Nighttime, on the official website of Yunteng TV.
"Update! Update!"
"Down with the shameless cliffhanger dog, Jing Yu!"
"I'd rather you only aired one episode a week. The ending of the first episode was perfect — just a normal cliffhanger! But this second episode of 'Initial D' ends right in the middle like that—Jing Yu, doesn't your heart hurt at all?"
"I can't take it anymore. I can't sleep!"
"Jing Yu-sensei finally stopped making slow-burn dramas, but why do I still feel so tortured! Couldn't he at least explain how Takumi drifted through that corner before ending the episode?!"
"To be fair, the driving techniques in this show seem like they could actually be done, right?"
"Of course! Jing Yu himself did them in the show!"
"Even as a viewer, have some common sense! In 'Initial D's final race between Takumi and Kei, most of the driving shots were actually filmed by Jing Yu himself. Sure, they cut in some narration and didn't film the whole thing in one take, but this drama feels incredibly real!"
"My scalp tingles watching it. Now we have to wait another week! The agony!"
"As expected, only Jing Yu never disappoints! Go Jing Yu!"
"Go Jing Yu? That cliffhanger master? You're still cheering for him?"
"Exactly! Down with the shameless cliffhanger writer, Jing Yu! But if 'Initial D' airs one extra episode tomorrow, I'll forgive him—for now."
"Your principles are way too easy to shake!"
After two episodes of Initial D aired, the internet was flooded with praise from viewers and fans alike.
Then the final ratings data came in.
Xingtong TV's 'You in Winter' — Episode 1: 6.14%
'Initial D' — Episode 1: 6.23%, Episode 2: 6.39%
The next day, as these results spread throughout the Great Zhou drama industry, nearly everyone working at a TV station had mixed feelings—
especially those who had confidently predicted that Jing Yu would flop this quarter before 'Initial D' even started airing.
These people were always the first to say things like:
"I'm a misunderstood genius,"
"I just haven't found my patron yet,"
"I'm unlucky," or
"I can't rise because I'm not at one of the Big Six stations."
So, seeing Jing Yu repeatedly succeed at networks like Jinhui TV and Yunteng TV, they were naturally bitter.
Now, though, none of them dared speak up on social media. They just vented in private chat groups.
"Looks like… Yunteng TV's going to blow up again this season!"
"A racing drama? Popular in Great Zhou? Seriously?"
"It's just a good start, that's all. Let's see how it holds up. 'You, Under the Cliff' started with great ratings too and then tanked later!"
"Exactly. Give it a few weeks before you start bragging! I still trust the top three stations. There's no way they'll let some indie screenwriter step on their heads—twice."
"Yeah, agreed."
"I'll admit, though, this guy's good. Especially Jing Yu. When he made 'Your Lie in April', he personally composed the violin and piano pieces—people across the country called the soundtrack divine! When he made 'Hikaru no Go', he sparked a national Go craze. His own Go skills are almost at a pro level! And now in 'Initial D', he's doing the high-level driving scenes himself, without a stunt double. Meanwhile, you lot can't do half of that and still get jealous? I can't watch you guys slander him anymore!"
"Right! When 'Hikaru no Go' soared in the summer season, everyone said Jing Yu just got lucky. Now 'Initial D' explodes right out of the gate, and you're saying it'll collapse later? Ridiculous!"
While 'Initial D''s fans flooded the web with praise, opinions in the TV industry were divided.
But regardless of opinion—
The pressure now shifted to Huanshi TV and Imperial Capital TV.
October 1st, Sunday.
That day, among the Big Three, Xingtong TV aired its flagship drama.
Imperial Capital TV's 'Passing the Torch' aired on Fridays,
while Huanshi TV's 'Arrow' aired on Saturdays.
Back when the Big Three dominated the top three spots in the weekly ratings chart, few people cared who ranked first.
But now that Yunteng TV had shattered that balance—
Whoever lost to 'Initial D' would lose face.
Not just outsiders thought that way—
Even inside the Big Three, everyone shared that mindset.
