Although many TV stations and film companies in Great Zhou had begun collaborating with the three video platforms launched this year—Qingyun, Hongbing, and Jixun—most of the content they provided was old titles. Everyone remained cautious with their new work.
Old titles had long since been milked dry of their value. New projects, however, still had potential in peripherals, DVDs, props, and licensing.
Releasing new works on streaming platforms carried a lot of risk. If audiences didn't respond well, it could mean a massive loss of revenue.
Even films that made one or two hundred million at the box office held this attitude, let alone two titles like 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal' and 'Love Letter', which had brought in nearly 1.8 to 1.9 billion combined.
"Damn, this guy's guts are huge!"
"But honestly, Qingyun Video already has nearly 20 million registered users. If managed well, the earnings might not be bad. Remember 'Sea of Clouds' from Xingtong TV ten years ago? It racked up over 900,000 paid views in just two weeks. Even with a 50/50 split, that still brought in several million. For new films like 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal' and 'Love Letter', the view count will definitely be even higher."
"True. Streaming platforms offer cheaper prices. While the profit margin is lower than DVD sales, the sheer volume might make up for it. It's the classic low-margin, high-volume model. Could even be more profitable."
"Exactly. But still—this is gambling with a guaranteed tens of millions in revenue! Once you put it online first, the value of the DVDs drops hard. Fans aren't stupid—they won't pay for what they can already watch online."
"Yep, just as I thought—Jing Yu's good at making films but clueless when it comes to making money!"
"Lol."
Industry insiders had mixed opinions, but Jing Yu's fans were absolutely ecstatic.
After all, many students didn't have the money to rewatch movies multiple times in theaters.
Spending dozens for a ticket was already a stretch. Over a hundred for a Blu-ray? Out of the question. Several hundred for merchandise? Just watching others buy it was already a luxury. But under ten bucks for streaming? That was within reach.
Many fans expressed full support for the move.
Two more days passed. Episode 4 of 'Kimi ni Todoke' went live.
The entire episode was basically filled with sweet, heartwarming moments. Things like Kuronuma Sawako and Chizuru, and Yano Ayane's daily antics, plus some casual interactions with Kazehaya Shouta.
There was also a class soccer tournament coming up, with students holding group practice sessions in the days beforehand.
Even though these seemed like minor side plots, they had the audience hooked.
That's because the show had done an outstanding job of developing the two leads, Shouta and Sawako. If a drama can create characters that audiences genuinely connect with, then even watching them silently share a screen for a minute becomes enjoyable.
Of course, in Episode 4, the show's only antagonist—
Well, let's say semi-antagonist—finally made her appearance: Kurumizawa Ume.
She and Shouta were classmates in middle school and had been close friends for years. Beautiful and intelligent, both were model students and served on the student council together. Many at school assumed they were a couple.
But the moment Kurumizawa showed up, most viewers disliked her.
People aren't stupid—they knew full well that a character like this, introduced at this point in the story, had a very specific purpose.
Though she came off as gentle, subtle cues in her behavior hinted that she might not be as simple as she seemed.
Especially the episode's final sequence:
Kuronuma Sawako, alone on a side path, practicing soccer by herself for the class tournament…
Shouta, watching from a second-floor classroom, smiling softly as he watched her…
And then Kurumizawa, standing nearby, watching Shouta watching Sawako, with her expression slowly darkening.
The episode ended the moment Sawako kicked the soccer ball toward Shouta.
"Let this ball carry my feelings… to Shouta."
With that inner monologue from the heroine, the ending theme of 'Kimi ni Todoke' began to play.
That episode scored a viewership rating of 7.96%, a notable increase from the previous week.
But over at the production department of Huanshi TV, the mood was heavy. Several higher-ups watching the ratings sighed deeply.
"It's over. We've lost our window."
After all, 'That Year!'—the network's own prime-time drama—aired its fourth episode that same evening. Its ratings held steady at 7.56%, unchanged from the previous week. No growth meant one thing:
'Kimi ni Todoke' had officially left it in the dust.
"How are we supposed to catch up now?"
Liang Hui stared at the numbers and sat silently in her office for a full thirty minutes.
We're losing.
We're going to lose.
She had never felt this strongly about it before. She had full confidence in 'That Year!', and believed the quality of the coming episodes wouldn't decline.
But the reality was clear. Unless she could dramatically upgrade the script quality from Episode 6 to 13 within this week of filming—
The drama was likely going to end up as runner-up for the season.
The winter season wasn't over yet, so technically nothing was final. But experienced professionals in the TV industry had already begun to sense it—
'Kimi ni Todoke' was barreling straight for the top.
Of course, while the industry had its worries, Jing Yu's fans were riding high.
That very night, they swarmed his social media.
"Who was it that said they'd confess soon? Step up!"
"I watched this episode for nothing, huh!"
"Not only did they not confess, they didn't even hold hands! That caught me off guard."
"I mean… There was progress, right? At least they played soccer together!"
"So good! Such a sweet romance. By Episode 4, they've already crossed a major threshold in romantic development: soccer practice. Their relationship is now strong enough to warrant athletic bonding!"
"Shouta the Soccer King—what terrifying romantic skills! I bow before this man!"
"I'm hooked, but seriously—was this episode good? Yes. Did it progress anything? Well, we got soccer, and Kurumizawa appeared."
"Is Kurumizawa even a villain, though? She hasn't actually done anything to the heroine yet."
"She will. Just the fact that she wants to compete with Sawako for Shouta makes her a villain. Because Jing Yu-sensei made Sawako the heroine!"
"Facts. But no confession in Episode 4? What about Episode 5? Any hope?"
"Oh, I think there's plenty of hope! Look—Sawako kicked that ball toward Shouta while silently praying it would convey her feelings. She may not realize it's love yet, but we do!"
"With all my years of watching dramas, I'm telling you—confession is imminent. You can't keep spoon-feeding fluff forever. It gets stale. Episode 5, or at most Episode 6, it'll happen. If not—y'all can tag me and roast me!"