At four o'clock in the morning, a howl suddenly rang out from the Huang family's house.

Mr. Huang grabbed a mop and Mrs. Huang picked up a kitchen knife, rushing hurriedly towards Huang Min's room.

"Minmin, what's wrong?"

"Minmin, don't be afraid, Mommy's here! Mommy has a kitchen knife!"

The bedroom door was pushed open, and Huang Min walked out of the bedroom rubbing her eyes and yawning.

"I'm sorry, Mom and Dad. I just had a really scary nightmare..." Huang Min said, tears streaming down her face, "I screamed in my dream. Did I scare you?"

Mrs. Huang asked suspiciously, "Really?"

"Really." Huang Min turned on the room light. "Look, everything's fine."

Huang Min's room was indeed perfectly normal. Still not entirely reassured, Huang's father went back in to check under the bed, in the wardrobe, and in other nooks and crannies. After confirming that nothing was there, he came out and nodded to Huang's mother.

Mrs. Huang breathed a sigh of relief. Although she had been woken up by the midnight howling, at least her daughter was alright, so she wasn't so angry anymore. She patted Huang Min's shoulder affectionately and comforted her, "I'll buy you some calming and brain-boosting tonic tomorrow. Drink it before you go to sleep."

Huang Min readily agreed, and Huang's parents put down their weapons, yawned, and went back to their bedroom for a nap.

Huang Min rushed back to the bedroom, scrambled back onto the bed, and bit down hard on the corner of the blanket to suppress the burst of laughter that was about to escape her lips.

She bit the corner of the blanket as she picked up her phone and checked the numbers again. The three clear numbers came into view, and Huang Min, clutching the blanket, rolled around on the bed, silently screaming and laughing!

You can go slap the ivy in the face now!

In the finale of "Half a Day," Shi Shan didn't appear at all. Yet, the ratings didn't drop at all; on the contrary, they reached the peak of the entire series!

Huang Min imagined how many ivy-covered trees would be tossing and turning, unable to sleep tonight; she imagined how those piss-draining bastards, who only knew how to suck Ye Chu's blood—ah, and her Qingqing's blood—would be so furious when they saw the finale's ratings that they'd tear their handkerchiefs to shreds; she imagined that old bastard Shi Shan would become the most important accessory, forever living in Ye Chu's shadow—

"Gah."

Huang Min laughed again. She covered her mouth in alarm, but thankfully the sound wasn't loud this time and her parents didn't hear it.

Huang Min rolled around happily on the bed, even conjuring up a trending topic about Shi Shan becoming a giant ornament. She then imagined the furious faces of the ivy plants she hated most, and laughed until her mouth twisted in embarrassment.

That's right, "The White-Haired Xiangjun" flopped so badly that even its own mother wouldn't recognize it, and it's been the subject of much ridicule from the ivy-covered trees lately. But the success of "Tianban" is solely Ye Chu's achievement, so what does it have to do with Shi Shan?

Huang Min laughed for a full ten minutes, until her stomach ached a little, before she got out of bed and walked barefoot to the computer.

My sleepiness has been banished by laughter; it's time to get down to business.

Huang Min turned on her computer and clicked on a folder on the desktop named "Bottom of the Pot Burnt Through". The folder contained many pictures, videos, and documents, neatly arranged and quite impressive. Upon closer inspection, one could vaguely make out the figures of people in the pictures.

It was Shishan.

These photos and videos vary in quality and file size, and come in a wide variety of formats. There are recent materials in 4K high-definition quality, as well as old footage that looks like it was shot directly from a Nokia phone. Even Shi Shan's most loyal longtime fans may not have as much information as Huang Min's folder.

Huang Min rubbed her hands together, imagining Shi Shan being sold off, and her mouth stretched to her ears in a wide grin.

——————

Shang Yechu let out a long sigh, casually tossed her phone aside, and rubbed her eyes.

After the intense euphoria and excitement, exhaustion washed over him, and coupled with not having slept all night, Shang Yechu was quite tired.

Sheng Wenzhi, sitting opposite her, noticed Shang Yechu's appearance and asked curiously, "What's wrong with you?"

"It's nothing. I'm just checking the ratings for 'Half a Sky'."

Sheng Wenzhi was also watching "Tianban" and was a loyal fan. Last night, the finale of "Tianban" aired, and around 10 p.m., Sheng Wenzhi drove to Shang Yechu's house, insisting on talking to Shang Yechu about his feelings about the finale.

Left with no other choice, Shang Yechu had to take him in for the night. It must be said that while Sheng Wenzhi's character was a mystery, his understanding of characters and plot foreshadowing was quite unique. Shang Yechu had initially intended to be perfunctory, but after listening to a few of his words, she became intrigued, and the two chatted more and more enthusiastically, talking all night long.

Sheng Wenzhi wasn't interested in the ratings, but he still casually asked, "How many?"

Shang Yechu had originally intended to show off, but pretended to be nonchalant and said, "8.13, not bad."

Shang Yechu had been waiting for Sheng Wenzhi to be greatly astonished, so she could take the opportunity to explain the significance of August 13th to him and boast about her own achievements. Her public image was that of a refined and unassuming person, rarely having anyone to brag to. Ji Juntao was more knowledgeable than Shang Yechu, so bragging to him was pointless. Bragging to Sheng Wenzhi was perfect; it would make Shang Yechu feel good.

Sheng Wenzhi looked surprised, but instead of asking about the significance of the ratings as Shang Yechu had expected, he muttered to himself, "8.13? That number looks familiar."

"Familiar?" Shang Yechu frowned. Could it be that other TV dramas have achieved this viewership rating in recent years? It couldn't be such a coincidence.

"I think it was someone's birthday..." Sheng Wenzhi looked thoughtful and reminiscing. "I can't remember. I've even forgotten my own birthday."

Shang Yechu was slightly taken aback.