As the ending theme of 'Hikaru no Go's final episode began to play,
A heavy, indescribable sadness swept across every major fan group in Great Zhou.
No one could tell if it was the sorrow of the show ending,
or the heartbreak that Fujiwara no Sai never returned—not truly.
But at this moment, even the fans who had been loudly begging for Sai to come back… fell silent.
"That's a wrap. Rest in peace, masterpiece."
"Another god-tier series, complete."
"Tears in my eyes. I've been following this for half a year… and now it's over. Sai, Hikaru, Akira… there'll be no more new stories for any of them."
"But what a perfect ending it was."
"Still, I haven't had enough. There really could be a Season 3, right?"
"Come on—Jing Yu-sensei may have finished 'Hikaru no Go', but he'll write more stories, won't he?"
"I've been following Jing Yu-sensei since 'My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday', and I'll say it again: anything he writes is quality. Next season—"
"Is there a new show from Jing Yu-sensei next season?"
"Sadly, no. But the actors who played Makise and Mayuri in 'Steins;Gate' will appear in a new drama on Yunteng TV."
"What about the actors for Hikaru and Akira?"
"Of course they're still active! They're red hot right now and signed with Yunteng TV. There's no way the network would just sit on them—they'll definitely be capitalized on."
"And what about Jing Yu-sensei? Even if he's not writing a new drama, he's an actor too! He can't just disappear, right?"
"Nope. Nothing at all. Don't ask. My cousin works on the 'Hikaru no Go' production team. He told me the shoot wrapped up two weeks ago, and Jing Yu's been holed up in his office at Yunteng TV playing video games non-stop. Says he's 'looking for inspiration' or something."
"No way! Is Sai turning into a gamer shut-in? That actually fits too well. If Sai hadn't played Go, I bet he would've been a classic NEET."
"Gaming for inspiration? Total BS."
"Hey, don't knock it. Sometimes happiness is what unblocks creativity."
"Damn it, if he has time to game, can't he just make a 'Hikaru no Go' OVA? How lazy is this guy? And he still wants to win a Silver Dragon Award?"
"Speaking of the Silver Dragon Awards, I heard that tons of people from 'Hikaru no Go' and 'Steins;Gate' were nominated. Everyone, make sure to vote and support them!"
"Supporting Sai for Best Supporting Actor—don't even try to compete."
"Well, it's not entirely up to us fans. But online voting has already started, and it does factor into the outcome. It's not just the judges' decision alone."
After the 'Hikaru no Go' finale, discussions among fans carried on well into the night.
Eventually, groups of 'Steins;Gate' fans joined the conversation too.
After all, not being nominated is one thing.
But now that 'Hikaru no Go' and 'Steins;Gate' were nominated...
There's no way they can lose!
"Have you seen the stuff other networks are pushing this season? Absolute garbage! If our shows lose to that… unacceptable!"
BANG!
CLANG!
A series of loud noises echoed from within the office.
Cheng Lie froze for a moment—then barged in without knocking.
Inside, he saw Jing Yu playing a racing game.
It was the brand-new Ultimate Speed 11. Jing Yu had bought the full simulator set last week and hadn't come up for air since.
As the steering wheel spun in his hands, the simulator chair tilted and vibrated in sync with the in-game action.
Jing Yu was completely immersed, eyes glued to the screen.
"Ugh, I lost again! Damn it. If this world had cracked versions of this game, I'd pick a god-tier car and obliterate these NPCs…"
He slumped into the seat in frustration.
"Jing Yu-sensei!"
Startled, Jing Yu jumped.
"Who?! Oh—Producer Cheng?! You nearly gave me a heart attack! Could you knock next time, please?"
Cheng Lie shot him a withering look.
"You told the network execs you were taking a break because you 'lacked inspiration.' But this?! Seriously?"
Even if Jing Yu wasn't working on any new dramas this season, he was still a Yunteng TV employee. He was expected to stay on-site… but instead?
He'd turned his office into a gamer's den.
The entire building was buzzing about it.
"Genius screenwriter Jing Yu caught slacking off in his office, wasting company time on video games."
Sure, results spoke louder than rumors.
