By the time 'Natsume's Book of Friends' aired its eighth episode, it had already built up massive popularity across Great Zhou.
On Yindou Net, a major gathering place for drama fans, a discussion thread had topped the trending topic chart for eight consecutive days:
[Which episode of 'Natsume's Book of Friends' is the most healing?]
It started as a random post from a bored fan, but unexpectedly, it opened Pandora's box. Fans flooded the thread, diving into a fierce debate.
"I think it's Episode 3, the exorcist Tanuma, who couldn't see spirits. Even though he couldn't see them, he still went around exorcising to protect his son from being disturbed. That hit me deep."
"I still love Episode 5's hippo spirit Yamakou. Reiko promised to go with him into the fog swamp to find his spirit friend, but she ditched him again. After decades of waiting, Takashi finally arrived. When the two spirits reconciled, I was crying."
"If you put it that way, you can't skip Episode 4's Shigure. He was so pure and kind. Only as he faded away did he finally understand the feelings the girl he always watched had for him."
"No one here loves the little fox spirit? He took a potion that turned him human for a day just so he could visit Takashi in the city. And when they promised to meet again… I completely broke down. Reminded me of a best friend I parted ways with in middle school. We said we'd see each other again someday, but then he moved to the city, and I haven't heard from him in three years."
"My favorite is still the main character, Natsume. Gentle and, more importantly, handsome. Every time he returns a name to a spirit, all my stress vanishes. This show is just amazing."
"Only downside? It's too short. Two episodes a week would be perfect."
"Exactly! Two episodes here are just one episode in a normal drama. To be honest, it only overtook 'Legal High' in popularity recently, and that probably has a lot to do with how short each release is."
"But 'Natsume's Book of Friends' won't end with the summer season, right? There should be more?"
"Heard it'll update for at least a year… after that, who knows."
Jing Yu carefully browsed through all the 'Natsume's Book of Friends' discussions on Yindou Net.
He hadn't expected it to overtake Legal High in popularity.
But every show had its own audience — clearly, Great Zhou viewers resonated more with a story like Natsume.
By late May, Jing Yu had far more than just 'Natsume's Book of Friends' and 'Legal High' to worry about.
After 'Neon Genesis Evangelion' started filming, his leisure time vanished completely.
In addition to managing the shoot, he also had to oversee the ongoing promotion for the 'Fate/Stay Night' game.
With more people and budget pumped in, the production schedule for 'Fate/Stay Night' was progressing faster than expected, and the first trailers had begun to roll out.
"Looks like the second half of the year will be crazy," Cheng Lie muttered, slumping into a chair in Jing Yu's office.
Jing Yu could still sneak in a breather now and then, but Cheng Lie was juggling three productions at once. Even with trained assistants handling the grunt work, the core responsibilities still landed on him — and that was exhausting.
"Hang in there," Jing Yu smiled.
"Next month alone, I'll be flying out to at least three game expos… and in between, I still have to finish shooting scenes for 'Neon Genesis Evangelion'."
"Well, wasn't that your choice? You could've worked a chill schedule, but no, you just had to go full power and produce multiple projects at once," Cheng Lie retorted.
"Honestly? It's not just other professionals — even I admire you. Productive and high-quality. While your fans are still debating whether Machiko Dae can defeat Komikado in court, and trying to guess how 'Legal High' will end, you've already written the full script for Season 2. 'Natsume' too — it's only on Episode 9, but the script's nearly at Episode 30!"
"No choice. Our company's film division alone has 100–200 people. Add the game division, and we're approaching 300. I have to hustle — payroll alone is over ten million per month, and that's not even counting execs with multimillion-dollar salaries. No time to slack," Jing Yu said, sipping tea.
"If I didn't already have too many projects lined up, I'd be itching to write a movie script too."
"Please don't. You might be able to handle it, but the team can't. We're built on a 'craftsman' model — polish each drama to perfection. Trying to mass-produce would just backfire," Cheng Lie said, already rubbing his temples.
"True. Can't make all the money in the world. Let's talk next year." Jing Yu nodded.
"So no major moves for the rest of this year?" Cheng Lie asked.
"Nope. Autumn lineup will be 'Natsume's Book of Friends' Season 2 and 'Legal High' Season 2. Winter is for 'Fate/Stay Night' game work. Then by spring next year, the stage is set for 'Neon Genesis Evangelion' and its game spin-off."
"Talk about a packed schedule…" Cheng Lie sighed.
"We're at a critical period in Great Zhou's development. I don't want to miss my window." Jing Yu added a rare bit of explanation.
From his past life, he knew this was Great Zhou's internet boom era. The entertainment sector was about to explode geometrically.
He couldn't afford to burn cash on e-commerce platforms, social media apps, or logistics. Those industries had cost hundreds of billions to break through in his past life. His current assets — ten billion — couldn't handle that.
At most, he could invest as he did with Qingyun — early angel investment rounds.
But he wasn't that kind of investor. Take e-commerce: hundreds of new companies across the provinces, all burning cash. Which one do you even back?
Better to stay focused — develop IPs, make dramas, build games. All things he could control.
"Honestly, Cheng Lie, what do you think about our company's future?" Jing Yu asked.
"What do I think?" Cheng Lie blinked.
"I mean, goals. Expectations."
"Well… to be the most renowned quality drama studio in Great Zhou?" Cheng Lie replied after a pause.
"Of course — but that's not really the goal." Jing Yu smiled.
