In the professional Go players' group chat—
"Li Le, the dignity of all pro players rests on you."
"Don't let us down."
"All six of us pros getting taken out by an amateur? That'd be a joke. Can you imagine the headlines tomorrow?"
"Li Le, we'll use the next few hours to help you prep. We'll brainstorm a strategy to beat Jing Yu together."
Li Le looked lifelessly at the flood of messages from familiar names. Then he glanced across the room—Zhou Zhengguang 9-dan, Qian Yu 6-dan, Su Lin 9-dan (Qian Yu's mentor), Huo Yu 7-dan, Xu Jun 8-dan…
Every single one of them had lost to Jing Yu.
And now they were expecting him to win?
Win what?!
Li Le cursed inwardly.
"Li Le, you know what's at stake. Don't let the whole pro Go scene lose face," Zhou Zhengguang said sternly.
"You've got this," Qian Yu added seriously. "We already messed up, but you still have a shot. In Go, anything can happen. Even an amateur can beat a pro on a good day—let alone you, a pro yourself! Just unleash your inner power and defeat that screenwriter!"
"Good luck," Huo Yu patted him on the shoulder.
"And if you lose," Su Lin added grimly, "you four better not run away. You're all getting dragged into hardcore Go training after this."
Maybe a little pressure would force Li Le to rise to the occasion and redeem their collective pride.
"I'll do my best," Li Le muttered.
He knew the 6 PM finals would probably be a public joke at his expense… but could he just resign before the match even started?
A pro resigning against an amateur? He'd be laughed out of the Go community.
Meanwhile, Jing Yu's stunning back-to-back victories over two 9-dan professionals were lighting up every major platform.
"You heard? In Modo's Go exchange, an amateur screenwriter crushed Su Lin 9-dan and Zhou Zhengguang 9-dan."
"No way!"
"I heard Su Lin's supposed 'counter' to Jing Yu's 3-3 move wasn't even his own—it came from Jing Yu's show 'Hikaru no Go'. The game record was right there!"
"Wait, seriously? I thought Su Lin figured it out himself."
"That's not even the point! The real kicker is that in 'Hikaru no Go', this incredible variation was buried in a middle school match! That just shows how crazy this script is."
"I wasn't interested in the show before, but now? I'm watching 'Hikaru no Go' tonight, 100%!"
"Tonight at 10 PM, I'm tuning in. No excuses."
"I can already see the future—pros and amateurs all watching a Go drama to improve their skills. What a world."
"Professional players learning Go from a drama. I'm dying."
"And the funniest part? Tonight's championship match! Jing Yu vs. Li Le 5-dan. The ultimate battle to decide who's the best player in the 'Hikaru no Go' production team!"
"The 'Hikaru no Go' cast is stacked! Qian Yu 6-dan went out in the round of 64. Huo Yu 7-dan lost in the round of 32. Xu Jun 8-dan, round of 16. Zhou Zhengguang 9-dan in the quarterfinals. Su Lin 9-dan stopped at the semis... and now both finalists are from the same drama crew."
"The final match of 'Hikaru no Go' crew vs. 'Hikaru no Go' crew! 6 PM tonight! Who in the world dares to challenge the 'Hikaru no Go' team?!"
"The title of ''Hikaru no Go' Production Team's Strongest Player' is now more prestigious than a 9-dan title."
The internet went wild.
Television stations picked up the buzz, and reports about the exchange match began popping up on news segments across the country. The hype for the 6 PM finals was now off the charts.
YunTeng TV quickly overhauled its schedule.
They scrapped their regular programming from 5:30–7:30 PM to broadcast the championship match live.
In under an hour, producers Meng Yu and Cheng Lie scrambled to secure two commentator guests: female Go player Xu Jia 2-dan and male player Zhang Feng 3-dan, both based in Modo.
The studio was set up fast. At center stage hung a large brush-written banner:
"'Hikaru no Go' Production Team's Top Player & Modo Go Exchange Championship Commentary"
Behind it was a giant poster showing photos and names of the pros who had lost to Jing Yu: Su Lin, Zhou Zhengguang, Qian Yu… with a summary explaining the overall results of the event so even casual viewers could understand:
"Yes, this screenwriter just beat all these professionals."
At 5:30 PM, the main channel (not a subchannel) began its pre-match coverage.
The commentators briefly reviewed the brilliance of Jing Yu's 3-3 move, and as expected, both Go fans and 'Hikaru no Go' fans poured in.
By 5:50 PM, the match hadn't even started, and ratings had already soared to 3.96%, still climbing.
Six competing TV stations' execs stared at the numbers in disbelief.
"They're doing what now?!"
6:00 PM.
