According to the usual 'Initial D' pacing, once Fujiwara Takumi and Sato Mako's racing plot finishes, the Usui arc should be over.
But this eighth episode had only just reached the halfway mark—
The real highlight of the episode came in the latter half.
Because, as they say: "Friendship first, competition second."
A loss is a loss.
Sato Mako and Sayuki both openly admitted their defeat.
Then, the very next day, they even invited Fujiwara Takumi and his friends to go sightseeing.
And even more surprisingly, in this part of the story, Sato Mako, while chatting with Iketani Koichiro, revealed that she once had feelings for Ryosuke Takahashi!
At that moment, Iketani Koichiro's pride… was completely crushed.
"She's always liked Ryosuke Takahashi?"
"How the hell am I supposed to compete with that?"
What follows is Iketani Koichiro spiraling into a self-inflicted ego crisis, thinking that Sato Mako only agreed to date him because she couldn't be with Ryosuke Takahashi.
Then comes their scheduled date that evening.
He doesn't do anything.
Even when the clock hits their agreed time—7:00 p.m.—he's still zoning out at his part-time job at the gas station.
It's only after getting chewed out by his boss that he snaps out of it.
If Sato Mako didn't like him, why would she agree to be with him?
She had clearly let go of her feelings for Ryosuke Takahashi—that's why she could speak so casually about how she used to admire him!
In the fan group chat:
"This storyline..."
"Huh? How did it go this way?"
"Is Iketani dumb? She even told you she used to like Ryosuke Takahashi. That means it's in the past. She chose you now, and you're throwing a fit over your pride?"
"Ugh, I'm so mad watching this!"
"It's her first time inviting you out, and she hinted she was ready to spend the night together! And you ghost her? What kind of man does that?"
"Yo, weren't you the one raging last week? Said if Iketani and Sato Mako ended up together, you'd drop the show? That you couldn't accept Yu Youqing's character being with another man in a drama where Jing Yu is the lead? What now?"
"That was then, this is now! Okay? I admit I didn't want Yu Youqing to play Sato Mako, but damn it—I do want Sato Mako and Iketani together!"
"This scene made me cry. Iketani is written so well. He's just like me—emotionally fragile, insecure. That's how I lost my first love, too."
"Forget it. Whether Yu Youqing was miscast or not, let's just get Sato Mako and Iketani together already."
"Sato Mako has to wait for Iketani! He's already on the way!"
"He's being such a jerk, though. She basically said she wasn't going home tonight. That means something! It's 8:00 p.m., and he's still stuck somewhere? She made the first move—this is crushing."
"But she hasn't left yet. It's 8:30 and she's still standing there waiting."
"Why the hell is this set in the past? One phone call could've solved everything. So frustrating."
"Jing Yu, do you have trauma or something? Even the side characters can't escape your heartbreak plots?"
Hao Shuyu was watching and feeling incredibly torn.
This was more gut-wrenching than the earlier race between Fujiwara Takumi and Sato Mako.
And then the real pain hit.
They lived in different cities. Not far apart, but still a 1–2 hour drive.
Iketani was already late.
And now… the highway was jammed.
"It's over," Hao Shuyu muttered, stunned.
What kind of plot is this?
Jing Yu, are you serious?
Don't tell me you're actually breaking them up now?
Hao Shuyu hadn't seen any of Jing Yu's earlier romance dramas starring Yu Youqing.
To him, Sato Mako was Sato Mako.
He completely slipped into Iketani's POV.
The anxiety was all too real.
"Why couldn't I just be honest?"
Iketani, stuck in traffic, kept beating himself up.
8:00 p.m.
Still stuck in traffic.
Sato Mako leans against a utility pole, waiting.
9:00 p.m.
Still stuck.
She's now squatting under the pole.
10:00 p.m.
Still.
She's still waiting.
By now, she must've come up with all kinds of excuses for him.
But seriously—7:00 p.m. date, and he's not there by 10:00?
What excuse could justify that?
Unless… he just didn't care.
"My feet are starting to hurt…"
"I hate high heels."
When Sato Mako said that, her face full of quiet sadness—
Hao Shuyu's heart sank.
By this point, even the fans in the chat stopped talking about Yu Youqing.
A girl initiates a date, the guy is three hours late, and she's still there.
Where do you find someone like that?
11:00 p.m., and she's hugging her knees, sitting by the flowerbed.
"I can't watch anymore."
"The writer is being cruel."
"If I were Iketani, I'd want to dig a hole and bury myself."
"All this over some petty pride? You ghost a girl like that for four hours?"
"If it were me, I'd bribe someone for a bike and ride it over the sidewalk to get there. Sitting in traffic doing nothing? Pathetic."
"Forget the bike—run with your own two legs if you have to!"
"How badly has Jing Yu been hurt to come up with something this cruel?"
"Stay, Sato Mako—please don't leave!"
"She's waited until 11. Just wait 30 more minutes. Iketani is almost there!"
"Where exactly is he stuck? What kind of traffic lasts this long? I'm so mad!"
12:00 a.m.
