The Friday night ratings war between 'Steins;Gate' and 'You, Under the Cliff' had already become the most-watched drama event in the Great Zhou TV industry in recent weeks.
Everyone wanted to know:
How far could Steins;Gate go with virtually zero marketing, a low-budget production, and nothing but passionate grassroots online buzz driving it forward?
And also—how badly would it continue to affect 'You, Under the Cliff's ratings?
But by now, it could only be said—the outcome had surpassed everyone's expectations.
The production crew behind 'Manual' had completely stopped complaining about how "unfair" it was that Jing Yu used 'Another' to sabotage them.
Last quarter, Huanshi TV was the most aggressive of the Big Three in attacking 'Hikaru no Go' Season 1. Screenwriter Lin Bin had badmouthed the drama in various public appearances.
Imperial Capital TV had acted behind the scenes, but at least kept its mouth shut.
As for Xingtong TV—they acted too, but didn't say a word.
So this quarter:
Lin Bin's new show was targeted by 'Steins;Gate',
Imperial Capital TV's flagship drama got sniped by 'Another',
And Xingtong TV…
Well, Xingtong TV was simply ignored by Jing Yu.
(Though perhaps that was because Yunteng TV hadn't approved his proposal for a fourth drama—he didn't have enough shows to hit all three stations anyway.)
At this point, 'Manual' crew could only look at 'You, Under the Cliff' team with a mixture of sympathy and schadenfreude.
Too tragic.
Their premiere started with a massive 6.80% rating.
And now, after weeks of glowing audience reviews and no issues with the plot, it had dropped all the way down to 6.24%.
—
Over at the film base in Modo City, where Jing Yu's team worked, their filming location was right next to the set of 'Black Cat'.
That day, the core members of 'Black Cat's crew actually came by, smiling, to deliver a few small gifts to the 'Hikaru no Go' set.
They exchanged pleasantries with Jing Yu and Cheng Lie, and even offered some "gentlemanly" words about letting go of past grudges.
They also informed them that the low-quality drama that had been deliberately scheduled to compete with 'Hikaru no Go' would be moved off the Sunday night slot.
Jing Yu understood what that meant.
This was clearly a message from some of Xingtong TV's mid-to-high-level executives:
"Competition is fine, but let's stop trying to blow each other up. It's not worth it."
They were basically saying: "Yes, we've done these underhanded tactics before, but it's clearly not the right way to go. In the end, mutual sabotage just benefits other stations."
When the group left, Cheng Lie beamed like sunshine.
"Teacher Jing Yu, did you hear what they just said? I've been in Modo City for years, and I've never seen anyone from Xingtong TV be so polite to another station. That was amazing!"
"Yeah, yeah, I heard it," Jing Yu replied calmly.
Cheng Lie hesitated.
"So… what's the plan? Are we just letting them off the hook?"
"We didn't go after them this quarter just out of revenge," Jing Yu explained.
"It was about sending a message to the Big Six. To let them know I'm not someone who'll just sit back and take it when they play dirty—and I'm not someone without countermeasures."
"Now that the message is delivered, there's no need to keep holding a grudge. They're right—if we drag each other down, the only ones who benefit are other stations."
"…Fair enough." Cheng Lie sounded a little disappointed.
He had secretly hoped that the whole affair would fire up Jing Yu's fighting spirit. After all, the summer season was nearly over, and so far, Jing Yu had shown zero interest in prepping for the autumn season.
Despite hints from the station's higher-ups, Jing Yu kept saying: "Once the summer season's over, I'm taking a break to play games."
It wasn't hard to understand, really.
For months now, Jing Yu had juggled three entire production crews. He was undoubtedly exhausted.
No one is a machine—working from spring through summer, then diving straight into the intense scriptwriting and filming process for fall? That would break anyone.
Better to ease off the pressure.
After all, in any job market, companies that burn people out with 996 (9-to-9, six days a week) have sky-high turnover. Sustainable development means working at a healthy pace.
—
"Let's not talk about Xingtong TV anymore," Jing Yu said, changing the subject.
"Let's focus on 'Hikaru no Go'. Right now, 'You, Under the Cliff's ratings are crashing—but that gives us a real chance."
"Not just a chance to top the weekly ratings again, but also a shot at finishing the entire season with the highest average viewership."
"That's true!" Cheng Lie's eyes lit up.
