For many fans of 'Kimi ni Todoke', the past two weeks of plot developments were beginning to feel a bit... slow.
After all, in the Kurumizawa arc, Sawako had finally realized she liked Shouta, and Shouta too had come to understand that his feelings for Sawako surpassed everything else. Under those circumstances, a confession between the two should've been the natural next step.
But—
Two or three weeks had passed, and not only had they not confessed, but a misunderstanding had cropped up between them.
Worse yet, a new male character had appeared, who also liked Sawako.
Not only did this deepen the rift between the leads, but the guy had the gall to notice their mutual affection and still try to wedge himself in.
"He's basically the male version of Kurumizawa! Just dumber."
"And Sawako—ugh! What are they even misunderstanding at this point? Sawako thinks Shouta doesn't like her, and Shouta thinks Sawako doesn't like him. So they both end up saying to each other, 'My feelings for you aren't the kind of feelings you think.' Now they both believe the other only sees them as a friend! I'm losing my mind!"
"Never thought I'd see a romance drama reach episode 11 without a confession."
"Not just no confession—they're practically at odds now. The cold war between them is just because they think the other person likes them, so they're pulling away. What is this irony?"
"Teacher Jing Yu, I'm begging you—end this madness. Just let them confess and let the winter season wrap up sweetly, okay? Please don't pull some 'we part ways with a smile' poetic heartbreak plot. If this ends in misunderstanding and separation, I'm mailing you a knife."
"Same. These last two weeks have had my scalp tingling from frustration. Just confess already!"
"This is the most emotionally stressful drama I've ever watched. The plot is so detailed and well-crafted, but seriously—how hard is it to just confess?!"
"I remember some people saying they'd confess in episode 4. Hilarious. Now it's episode 11, and the closest we've gotten is them holding hands once, under duress. It didn't even mean anything!"
"Don't tell me '5 Centimeters per Second' will start streaming on Qingyun and we still won't have a confession between Sawako and Shouta?"
"That shouldn't happen, right? The producer Cheng Lie mentioned in an interview that '5 Centimeters per Second' would premiere on Qingyun in the next three months. No way 'Kimi ni Todoke' would drag the plot out that long, right?"
"What do you mean, 'no way'? What if there's a second season?"
"Second season?"
"???"
"I have no words. But honestly, given the pacing, it's not impossible."
"We, the audience, knew from episode 1 that they liked each other. Now it's episode 11, still no confession. If season 2 drops and we get another 12 episodes just to see them get together, I might lose it."
"If that happens, I swear I'll storm the set of 'Kimi ni Todoke'. Jing Yu's been single too long—he's projecting his single-man frustration onto us!"
Episode 11 of 'Kimi ni Todoke' aired, ending with a final viewership rating of 9.54%.
The pace of growth had slowed in recent weeks, but that was normal. After all, Great Zhou's audience base was finite—once a drama's ratings reached a certain level, saturation was inevitable.
Still, the show was far and away the top performer of the winter season.
In his office, Jing Yu glanced through entertainment headlines commenting on 'Kimi ni Todoke'. By this point, critics were unanimously positive.
Audience complaints about slow pacing were one thing—but if critics jumped in too, that could stir real backlash.
Across from him, Cheng Lie was fully immersed in reading the two scripts Jing Yu had handed him:
'Clannad' and 'Kaiji'.
Half an hour passed.
Then an hour.
Cheng Lie finally put the scripts down and let out a long breath.
"Not bad. Kaiji's first arc on the gambling ship is incredible. I'm already dying to see what comes next."
"What about Clannad?" Jing Yu asked, his gaze sharpening.
Cheng Lie hesitated. But they knew each other well by now—he wasn't afraid to be honest.
"To be blunt, it's too slow to warm up."
Jing Yu had given him several episodes' worth of scripts for both shows. Cheng Lie had started with Clannad.
After episode one, his first thought was:
"There are so many girls—what is this, an idol group dating show?"
After episode two:
"Wait, who's the actual female lead?"
It wasn't until episode three that the Fuko storyline began to take shape. That's when things finally started to get interesting.
