The third week of January.
Nomination lists for this year's Xia Flame Awards were gradually being released by the committee.
The most anticipated categories—like Best Screenwriter and Best Director—saw their nominees interviewed by media outlets one after another.
Last winter's highest-rated drama, 'The Glimmer of Glazed Light', which reached an impressive 4.89% viewership, had its producer boldly declare, "We will definitely sweep all the major awards," and that statement had been trending across every major video platform for two days straight.
Yet rising talents like Su Yan, Kiyota Sanji, Shinozaki Ikumi, Gu Qingyuan, and Wu Xiandong were also attracting no small amount of attention in the TV industry.
Especially Su Yan.
He was approached by reporters two days in a row after wrapping up on set, asking for his thoughts on being nominated for Best New Screenwriter, Best New Actor, and Best New Drama Score.
Then they followed up with a more pointed question—
What were his thoughts on his biggest rival for Best Screenwriter, Kiyota Sanji?
Su Yan wasn't particularly interested in the first question.
But the moment Kiyota Sanji's name came up, he lit up.
"Defeated generals are not worth mentioning."
Though Su Yan usually came off as mild-mannered, when it came to enemies who had shown bad faith from the start, he didn't hold back.
Especially since during this season's 'To the Moon' production meetings, Akasaka Yoshitoki had repeatedly tried to obstruct the project's greenlight process—Su Yan mentally filed every offense under Kiyota and his uncle's name.
Just six words—yet when this interview clip aired, it shot up the trending charts on every major video platform in just a few days.
Especially among Su Yan's fans, who rarely saw real-life interviews of him. They were shocked that Su Yan would so bluntly call out a colleague from the same network.
["Wait—so this is what screenwriter Su Yan is really like? There's this cool arrogance in the way he speaks. I kinda love it."]
["Isn't Kiyota Sanji rumored to be the nephew of Sakura TV's deputy director? Saying that out loud—isn't Su Yan afraid of being targeted?"]
["What if he has already been targeted? Why else would 'An Ancient Love Song' be aired in that awful time slot last season?"]
["This is kinda satisfying to watch. If those online rumors about Su Yan and Kiyota's feud are true, then Su Yan just slapped him across the face in front of the entire industry!"]
["'Defeated generals are not worth mentioning.' I laughed so hard. Su Yan really has a way with words."]
["Yeah, he's arrogant—but if you're a genius, then own it. Forget office politics—let the strong shame the schemers."]
["Okay, but let's be real—this is digging his own grave. With that kind of attitude, who's gonna want to work with him at Sakura TV in the future?"]
["You're thinking too small. Average people worry about networking—geniuses just do it on their own."]
It didn't even take a day for the buzz around the interview to reach Kiyota Sanji and Akasaka Yoshitoki.
Kiyota Sanji spent an entire afternoon reading post after post mocking him. His face was burning. With no new dramas airing this season, he was stuck in the office and couldn't shake the feeling that his colleagues were all secretly laughing at him.
As for Akasaka Yoshitoki, his disgust for Su Yan deepened.
Though he was more composed and knew how to bide his time.
As buzz around the upcoming Xia Flame Awards continued to heat up across the entertainment industry, the third week of the Winter drama season began—and so did the weekly ratings battle.
Just like the previous week, overall ratings didn't shift too drastically.
On Friday, 'The Gate' and 'Imperfect Divorce' aired their second episodes, with ratings rising slightly to 4.09% and 3.91%.
Then on Saturday, following the broadcast of 'The Crimson Magician', came the second episode of 'To the Moon'.
This episode featured the long-awaited appearance of middle-aged viewers' former goddess, Takezawa Kayano.
The episode focused on Neil and Eva digging into Johnny's past, hoping to uncover the true reason behind his desire to go to the moon. Using the machine, they traveled through his memory timeline—arriving at the period just after his wife River's death.
The episode opened with elderly Johnny talking to himself at the lighthouse, in front of River's grave.
He murmured that he finally had time to honor her wish—to take care of "Anya."
But as he spoke, his tone grew heavy with sorrow.
His wife was gone, and now only a tombstone and the lighthouse kept him company.
Once again, Qiu Junlin's acting exploded off the screen.
Even though the audience had no idea who "Anya" was, and Takezawa Kayano's River hadn't even appeared yet—
Viewers could feel just how deep his love for River ran, from this simple graveyard scene alone.
Time shifted again.
This time, the two doctors adjusted the memory timeline to a point before River's death.
River was lying weakly in a hospital bed. Even at death's door, her eyes—when looking at Johnny—held so many untold emotions.
Beside her bed were dozens and dozens of paper rabbits.
It was the first time viewers saw Takezawa Kayano as elderly River.
The final conversation between her and her husband was unbearably heavy.
Johnny insisted on spending all their savings on her treatment.
But River insisted that he use the money to build a wooden cabin by the lighthouse—so he could keep "Anya" company after she was gone.
"Do you know what would make me happy,Johnny?"
River's deep, almost eerie eyes stared straight into Johnny's.
She clearly had much to say…
But in the end, she left most of it unsaid.
Only one sentence passed her lips.
"I hope she… will no longer be lonely."
"What about you?" Johnny asked, voice filled with sorrow.
"Johnny, I made this."
From under her pillow, River pulled out a paper rabbit—
A yellow and blue paper rabbit.
With hopeful eyes, she asked:
"Tell me, what is this?"
"A rabbit. Just like the others you made."
"And?"
"It's made of paper."
"And?"
"The body's yellow… the rest is green."
"And?"
Her voice trembled. She so badly wanted Johnny to say something else.
But instead—
"Let's not talk about this, River. I wrote you a piece—I'll play it for you on the piano."
The ending theme for episode two of 'To the Moon' played over this scene—
Johnny is playing with River for his wife in her hospital room.
His pained expression and River's quietly disappointed gaze, paired with the emotionally charged melody, pushed the episode's sorrow to its peak.
And yet—even in episode two—the drama still hadn't revealed why Johnny wanted to go to the moon.
In fact, it was full-on Riddler mode the entire time.
Still, the intense emotional chemistry between Takezawa Kayano and Qiu Junlin completely captivated the audience. Combined with the excellent score, many viewers were even brought to tears.
That's how dramas work.
If a particular episode lacks plot development, the audience turns to the actors.
If both the plot and acting fail—that's when people start flaming the show.
Thankfully, this episode's mysterious structure, paired with powerful performances from the leads, successfully captured viewer interest.