After the two-episode premiere of 'Steins;Gate', the fan chat group could no longer hold back its frustrations.
"So… you're telling me time travel is that easy?"
"A phone and a microwave? That's all it takes to travel through time?"
"No, no, don't get stuck on whether the setup is nonsense or not. The key is how the story builds on that setup. I mean, in wuxia dramas, we've seen weirder stuff—like the male and female leads sleep together and she uses inner energy to remove certain… ahem, consequences. Not everyone can accept that either!"
"Okay, fine. I'll accept the microwave-phone thing. But even then… the plot is still a mess. I still have no idea what the main storyline is supposed to be!"
"Honestly, if the male lead wasn't played by Jing Yu, I would've changed the channel half an hour ago."
"Same here. If the female lead wasn't played by Yu Youqing, I'd have dropped it too. But since I've already started watching… I'll stick with it. As long as there's some romance between Makise and Okabe later, I'm good. I ship Yu Youqing and Jing Yu in any couple drama, no matter how bad it is."
"Actually… what if this whole thing is a parody? Maybe the show was made just to mock all those conspiracy theorist wannabes in the Minhe Culture Circle?"
"You know what? That could be it!"
The ratings for 'Steins;Gate's premiere finally came in:
Episode 1: 2.21%
Episode 2: 2.19%
Only a tiny drop between the two episodes—proving that Jing Yu's audience loyalty was no joke.
Objectively speaking, the numbers weren't bad.
For Yunteng TV, dramas with production budgets around 20–30 million yuan rarely ever broke the 2% mark. In that context, 'Steins;Gate' was above average.
But let's be real…
Most of that viewership? Purely because of Jing Yu's face.
After all, 'Hikaru no Go', also starring him, was still wildly popular. Sai's fanbase was massive and still growing. With 'Hikaru no Go' Season 2 still airing, Jing Yu could have filmed anything, and it would probably hit these numbers.
In comparison, during the same primetime slot, Illusion TV's drama ''You, Under the Cliff'' premiered to jaw-dropping numbers:
Episode 1: 6.84%
The clear leader of the entire summer lineup.
That night, Cheng Lie received the ratings and couldn't help but feel a little heavy-hearted.
Jing Yu had warned him that the show wouldn't start gaining traction until after episode four, so he'd been somewhat mentally prepared.
But still—'Hikaru no Go' had premiered with over 5%, and 'Another', with its 9 million investment, had opened at 2.64%. Cheng Lie had secretly hoped 'Steins;Gate' could break the 3% mark on debut.
"Guess I was being too optimistic," he muttered. "Even Jing Yu can't make every show a blockbuster. But at least 'Steins;Gate' didn't bomb."
He scrolled through viewer comments online and checked Yindou.com, where over 100,000 users had already rated the drama, giving it a meager 6.9.
Low ratings weren't the end of the world, but low scores? Now that was dangerous.
He couldn't help but wonder—would this show really turn around by episode four? Even if it got better later, could it win back the audience's trust and boost ratings?
Standing on his balcony, all 200 pounds of him dangling from a clothes-drying pole nailed into the concrete, Cheng Lie started doing pull-ups to blow off steam.
"Let's start with a hundred pull-ups to vent this mood."
The next day…
The entire Great Zhou entertainment industry's critics went into overdrive.
When Jing Yu's works performed well, these same people would shower him with praise and drag the "Big Six" studios through the mud.
But now that 'Steins;Gate' had debuted to mediocre ratings and lukewarm reviews, they didn't hesitate to flip the script.
After all, they already had the cheat code for manipulating public opinion.
Headlines flooded the web:
❖ "Genius screenwriter Jing Yu's new show 'Steins;Gate' receives waves of criticism. Is the genius just a flash in the pan?"
❖ "It's hard to believe 'Hikaru no Go', 'Another', and 'Steins;Gate' were written by the same person. Rumors swirl online claiming Jing Yu bought the scripts for 'Hikaru no Go' and other acclaimed works!"
❖ "Sources say Jing Yu was an average talent during his early Jinhui TV days. One year later, he's somehow a top-tier writer? An anonymous forum post claims scripts for 'Hikaru no Go', 'White Album 2', 'My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday', 'Your Lie in April', and 'Another' were all bought for a total of 500,000 yuan."
❖ "Unlike 'Another', which had a decent reception despite average ratings, 'Steins;Gate' is struggling in both. This might be the biggest flop of Jing Yu's career."
The low reception of 'Steins;Gate's premiere gave rise to all sorts of wild rumors. While most of Jing Yu's loyal fans didn't believe a word of it…
"Come on. Who the hell believes someone sold five or six top-tier scripts for just 500k? Anyone who buys into that is a damn fool."
Still, they couldn't deny…
'Steins;Gate' felt like a serious step down.
Two million yuan in investment, and this was what they got?
But what really pissed off Jing Yu's fans…
It was what Lin Bin, the writer behind 'You, Under the Cliff', did next.
After getting crushed by 'Hikaru no Go' in the spring season, Lin Bin had spent months as the industry's laughingstock. His show 'EndBlade' had high production values, big-name stars, and a major budget—yet still got demolished in ratings by Yunteng TV's surprise hit.
Now, with 'You, Under the Cliff's first episode scoring a massive 6.8%, Lin Bin finally had his revenge.
He took to his verified social media account and personally shared the foreign article claiming Jing Yu had bought his scripts for 500k.
This was a direct declaration of war.
Anyone with half a brain in the industry knew—even if the rumors were true—you never publicly repost stuff like that. It was a low blow. And this rumor was obviously fake, which made his actions even more malicious.
Clearly, Lin Bin's goal was simple:
Smear Jing Yu. Stir up his fans. And boost his own clout in the process.
He even used his connections at Huanshi TV to schedule interviews, where he made thinly veiled jabs:
"At first, I was nervous when I found out 'Steins;Gate' and 'You, Under the Cliff' would air in the same timeslot. I was worried it would hurt our ratings."
"But then I watched five minutes of 'Steins;Gate's first episode, and… well, I slept peacefully that night."
Everyone in the industry caught wind of this petty drama almost immediately.
And back on set, the mood in all three of Jing Yu's production teams was noticeably downcast.
"It's not like 'Hikaru no Go' flopped or anything," one staffer grumbled. "This guy's acting like winning against one of our low-budget shows makes him king of summer."
"It's literally the first week of the season. Who does Lin Bin think he is, acting like he's already won the whole damn thing?"