Chapter 132: The Grand Finals Arrive [Fifth Installment]

The semi-finals, recorded today, will be edited into two episodes to be aired over the next two weeks.

When Yu Zhile and his wife returned home, Yu's mother had already prepared dinner, waiting for them to eat together. Summer vacation was drawing to a close, and tomorrow evening, Yu's mother would head back to her hometown to prepare for the start of the school year. Because of this, she had prepared an especially sumptuous meal. After all, with both her son and daughter-in-law participating in the semi-finals, at least one of them was bound to advance to the finals, and this grand dinner was meant to celebrate that.

Seeing them return, Yu's mother quickly asked, "How did it go? Did you make it to the finals?"

Qin Haiyu replied happily, "We did!"

Yu's mother then glanced at her son and asked, "What about that guy called 'Patrick Star'? Was he eliminated?"

Qin Haiyu said, "No, he advanced to the finals too!"

"Oh, what a pity!"

Yu's mother, holding her precious granddaughter who had just woken up after the cooking was finished, said, "It’s already half-past six, go wash your hands and eat!"

Qin Haiyu changed her shoes, took her daughter from her mother-in-law's arms, and walked to the bathroom, saying cheerily, "Time to wash hands and eat! Did you miss Mommy today, baby?"

The baby chirped in a cute, milky voice, "Missed~"

Qin Haiyu rubbed her little hands together as she washed them and asked, "And did you miss Daddy?"

The baby’s voice suddenly rose in volume as she replied, "Missed!"

Qin Haiyu pouted in mock jealousy, "You sounded so quiet when you said you missed Mommy, but so loud for Daddy! Mommy is jealous now; I'm unhappy and want to cry!"

Standing on the vanity, the baby tilted her head and kissed her mother, who was busy washing her own hands, consoling her: "Mommy, don't cry~"

Qin Haiyu chuckled, amused by her daughter's words. "You're such a good girl. Okay, Mommy won't cry. I love you!"

She grabbed a towel to dry both their hands. Yu Zhile joined in the fun, mimicking the baby’s imperfect pronunciation: "Baby kisses Mommy but not Daddy? Then Daddy is going to cry too!"

"Pfft, let's go eat. We’re ignoring the stinky Daddy!" Qin Haiyu wore a triumphant smile as she carried her daughter out. Yu Zhile followed close behind with little steps: "Oh, really? Not kissing Daddy? Just wait until I catch you and spank your bottoms!"

The baby, in her mother's arms, watched her father chasing them with small, hurried steps, looking as if he were about to catch them any second. She laughed incessantly, her crisp, adorable giggles echoing throughout the house.

...

The next afternoon, Yu's father drove over to pick up his wife. Tomorrow would be the first of September, and as a teacher, his mother had to return to her duties of educating students.

The baby waved her little hand reluctantly, blowing kisses. Once she saw her grandparents' car disappear from sight, the little one pursed her lips, looking as if she might cry at any moment.

Seeing this, Yu Zhile immediately said, "The weather is so nice today! Does baby want to go to the beach? How about Mommy and Daddy take you to catch little crabs?"

"Catch crabs!"

Instantly, the baby forgot the sadness of her grandparents leaving and began to look forward to catching little crabs at the beach!

Yu Zhile took the baby from his wife's arms and said, "Wife, go change your clothes and disguise yourself a bit; we're going to the beach to catch crabs!"

"Okay, okay, okay!"

Qin Haiyu patted her daughter's head and hurried into the room to change. She came out with sunscreen to apply to herself and their daughter; she left her husband to fend for himself, claiming that getting a bit of a tan would make him look more manly.

This left Yu Zhile feeling a little melancholy...

The villa they lived in was right by the sea. Once everything was ready, Yu Zhile grabbed a remote-controlled excavator and a few other small beach toys, and they headed out.

Qin Haiyu held their daughter; the two of them were dressed in matching beach outfits, wearing identical sunglasses and pink bucket hats. Yu Zhile wore a matching set as well, but in a different color—after all, for a grown man, wearing pink was just too ridiculous.

At that moment, Qin Haiyu said, "Honey, if we have a son in the future, you can wear matching clothes with him!"

"Cough, let's leave having a son to fate. We can talk about that later!"

At this remark, Qin Haiyu shot him a glance. Fortunately, the baby was still young and didn't understand the subtext in her father's words.

Upon reaching the beach, the family of three walked to a secluded spot and began to play. The remote-controlled excavator started digging in the sand. Watching her husband play even more enthusiastically than their daughter, Qin Haiyu strongly suspected that he had bought the excavator for himself, not for the girl!

She picked up a hermit crab and showed it to the baby. The creature kept poking its head out, only to retreat in a fright, which piqued the little one's curiosity, and she insisted that her mother help her pick up hermit crabs.

While playing with the excavator, Yu Zhile suddenly realized that maybe having a son wouldn't be so bad after all! Otherwise, when they came to the beach, his wife and daughter had no interest in the excavator, and playing by himself was just too lonely.

Putting down the remote, he stopped playing and hurried over to help pick up hermit crabs and catch little crabs to entertain his "little cotton-padded jacket."

Without realizing it, the whole afternoon slipped away by the seaside. The couple was exhausted from playing with their daughter all day, yet the little one seemed incapable of fatigue and was still bouncing around!

As the sun began to set, the family of three finally headed back. While at the beach, the baby had been energetic and tireless, but on the way home, after Yu Zhile had carried her for only a few minutes, she was already fast asleep on his shoulder.

...

Back home, the couple tried to bathe and change their daughter, but she didn't wake up. Yu Zhile couldn't help but tease, "This baby must be a little pig! She didn't even wake up!"

"She's been running around all afternoon; she must be exhausted."

After Qin Haiyu finished bathing her daughter, she dried her off with a towel, put her in pajamas, and had her husband carry her to the bedroom to sleep.

After waiting a while and seeing that their daughter remained sound asleep with no sign of waking, the couple finally felt at ease to take a bath together, washing away the salt and the scent of the sea.

...

Five days later, the semi-finals of "The King of Masked Singers" began to air. The two original songs Qin Haiyu performed on the show once again trended due to the program's popularity.

At the same time, many people began leaking spoilers about who had advanced to the finals, who had been eliminated, which singers had been unmasked, and who had not...

Because of this, it was decided that the final would be broadcast live. Only in this way could the suspense be kept until the very end, preventing spoiler-mongers from ruining the experience for other viewers!

With the return of Yu Zhile and his wife to the semi-finals, the ratings for these two episodes finally picked up. The first semi-final episode saw ratings recover to 2.94%.

After the second semi-final aired, the ratings broke the 3% mark, setting a new record high for the show since it began, reaching 3.32%!

Seeing these results, Yang Bing felt a pang of regret! If he had known that the couple could bring in such high ratings, he should have had them record a few more episodes! If that were the case, they might have truly had a chance to push for a 4% rating.

Now, only the final remained!

He wondered if the live broadcast of the finale would push the ratings to even greater heights.

With such anticipation, the grand finale of "The King of Masked Singers" finally arrived.

...

PS: Five chapters completed. See you tomorrow, and thank you all for your votes.