelopes from her bag and handing them to Jiang Xia.

He felt the thickness of the envelopes before handing one to Wang Ming and the other to Shen Ying. The ratings had exploded, and now it was time to reward their efforts.

"You two have worked hard this past month."

Wang Ming blinked at him. "Is this our salary? Or a bonus?"

"The show just premiered and you’re already thinking about a bonus?" Jiang Xia scolded jokingly. "But rest assured, if you keep working hard, your salaries will go up, and there will be bonuses too."

"You said it yourself! I’m holding you to that!"

Wang Ming accepted the envelope without ceremony and immediately tore it open to count the money. A full ten crisp, new one-hundred-yuan bills, all in sequential order.

"Hey, didn’t we agree on a salary of seven hundred? Why’d you give me a thousand?"

"Consider the extra a bonus for all the overtime you’ve been putting in," Jiang Xia said with a small smile. "And in a little while, once we start monetizing *Cat and Mouse*’s popularity, that number will be several times higher."

Hearing this, Shen Ying’s heart swelled with delight. ’Begging Jiang Xia to hire me was definitely the right decision,’ she thought.

’She’d earned a thousand yuan in less than a month after graduating—something unimaginable for most recent graduates. Even a top student like Chen Yao was only making 500 a month as an internet cafe manager.’

’Now that *Cat and Mouse* was a huge hit, the potential of a startup like Qitian Animation was immeasurable. She felt she’d really lucked out getting this job, given her academic record. If she just kept her head down and worked hard, with a patron like Jiang Xia, her future was sure to be bright.’

"As long as you keep paying me, boss, I’ll do whatever you say~"

"Is that so? In that case..." Jiang Xia said, looking at the two of them with a sly grin. "How about we rush-produce the second season of *Cat and Mouse* before school starts in September?"

"Twelve episodes in two months?" Wang Ming’s brow furrowed. "That’s a pretty tight schedule."

"I’ve already finished the storyboards for episodes 13 and 14, and I’m more than halfway done with episode 15’s."

Jiang Xia slung an arm around his shoulder, giving him a conspiratorial wink. "Why not give it a shot? We’ll all give it our best. We’ll do as much as we can. I just really want to get the second season of *Cat and Mouse* on the air before school starts."

"Alright, let’s give it a try," Wang Ming said with a long sigh. He figured he could use the distraction to get over his recent breakup.

"Then it’s a deal!"

’A grin spread across Jiang Xia’s face, the look of a schemer whose plan had come together perfectly. Getting them to commit wholeheartedly to high-intensity overtime for just a thousand yuan... he’d made out like a bandit on this deal.’