At Xingtong TV, the 'You in Winter' drama team—its director, writer, and producer—were summoned by the executives on Monday afternoon and scolded for nearly two hours.
The network promised extra promotion funding, but demanded that by the third week, the ratings must surpass 'Initial D'.
At Imperial Capital TV, the 'Passing the Torch' production team also got a call from the higher-ups.
"Everyone in the industry is waiting to laugh at us, Big Three! Losing once, fine—excuses can be made. But losing twice? That's indefensible!
If 'Passing the Torch' loses in ratings to 'Initial D', people will start questioning Imperial Capital TV's influence!"
The call lasted half an hour, leaving the entire team shaken.
The screenwriter of 'Passing the Torch' couldn't sleep that night. 'Initial D' already had over 6.2% for its premiere, and who knew how high it would climb?
Could 'Passing the Torch' really beat it? He honestly had no confidence.
Sure, Imperial Capital TV had once produced 10%-plus "legendary dramas," but those came once every few years. He didn't think 'Passing the Torch' had that kind of potential.
Meanwhile, at Huanshi TV's 'Arrow' production team—
Lin Bin wasn't overthinking it.
Having lost to Jing Yu in both spring and summer seasons, he already knew Jing Yu wasn't simple. Others still believed Jing Yu might flop this winter, but Lin Bin never considered that.
"Over 6.2% on premiere, huh? Even 'Hikaru no Go' Season 2 only opened at 5.9%," Lin Bin exhaled deeply.
"To get those numbers on Yunteng TV—that's impressive.
If this had aired on one of the Big Three, the first episode could've easily hit 7%, maybe even 8%."
His eyes gleamed with thought.
There was pressure, yes—but also confidence in his own work.
At the 'Initial D' set—
Everyone was still riding the high of their ratings success.
Jing Yu and Producer Cheng Lie were both in great spirits.
While Jing Yu worked on the next script during filming breaks, Cheng Lie scrolled through online comments nonstop.
"Jing Yu-sensei, it's at 9.4 now! Viewer score went up another 0.1 today!"
"Yes, yes, I know. Producer Cheng, don't you have anything better to do? You're distracting me here!" Jing Yu said irritably.
"I'm just taking a break in your office, okay? I've got plenty of work waiting," Cheng replied.
Then he paused and looked over.
"But Jing Yu-sensei, I've been reading a lot of viewer comments. Everyone says 'Initial D' is great, but many don't understand the technical racing terms.
Should we maybe include some short explanations about car racing?"
"If the audience learns more about mountain racing, they'll feel more immersed!"
"Explanations?" Jing Yu put down his pen, thoughtful.
"Wouldn't that disrupt the pacing of the story?"
"We don't have to put them in the story!" Cheng said quickly.
"We could add a short segment after each episode—like a post-credits mini show!"
"You don't know how crazy the fans are right now. Some think you're an amazing driver, but others say those stunts in 'Initial D' are just clever editing.
If you showed a few moves under the banner of 'racing education,' you'd shut the haters up real fast."
"You're famous now, and haters come with fame. Can't let them get too loud."
"Hmm… that's actually a good idea," Jing Yu mused. "So what exactly do you suggest?"
"Well," Cheng said, getting excited, "viewers love the drift scenes. Everyone's discussing how practical those techniques are! You could film short drifting clips for the end of each episode. Later on, when we get to advanced moves like gutter cornering, we could show three-to-five-minute 'Jing Yu downhill tutorial' videos at the end!"
Once Cheng started talking, he went on and on—but Jing Yu had to admit, the idea made sense.
Useful and doable.
"Then let's try it this week," Jing Yu decided. "If the audience reacts well, we can keep it going as behind-the-scenes content."
He was a man of action, and with his current standing at Yunteng TV, he didn't even need to ask for approval.
It was just a few minutes added at the end—no way the execs would object.
"Although…" Jing Yu smiled. "Filming these alone would be boring. Even comedy needs a partner. My passenger seat's still empty—Producer Cheng, I'll be counting on you as my comedy co-pilot!"
"Comedy… co-pilot?"
Cheng's face went pale.
What did Jing Yu mean by that?!