On Wednesday, while the Sai scenes were being filmed, Jing Yu finally received news from Cheng Lie regarding the station.
"The production for 'Hikaru no Go' Season 2 has been confirmed. The station's preliminary budget allocates 55 million yuan to the series."
As soon as Cheng Lie arrived on set, he relayed the message to Jing Yu, who was in the middle of getting his makeup done.
"Confirmed?" Jing Yu's face lit up with a touch of joy.
Although this outcome was expected—after all, unless Yunteng TV had completely lost its mind, they were bound to greenlight the next season—Jing Yu still breathed a sigh of relief once it was official.
As for the 55 million yuan investment, while it seemed slightly modest considering the viewership ratings and the cast lineup, it was more than sufficient. The station wasn't foolish—just because a show has high ratings doesn't mean they'll blindly pour more money into the sequel.
'Hikaru no Go' didn't feature any A-list stars, had no massive action scenes, and, in terms of wardrobe and set design, other than Jing Yu, the rest of the cast mostly wore business or casual attire. Most of the filming locations were schools or indoor settings, and the most commonly used props were go boards and stones that cost only a few hundred yuan per set.
Given all that, a 55 million yuan budget for Season 2 was already generous.
At present, Jing Yu was regarded by the higher-ups at Yunteng TV as a high-yield, low-cost screenwriter. Compared to those crews that needed thousands of extras and even chartered flights to shoot scenic shots for just one scene, Jing Yu's drama was exceptionally cost-effective.
"So, Teacher Jing Yu, you should also start considering how to wrap up Season 1 of 'Hikaru no Go'," Cheng Lie reminded him.
Cheng Lie knew that Jing Yu intended 'Hikaru no Go' to be at least a two-season project, but he didn't know the full plot details, so he felt it necessary to give a heads-up.
Jing Yu paused to think.
The original 'Hikaru no Go' manga, strictly speaking, didn't have a proper ending. In the manga, there was a storyline where the protagonist defeats a player from a certain peninsula country, which triggered intense backlash and complaints from readers of that country. Combined with the fact that the author wrote in a plot where Sai disappears, the manga's popularity sharply declined. All of this led to the publisher pressuring the author to wrap it up quickly.
In contrast, the anime had 75 episodes and handled the ending much better—it concluded just as Hikaru had grown strong enough to stand on equal footing with Akira, leaving their final match unresolved and the story open-ended.
Initially, it was the anime that hooked Jing Yu into the story. When he followed up by reading the manga's conclusion, he found it even more disappointing—realizing only then that the anime production team had been much more considerate.
Still, Jing Yu intended to streamline 'Hikaru no Go' into roughly two seasons, capping it at 26 episodes total.
Some of the later plotlines didn't contribute much to the main narrative, so trimming those would make the story tighter. The focus would remain on Hikaru and Akira's journey through the world of professional go. Of course, with the episode count being fixed, Jing Yu had flexibility with the length of each episode—anywhere from 40 minutes to slightly over an hour was acceptable. So while he was "streamlining," he wouldn't be cutting corners. With 'Hikaru no Go's popularity, the network would probably love longer airtime anyway—more ad slots to sell.
"Got it," Jing Yu nodded.
"Also... once you wrap up today's shoot, you won't have any scenes for the rest of the week. That gives you a couple of days to enjoy yourself in the city. Then, on Friday evening, someone will come to your place to help you with makeup and prep. The exchange event organized by Qimu Sports starts at 8 AM on Saturday. Please be ready," Cheng Lie said.
"Understood," Jing Yu let out a long breath.
"So basically, I'm just wasting two days to show up at the event and play mascot. No need to keep reminding me."
"Mascot? That's not all, it is," Cheng Lie looked at him and chuckled.
"Sure, the organizers are banking on Sai's popularity to boost the event's attention... but you also have to think about what you represent for our 'Hikaru no Go' team."
"What do you mean?" Jing Yu asked.
"Even though you're an actor, in the eyes of the public right now, you're the unbeatable Sai. And you'll be attending the event in character. If you lose too easily, the fans will be crushed."
"Uh…" Jing Yu was briefly stunned.
He wasn't just cosplaying as Fujiwara no Sai. Since the very first episode of 'Hikaru no Go', and for years to come—even five, ten, twenty years down the line—whenever fans think of this character, the first face that comes to mind will be his.
He was Sai, in the hearts of the audience of Great Zhou.
He could already imagine the backlash if "Sai" went to a go exhibition and got destroyed.
"But if I remember correctly, isn't this event just two days of nonstop matches with dozens of people? I'll inevitably lose a few games!" Jing Yu said with a strange look.
He had exchanged a Go playing experience pack from the system panel, so he was confident in his skills. He just didn't know how strong he really was.
The organizers had invited dozens of participants—at least one or two of them had to be among the top in the country. There would even be live coverage from official media. Jing Yu wasn't naïve enough to think that system-exchanged skills would make him invincible.
Against true masters, he'd probably lose. He hadn't played against them before, so he couldn't be sure—but he needed to prepare himself mentally.
"Losing is inevitable," Cheng Lie admitted. "Among the sixty-four invited players, there are two 9-dan professionals, and four more between 5 and 8-dan. It's a single-elimination format. Over two days, six rounds will be played. By the third round, there'll only be eight people left—likely six pros and two lucky amateurs. By round four, probably only four pros remain."
"So really, if you can win two games and make it to the top sixteen, fans will be happy. If you win three and make the top eight? Jing Yu, your fans will worship you. The official media will definitely highlight the story. Our Yunteng TV network will even set aside a broadcast slot to air your match and promote 'Hikaru no Go'."
Cheng Lie was all smiles.
"It's all about prestige."
"Our go drama isn't just about random actors pretending to play—we take authenticity seriously. Even our screenwriter can play at a professional level! This is what Yunteng TV wants to convey to 'Hikaru no Go's fanbase. Boost the show's status."
"Easy for you to say. What if I lose every single match?" Jing Yu rolled his eyes.
"Impossible! Didn't you beat our go consultant Li Le fourteen games in a row? Li Le is a professional 5-dan! If you can win that many times, you're at least stronger than him by one rank. There's no way you'll get wiped out in round one."
"What if I face one of the two 9-dans in the first round?" Jing Yu countered.
"Then try to hold out as long as possible. Ideally, play over 200 moves. I'll take care of the rest!"
"BREAKING!!! Yunteng TV's star screenwriter Jing Yu holds his own against a 9-dan pro in a 200+ move match! Nearly pushes opponent to defeat, but narrowly loses due to lack of experience."
"I already have the headline written. If it goes down that way, this will definitely be broadcast during Yunteng TV's evening news." Cheng Lie said, completely serious.
Jing Yu fell silent.
"…What a shame," he finally said, his tone odd.
"What's a shame?" Cheng Lie blinked.
"It's a shame Great Zhou doesn't have an app called UC Browser."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Being a producer sounds like such a dead-end job. Producer Cheng, you should apply for the UC 'Shocking News' Department. You'd make a great clickbait editor."
"???" said Cheng Lie, completely lost.