Although 'Steins;Gate's sixth episode had ended, the discussion across forums and fan groups showed no signs of slowing down.
In fact, unlike its modest ratings, the discussion heat of Steins;Gate had already caught up to the Big Three dramas and 'Hikaru no Go'.
"Time machines," "timeline divergence," and similar terms were now commonplace even in real-life conversations among Great Zhou's office workers.
The show's popularity had gone beyond the internet — it was now spilling into the real world.
On Yunteng TV's official website, the pinned Steins;Gate low-res episode thread was still receiving over a million clicks a day.
On Yindou Net, over a million viewers had now scored the show, giving it a sky-high 9.4 rating, making it number one across all summer season dramas.
Second place: 'Hikaru no Go' Season 2 — 9.3
Third: 'You, Under the Cliff'
Fourth: 'Black Cat'
Fifth: 'The Manual'
Two days passed.
'Another' Episode 5 scored 4.15%,
'The Manual' Episode 5 reached 6.15%.
Both had plateaued in their growth.
And based on their current performance, they likely wouldn't climb much higher for the rest of the season.
The viewership had essentially entered a tug-of-war phase — and in this stage, any new gain for one show would only come from the other's losses.
But once audience loyalty sets in, it's nearly impossible to shake.
Even 'Manual's production team had no choice but to accept the reality after four consecutive weeks of sluggish ratings.
Meanwhile, 'Hikaru no Go' Season 2 Episode 5 and 'Black Cat' Episode 5 both aired in a time slot with no strong competitors, and so their ratings continued to rise.
In 'Hikaru no Go', this week's highlight was Hikaru finally becoming a professional player.
Though his close friend Yin Jiao failed to qualify due to losing to him, that was the brutal reality of professional certification matches.
What's next?
A long-awaited face-off — the newly minted pro Hikaru vs. title-holder Koyo Toya , father of his longtime rival Akira Toya.
As expected — drama gold.
'Hikaru no Go' Episode 5 ended with a solid 6.71%, while 'Black Cat' also held its own, hitting 6.43%.
When the weekly ratings were released, the entire Great Zhou entertainment industry fell silent.
At a glance, it didn't look much different from last week —
But for those paying attention, the gap between 'Hikaru no Go' and 'You, Under the Cliff' was now dangerously close.
If things kept going at this pace for one or two more weeks, 'Hikaru no Go' could very realistically overtake it.
At first, when 'You, Under the Cliff' premiered with record-breaking ratings,
It should have buried any chance for a drama like 'Hikaru no Go' to catch up.
But then came 'Steins;Gate'.
It was too dangerous.
This screenwriter named Jing Yu had apparently seen through everything even before the summer season began.
He'd realized 'Black Cat' was the least threatening to 'Hikaru no Go', so he left it alone.
He used 'Another' to suppress 'Manual', keeping its ratings growth to a pitiful 0.2% over four weeks —
Meanwhile, 'Hikaru no Go' had increased 0.26% just in one week.
That's how heavily 'Manual' was being choked.
Then he let the slow-burning 'Steins;Gate' go head-to-head with 'You, Under the Cliff'.
Two weeks ago, 'You, Under the Cliff' had already broken 7%.
Now? 6.8%.
Ridiculous.
It wasn't just that 'Steins;Gate' was slowing 'You, Under the Cliff' down —
It was stealing its viewers outright.
And when you think back to the spring season…
When did the Big Three networks collude to kneecap 'Hikaru no Go's first season from episode one?
Well…
This was the kind of storyline the Great Zhou media loved most — the "Don't Bully the Underdog" Revenge Arc.
[Is Jing Yu a mild-mannered gentleman like Sai? We don't know.
But he's clearly a petty man — and we mean that in the best way.
Whatever humiliation 'Hikaru no Go' Season 1 endured, he's paid it back — in full — this season.]
['Hikaru no Go' Season 2 might top the ratings chart this summer,
but if it does, it won't be a "clean win."]
[Three dramas in a single season — all in this week's top 10 rankings.