The lights fade. Their meeting spot is now in darkness.
It's cold. Windy.
Sato Mako finally stands up from her crouch.
A soft, instrumental version of "Rage Your Dream" begins to play.
She lifts her head—her fair, delicate face full of sorrow, her eyes lost and sad.
Yu Youqing's acting was on point.
That expression alone made Hao Shuyu's heart hurt.
It's over.
She had lost all hope in Iketani.
From 7:00 to 12:00.
Five hours.
She waited five whole hours.
And now it was no longer "late."
It was the next day.
Sato Mako never wore heels—only did it for this date.
Her first love.
Her first date.
Her first time in heels.
And she got stood up for five hours.
On screen, she throws the heels in the trash.
Then takes her driving sneakers out of the trunk.
"I'm never wearing heels again," she says, her voice trembling.
The BGM swells at just the right moment.
That single line shattered Initial D fans across the country.
I'm never wearing heels again.
That line hit harder than anything.
Iketani's actions shattered her pride—and her hopes for love.
She climbs into her SL180, and then comes one of 'Initial D''s most iconic moments:
A 720-degree spin on the spot.
She whips the car around twice—like a scream into the night.
Then slams the pedal and drives off, full speed, no hesitation.
No turning back.
The fans were speechless.
This plot… was devastating.
30 minutes later, Iketani finally arrives.
The spot is empty.
All that's left are the tire marks.
The rings left behind seem to say:
This is the end.
The ending theme of 'Initial D' begins to play.
Episode 8 ends.
And with it, so do Iketani and Sato Mako.
Hao Shuyu was devastated.
"Why did it have to end like this?"
He thought back to last week, when old fans pressured Yunteng TV, and Jing Yu released a statement:
"We will respect the fans' wishes. There will be no sweet romance in 'Initial D'."
There it was.
Hao Shuyu was furious.
These idiots—they pressured Yunteng TV, and this is the result?
He opened the fan group again.
It was already on fire.
"You happy now? You're the ones who told Yunteng TV not to let them be together."
"I'm so heartbroken. I really thought she'd keep waiting. Five hours! What's 30 more minutes?"
"But it hit midnight. After 12, it's not just late—it's a whole different day. Anyone would've left."
"I'm crying. Please, Jing Yu, don't do this."
"We didn't ask for them to break up—we just didn't want Yu Youqing to play Sato Mako!"
"But weren't you the ones who said she shouldn't be with any male lead? Actors can't be paired with one person forever. What were you thinking?"
"Cried like a baby."
"I can't even sleep tonight."
"Jing Yu, you cold-blooded bastard. You actually listened to fans and broke them up?"
"Too real. Reminds me of my own breakup—over something equally dumb."
Across every regional fan group, the mood was the same.
And then came the weekly car tip segment.
Jing Yu reappeared—twisting the knife.
"That 720 spin from Sato Mako was amazing, right?
Tonight's lesson: how to pull off that move!"
A 3-minute tutorial.
He earnestly explained how to drift.
But fans?
They were heartbroken.
"Who cares about drifting? We want Sato Mako and Iketani back together!"
"You monster!"
Maybe… this is just what youth is.
Episode 8 broke records.
8.02% viewership.
Insane.
But on Yunteng TV's site, the mood flipped overnight.
Last week:
Post after post begging for Sato Mako not to end up with Iketani.
This week:
All are begging for a reunion.
"It's just a few hours! Let Iketani go explain himself to Usui!"
"You're not really breaking them up, are you?"
"What explanation is good enough? 'Sorry, I was late.'? 'Traffic'? 'I was insecure'? Grow up."
"And what about her pride? She asked you out. She waited five hours. You think a sorry makes it okay?"
"Honestly… Iketani deserved it. But still… poor Sato Mako."
"This proves it. Racers don't need romance. Jing Yu is really sticking to that belief."
"Ughhh."
"Why didn't Yu Youqing play Sayuki instead? Let Xu Jun play Sato Mako."
"It's all Jing Yu's fault."
"Stop blaming him! He knows who suits which role better than anyone. Fans don't see the big picture. Now he had to rewrite under pressure, and no one's happy."
"Still… let them reconcile next episode. Even just one line. Anything."
"I regret ever pressuring him. We look like the ones who broke them up."
"I feel the same. Jing Yu, you should've stood your ground."
All night long, forums were flooded with talk of Sato Mako and Iketani.
The scale was shocking—even for a racing drama.
And yet, despite all the complaints about episode 8…
On Yindou Net, it now had a rating of 9.7.
Ratings broke 8%.
Everyone said it hurt—but no one said it was bad writing.
That's what shook the industry.
Jing Yu, the genius writer, had done it again.
And 8% viewership?
Even 'Passing the Torch' on Imperial Capital TV hadn't crossed 7%.
What was supposed to be a four-way showdown this winter—
It was now a 1 vs. 3 race.
And 'Initial D' was only on episode 8.
There was over a month left in the season.
Rumor had it the show would run longer than the usual 12–13 episodes.
If the ratings kept climbing like this…
How high could it go?