Chapter 200 - 198: Ah Xia, I’ve Resigned

On August 22nd, production on the second season of Cat and Mouse was finally winding down. The key animation phase was complete, leaving only the final composition, editing, and dubbing for the last two episodes.

Fortunately, Jiang Xia and Lin Yanwan were already experts at this stage of the process. It would only take them about three days to finish the job completely.

In the past, the workload of producing twelve episodes in two months—even with each episode averaging under eight minutes—would have been unimaginable for Jiang Xia.

This was all thanks to two additional temporary key animators, Li Weiya's dedicated assistance, and the entire team pulling all-nighters and working overtime to get the job done.

"You've all worked so hard. As of now, you're on vacation until the end of the month," Jiang Xia typed in the company group chat.

Shen Ying: "Woohoo! Vacation! We're on vacation!"

She typed happily, feeling a great sense of relief. It felt even more liberating than finishing her college entrance exams.

Wang Ming: "Holy crap, a whole seven days off at once? Old Jiang, even though I curse you daily for being a slave driver and want to string you up on a lamppost, I wouldn't mind having a few more bosses like you."

Shen Ying: "Agreed!"

Wang Ming stretched in front of his computer, feeling as if his entire body and soul had been completely set at ease in that single moment.

In two months, he had animated a total of five episodes. Averaging 750 key frames per episode, that meant he had to draw around 70 frames a day. Staying up until one or two in the morning was a regular occurrence. It was a high-intensity workload that not just anyone could have endured.

It was exhausting, to be sure, but his various drawing techniques had improved by leaps and bounds in that short time. Even Li Weiya was very impressed.

"Hey, I'm a considerate boss, aren't I?" Jiang Xia typed with a laugh.

Wang Ming: "What? Considerate where? @Shen Ying, you see anything?"

Shen Ying: "Nope. Boss, I'm about to starve to death."

Jiang Xia: "A week-long vacation isn't enough?"

Wang Ming: "A vacation isn't enough. We need bonuses."

Jiang Xia gave a helpless smile. "There will be bonuses, but you'll have to wait until all the dubbing for the animation is done. You guys are on vacation, but Yanwan and I aren't."

Wang Ming: "How much longer will it take? Need any help?"

Jiang Xia: "What the hell could you help with? Get out of here and get some rest. The little bit of work that's left will take about three days."

Wang Ming: "Alright, I'm gonna go catch up on sleep then. I was up until three or four last night, and I'm dead on my feet."

Closing the group chat, Jiang Xia continued editing. By the afternoon of August 24th, he had pulled his wife onto his lap to watch her complete the final rendering.

Just to be safe, the two of them opened the files and watched everything through one last time. They didn't find a single error. This meant that the second season of Cat and Mouse was officially complete. All that was left was to coordinate with the major television networks, and it would soon be on the air.

"You've worked hard, baby," Jiang Xia said, taking his wife's hand.

"You've worked much harder than I have," Lin Yanwan said, shaking her head. "Once I mastered the sound production techniques, my job wasn't as difficult as you think."

"But to someone like me, who doesn't know the first thing about music, it seems truly amazing."

Lin Yanwan smiled, not arguing the point. Simulating a full orchestral symphony with just one person and their instruments wasn't something every music student could do.

And Jiang Xia was even more incredible. He had recreated a classic animation purely from his outstanding memory, making her wonder if he had a photographic memory.

You could say that this version of Cat and Mouse could never have achieved its current success if either one of them had been missing.

"I'm done for. My baby is so amazing, I think I'm in so deep I can't pull out," Jiang Xia said.

Feeling him stir behind her, Lin Yanwan raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, can't pull out?"

"It means I'm in so deep with love that I can't pull out," Jiang Xia said, batting his eyes.

Blushing with annoyance, Lin Yanwan pinched him. He'd better be talking about the emotion, not the action. But from the wicked look on his face, he clearly meant the verb.

"Pah! You perv!"

"Hehehe..."

After some more flirtatious banter only a married couple would understand, he checked the time. It was just past four in the afternoon.

"Should we get everyone together for dinner tonight? As a sort of wrap party," Lin Yanwan suggested, looking at him.

Jiang Xia thought for a moment, then nodded. Today was August 24th, and his acceptance letter from Tsinghua University stated that freshman registration was on August 26th. This wouldn't just be a celebratory dinner, but a farewell dinner as well.

"Yeah, I'll send a message in the group chat right now. We'll skip the hotpot tonight. We can all meet at the Fenghua Hotel later."

"Then do I need to go to the bank and get some cash?"

"Yeah. I've owed them their salaries for two months. It's time they got paid."

Jiang Xia thought about it seriously. Wang Ming's salary after his probationary period was 2,500 a month, and Shen Ying's was 2,000. The original plan had been to make them official employees after the summer break, but now... 'I might as well just pay them their full-time salary now.'

"How much are you going to give them?"

"8,000 for Old Wang, 7,000 for Shen Ying," Jiang Xia said. "I'll pay them their full-time salary, and the rest is for their overtime these past two months."

"Oh? The capitalist is finally feeling generous for once," Lin Yanwan teased.

Jiang Xia blushed slightly. To date, Cat and Mouse had generated nearly three million in revenue for his company, yet he had paid out less than twenty thousand in salaries.

"Right, what about the two temp workers? Are you paying them too?"

"Yes, but according to their contract. That's 700 a month, so 1,400 for the two months. But I can give them an extra 1,000 for overtime."

It wasn't that Jiang Xia was playing favorites. They were outsourced temp workers, and their contracts didn't specify a full-time salary. Besides, he had already decided not to hire them again. Once he got to the Imperial Capital and rebuilt his studio, he would naturally recruit a team of more seasoned industry professionals.

"Mm, okay," Lin Yanwan agreed.

Jiang Xia immediately sent a message to the group chat, announcing the good news that production on the second season of Cat and Mouse was officially complete. He also told everyone to meet for dinner at the Fenghua Hotel at 6 p.m.

Shen Ying: "Yay!"

Wang Ming: "The animation's done? That's awesome."

Jiang Xia: "Don't any of you be late. We can talk more tonight."

Shen Ying: "Okay, Boss! I'm saving room already. When it comes to eating, I'm a pro!"

Jiang Xia: "Tonight's on the company, so eat your fill. Order whatever you want, don't hold back."

Shen Ying: "Long live the boss!"

Reading the chat, Jiang Xia smiled. He then took out his phone to call Li Weiya, but the line was busy.

Two or three minutes later, Li Weiya called him back. Before Jiang Xia could even speak, he heard her light laughter, her voice as pleasant as a spring breeze.

"Ah Xia, I quit my job."