For the fans of 'Kimi ni Todoke' tonight, this episode was something they had been waiting for with endless anticipation.
Every week, people had been joking and complaining nonstop—how could a romance drama go on for four or five months without the male and female leads confessing?
And tonight—
It finally arrived.
A romance story with this kind of pacing was rare not only in Xia Nation, but even in Su Yan's previous life—there were only a handful like it.
Back then, among romance anime from Sakura Island, 'Kimi ni Todoke' and 'NANA' stood at the absolute peak of their category in terms of success.
At its height, 'Kimi ni Todoke' even competed with 'Naruto', 'Bleach', and 'One Piece' on annual manga sales charts. Meanwhile, 'NANA' had, at its most popular point, surpassed those same giants to claim the top spot in single-volume sales.
Even though the work had changed worlds—even though fans kept criticizing its slow pacing in unison—
If there were truly something wrong with the story, the ratings would have dropped long ago.
The next day, media outlets across Xia Nation sprang into action.
📰"After more than four months of airing, the pure romance drama 'Kimi ni Todoke' finally reaches the confession between its leads."
📰"Episode 17's shocking cutoff sparks outrage—millions of fans riot overnight, Dimensional Pictures' official website crashes after being flooded."
📰"In just one night, over 100,000 comments flood Su Yan's account—most of them criticizing him!"
📰"The purest romance drama—'Kimi ni Todoke' reaches the pinnacle of romance works in Xia Nation."
📰"After waiting four months: the good news—confession is coming. The bad news—it cuts off right before it happens."
📰"Key plot cliffhanger triggers fan uproar."
In truth, the cliffhanger at the end of Episode 17 left many fans deeply frustrated. Early the next morning, quite a few 'Kimi ni Todoke' fans were already waiting outside Su Yan's company, hoping to catch him in person.
If binge-watched in one go, this drama was incredibly satisfying.
But following it weekly?
It felt worse than being constipated for half a month.
That said, the series was nearing its end—only two to three weeks remained.
Normally, Su Yan avoided using his personal influence to guide public opinion while his works were still airing.
But with the finale approaching, he wanted to give the show's ratings one final push.
Surpassing 'Fate/Zero' in ratings was unlikely—
But setting a new benchmark within the romance genre? That was still within reach.
So over the next two days, Su Yan began frequently accepting media interviews. He also held fan meetings in Tokyo, while promotional efforts ramped up both in Sakura Island and the mainland Xia Nation.
With all these factors combined, many viewers who had been waiting to binge the show realized through various channels—
The drama was about to end.
Dimensional Pictures' aggressive promotion left many fans stunned.
["It's ending already?"]
["I checked the official site—it's finishing in about two weeks."]
["That fast? Isn't it basically ending tomorrow?"]
["Su Yan planned this from the start, right? The title is 'Kimi ni Todoke'—now everyone understands what she wanted to tell him… once they confess, it ends!"]
["What kind of romance drama is that?! Shouldn't they show some sweet moments after getting together?"]
["When the old thief carefully developed their pre-relationship story, you all called it dragging. But honestly, those post-confession lovey-dovey scenes are the real filler."]
["Exactly. A romance drama should end at the perfect moment—clean and decisive. Once they get together, that's a whole different kind of story."]
["Like what?"]
["A domestic drama. Daily life, endless arguments—I don't want to watch that."]
["Nonsense! Kazehaya and Sawako are arguing? No way!"]
["Stay together long enough, and anyone will argue! I don't want to see the old thief write that either."]
["But after 'Kimi ni Todoke' ends… what am I supposed to watch?"]
["It's already November—just wait another month or two for 'Fate/stay night'. Next year's lineup is packed: January for 'Fate/stay night', February for the second 'Rurouni Kenshin' movie, April for 'Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion'… and if tradition holds, there'll probably be a new movie in the July summer season too. Su Yan's had a film in the summer slot for three straight years."]
["When you put it that way… Su Yan really is insane. A total workhorse."]
["If I had two or three hundred people working under me, I could do it too."]
["No, you couldn't. You struggle with an 800-word essay, and you think you can write that many scripts in a year—scripts the market actually likes?"]
["I used to think the pacing was too slow… now I just feel kind of sad it's ending soon."]
["Brothers, let's push these last two weeks—get those ratings up!"]
["Charge! It's basically confirmed that this won't be a tragedy. As long as the old thief writes sweet stories, I'm his fan for life!"]
Starting Friday, Su Yan's fans began spontaneously promoting the finale of 'Kimi ni Todoke'.
With only two weeks left, most viewers could already guess how things would unfold.
Episode 18 would likely feature the confession.
Episode 19 would wrap up their youthful romance—probably with an open ending.
Veteran drama watchers might not predict every twist along the way, but when it came to endings, they had a pretty good sense.
Meanwhile, beneath the surface, the Xia Nation television industry stirred with undercurrents.
As 'Kimi ni Todoke' ramped up its finale promotions, the broadcast campaign for 'Fate/stay night' also began.
On Su Yan's side, representatives from three major TV stations gathered in Tokyo.
Even at this stage, they were still competing fiercely for the broadcasting rights.
All three had deep pockets—but the price had already been bid up to tens of millions. With that kind of money, they could produce an S-tier drama themselves.
And yet, none of them were willing to back down.
In the end, Su Yan himself stepped in.
He felt that dragging out the bidding war wasn't appropriate.
No matter how successful he became in the Xia Nation, he was still just the owner of a production company—at most, he could buy some shares in these major networks and become a minor stakeholder.
If the three stations became too competitive over time, their frustration might eventually turn toward him—
And that was not something he wanted.
Maintaining good long-term relationships with all three networks was the priority.
So this time, Su Yan made the decision directly—
The broadcast rights for 'Fate/stay night' were sold to Hudu TV for just over 60 million, scheduled to air in January.
He already had good relationships with Sakura TV and Zhongxia TV—
Only Hudu TV had not worked with him before.
After finalizing the details, the representatives from Sakura TV and Zhongxia TV felt some regret—but also gratitude for Su Yan's decisiveness.
After all, even if they had won the bid at an outrageously high price, would that have counted as an achievement—or a mistake—when they returned to headquarters?
Soon enough—
Sunday arrived once again.