As May arrived, both 'Kaiji' and 'Clannad' began seeing steadily increasing viewership on Qingyun Video after their fourth episodes aired and early word of mouth fully emerged.
What was once a fiercely competitive summer drama season gradually turned into a dominating lead by 'Kaiji', with 'Clannad' eventually catching up in both popularity and acclaim. By then, the entire summer season's buzz centered almost exclusively on these two shows.
'Clannad' was relatively steady—Fuko's arc in the school chapter had already been considered one of the stronger storylines. But as the show progressed into arcs involving Kyou and Ryou, because of the single-heroine adaptation, the game's love triangle couldn't be replicated, and the sisters were relegated to minor roles.
Similarly, Kotomi's storyline was difficult to adapt.
In the original visual novel, each of these characters was the lead heroine in her respective branch, with her own romantic development and story with the protagonist. However, once adapted into a drama where they're only friends with the protagonist, it's inevitable that the essence of the original is lost. That's one of the biggest drawbacks of turning a galgame into a TV drama.
That said, audiences in Great Zhou hadn't played the original 'Clannad' game, so they couldn't really sense that "something's missing" in the narrative. On the whole, viewers were thoroughly enjoying it.
The average viewership for 'Clannad' rose from around five million to 5.5 million, six million… up to 6.5 million and beyond.
But 'Kaiji' was a different story.
Like 'Clannad', its reputation exploded around Episode 4—but if Clannad's Fuko arc was the school chapter's climax, then in Kaiji, the ship arc was only the beginning.
After a transitional fifth episode, the High-Rise Steel Beam Walk arc began in Episode 6.
To put it plainly, the real antagonists in 'Kaiji' are the cruel elites—the rich who, for their own sick amusement, gathered desperate people together on that ship to watch them kill each other. The point was never to make money from loan interest.
So when the High-Rise Steel Beam Walk aired, 'Kaiji' definitively took the lead as the top drama of the summer.
Hundreds of meters up in the air. A wind-blown steel beam stretched between two skyscrapers in the dead of night, just wide enough for one foot. Electrified. No guardrails. Nothing but cold air and a deadly drop below.
The debt-ridden participants—desperate and broken—were told that if they could just cross the beam in insulated rubber shoes, they'd win two million and clear their debt.
Sounds simple. An I-beam isn't even that narrow, technically.
Except—it's electrified, so you can't hold on to anything.
Except—you fall, you die.
Except—just one look down and fear seizes you. Then the wind hits. And the person in front of you is hesitating. So people start pushing. One by one. Off the edge. Because if you don't, they'll stall you, and everyone will run out of energy and fall.
In recent years—or arguably ever—no drama in Great Zhou had aired anything this intense.
The mental torment. Kaiji's awakening amidst adversity. The betrayal of those behind him. And then there was Ishida—the uncle Kaiji saved during the ship arc—who, knowing he couldn't make it across, gave Kaiji his exchange ticket for the two million prize, asking him to carry both their hopes to the end.
Ishida followed behind Kaiji until his strength gave out and he fell silently into the night, covering his mouth so he wouldn't scream and disturb Kaiji's focus.
Every episode offered relentless emotional impact and a searing interrogation of human nature.
"You can make it. You have to make it. Even if you're going to die, die with resolve. Die like Ishida. The next step is everything. Just keep accumulating those tiny steps… one… by one… by one…"
The final scene of Episode 7, with Kaiji walking alone across the steel beam—eyes blazing, no fear, no doubt—was a defining moment. It pushed the show to new heights of popularity.
Two days later, 'Kaiji' broke the ten-million mark in average paid views per episode.
To celebrate, the entire production team was invited by Qingyun Network's official staff for a livestream event.
They went all-out with it.
After all, this was the first original exclusive drama on a video platform to break ten million average paid views—not just on Qingyun Video, but in the entire streaming industry.
The implications went far beyond subscription revenue—it proved to investors across Great Zhou that online platforms had real commercial potential. It meant Qingyun Network now had serious leverage in future fundraising talks.
Although Jing Yu hadn't acted in the drama, he was the screenwriter, so he naturally joined the event.
Not long after, he met once again with Qingyun Network chairman Che Kaijun—this being their fourth meeting in two months.
As the two biggest shareholders of Qingyun Video, frequent strategic discussions were expected.
"So… Fate/Zero is officially airing on Yunteng TV, right?" Che Kaijun asked.
"Yeah." Jing Yu took a sip of his coffee.
Though he'd said this several times to Qingyun Network's representatives, this was the first time stating it face-to-face with Che.
Jing Yu's focus, after all, was still Blue Star Media—not Qingyun Network. So he didn't feel awkward about it. Everyone acts in their own interest. As a shareholder, he gave Qingyun Video preferential treatment—within reason.
Now, it was up to Che Kaijun to decide.
Would it be more profitable for Qingyun Video to co-broadcast the 200 million-budget 'Fate/Zero' alongside Yunteng TV? Or would it be better to have Jing Yu write a new exclusive drama just for Qingyun Video?
Che Kaijun pondered in silence for a few minutes before sighing.
"Then I'm sorry," he finally said. "What Qingyun really wants is a true exclusive to drive user traffic. Co-broadcasting with TV networks… just isn't our preferred strategy."
"Understood." Jing Yu nodded calmly.
"In that case, I won't label 'Fate/Zero' as a Qingyun exclusive in any of its production or promotional materials," he added, then stood and left without hesitation.