After episode four of 'Hikaru no Go' ended, Zeng Lian stayed up chatting with fans in the group chat for hours. It wasn't until midnight that she finally managed to calm herself down and get some rest.
The fourth episode of 'Hikaru no Go' had just aired with an average viewership rating of 4.31%, up 0.5% from episode three, and a peak rating of 4.72%.
When the numbers reached the production team the next day…
Everyone at the 'Hikaru no Go' crew was stunned.
Even inside Yunteng TV, people were completely floored!
Even Meng Yu, the head of the production department, had to double—and triple—check the numbers before he finally believed them.
"This guy Jing-Yu… Why does he remind me so much of Zhong Ming from five years ago?"
Meng Yu let out a long breath. Looking at 'Hikaru no Go's performance, he couldn't help but think back to that screenwriter Zhong Ming—
The man who almost created a show that broke 10% ratings for their station.
But that show had nearly 200 million RMB in investment, a huge marketing push, and aired in a carefully chosen time slot where the six major stations had no big shows airing.
It relied on raw money, manpower, and resources to pull that off.
Meanwhile, 'Hikaru no Go' was… just a standard-budget drama.
Even with some late-stage funding boosts, the total investment was modest.
So how the hell was this show hitting so hard?!
Just fan buzz and word-of-mouth alone were enough to push ratings up by nearly half a point per week? That's insane.
A true hit drama... born without big PR, without huge funding, without big-name actors or directors—just like that?!
And what's more, according to the proposal submitted by Jing Yu, 'Hikaru no Go' was planned as a long-form drama, spanning at least two seasons. If the quality kept up, the build-up in popularity could eventually snowball into something massive.
If ratings kept increasing like this…
What would things look like a few weeks from now?
Meng Yu shook his head—best not to think too far ahead for now.
"We really struck gold with this one!
Old Xu from Chenghai TV must be crying himself to sleep right now. And those other four networks from the Big Six… They all wanted to sign this young guy, but none of them were serious about it.
Besides Chenghai TV, the other four didn't even bother to send someone in person to talk.
I bet they're regretting it now."
He couldn't help but let out a twisted little chuckle in his office.
'Hikaru no Go' was first submitted to Chenghai TV's production head, Xu Mei, for review.
That old man rejected it on the spot.
That's why Jing Yu didn't sign with Chenghai TV—
And Yunteng TV got the unexpected prize.
Just thinking about it felt damn good.
After all, Meng Yu's happiness came in large part from watching the other Big Six stations suffer.
With episode four bringing in 4.31%, 'Hikaru no Go' now ranked #5 among all dramas airing this week.
At this level, 'Hikaru no Go's remaining competition was now only the top three TV stations, long nicknamed by viewers as the "Top Three Titans":
Xingtong TV
Imperial Capital TV
Huanshi TV
In other words:
All three spring-season flagship dramas from the "Lower Three" of the Big Six had already fallen.
All were defeated by 'Hikaru no Go' within less than a month of airing.
Among them:
Imperial Capital TV had two shows:
'Deadly Gambler' – Ranked #2
'The Prey' – Ranked #4
Huanshi's 'Endblade' ranked #3
The #1 spot belonged to 'Fireworks', the spring flagship of Xingtong, and 'Hikaru no Go's direct next-door production neighbor.
Even 'The Prey', with its huge resources and lead actors, pulled a staggering 4.88% in episode four.
Still higher than 'Hikaru no Go', yes—
But the gap was now clearly shrinking.
Normally, a gap like that between two shows would never be closed by the time the series finishes airing.
But 'Hikaru no Go' wasn't playing by normal rules.
The drama was gaining at least 0.3% every week.
If this pace kept up…
In just two more weeks, it might surpass 'The Prey' and begin challenging the spring flagships of the Top Three Titans head-on.
Media critics were loving the drama.
Articles with titles like:
"The Big Six Face Their Most Dangerous Challenger Yet!"
"Fall of the Titans: Can the Big Three Hold Their Ground?"
…were spreading like wildfire.
Even if the substance of the articles was just hype, they were doing wonders for 'Hikaru no Go's visibility.
In fan circles, 'Hikaru no Go's fans were now openly clashing with the fandoms of dramas from the Top Three networks.
Competition never sleeps.
When Jing Yu serialized 'White Album 2',
The battle between the Setsuna faction and the Kazusa faction had lasted months.
Now, those same 'White Album 2' fans had become 'Hikaru no Go' stans—
And they were leading the charge against actor stans and screenwriter stans from rival shows.
"That so-called 'The Prey'? Honestly, it's trash.
Go watch Yunteng TV's 'Hikaru no Go'—just one episode and you'll get why it's amazing."
"What's so good about a Go drama?
You 'Hikaru no Go' fans must be nuts—playing Go all day till your heads spin.
I hate Go. Won't watch."
"Don't kid yourselves.
Our Muzi's drama isn't going to lose to some Go drama with no female lead.
'The Prey' will crush you in ratings!"
"No thanks to scumbag dramas.
'White Album 2' traumatized me.
Can't even look at Jing Yu's face without thinking of that character."
"Isn't 'Hikaru no Go' just a cheat-code drama where some kid opens hacks and plays God?
You're seriously hyping this up after four episodes of that?"
"Hacks? Don't you dare insult Sai."
"Have you even watched ten minutes of this show?
You call Sai a cheat and call it a day?
What a joke.
If 'The Prey's fans have this level of taste, no wonder their show sucks."
"At least we're not a bunch of morons watching a Go drama we don't even understand!"
The fights between 'Hikaru no Go' fans and The Prey's fans lasted all week.
Both sides landed blows.
But the fact that it was even close said a lot.
Since when had shows from the Top Three Titans been neck-and-neck with a mid-tier station like Yunteng TV?
Over at Squirrel TV, Aurora TV, and Chenghai—the bottom three of the Big Six—
emotions were... complicated.
Their flagship dramas had all flopped, and now they were secretly rooting for 'Hikaru no Go'.
If we lost… then why shouldn't you?
They were now openly hoping 'Hikaru no Go' would destroy the spring flagships of the Top Three.
Slim chance, sure—but they were still hoping.
But in the fifth week, 'Hikaru no Go's momentum finally slowed a little.
Episode five focused on Hikaru trying to convince Mitani to join the Go club,
and more importantly, to change his habit of cheating at Go.
At the same time, Akira begged the Go club teacher not to make him the team's first board, but instead assign him as third board, just so he could face Hikaru in a future team match.
The tension eased a bit in this episode, making it less intense overall.
Even so, ratings still rose—reaching 4.53%, holding firmly at #5.
Meanwhile, 'The Prey' climbed to 4.90%, maintaining its lead—but the gap between the two shows narrowed even further compared to last week.
The highly anticipated third match between Hikaru and Akira?
Still no sign of it.
And so, the calendar flipped to February.