Inside Chenghai TV, Fu Jing sat in silence, staring at the viewership report for this week's national drama rankings.
'Hikaru no Go'—Ranked 9th.
Ninth.
And who knew how things would look after episode three aired tonight?
After Jing Yu declined to join Chenghai TV, Fu Jing collaborated with another screenwriter to produce a new drama. But so far, that drama was sitting at 18th in the spring season rankings.
Her feelings were… complicated.
If she'd fought harder for 'Hikaru no Go' back then, she probably could've convinced her superior Xu Mei to greenlight the project. But the Go-themed concept had seemed too risky. So she didn't push for it.
And now? She'd spent several nights struggling to sleep.
If 'Hikaru no Go' could achieve these results at Yunteng TV, it would've likely done just as well—or even better—at Chenghai TV, with its stronger platform.
The original plan was to give Jing Yu the Friday 8 PM prime slot once he joined.
She miscalculated.
Fu Jing told herself she didn't regret it, but that was just self-control talking. Deep down, she did.
And what made the regret worse wasn't just losing out—it was the fact that someone else made the opposite choice and succeeded.
Cheng Lie, a rival producer at Yunteng TV, had bet on Jing Yu, backed him, and now? He was reaping the rewards.
Of course, neither Fu Jing nor Xu Mei's internal frustration and regret were known to Jing Yu, who at this very moment was on set, flipping through every newspaper he could find that mentioned 'Hikaru no Go'.
"Spring Season's Disruptor: Genius screenwriter Jing Yu pulls off another dark horse miracle at Yunteng TV. With Aurora TV already knocked out of the Top 10, will Chenghai TV be next?"
"Vice President of the Da Zhou National Go Association states: 'We fully support 'Hikaru no Go' and have provided professional Go consultants to assist the production.'"
"The success of 'Hikaru no Go' proves that Go has not faded into obscurity. Perhaps it can rekindle public interest in the sport."
"Two years since their last hit, Yunteng TV breaks back into the Top 10. Could Jing Yu be the one to revive the station's long-lost dreams, following the departure of Zhong Ming five years ago?"
"You don't need to understand Go to enjoy this drama. 9/10 must-watch. No regrets."
"Week 2 Ratings: 9th place. Yindou Net Score: 9.3. The highest-rated show of the season. 'Hikaru no Go' is a masterpiece that shows what true dedication to storytelling looks like."
The media was full of overwhelming praise.
When a drama breaks into the Top 10, critics and entertainment outlets don't hold back.
As a result, 'Hikaru no Go' was everywhere.
Highest user rating on Yindou Net for Spring Season
Airing on a non-Big Six network, yet still making it into the Top 10
New work by the acclaimed creator of 'Your Lie in April', 'White Album 2', and 'My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday'.
'Hikaru no Go''s popularity surged across the week.
In all major fan groups, membership applications were up more than 20%.
Fan chatter exploded:
"Is it really that good?"
"Can I watch it even if I don't understand Go? Feels like a content drought this season…"
"Is it safe for people with sensitive emotions to watch 'Hikaru no Go'?"
"Can someone explain the match between Hikaru and Koyo in episode 2? What's the theory behind that opening move?"
And some posts were just… pure comedy:
"My mom's obsessed with this screenwriter Jing Yu. She thinks he's super talented and handsome. Ever since she started watching his dramas last year, she's signed me up for piano class, violin class, songwriting class, scriptwriting bootcamp… and this week, she added Go lessons! I'm nine! I just want to play video games! And guess what—his shows are all about romance, but my mom won't let me date! I liked a girl in my class, we started dating, and our teacher ratted us out. My mom beat me with a ruler fifty times, and my dad helped. They said kids shouldn't date. So unfair! I was born with charm, and now I'm banned from using it!"
"Honestly, I don't feel sorry for you at all. You're nine and already in a relationship? Consider the feelings of those of us who've been single for 20+ years. You deserved that beating."
"Heard they changed the actors in episode 3. Not sure if it'll ruin the vibe. I really liked Akira's child actor."
"Apparently, the new actors for teenage Hikaru and Akira are both heartthrobs. Should be fine."
"As long as they don't change Fujiwara no Sai, we're good. Jing Yu is perfect in that role. Watching him play Go with that calm, gentle smile? Weekly highlight of my life."
"Too bad Fujiwara no Sai doesn't have a physical body, or he could fall in love. We've been single for 20 years, but he's been single for 1600!"
"He's stayed loyal to his passion for 1600 years. Can you say the same? You get bored with a game in a day, and you're feeling bad for him?"
By 7 PM, the fan groups for 'Hikaru no Go' were buzzing with double the activity they had before episode one aired.
The only time this died down was when Xingtong TV's flagship drama, Fireworks, aired. Even among 'Hikaru no Go' fans, many also followed Fireworks, since both aired Sunday nights.
But the other Big Six drama airing between them—Chenghai TV's Race Against Time—got zero attention in the 'Hikaru no Go' communities.
That night:
Fireworks aired its 3rd episode, averaging 6.39% viewership.
Then came Race Against Time, at 3.76%.
Now, for Chenghai TV's standards, 3.76% was actually decent—upper-mid tier, historically speaking.
But the team behind Race Against Time couldn't relax.
Why?
Because last week, 'Hikaru no Go' was already sitting at 3.5%, ranked 9th.
This week?
Would viewership drop due to casting changes?
Or... would it rise again, and overtake Race Against Time?
10:00 PM – Episode 3 of 'Hikaru no Go' began.
Opening rating: 3.45%.
An increase of 0.3% from episode two's opening—a huge boost, especially for a non-Big Six network like Yunteng TV.
The story now shifted away from childhood and into the teenage years, three years later.
Hikaru and Akira were now in middle school.
The school's Go club president, Tsutsui Kimihiro (Gong Hong), tried to recruit Hikaru.
But some drama with the Chess (Shogi) Club president, Tetsuo Kaga (He Tienan) led to a ridiculous challenge:
A Go match, with the loser having to go winter swimming... naked.
Jing Yu adapted this section by incorporating elements from the Chinese 'Hikaru no Go' live-action adaptation of his past life.
To bridge the time skip, he added a small 5-minute original sequence: Fujiwara no Sai had disappeared for 3 years due to a conflict of trust with Hikaru, only to return at this pivotal moment.
It seamlessly connected the original manga plot to the show's current age progression.
And since there was no prior manga in this world, viewers wouldn't find anything jarring.
The show had officially entered its "School Go club" arc.
During the match, Hikaru zoned out and misplayed a move that Sai had instructed. A massive lead instantly turned into a losing position.
Even though Sai tried to salvage it, they lost the game by half a point.
Still—just like before—the audience had no clue what was happening on the board.
And still, nobody cared.
"Oh? I don't get it?"
"Whatever. It's still good!"
If you were curious about Go, you could always check the fan group chats. Experts there would explain everything.
In fact, more and more amateur and professional Go players had joined in, eager to discuss and break down the matches.
Even total rookies were slowly becoming interested in the game, thanks to the show and the passionate community around it.
Week by week, as the episodes aired and fans discussed, people who once knew nothing about Go were starting to understand and appreciate it more and more.