"We already are. Do you know any company in Great Zhou that's more professional or meticulous than us?"
Cheng Lie paused, then threw it back: "Then what's your goal?"
"Well, I'm just a guy who loves games and film. So my vision is to make BlueStar the biggest film and TV studio in Great Zhou — and, hopefully, the biggest game company too."
Biggest game company? Cheng Lie wasn't sure how to respond to that.
"I mean, dramas I get… but games? That's not really our expertise."
Sure, they'd launched 'Fate/Stay Night' and 'Neon Genesis Evangelion' games — and given Jing Yu's popularity, they likely wouldn't flop. But dreaming of being the biggest?
Wasn't that a bit much?
Jing Yu understood his doubts.
Great Zhou's game industry lagged, just like its drama industry. The biggest game company's market cap hovered between a few dozen and just over a hundred billion, and most of their games weren't even good.
Honestly, it was like China's game industry in the early 2000s in his past life. Still, Great Zhou gamers loved single-player titles, so there wasn't much market for those ridiculous browser RPGs like "Slash to Level 999" or "Fight Me Bro!".
Jing Yu had confidence — because the competition was weak.
A lot of dramas were perfect for game adaptations. And in his past life, it had already been proven that those adaptations could be wildly profitable.
"Just setting a small goal," he grinned.
"That's why I'm pushing out so many action-heavy, VFX-filled dramas this year — it's all to prep for game adaptations. In my plans, game revenue will outpace drama profits within a few years."
"So we're pivoting to become a game company?" Cheng Lie blinked.
"But I don't know squat about games."
"Of course not. We'll release the drama first, then adapt it into games. No need to compete head-on with native game studios."
Cheng Lie didn't push further — it wasn't his area.
Instead, he glanced at Jing Yu and sighed.
"Can't say I understand it, but it all sounds impressive. Honestly, when we left Yunteng TV together, I never imagined you'd get this far. And looking at you now — I get the feeling you're dreaming even bigger."
After chatting, the two returned to work.
By early June, the heat rolled in across Modo — signaling the end of the summer season.
As expected, both of Jing Yu's shows ran smoothly to the end. The "high start, low finish" flop that critics hoped for never happened.
When 'Legal High' aired Episode 11, it broke past 9% viewership.
Meanwhile, 'Natsume's Book of Friends' not only surpassed 12 million paid views per episode, but Jing Yu's team was moving fast.
This kind of series thrives on merchandise. Even before Season 1 ended, toys, figures, and plushies of the spirits from 'Natsume's Book of Friends' were already up on Qingyun Video.
The only two official sales channels were BlueStar's site and Qingyun's official store.
In just days, merch sales broke ten million. Jing Yu then announced on social media:
'Legal High' Season 2 and 'Natsume's Book of Friends' Season 2 would air together in the fall.
Fans cheered — but execs at the Six Major TV Stations looked sick.
"How do we even compete?! We couldn't beat Season 1. Season 2? Forget it!"
"Doesn't this guy ever get tired?"
"Can't he leave us a little scrap?! Planning to sweep all four quarters of the year?!"
"To viewers now, Great Zhou TV has two types of dramas: ones written by Jing Yu, and… everything else."
"My wife doesn't even watch my shows anymore. She's glued to Natsume's Book of Friends. No use being salty. Time to level up."
"At this rate, Jing Yu is becoming a legend in the screenwriting world. Never flopped once. Unprecedented — and probably unrepeatable."
"You call that not a legend? One guy is suffocating all the top writers. Every time someone drops a new show, their first thought is, 'Is Jing Yu airing anything this season?'"
"Yunteng TV used to rank 10th in TV popularity three years ago. Now? Even when Jing Yu isn't airing something, they're Top 4 or 5. When is he? Their traffic rivals the Big Three. One man carrying an entire TV station forward."
"So he's bored with dramas and switching to games now? I heard he's focusing fully on gaming lately — that's why he didn't act in 'Natsume' or 'Legal High'."
"Who knows. But gaming media clearly don't see him as a threat. I've seen articles predicting 'Fate/Stay Night' and 'Neon Genesis Evangelion' games will bomb — bankrupting BlueStar and the 'genius screenwriter' Jing Yu."
"Any basis for that?"
"None. Just assuming a film guy can't make good games. They figure no one will buy a drama-based game."
"Sounds familiar! Remember all those people who doubted Jing Yu before? Every time, they ate their words."
"Let's not forget — Jing Yu isn't just a top screenwriter. He's a talented composer, racing expert, Go master, and martial arts stunt actor. Add game writer to that list? Totally fair."
"…"
"Well damn."
"I kinda want to see him fail for once… but if he ends up dominating the game industry too, that'd be wild. It'd be justice — not just screenwriters, but game developers getting crushed too."
"Hate to say it, but I'm a loyal Fate fan. You can trash him all you want — when the game drops, I'm buying it."
As the summer season drew to a close, most shows neared their finale.
For 'Legal High', a case-per-episode format like Detective Conan, there was no real "climax" to drive ratings. Its viewership held steady — around 9%.
'Natsume's Book of Friends' was even more so — the story had just begun. Season 1 had only introduced the main characters.
It felt like things were finally about to start.
And in fact… they were.
Season 2 of 'Natsume's Book of Friends' was locked in — airing immediately after Season 1.
In mid-to-late June…
The first trailer for the 'Fate/Stay Night' game dropped — just as 'Fate/Zero' was still riding high — and it hit fans like a lightning bolt.