But a drama that only got good by episode three?
It instantly reminded Cheng Lie of 'Steins;Gate'—which didn't hit its stride until episode six.
That show had taught Great Zhou audiences a lesson:
Never judge a Jing Yu show before it ends.
While 'Clannad' wasn't quite as slow as 'Steins;Gate', for a romance drama, going three full episodes without any real emotional connection between the male lead and any girl was... unusual.
Even 'Kimi ni Todoke'—as slow as it was—made it clear in episode 1 who the male and female leads were.
But in 'Clannad'? Was this girl called Nagisa really the main heroine?
And then Jing Yu had told him Clannad would be a two-season series.
Cheng Lie didn't want to judge prematurely. He trusted that Jing Yu wouldn't invest this much effort in a long-running series without a plan. But if he had to judge based on the first three episodes alone—
It was above average, at best.
Kaiji, on the other hand, was a whole different story.
Aside from the first half of episode 1, where the protagonist Kaiji acted like a total degenerate, everything after the gambling ship sequence was pure adrenaline.
Twists, mind games, probability, suspense—the simple "rock-paper-scissors" format was turned into a gripping psychological thriller.
Kaiji gets tricked once.
Then again.
Then a third time.
And just when he finally places his trust in a friend, he's betrayed. Locked in a dark room, Kaiji devises an escape plan in under five minutes, and then comes out to give his backstabbing teammates a brutal beating.
And this was just the script—Cheng Lie already wanted to shout, "Hell yeah!"
Jing Yu had only shared the early episodes, but they left Cheng Lie hungry for more.
He had to admit—Kaiji was off to one of the strongest starts of any Jing Yu project.
"So you feel the same," Jing Yu nodded slightly. "Exactly what I thought."
Anyone with common sense would find 'Clannad's early episodes slow and Kaiji's storyline gripping.
"Since you know the pacing issue, why not revise 'Clannad' a bit? Make the start less draggy?" Cheng Lie asked.
"Can't," Jing Yu said. "Some stories just need their early build-up to deliver a powerful payoff. A show that's god-tier from episode 1 to the end—even I can't create that on demand."
Such works did exist. In anime terms, you could count 'Fullmetal Alchemist', 'Slam Dunk', 'Death Note' (to some extent), and 'Hikaru no Go'—at least the anime version. The manga had a controversial ending.
Even after L's death, Death Note's remaining plot was still better than most psychological thrillers out there.
Cheng Lie nodded in agreement.
Just like 'Steins;Gate'—without its slow early build-up, the payoff wouldn't have landed so well.
"Alright then. I'll send both scripts to Qingyun Video for review. Per the contract, they'll need to approve the script before we can move forward with production."
"Sure. But honestly, Qingyun might reject Clannad's script," Jing Yu said, stroking his chin.
"Actually, the pacing only feels slow compared to your other hits. I'd say Clannad's first few episodes are still more interesting than most romance dramas in Great Zhou. I'll tell them this is a 'slow-burn classic'," Cheng Lie offered quickly.
"No need to bother," Jing Yu smiled. "Even if I'm a Qingyun shareholder, if they don't have the vision to see the value in this show, I'll just let Yunteng TV have it."
He wasn't going to beg anyone to believe in him. Jing Yu had only offered 'Clannad' to Qingyun out of goodwill as a shareholder. If they didn't trust his vision—fine. He wasn't going to explain himself.
"By the way, Cheng Lie—what do you know about top-tier special effects studios in the country?"
"Special effects?" Cheng Lie paused, script in hand. "Why do you ask?"
"I have a project in mind—likely with a lot of visual effects. If we want to pull it off, we'll need to start modeling and prep several months in advance."
"What kind of project?" Cheng Lie's interest was piqued. "TV drama or film?"
"A fantasy drama. Lots of action. Visually stunning," Jing Yu grinned.
"Fantasy with heavy VFX, huh…" Cheng Lie fell into thought. "How big's the cast?"
"Not huge—maybe a few dozen characters."
"And you're aiming for what level of effects?"
