[I don't even know what to say anymore. I can't find anything to criticize about Su Yan the Sadist this time, but why does it still hurt so much?]
[The plot of Episode 10 was mostly what I expected. But what I didn't expect was that when they landed on the moon, River reached out and held Johnny's hand. And in the ending theme, we finally saw River—who had always been waiting—finally meet Johnny again.]
[That montage in the ending... it was the writer's way of telling us that River and Johnny did live a happy life, right?]
[I believe their life was truly a happy one. It's just... There were some regrets.]
[Do you guys think the River simulated by the machine had her real personality?]
[I think so, definitely. Otherwise, how did she get into the space agency, too, and go to the moon with Johnny? Johnny's subconscious understanding of River, combined with her real-world data, created the virtual memory's River. If that world is a parallel universe, then their fate was always meant to be like that.]
[Bro, what do I do? I'm so conflicted. I love every single one of Su Yan the Sadist's shows, but I'm terrified of what he'll write in the future. Everything he does is like this!]
[Same here. I want to yell at him, but I also love his work. How can people be so contradictory?]
[You think maybe we've just gotten used to the heartbreak?]
[No way. No matter how many times I rewatch 'Rurouni Kenshin', the ending always wrecks me.]
[I won't be able to sleep tonight.]
[Same.]
[What the heck, why does this drama have such an intense aftershock? This was the ending I wanted—River and Johnny made it to the moon. So why does it still feel so hard to accept?]
[Probably because River already died! She never actually made it to the moon!]
[Masterpiece. Nothing more to say.]
[I'll remember this show for the rest of my life.]
[Same here. From now on, whenever I look up at the moon, I'll probably think of this story.]
[I've been roasting Su Yan for half a year. But tonight, I kinda want to thank him for making this show. With his talent, he could've easily written some hyped-up, guaranteed-hit drama. But instead, at a critical point in his career, he still chose to create this slow-burning masterpiece.]
[I feel the same. Even though this drama wrecked me, I really can't criticize the screenwriter Su Yan. He gave it everything. Within the constraints of this storyline, this really was the best possible ending.]
Though 'To the Moon' had concluded, fans stayed up through the night, still deep in discussion.
Six of the top ten trending topics on SakuraNet were about 'To the Moon'.
Even other platforms like ZhongxiaNet, RaccoonNet, and HongsongNet had soaring discussion volumes.
These networks shared a large overlapping viewer base. As long as Sakura TV's dramas had enough quality, people on other streaming platforms would still follow and talk about them.
This situation caused a chill to run through the entire team at Hudu TV—especially the production crew of 'The Crimson Magician'.
Both 'The Crimson Magician' and 'To the Moon' aired on the same night. One at 8 PM, the other at 9 PM.
Only an hour apart, and yet the disparity in online buzz was dramatic.
The 'Crimson Magician' team even pulled up data from previous weeks to compare.
They found that while their own discussion numbers were consistent with previous episodes, 'To the Moon' had seen a significant surge—massively outperforming them.
No way...
Many Hudu TV employees were starting to sense something was very wrong.
Meanwhile, Su Yan didn't sleep a wink that night. He spent the entire time following online reactions to the final episode.
Reading the fans' comments made him smile from time to time.
'To the Moon' was always meant to start with River's death. That was the trigger for Johnny's dream to reach the moon.
So while the audience eventually caught on to the tragic core buried in the story—
[Johnny may have found the lost River on the moon inside a fake memory.
But River, until the day she died, never found the boy who once watched the stars with her!]
—This was simply unavoidable.
This was a truth set in stone before Episode 1 even aired, and it formed the entire premise of the show.
The fans weren't being unreasonable. Naturally, they didn't direct their anger at Su Yan.
But that gnawing sorrow didn't go away either.
In fact, it caused Su Yan's system's emotional value to spike—and his total was now close to twenty million.
"It's over." Su Yan lay on his soft bed.
He couldn't sleep. There wasn't even time to.
With dark circles under his eyes, he looked out at the slowly brightening sky.
"'To the Moon' has finished airing. And in less than three weeks, once my contract ends, my screenwriting career at Sakura TV will also come to an end."
Strangely, he felt lighthearted—but also somewhat melancholic.
After lying in bed for half an hour, Su Yan got up, washed, and changed.
He might've decided to leave, but he still upheld his professional standards.
After grabbing breakfast downstairs, he drove to Sakura TV.
That day, he was the first to arrive in the screenwriting department. He walked straight into his office and picked up a newspaper, ready to ride out his final contract days.
After all, with no new shows planned for next season, no scripts to write, what else was he going to do? Just drink tea, read papers, and wait out his contract and salary.
But as more staff arrived, every single person kept glancing toward Su Yan's office.
No one was stupid. The volume of discussion after the finale clearly indicated that the ratings must have been good.
Last week, 'To the Moon' had even surpassed 'The Gate.'
So what about this week?
Could it really beat 'The Crimson Magician' and take the top spot?
Time ticked by.
By 11 a.m., the production department had finalized the ratings data for all of Sakura TV's programs the night before. It began distributing it to the relevant departments.
Su Yan's phone buzzed.
A message from Shinozaki Ikumi.
He opened it.
'To the Moon' Episode 10: 4.38% rating — ranked #1 this week.