Jing Yu, a genius screenwriter, is singlehandedly challenging the entire structure of the Big Six.]
[Screenwriter, actor, world-ranked Go player (Top 40),
with piano and violin skills that make even professional musicians envious.
You thought Jing Yu was just a drama writer?
No — he's more exaggerated than any drama lead.
TV wouldn't even dare write a character like him — but he exists, and he's at Yunteng TV.]
['You, Under the Cliff' faces a crisis.
If it can't beat 'Steins;Gate' next week, it may be dragged down permanently.
And regaining a 7%+ rating?
That'll be almost impossible.]
*[For the first time in five years, Yunteng TV might challenge for the seasonal crown.
Who will come out on top in this increasingly chaotic summer lineup?
Will 'You, Under the Cliff' shake off 'Steins;Gate's interference and hold its throne?
Will 'Hikaru no Go' rise with help from its two sibling dramas?
Will 'Black Cat' surge late and overtake both?
Or maybe, once 'Another' ends in two weeks, 'Manual' will finally go full throttle?
Wait — here's a bold prediction:
What if Steins;Gate ends up overtaking 'You, Under the Cliff' in ratings?]
"Teacher Jing Yu, stop zoning out. It's your scene."
From nearby, Xia Yining's voice snapped Jing Yu out of his thoughts.
'Another' had wrapped filming last week, so now Jing Yu spends his mornings on 'Hikaru no Go', and his afternoons on 'Steins;Gate'.
Now that 'Steins;Gate's ratings and reputation were both surging, the entire crew was energized, and filming was going far smoother than before.
By the end of that afternoon's shoot, Jing Yu let out a long sigh.
"Teacher Jing Yu, I need to discuss something with you."
Cheng Lie approached him just then.
"Let's talk over dinner."
From the side, Xia Yining, who'd been about to invite Jing Yu to eat, silently lowered her half-raised hand in resignation.
They drove to a Korean BBQ spot outside the film base.
After ordering a mountain of food, the scent of grilled meat filling the air, Jing Yu finally asked:
"Producer Cheng, what's going on?"
"Mainly, I wanted to talk about your strategy for sniping the Big Three."
Jing Yu looked at Cheng Lie.
"I mean, no one at the station expected things to turn out this way.
That 'Another', with just a 9-million yuan investment, could pull over 4% ratings.
Or that 'Steins;Gate' would ignite this level of national buzz.
Its potential might be even higher than 'Another'."
"The station regrets not giving both dramas more support and budget early on.
But what's done is done — no point crying over it now."
"What matters is that 'Hikaru no Go' has a very real shot at the top spot.
The station sees that clearly now.
This morning, we approved a new funding plan — nearly 20 million in added budget for promotion and production.
They're dead serious about pushing 'Hikaru no Go' further."
"Same goes for 'Steins;Gate' — it's getting an equivalent boost."
"But all of this depends on one thing:
The Big Three's dramas stay flat.
If their ratings spike, our advantage disappears."
"But that's unlikely."
Cheng Lie's tone turned cautious.
"'Another' ends next week.
Its viewers might flock to 'Manual'.
Meanwhile, 'Steins;Gate', because of its double-episode premiere, only has 10 episodes.
That means it'll end several weeks before 'You, Under the Cliff', which has 13."
"When 'Steins;Gate' ends, what if its fans shift over to 'You, Under the Cliff' in the same time slot?
Then we'll have gained nothing."
"As for 'Black Cat', well… it's had no strong competitors in its time slot all season.
If its quality improves in later episodes, a viewership surge wouldn't be surprising."
Jing Yu understood.
Cheng Lie was basically saying:
Right now, 'Hikaru no Go's shot at the top seemed very real.
But it was based on the current playing field.
Once 'Another' and 'Steins;Gate' finish airing, the situation could flip again.
The Big Three's dramas — 'Manual', 'You, Under the Cliff', 'Black Cat' — could all have comebacks.
And not just possibly. Quite likely.
In short, Cheng Lie had come to ask:
"Do you… have a plan?"