"At least top-tier TV drama level."
"Then it's gonna cost a lot."
A romance drama like 'Kimi ni Todoke' could be shot with a modest budget—tens of millions, tops.
But a VFX-heavy series? Even if it wasn't movie-level quality, if it had to impress picky viewers, a 12-episode series would likely cost over 100 million yuan.
Jing Yu knew that.
In his past life, a series like Game of Thrones cost millions per episode—basically movie-quality on a TV schedule.
But right now, Jing Yu wasn't hurting for money.
Even if he waited until 'Clannad', 'Kaiji', and '5 Centimeters per Second' wrapped, by then, with revenue coming in, he'd have plenty to work with.
This new VFX drama would be a test—a chance to see how collaboration with domestic special effects studios would pan out.
If the results were promising…
Jing Yu might devote much more of his future effort to this genre.
"Got it," Cheng Lie said after a pause. "I'll start looking into it. But Jing Yu—if you're really serious about this kind of project, you'll need a solid plot, script, and character designs before we can book a VFX studio."
"Understood. I'll get those details to you as soon as I can."
Mid-December
Episode 12 of 'Kimi ni Todoke' aired.
The weather had turned fully to winter, and snow had begun to fall in the Modo City.
As dusk fell, the streets grew quiet.
Lin Xi rushed into the metro station and barely made it onto the train.
"Just in time."
She caught her breath, standing in the car.
Then her eyes were drawn to the digital ad screen on the train wall.
It was the preview for 'Kimi ni Todoke'.
The trailer changed slightly every week—and this time:
"Did I tell him? Did I tell Shouta?"
"No… Even if he rejects me… even if it's all just my own wishful thinking, even if it makes things awkward… There are things I have to say."
Lin Xi stared at the preview of Sawako, played by Xia Yining.
Beautiful. Pure. Captivating.
She'd been following this drama for almost three months.
And finally, in Yunteng's weekly trailer—
"Is tonight the night they finally confess?"
"No idea. I'm losing my mind over this."
"That teaser definitely means a confession is coming. If not, fans are going to riot."
"I can't take it anymore. If they don't confess tonight, I'm writing a complaint letter to Yunteng TV."
The train was filled with people excitedly discussing the show after watching the trailer.
Even after the preview switched to Huanshi TV's 'That Year!', the buzz didn't die down.
Lin Xi held the rail, riding home alone, but surrounded by people who loved the same show—she felt totally immersed.
She stayed silent the whole ride but kept listening to the chatter around her.
The train arrived on time, and she returned to her apartment right on schedule.
At 7:00 PM, she tuned into Yunteng TV.
News ran first.
Then at 8:00, a filler drama—one of the network's non-flagship titles with mediocre ratings.
And then, at 9:00—
Lin Xi's eyes sharpened.
The familiar opening theme of 'Kimi ni Todoke' began.
In the fan chat:
"It's on."
"Watching live."
"It's episode 12. Please, PLEASE let them confess!"
"My biggest wish this year is for Sawako and Shouta to confess. Teacher Jing Yu, don't let me down!"
"He's ghosted us lately. Qingyun hit over 3 million followers, and there are more than 100,000 comments a day begging him to stop dragging this out. He's been silent for a week now!"
"Of course he's hiding! This is a show that could've had a confession in episode 1, and he's dragged it all the way to 12. Threw in a second male lead, too. Who wouldn't be mad? We just want pure, sweet romance—not random love triangles!"
"Exactly. I just hope '5 Centimeters per Second' won't be like this. At least he seems to finally understand what the audience wants. 'Kimi ni Todoke' may be stressful, but at least it hasn't been cruel—unlike 'Your Lie in April' or 'Rurouni Kenshin'."
As the fan group kept chatting, the opening theme faded.
Episode 12's title appeared onscreen:
'Kimi ni Todoke'
"From Me to You!"
When that title appeared, both Lin Xi and everyone in the fan chat held their breath.
The title. The preview.
After three months of tension and heartbreak...
Could it be?
Would tonight finally bring resolution?