The final match of the Go Exchange event began—also known as:
"The Battle for 'Hikaru no Go's Strongest Player"
The host opened with flair:
"On the left, dressed in traditional white robes, is our television station's star screenwriter—Teacher Jing Yu! As the saying goes: 'Graceful as a startled swan, elegant as a dragon in flight.' That's him!"
"On the right, none other than the renowned Li Le, 5-dan! In this exchange, where even 6-dan, 7-dan, 8-dan, and two 9-dans fell, Li Le has made it to the finals, proving his strength!"
The two players sat down.
Li Le looked like a man being sent to the gallows. He only hoped Jing Yu would go easy on him.
Jing Yu, calm and collected, gave a polite greeting and nothing more.
In the observation room, the five defeated pros watched nervously.
Sure, the chances of Li Le actually winning were near zero. But still… what if? This was Go. Surprises happened.
Meanwhile, the national Go fandom pushed YunTeng TV's viewership up to 4.26%.
Jing Yu took black, Li Le white. The match began.
Jing Yu played two star points right away. Li Le did not dare touch the 3-3.
No way. Whoever tried that against Jing Yu now was asking for a beating.
They stuck to standard openings. The game developed into the middle game, where shockingly… Li Le was holding his own.
The 2-dan and 3-dan commentators were thoroughly impressed. To them, this was a high-level match—undeniably the work of pros.
But as the game progressed, viewers started noticing…
"Is Teacher Jing Yu… going easy on him?"
"It's still impressive, but compared to his games against Zhou Zhengguang and Su Lin, this match's quality is clearly lower."
"What's he doing? The championship is right in front of him—why hold back?"
"Maybe it's out of respect? They know each other from the production team. Doesn't want Li Le to lose too badly."
"He'll still win in the end. No worries."
"These two commentators are actually doing a great job, by the way."
"If Jing Yu were playing seriously, I bet these commentators wouldn't even be able to follow his logic."
The game tilted in Li Le's favor.
He secured several territories and pulled ahead. During the middle-game fighting and endgame, the advantage became clear.
Li Le was stunned.
Was Jing Yu letting him win?
He looked at Jing Yu's face—so focused, brow furrowed in calculation.
Wait—if he's letting me win, why does he look so serious?
Or… is he actually losing for real?
Li Le's heart skipped a beat.
Have I leveled up? Am I suddenly this good?!
But then…
Jing Yu suddenly smiled.
And placed a move in an odd spot.
Li Le blinked.
That move… was flawed. In the endgame, Jing Yu would lose two points because of it.
Li Le didn't dwell on it. Whether Jing Yu was off his game or not, he wasn't about to overanalyze it.
Finally, the game ended.
White wins.
Li Le wins.
By fourteen stones.
He relaxed… but then froze.
Fourteen stones?
Jing Yu beat Zhou Zhengguang by five, Su Lin by six…
And he beat Jing Yu by fourteen?
Does that make me a Go god now?!
As he snapped out of his in-game focus, Li Le realized something was very off.
Then it hit him.
He'd lost to Jing Yu fourteen times during filming. The media had even reported it.
Now?
Jing Yu had just lost to him by exactly fourteen stones.
He looked at Jing Yu, recalling that focused, calculating expression during the endgame.
Jing Yu had been intentionally working out how to throw the game by exactly fourteen points.
Even the commentators—who had called Li Le their senior—finally understood.
"Uh… congratulations to Li Le 5-dan!" the female commentator said awkwardly.
The male commentator looked equally uncomfortable.
A pro needing someone to throw the match just to win?
Cringe.
On the podium, Li Le looked at Jing Yu standing calmly in second place and sighed.
"Thank you… for not letting us pros lose all our pride."
He knew Jing Yu had let him win.
And honestly? He wasn't ashamed.
It was better than having the news report that the entire pro team got swept 0–6 by an amateur.
"What are you talking about?" Jing Yu looked at him, calm as ever. "I'm just an amateur screenwriter. Losing to a professional is totally normal. Runner-up in this exchange—that's my limit."
TV viewers and Go fans understood exactly what had happened.
But no one felt let down.
Whether they were Sai fans or not, losing to Su Lin might've been unacceptable.
But losing to Li Le?
No big deal.
After all, in the drama, Sai would sometimes go easy on Hikaru, too, right?
Jing Yu had beaten Su Lin. That was enough.
As for the title of "'Hikaru no Go's Top Player"?
Let Li Le have it.
The match was over—but the aftermath was just beginning.
Jing Yu's performance over the past two days continued to go viral.
That night, YunTeng TV's ratings never dropped—and after 9 PM, they skyrocketed again.
Before 'Hikaru no Go's latest episode aired, ratings were already pushing 5%.