At the end of Episode 2 of 'Fate/stay night', the story stopped at the moment Emiya Shirou summoned Artoria, and under the control of his Command Seal, stopped her from engaging Tohsaka Rin and Archer.
As the ending theme played, viewers finally realized:
"That's it?"
"That's the end?!"
"Padding! Damn you, Old Thief Jing Yu — it's all padding!"
"Two full hours just to get to Artoria's appearance? That's brutal."
"I waited a year, and this is what I get?"
"Couldn't you film two more minutes?! Classic cliffhanger scumbag!"
"So short…"
"Honestly, the pacing is super slow early on. Only someone like Old Thief could get away with this. If it were any other screenwriter, the drama would've been flamed to death by now for not introducing the heroine after two episodes."
"Wasn't 'Fate/Zero' like this too?"
"True, but 'Fate/Zero' had way more characters in Episode 1. 'Fate/stay night' feels smaller in scope — just a bunch of high schoolers. 'Fate/Zero' had Masters from all over the world gathering in one city, and they were all adults."
"The real issue is the protagonist's weird personality. I heard he wants to become a 'hero of justice' in the game, too?"
"Yep. Think of him as trying to pursue absolute justice, just like Kiritsugu Emiya. But whereas Kiritsugu only cared about results, Shirou wants both the process and the outcome to be just."
"So… he's a complete idiot? That's not how the world works."
"Which is why his fate is to be betrayed and crushed. That's when he becomes Archer— ah, forget it, no spoilers. Just watch, and you'll see."
"To be fair, 'Fate/stay night' doesn't have the same ensemble depth as 'Fate/Zero'. The protagonist is well-written, but the supporting cast feels a bit flat."
"Whatever, look at the crap we got last season. With the quality of 'Fate/stay night' tonight, and you guys are still nitpicking? Old Thief spoiled y'all."
"For real. Compared to what the Big Six put out this quarter, this is miles ahead. What were those disasters even trying to do?"
"The highest production budget among them was only 80 million. You think they were even trying? No wonder the ratings sucked."
Though 'Fate/stay night' had finished airing for the night, the audience's enthusiasm was still burning strong — they continued to passionately discuss it across fan groups and forums.
Episode 1 had a rating of 11.9%, and Episode 2 hit 12.3% — an absolutely monster-level achievement.
That said, the overall post-airing discussion buzz was slightly lower than 'Fate/Zero'.
While its premiere ratings far exceeded 'Fate/Zero', much of that boost came from Jing Yu's increased popularity.
When 'Hikaru no Go' first aired, Season 1 didn't even crack 6%. But if Jing Yu released it now, breaking 10% would be easy — times have changed.
Just like in Jing Yu's previous life, if James Cameron hadn't first succeeded with 'Titanic', the public wouldn't have had the confidence to support the massive-budget 'Avatar'.
So when the first day ratings for 'Fate/stay night' came in, any media or industry insiders hoping for it to flop had to give up.
Even the most shameless couldn't call a drama with 10%+ premiere ratings a failure.
Meanwhile, Jing Yu and Yu Youqing were vacationing at the seaside when they received a call from an assistant updating them on the drama's performance.
"Got it," Jing Yu said, hanging up.
"What's with the flat expression? Was the result bad?" Yu Youqing asked curiously beside him.
"No, it's great. Both Episode 1 and 2 pulled over 10% ratings."
"Then why so calm? Isn't that amazing?"
"It's fine. It was expected. Now, if it only hit 5% or 6%, then you'd see some real emotion from me." Jing Yu ruffled her hair.
"Alright, let's head back to Modo City in a few days. We've been vacationing while leaving everything to others. Poor Cheng Lie is working like a dog. A few sponsors are still waiting for me to shoot commercials. Even if 8-figure endorsement fees don't mean much now — hey, who hates extra money?" Jing Yu said.
With the influence he and Yu Youqing held now, taking time off to travel was a luxury.
Unlike those stars with fame but limited monetization, Jing Yu could earn tens of millions just shooting one commercial — and he still didn't have time to shoot because of slow drama production schedules. Commercials were merely his side hustle.
Half a month of travel, filled with shopping and fun, had only cost six figures — but the time cost? Easily eight figures.
"Fine. I'm getting kind of tired, too. During filming, I was super busy, but having nothing to do all day is surprisingly boring." Yu Youqing rested her head on Jing Yu's shoulder.
In the days that followed, 'Fate/stay night' also performed exceptionally well on streaming.
Many who watched the TV broadcast went on to rewatch on streaming platforms.
This time, 'Fate/stay night' premiered exclusively on Qingyun Video, as Jing Yu — being a shareholder — was giving them special treatment.
Qingyun Video, Jixun Video, and Qiezi Video had become the three dominant video platforms after one or two years of market reshuffling. Smaller players had either shut down or been acquired.
Thanks to Great Zhou's comprehensive antitrust laws, the big three couldn't pull a monopoly move like in Jing Yu's past life in China — no burning cash for traffic subsidies. If one platform crushed the others too hard, the authorities might even force them to split.
That said, Qingyun Video was clearly the most promising among the three.
Jing Yu's early investment in it had already multiplied several times in value.
The day after 'Fate/stay night' Episode 3 aired, Jing Yu personally arrived at Qingyun Video's headquarters in Modo City.
It was time to touch base with Chairman Che Kaijun and, of course, discuss release plans for 'Voices of a Distant Star' and 'The Garden of Words' on their platform.
Originally, Jing Yu had planned to make both short dramas exclusive to Qingyun Video, but Yunteng TV offered a very tempting deal, so, like 'Fate/stay night', they ended up with a dual-platform release.
However, this time, there was no time delay — Qingyun Video would host the true simulcast.
Negotiations were mostly handled by his team. Jing Yu was only there to show his face — and left before the deal was finalized.
Once those details were ironed out, Jing Yu moved on to his next project:
'The Girl Who Leapt Through Time' was ready for release.