Chapter 76: Fleeing in Panic

In the early hours of the morning, Yu Zhile and his wife hadn’t gone to bed early; they had stayed awake to witness the turn of the year. This time, however, their New Year’s celebration was rather extraordinary.

Exhausted yet content, Yu Zhile lay sprawled on the bed, reached for his phone, and checked the trending topics on Weibo. He discovered that half an hour ago, Cai Lanlan had voluntarily revealed the true identity of “Mr. Panda.” As a result, the keyword “Mr. Panda’s real identity” quickly soared to fourth place on the Weibo trending chart.

In the comments, countless netizens were stunned.

“Mr. Panda is actually Qin Haiyu’s husband? Wasn’t her husband a novelist?”

“Incredible! A novelist who doesn’t compose music isn’t a true pianist! Goddess Lanlan, keep it up!”

“Wow! Qin Haiyu’s husband is amazing! The new songs Qin Haiyu released recently were all composed by him!”

“This is what it means to have a husband others envy and resent! By the way, is Qin Haiyu’s husband ugly? Why does someone so talented never show his face?”

“Isn’t the beauty-and-the-beast combo all the rage now? If her husband were handsome, he would have revealed himself already! Just like female streamers—if they’re good-looking, they turn on the camera right away!”

…

Qin Haiyu, resting her head on her husband’s arm at the head of the bed, suddenly burst out laughing. “Haha! Honey, everyone’s saying you’re ugly!”

Yu Zhile scoffed, “Once I show my face, they’ll know what it means to eat their words.”

“When will you reveal yourself?” Qin Haiyu teased. “How about we switch roles in the future? I’ll take care of things at home, and you handle the outside affairs?”

“Sleep, sleep. We’ll talk about that later. I have no plans for it right now.” Yu Zhile put away his phone, snuggled up, and closed his eyes, happily drifting off to sleep with his wife in his arms.

…

The next morning.

At the headquarters of Dongfang TV.

Yang Bing came out holding the freshly compiled viewership ratings report, happily announcing, “Everyone! This year’s New Year’s Eve gala has set a new viewership record!”

Director Li urged, “Hurry up and tell us! What’s the rating this time?”

Yang Bing stopped keeping them in suspense. “2.21%!”

Director Li was astonished. “That’s nearly 1% higher than previous years! I thought an average rating of 1.5% would already be excellent. I didn’t expect it to surpass 2%!”

“It really pays to invest in these events! If it weren’t for Mengniu Yogurt sponsoring with such a large amount, our New Year’s Eve gala wouldn’t have stood out amid so much competition, nor achieved such high ratings!”

“Exactly! In past years, anything over 1% was considered decent, but this year we’ve gone straight past 2%. For the upcoming Spring Festival Gala, maybe we should increase our investment as well!”

“The Spring Festival Gala is another story—with CCTV’s gala as the main event and a wide variety of acts, it’s impossible to turn it into a big concert like the New Year’s Eve celebration.”

“That’s true…”

…

After reporting the ratings, Yang Bing sent Yu Zhile a message, updating him on the numbers as well.

At home, Yu Zhile received Yang Bing’s message, amazed at how high the ratings for Dongfang TV’s New Year’s Eve gala had been the previous night. Perhaps it was because his wife’s popularity was soaring?

After all, the new song he had prepared for her, “Courage,” had also shot up to the Weibo trending chart, drawing attention and love from many fans. It was another night of instant fame.

Changing clothes and shoes, Yu Zhile hurried out, driving the car his father had swapped out last night, taking his wife, daughter, and mother to the hospital.

…

“Honey, wait in the car for a bit! We’ll be back soon, and I’ll record a video for you!” Yu Zhile got out, taking the baby from his mother’s arms and heading inside.

They had made an appointment the night before, so their visit was timely. Soon, it was the baby’s turn for her vaccination.

The little one clearly didn’t remember previous times. Otherwise, after so many shots, she would have been crying anxiously just from anticipation.

Grandma held her granddaughter for the injection, while Yu Zhile recorded a video for his wife. As the doctor pierced the baby’s soft little arm, she didn’t even blink!

But as the medicine was injected, the baby seemed to sense something was wrong, her big watery eyes brewing emotion.

Moments later, when the needle was withdrawn, she finally realized the pain and burst out crying, wailing, “Mama, mama…” as she cried.

At that moment, Yu Zhile felt a pang of jealousy.

Why not call for Daddy? Even “Papa” would do!

After sending the video to his wife, Qin Haiyu, waiting in the car, felt both sympathetic and delighted.

It was the first time the baby had called out “Mama” so clearly and repeatedly!

She almost wanted to rush inside, scoop up her daughter, and shower her with kisses.

Before long, seeing her husband carrying their daughter back with his mother, Qin Haiyu eagerly opened the car door, ran over, and took her daughter—pacifier in mouth, tears already dried—from her husband’s arms.

“Another bout of crying!” She cradled the baby, examined her arm, found the tiny puncture wound, and gently blew on it.

Yu Zhile glanced around—fortunately, no one paid them much attention, so there was no need to worry about his wife being recognized.

He pinched the baby’s tender cheek. “She kept crying for Mama and didn’t call Daddy once! So unfair!”

Grandma suddenly reached out and tapped Yu Zhile’s shoulder, scolding, “Don’t keep pinching her face!”

“All right, all right!” Yu Zhile went to open the car door. Taking advantage of his mother’s New Year’s holiday, they were heading back to their hometown for a couple of days.

Coincidentally, the chess tournament sponsored by Mengniu Yogurt began on the first of January and would decide the champion by the third.

The competition had already started that morning. He wondered if his father would encounter a master in the first round and be eliminated right away.

Reportedly, more than a thousand people had registered, with some not even ten years old and many elderly participants in their seventies and eighties.

Such grassroots charity tournaments are wonderful—they spread chess culture and bring fun to so many lives.

At that moment, Yu Zhile grew curious.

Since his wife had become the brand ambassador for Mengniu Yogurt through the song “Sweet and Sour Is Me,” several days had passed, and last night’s Mengniu-sponsored New Year’s gala had achieved such impressive ratings. He wondered how Mengniu Yogurt’s sales were faring now.

It should have dealt a heavy blow to Tianyou Yogurt, leaving them regretful, surely?

Once home, Yu Zhile sent Manager Chen at Mengniu Group a message: “So, are your yogurts selling well now? Has Tianyou Yogurt realized the threat?”

A moment later, Manager Chen replied with a simple line: “Tianyou Yogurt is in utter disarray!”