The second week of the winter season had arrived, and the executives at the three major TV stations were feeling increasingly bewildered.
This quarter, their investments and promotional efforts for their flagship dramas have been the most aggressive in the past two years.
After all, constantly getting beaten by Yunteng TV in viewership, then getting dragged by critics and the media, was severely damaging their influence and reputation. Even the advertisers had clearly reduced their spending this season.
Yet despite all this... they still lost to Jing Yu's new drama in the first week of the winter season.
This guy—why is he like an unkillable cockroach?
It wasn't so bad before. Back when he hadn't risen to fame, the top three stations could still suppress his shows using their own internal traffic. At least during the early stages of his premieres, dramas on Yunteng TV couldn't compete with theirs.
But now…
It was painful.
The premiere viewership was crushed right out of the gate!
To be fair, the three major stations knew exactly how to counter this kind of situation.
After all, Jing Yu was just an individual. He wasn't like them, who had built their reputations over decades, with a wide variety of programming. Even if one or two seasons featured underwhelming flagship dramas, it wouldn't result in a major audience drop-off.
But Jing Yu was different. His popularity, traffic, and fanbase were far more fragile.
All it would take is one or two flop dramas, and once the audience deemed his work to be "trash," that fan filter of "A Jing Yu production guarantees quality" would instantly shatter.
So while the top three stations found Jing Yu extremely annoying, since last year, they had mostly chosen not to act impulsively. They believed all they had to do was sit back and wait for him to make a mistake and fall from grace.
Can anyone stay eighteen forever?
Of course not.
So can anyone produce masterpieces forever?
Also no.
But…
When 'Summer Echo's second episode landed at a rating of 6.57%, and 'Stardust's second episode hit 6.60%, some insiders from the six major TV stations couldn't help but sigh.
These two shows didn't even surpass the first episode viewership of 'Kimi ni Todoke'.
"How long is this kid's creative streak going to last!?"
"I noticed him three years ago when 'My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday' aired. That short drama reached a 1-point-something rating at JinHui TV in just two weeks. I thought he was a talent back then, but somehow he still hasn't had a creative slump! This is insane!"
"Seriously, one well-received drama isn't a big deal. Every year, the industry has its dark horses and so-called rising stars. But those guys? Forget keeping their popularity into the next year—most of them burn out after two quarters. One flop and they're done. But Jing Yu... I still can't see where his ceiling is."
"In three years since his debut, between film and TV, he's released eleven works. He's participated in almost every ratings battle each season. Back when he was at Yunteng TV and Jinhui TV, as long as he had a drama airing, it was always the top-rated show that season. Since moving to Yunteng TV, he's competed in five seasonal viewership battles. Spring last year – third. Summer – first. Autumn – first. Winter – first. This summer – second. And now 'Kimi ni Todoke' is temporarily ranked first again. His two movies grossed a total of 1.8 billion at the box office—My God. Is this guy even human?"
"Can't he just flop once? Just once! Let us confirm that he's actually human—that he gets tired, that he makes bad market calls…"
"Anyway, screenwriter Lin Bin, who lost to Jing Yu three times last year in a row, has already gone into seclusion. He quit all the scriptwriter WeChat groups and has been traveling overseas ever since he lost to 'Initial D'. No clue when he's coming back."
"Sigh. At this rate, screenwriters Liang Hui, He Zhanyuan, and Chen Bolin might not be far from following him into hermit-mode after this winter season…"
"Well… that's a bit premature, isn't it? The winter season isn't over yet. There's still a chance for a comeback."
"In theory, 'That Year!' isn't far behind 'Kimi ni Todoke' in ratings. But the scary thing about Jing Yu is that it's easy for his dramas to catch up to others in ratings, while no other drama has ever managed to overtake his once he pulls ahead."
That Sunday, in several major screenwriter groups across Great Zhou, the entire day's conversation revolved around Jing Yu.
His rise over the past two years was just too unbelievable. A screenwriter reaching such success and speed in development—there was really no one else like him.
Some were jealous, some admired him. But most people had already made peace with it.
Rivalries only happen when everyone's on a similar level. But Jing Yu? He'd already escaped the orbit of big-name TV stations and was thriving independently. There was nothing to be jealous of—he was clearly succeeding purely on ability, and there wasn't even any angle from which to throw shade.
Most people had moved on to just spectating. What remained to be seen was whether the three major stations could mount any meaningful counterattack in the coming weeks.
At 8 p.m., 'That Year!' aired its second episode. Before the broadcast, screenwriter Liang Hui had given interviews to no fewer than twenty media outlets, boldly claiming that Jing Yu was nothing to worry about, and that 'That Year!' was guaranteed to be the winter season ratings champion.
Now, the pressure was on her.
Fortunately, 'That Year!'s second episode premiered to strong numbers: 6.98% at launch, breaking 7.3% within 26 minutes, peaking at 7.48%, and averaging 7.30%.
She let out a long breath of relief. At least it didn't fall short of 'Kimi ni Todoke's first episode, or that would've been humiliating.
However, right after 'That Year!' finished airing, Great Zhou viewers quickly switched over.
Yunteng TV's ratings started climbing rapidly: from 3.5%, to 4.7%, to 5.6%… until three minutes before airtime, it hit 6.87%.
If we consider full-day viewership, Yunteng TV still had a noticeable gap compared to the top three. But for that Sunday 9 p.m. slot when Jing Yu's drama was airing…
It was on par with any prime-time slot on the big three.
In fact, 'Kimi ni Todoke's pacing wasn't quite like most romance dramas. Its perspective didn't just center on the male and female leads—instead, it also invested heavily in building up supporting characters like Chizuru, Yano Ayane, and Ryu.
In the first episode, the story had progressed so quickly that many viewers thought the leads would be getting married in the second episode.
But in episode two, the first half focused on Sawako—with the help of those around her—trying to dispel her classmates' belief that she was some kind of psychic, and to build better relationships.
She helped explain math and physics problems, ran errands for classmates, and—under Chizuru and Yano's guidance—tried to communicate in normal, friendly ways. Instead of that creepy smile, she thought was warm, but that others found unsettling.