Late September.
The top executives of Yunteng TV gathered together with Jing Yu, Cheng Lie, and the production department head, Meng Yu, in one of Yunteng TV's screening rooms to watch the rough cuts of 'Initial D' Episode 1 and Episode 2.
Two hours passed in a flash. When the ending theme of Episode 2 began playing, the room slowly filled with soft sighs of awe.
"Impressive!"
"It's really good!"
"As expected of our network's star screenwriter!"
"We rarely invest in dramas with budgets around 100 million. I was worried at first… but now I can say — this money was worth it!"
"Yes, definitely worth it!"
The higher-ups from the marketing department, technical department, operations department, as well as a few shareholders and deputy station directors, began exchanging opinions.
Whether a drama becomes a hit after airing is impossible to predict. But whether it's good or not — that's subjective and something they could already feel.
Even though most of them were middle-aged in their forties or fifties, 'Initial D' still managed to stir their blood.
Cheng Lie and Jing Yu stood to the side, smiling and nodding without saying much. If any issues came up, Meng Yu would be the one to talk them through.
After watching the rough cuts, the executives left the screening room full of confidence. Meanwhile, Jing Yu, Cheng Lie, and Meng Yu headed to a high-end restaurant near Yunteng TV for dinner.
"Looking back, I think the best decision I've ever made in my career was when I stood my ground during that production department meeting. Everyone was against it, but I insisted on greenlighting 'Hikaru no Go'," said Meng Yu, picking up a piece of meat with his chopsticks, grinning as he raised his wine glass to Jing Yu.
"Not at all. I feel the same way," Jing Yu paused, then raised his own glass to clink with Meng Yu's.
"Sometimes, seeing someone like you — so young yet already so talented in the world of film and television — makes us older folks feel like our time has passed."
Then came a round of nostalgia, with Meng Yu sharing stories from his own youth, and Jing Yu listening politely and responding from time to time.
These kinds of dinner events were something Jing Yu had gotten used to every month or two. His importance to Yunteng TV by now was well understood — even someone like Meng Yu wouldn't put on airs in front of him, and would personally invite him to dinner and even chat about non-work topics.
Things like: "Are you adjusting well to life in the Modo Capital?", "Is your company-provided apartment too small?", "Do you have enough assistants?", "Should we assign more staff to help lighten your load?"
"By the way, Xiao Jing," Meng Yu said casually, "You've been with Yunteng TV for over half a year now. After the winter season ends, it'll be exactly one year, huh?"
"Time really flies."
After about another 20 minutes of dinner, the three of them left slightly tipsy.
Jing Yu took a deep breath.
He understood what Meng Yu was getting at. His current contract with Yunteng TV was signed for one year, and Meng Yu was clearly worried that one of the Big Six networks might offer him an outrageous deal after the winter season to poach him.
Though he didn't say it directly, the message was clear: "Don't be tempted by enemy bribes. Stay with Yunteng TV — the future is here!"
To be honest, if Jing Yu simply wanted to be a lifelong screenwriter, Yunteng TV wasn't a bad place at all. The pay was excellent, and they offered generous terms. If a show performed well, he could even earn over 10% in royalties.
And keep in mind, Yunteng TV paid for the marketing, production, operations, and even the broadcasting platform. Jing Yu took on none of the financial risk, and still got that kind of high return — that kind of deal was already unheard of in Great Zhou's TV industry.
But...
A flicker of contemplation crossed Jing Yu's eyes.
How long could a TV station like Yunteng TV continue operating with this model?
Jing Yu had lived through the information explosion of the internet era in his previous life.
Back then, national giants like CCTV or Zhongtai TV stations had an iron grip on the TV drama industry. Every production company would beg them for airtime. If you wanted your stars to rise, you had to have connections with the TV stations — otherwise, no matter how good your drama was, if it didn't air on a high-profile station, it wouldn't get popular.
But once online video platforms emerged, things changed rapidly — like a spark that became a wildfire. People's viewing habits evolved fast.
Once upon a time, CCTV could get ratings above 20% for a drama. In the internet era, even 3% was considered legendary.
It's not that viewers stopped watching dramas — they just stopped watching them on TV. Having a TV at home and not turning it on for half a month became common.
Phones and laptops made chasing dramas much more convenient than a TV ever could.
If Great Zhou followed the same pattern as Japan from his past life, then perhaps TV networks could hang onto their prime time slots for another 10 or 20 years. Japanese audiences were used to following shows on television, after all.
But based on what Jing Yu had seen in the past two years since his reincarnation, Great Zhou's audience tastes were similar to those of otaku in Japan — yet the development path of the drama industry was more aligned with his original world's China.
Right now, Great Zhou has all the tech capabilities. It's just that no one has stepped up to build the online video sector yet.
But once someone did — once that market took shape...
Everything could change.
Maybe it would take 8 to 10 years. Maybe just 1 or 2. But sooner or later, such platforms would appear.
At that moment...
His assistant, Zhong Xiang, pulled up in the car. Jing Yu shook his head and sobered up. His head was still a little dizzy from the wine, and he didn't want to overthink it right now. He got in the car with Cheng Lie, and they headed back to the film set.
After all, meeting with executives in the Modo City was important — but 'Initial D''s filming schedule wasn't something he could afford to delay.
A few days passed in the blink of an eye.
October 1st
A clear sunny day in the Modo City.
Yunteng TV played the 'Initial D' trailer on repeat throughout the day — as long as there was a time slot, it aired. Naturally, Xingtong TV was doing the same. The two rival dramas would premiere tonight — one at 8 p.m., the other at 9 p.m.
But unlike Xingtong TV's 'You in Winter', Jing Yu made a bold move — knowing that Yunteng TV couldn't match the Big Three in terms of viewership pull, he had 'Initial D' air both Episode 1 and Episode 2 together on premiere night, so that the full Takumi vs. Keisuke mountain race could play out in one go.
The goal was to make 'Initial D' the hot topic of conversation right from the first week.
Sure, ending on a cliffhanger can work — but for 'Initial D', Jing Yu wanted to play it safe at the start.
He could start teasing the audience after the first week's arc had concluded.
For the premiere, it was better to let the viewers get their adrenaline rush.
Jing Yu's fans had been looking forward to this drama for months. If he tried to bait them with suspense right out the gate, it might backfire.
Besides, Episode 1 was mostly setup — it didn't even reach the scene where the AE86 heads up the mountain. Ending there without a payoff might confuse some viewers and cause them to drop the show entirely.
And as the afternoon arrived...
All across Great Zhou, drama-starved viewers — having endured a bland fall season — began to stir.
Because honestly, the fall season had been underwhelming. Compared to summer, the quality had dipped. Not just Yunteng TV's shows — even the Big Three's dramas had been flops.
First up at 8 p.m., Xingtong TV would premiere 'You in Winter'.