The ending theme of 'Another' began to play.
The first episode had come to an end.
Zhang Ning felt a heaviness in her chest.
That's it?
You're seriously ending the first episode here?
And it wasn't just Zhang Ning—many of Jing Yu's fans also snapped out of their trance at that moment.
What did we even watch all night?
We watched… a whole lot of nothing!
What was the truth behind Class 3-3?
Why did Yukari die?
And Jing Yu—just because you barely got any screen time doesn't mean we didn't notice you!
One of Koichi's classmates is clearly played by you.
The official YunTeng TV forum started buzzing with discussion.
"Is there any YunTeng TV staff around to spoil the truth from 26 years ago? I sat through an hour waiting for Misaki to reveal the big secret, and then you end it like this? Making us wait a whole week again—how can you sleep at night?"
"Why did Yukari die? Was it an accident? Or was there a hidden cause?"
"Yu Youqing's characters always meet tragic ends… what about Jing Yu's character? What happens to him?"
"Also, 'Another'—what's with that title? 'Another' for who? The Misaki who died 26 years ago? So the Misaki we see now is just a stand-in for the dead one?"
"Why go through all that trouble? Why do her classmates ignore her? What happens if they don't? Will they die like Yukari?"
"Ugh, hiding under my blanket and feeling terrified. I don't get what's going on, but I can't stop thinking about it."
"Same! I can't even look directly at my umbrella anymore. Who knew something like that could be used to kill someone?"
"I'm traumatized. No more pointy umbrellas for me. I'm buying a folding one tomorrow."
"I can't take it! Someone explain, please!"
"Sigh… forget it. No way would anyone from YunTeng TV risk their job to spoil things. Guess we'll just have to wait till next week!"
At almost the same time, both 'Another' and 'Manual' aired their first episodes.
The 'Manual' hit its highest viewership at the end of the episode, reaching 6.21%. The average viewership for the entire episode landed at 6.04%.
After all, this was one of the Big Three networks. Without real necessity, these giants often produced lukewarm content—just coasting. Decades of fierce competition during the spring broadcast season hadn't knocked out any of the others, and their hostility had mellowed long ago.
But getting surpassed by another Big Three network's show in ratings? That was unacceptable. That's when they got serious.
Last quarter, none of the Big Three's drama premieres broke 6% average viewership. But this quarter, Imperial Capital TV's 'Manual' clearly had a stronger start.
And among this quarter's flagship dramas, 'Manual' was the least favored by critics and viewers alike—the least investment, the lowest marketing budget.
But 'Another's ratings during the same time slot shocked critics across the board.
A mid-length drama with a budget of just 9 million, airing on YunTeng TV—a less dominant platform—was going up against 'Manual', Imperial Capital TV's flagship show. Most analysts had modest expectations: if 'Another's first episode could hit 1.5%, that would already be impressive.
But the actual result blew those predictions away.
Highest viewership: 3.33%
Average viewership: 2.64%
Compared to 'Manual's premiere numbers, it may not look remarkable. But in reality—
This was an exceptional result.
Ranking second in the time slot, just behind 'Manual'. And more importantly—
Industry group chats exploded with discussion.
"Feels like YunTeng TV's 'Another' by Jing Yu is kinda crushing it! A 9 million yuan show, with nearly zero promo, pulling off these ratings at launch?"
"If it's already hitting 2.64% in episode one, then breaking 3% in the coming weeks seems inevitable. That's gonna seriously dent 'Manual's numbers—just like what happened with 'Hikaru no Go'! last quarter. Three shows tried to take it down. Most viewers stuck with 'Hikaru no Go'!, but it still lost 0.5–1.2% in viewership because of them. If 'Another' keeps this up, it might seriously mess with The 'Manual's momentum."
"If that happens, things are gonna get spicy. This quarter's lineup is stacked: 'Hikaru no Go'! Season 2, 'Manual', 'You, Under the Cliff', and 'Black Cat'—all expected to fight for the top spot. In this kind of showdown, even a 0.1% swing matters."
"Feels like Jing Yu from YunTeng TV is playing dirty—holding a serious grudge."
"But would anyone really spend 9 million just to sabotage one of the Big Three's flagship dramas?"
"Doesn't matter why. What matters is results."
"Tomorrow's the premiere of 'Hikaru no Go' Season 2. The Big Three have all scheduled their secondary dramas to air at the same time to compete. No way they'd risk putting their top titles head-to-head. But secondary titles? They're expendable."
"To those big networks, losing some ratings on a secondary show isn't a huge deal. They can recover through DVD sales and merch. It's the ad revenue tied to ratings that might take a small hit."
The entertainment industry across Great Zhou was buzzing with talk about Jing Yu that night.
After all, in the past year, Jing Yu had been outstanding. There really weren't many writers in Great Zhou that could provoke all three major networks like this.
The next day, Jing Yu was in the studio, analyzing the ratings of 'Another's first episode.
Overall, he was fairly satisfied.
He had never expected 'Another' to actually outperform 'Manual'.
While Great Zhou's drama industry had its flaws, it wasn't so bad that a low-budget, unpromoted show could beat out a giant like 'Manual'. That would just be unrealistic.
But a premiere average of 2.64%? That meant breaking 3% was only a matter of time, in Jing Yu's view.
And once 'Another' reached 3%, everything else would fall into place—its popularity, reputation, critical reception, and influence would all reinforce one another in a positive feedback loop.
That's how the industry worked.
Didn't the Big Three just deploy three dramas this quarter to crowd out 'Hikaru no Go' Season 2?
Well, Jing Yu could use the same tactic.
Not trying to beat them—just trying to slow them down.
This was a kind of tactical balance. You try to sabotage me, I sabotage you. We all lose a bit, so in the end, it's fair.
But honestly, it wasn't even about whether it worked.
What mattered to Jing Yu was doing something—fighting back. Sitting there and taking it would make him feel worse. Even if the outcome didn't change, at least he'd feel better knowing he didn't just roll over.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have overloaded himself by producing three dramas this quarter just to vent.
The only thing he regretted was that the station didn't approve a fourth project. Otherwise, Xingtong TV wouldn't have gotten away.
So now, this quarter's flagship drama 'Black Cat', which starred Xingtong TV, had no major competitor in the same time slot. It stood alone.
The Next Day
Thanks to the shocking cliffhanger in episode one, 'Another' quickly spread by word of mouth among viewers.
On Yindou's drama rating platform, tens of thousands of viewers gave 'Another' a score of 9.0 after the first episode—the same score as 'Manual'.
That hit 'Manual's production team hard.
After all, their show had a budget of over 90 million. Now it was being rated the same as a 9 million yuan production?
Even though 'Another's ratings weren't higher, 'Manual's screenwriter, director, and producers were clearly unhappy.
One of them even posted a vague jab on their social media:
"A show that relies on gore and shock value to grab attention won't last long."
But the bitterness in that post?
You could smell it from miles away.