"Among the top five dramas this season—'Steins;Gate' aside—'Black Cat' has been consistently suppressed by 'Hikaru no Go'. As long as we don't get overtaken later on, we'll stay ahead in average ratings."
"'Manual' was hurt hard by 'Another', and for six weeks had worse ratings than 'Black Cat'. Sure, after 'Another' ended, it rebounded, but not enough to pose a threat to us."
Then Cheng Lie's expression turned serious.
"But 'You, Under the Cliff'… that's the real wildcard."
"It started way ahead of 'Hikaru no Go', but the last two weeks got dragged down badly by Steins;Gate. I did the math—if we want 'Hikaru no Go' to surpass 'You, Under the Cliff' in average viewership, we need every remaining episode to hit at least 6.7%."
"6.7%, huh…" Jing Yu nodded.
He had faith in the show, but even he had to admit—
The latter half of 'Hikaru no Go' was definitely weaker in excitement compared to the earlier episodes. Especially after Sai disappeared from the story.
In fact, for many fans, the only reason they kept watching was to find out:
"Will Sai come back?"
Still, Jing Yu believed it wouldn't be a big problem.
Episode 8, airing tomorrow night, would finally have Sai discover the divine move hidden within Hikaru's latest game—the long-lost "Divine Move."
Then in Episode 9, airing next week, Sai would wrestle with his inner emotions, expressing his reluctance to part from Hikaru.
Episode 10 would feature his official disappearance.
In Episode 11, Hikaru would search for signs of Zuo Wei's lingering presence.
Episode 12, the finale, would reveal that Zuo Wei had embedded his legacy in every move Hikaru had made—that his Go spirit lived on in the skills he'd passed down.
That was the final meaning of "'Hikaru no Go'"—inheritance.
The soul may vanish, but Sai had left Hikaru with far too much to ever truly disappear.
With this pacing, viewers wouldn't know Sai was truly gone until Episode 12. And by then? The show would be over—there'd be no time for audience backlash to affect its ratings.
"Everything comes down to tomorrow," Jing Yu muttered.
"The most important match in 'Hikaru no Go'. The 'divine move' that even Sai had to bow his head to—Hikaru's masterpiece."
He looked toward the sky.
"I wonder… is there anyone in Great Zhou who could figure out that move?"
Then he answered himself.
"No—there shouldn't be."
That game had been searched from countless parallel worlds, through an exchange panel that accessed the matches of top-tier Go players across dimensions.
If it were that easy to find, there'd be no need to sift through so many alternate universes.
That's why Jing Yu was confident in putting that match into the show.
"But I'll say this, Teacher Jing Yu—" Cheng Lie suddenly reminded him, "—there's a lot of controversy online about Hikaru's so-called comeback move from Episode 7. Everyone's saying it doesn't exist."
"Even top players like Zhou Zhengguang, Su Lin, and several other Go masters from Great Zhou have praised the overall match quality between Koyo Toya and Sai in the show… but none of them believe there's a miraculous reversal hidden in it. I'm just saying—if tomorrow's Episode 8 shows it, won't the credibility take a hit?"
To be fair, 'Hikaru no Go' was just a drama—it didn't have to follow real-world Go logic. But still, Jing Yu wasn't just any writer—he'd beaten real-life Go champions before.
So now, with expectations so high, many were ready with magnifying glasses—eager to find flaws.
"Of course, they can't see the move," Jing Yu smiled.
"If everyone could spot it… would it still be worthy of being called a 'divine move'?"
Cheng Lie blinked.
He really couldn't see it either. His Go skills were about as basic as they got.
But from what Jing Yu was saying—
Was this move in Episode 8… really going to be that legendary?
"Producer Cheng, your Go level is low, and honestly, very few people in the crew understand the game. It's no surprise no one's grasped the brilliance of that move."
"But the experts you just mentioned? When they see that move, they'll know. Their level is high enough to understand exactly what it means."
"Right now, they're confidently denying it… But after tomorrow night? That's going to change."
Cheng Lie's eyes gleamed.
"You mean… they're going to pull a full-on face turn?"
Having worked with Jing Yu for so long, he was familiar with the concept of the "true fragrance law"—Jing Yu's term for people who deny something loudly, only to love it later.
Jing Yu nodded.
"Mhm. They'll turn.
They'll definitely turn."