'The Crimson Magician' Episode 10: 4.21% — ranked #2.
'The Gate' Episode 10: 4.03% — ranked #3.
'To the Moon' not only topped Week 11 of the Winter Season, but also achieved the highest single-episode rating of the entire season.
Su Yan, we did it. Number one.
The formatting was a bit messy—Su Yan could imagine how excited Ikumi was when typing it.
"4.38%…" Su Yan grinned, his mood lifting—if only slightly.
Truth be told, whether it was 'An Ancient Love Song' or 'To the Moon', they were just the better-performing shows in their respective seasons.
That was largely because none of the three major networks had anything especially strong airing at the same time.
Just like in Su Yan's previous life, real breakout hits only came once a year—sometimes once every two. Most of the time, TV shows were average.
Even though 'To the Moon' had a great story, its initial position compared to other A-tier dramas was weak—it was unrealistic to expect some god-tier numbers from the start. Besides, ratings didn't just depend on the story. Capital investments mattered, too.
Still, first place was first place.
Su Yan would have plenty of chances in the future to produce a real mega-hit.
"Congrats. Dinner's on me tonight!"
Su Yan texted Shinozaki Ikumi back.
"OK! I'll invite Director Shi Peihua and Gu Qingyuan too! All of us who were part of the original 'Rurouni Kenshin' team—finally reunited to celebrate 'To the Moon' taking the crown!"
Ikumi smiled brightly as she sent the reply from the top-floor production office.
Today, she had finally earned her place. It was her first time in the production department getting applause from everyone—those gold-label producers who usually looked down on her now greeted her warmly.
People who had mocked her behind her back last year, saying she'd get fired over 'Sakurajima Love Song', were now awkwardly trying to chat her up.
That's just how this industry worked.
Even if people said she got lucky by clinging to Su Yan, it didn't matter.
It was all jealousy.
If they were so capable, why didn't they pick up Su Yan when he sent everyone a copy of the 'Rurouni Kenshin' script?
Ha.
"Producer Shinozaki."
Just then, Okabe Sosuke from the production department walked into her office.
"What is it?" she paused, then smiled politely.
Okabe Sosuke was Akasaka Yoshitoki's assistant.
—
Later that evening, in a private room at a restaurant—
"Akasaka Yoshitoki approached you?" Su Yan asked, surprised.
"Yeah, he invited me to his office and asked if I'd like to join his team. He offered to transfer me from Group 3 to his Group 2," Ikumi said with a smile.
"I turned him down on the spot. No way. My mom, Auntie Ogata, and the others have decades of friendship. Those four women have been rivals with Akasaka for over ten years. If I joined him, my mom would disown me!"
"He couldn't get to you directly, so now he's trying to bring me over through you," she scoffed.
"I don't care if he's just acting director or officially promoted—I'm never working under him."
Shi Peihua and Gu Qingyuan didn't comment.
One was a retired director, the other an external actress—not really their place to get involved.
"Still, for now, you're not under his direct control," Su Yan said thoughtfully. "But what if he gets officially promoted? What if he forces you to transfer?"
"This is a matter of principle. I won't back down," Ikumi said, pausing before continuing. "Besides, he doesn't have that kind of authority yet."
"And if he does get it? What then?" Su Yan pressed.
"Auntie Ogata won't let that happen," she replied, quickly changing the subject. "Anyway, about your contract—Auntie Kogane's been asking me about it a lot lately."
"I'll think about it a bit longer," Su Yan smiled.
—
The day after 'To the Moon' concluded—
News of its finale topping the ratings spread throughout the TV industry and fandom.
4.38%.
The highest single-episode rating for any show this season.
Critics and media outlets went wild:
📰'Masterpiece Completed — To the Moon Ends on a High Note'
📰'To the Moon': The Most Touching Romance Drama in a Decade
📰'Genius Screenwriter Su Yan Solidifies His Place in the Industry'
📰'The Most Romantic Confession — "Let's Go to the Moon Together"
📰'Xia Nation's Most Tearjerking Drama in Five Years — A Sure Nominee for Best Drama'
📰'From Eighth Place to Number One — True Masterpieces Will Never Be Buried'
📰'Now the Pressure's on "The Crimson Magician" — Can It Reclaim the Crown Before Its Finale?'
['This Season, It's Not Just "To the Moon" That's Been Deified — Su Yan Has Too'
As the media coverage exploded, 'To the Moon's paid viewership on SakuraNet kept surging.
By Wednesday, the average per-episode paid views had exceeded 9.6 million.
At this rate, the show would soon break the 10 million mark—solidifying its position as this season's highest-performing show on streaming.
Though its TV broadcast had ended, the drama's influence and popularity continued to climb.
Industry peers watched with a mix of admiration and jealousy.
'To the Moon' had a modest budget of just over 20 million.
And yet, its streaming revenue alone was projected to exceed 100 million.
Add to that the prime-time advertising income...
Sakura TV was raking it in.
And Su Yan, conservatively speaking, had earned several million from this show alone.
With profits from his two previous dramas added in—
Dang.
A rookie screenwriter making over ten million in under a year?
Now that made everyone's eyes turn green with envy.
But no matter what others felt, all of this intense emotion fed into Su Yan's system.
That night, his total emotional value quietly surpassed twenty million.