And with the performance of his two summer hits, Hikaru no Go and Steins;Gate, the network probably wouldn't care even if he disappeared on a six-month vacation abroad.
But still—racing games for "inspiration"? Come on.
"Relax, Producer Cheng," Jing Yu replied lazily. "Whether I sit here 'deep in thought' or sit here playing games, the quality of my scripts doesn't change."
"Anyway, what about you? Heard you're producing another show this season. How's it going?"
"The network brought in veteran writer Wu Ming to script a double-male-lead drama for Wu He and Li He. They're clearly trying to cash in on the popularity of Hikaru and Akira. But honestly? From the current buzz and the quality of the script… I doubt it'll match 'Hikaru no Go's ratings."
Cheng Lie sighed.
Even though 'Hikaru no Go' and 'Steins;Gate' crushed the summer season in ratings,
Once they ended, Yunteng TV's overall viewership took a nosedive.
The evening time slot was now just barely outperforming what it had been before Jing Yu came aboard—by 0.2 to 0.3 points.
Ironically, the reruns of 'Hikaru no Go', 'Steins;Gate', and 'Another' airing in the morning were now the network's highest-rated time slots.
"What about Yu Youqing and Xia Yining? How's their new shoot going?" Jing Yu asked.
Cheng Lie blinked, then grinned.
"You haven't seen them in two weeks, right? Thinking of heading to the Modo city studio to visit? You're all from the same hometown after all."
"No thanks. I'm not in the habit of interrupting people's work," Jing Yu replied flatly.
"Suit yourself. Anyway, we're heading to the Capital in a few days. The Silver Dragon Awards are being broadcast live from there. They're both nominated, so they'll be traveling with us under the network's arrangements."
Jing Yu gave it a moment's thought… then returned his attention to his game.
"Still, I did come here today for a reason," Cheng Lie added, pulling a printed sheet from his coat pocket.
It was filled with dense rows of numbers.
Jing Yu took one glance and immediately recognized it:
The final performance summary of all summer season dramas across all networks.
The Top 15 were dominated by the Big Six TV networks and Jing Yu's three shows.
Here were the final rankings:
'Another' – 6 episodes
Avg. Rating: 3.70% – Ranked 9th
'Steins;Gate' – Entire series
Avg. Rating: 4.39% – Ranked 5th
Imperial Capital TV's 'Manual'
Avg. Rating: 6.39% – Ranked 4th
Xingtong TV's 'Black Cat'
Avg. Rating: 6.54% – Ranked 3rd
Huanshi TV's 'You, Under the Cliff'
Despite being hammered by 'Steins;Gate', its early strong ratings carried it to
Avg. Rating: 6.66% – Ranked 2nd
'Hikaru no Go'
Started slow but climbed steadily.
Final Avg. Rating: 6.76% — #1, edging out 'You, Under the Cliff' by 0.1%.
Cheng Lie took a deep breath.
Even though he'd known for half an hour that 'Hikaru no Go' had taken first,
even though he'd predicted it before the final numbers came in…
He still couldn't calm his excitement.
#1.
Not just for a single week—this was the highest average rating for the entire season.
"So it's official. We're number one."
Jing Yu finally let go of his game controller and smiled.
Half a year's effort.
Two additional shows launched alongside 'Hikaru no Go', deliberately scheduled to undercut the competition from Huanshi TV and Imperial Capital TV.
It had all paid off.
Sure, some people in the industry were already grumbling that 'Hikaru no Go' only won because its sister shows pulled down the ratings of its rivals.
But Jing Yu couldn't care less.
If Yunteng TV had the same platform reach as the top three national networks,
'Hikaru no Go's average rating would've been 2–3 points higher. Easy.
This wasn't even a fair race from the start.
"Number one," Jing Yu repeated, looking at Cheng Lie.
"Tomorrow, gather the main cast and crew of 'Hikaru no Go', 'Steins;Gate', and 'Another'. I'm buying everyone a big celebratory dinner."
"You don't need to pay for that yourself," Cheng Lie grinned.
"Just pick the place. The network will cover it.
After all, once we celebrate, it's off to the Capital to pick up those awards."