The two of them talked about their backgrounds, and in the end, the topic returned once again to the moon.
"You think the moon is hell—but I think this place is more like hell. Here, all I want is to fly far away." Lucy's gaze deepened.
Beautiful.
Alluring.
Irresistibly seductive.
And yet—dangerous to the extreme.
["Gu Qingyuan can actually play this kind of role?"] Bian Xi's eyes widened.
The Lucy she portrayed was far too captivating. Even Bian Xi, a girl herself, felt mesmerized when Lucy suddenly leaned close to David's face.
"Let me show you something." Lucy said with a smile.
She put a device on David. The two lay on the bed, but their consciousness entered the virtual world constructed by the machine.
A classic scene from 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' appeared.
In the virtual world, Lucy and David stood on the empty surface of the moon.
The boundless universe.
The blazing sun.
And before them, that beautiful blue planet.
For this sequence, Su Yan had spent an enormous amount of money on effects.
And what it conveyed to the audience was—
Romance.
At this moment, all viewers forgot this was a cyberpunk world. Forgot Lucy's identity as a thief.
David kicked the ground hard. With only one-sixth of Earth's gravity, he floated up like a balloon.
The two of them played on the moon as if it were a trampoline.
Just like two children.
"I really want to stay at your house"
That iconic 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' song began.
Soft, slightly melancholic, paired with endless stars, the massive sun, and the blue planet in the distance.
The scene was so beautiful that Bian Xi forgot to blink.
If love at first sight truly existed—
Then Lucy, at this moment, was exactly that presence in David's heart.
Viewers in front of their TVs—men and women alike—were completely captivated by Lucy in these shots.
David looked at Lucy laughing joyfully in the virtual space.
Lucy walked ahead, her hand behind her back, gently beckoning him forward.
The boy's expression brightened.
The moment David grasped her hand, she pulled him up high—
The two drove a lunar rover, roaming across the moon.
They sat by a crater, gazing at the blue planet.
"Why did you bring me here?" David asked in confusion.
"I don't know. I just felt like I could bring you."
"You know what? I think we'd make a great team."
Lucy turned her head, smiling beautifully as she looked at David.
The boy's face quietly reddened.
That youthful atmosphere—
Bian Xi and a whole group of Su Yan fans felt it instantly.
It was back.
That uniquely sweet-and-sour romantic flavor that only existed in Su Yan's works.
Among all the dramas in Xia Nation, only Su Yan's works had this feeling.
["Yes! This is what we want to see! David—kiss her!"]
Even if the progress felt fast.
At this moment, Bian Xi was watching these two actors with the lingering regrets of 'Rurouni Kenshin' and an ancient love song in her heart.
In those two works, the pair hadn't shared a single kiss scene.
Or rather—
Among Su Yan's famous dramas, despite creating five romance-heavy works, the only kisses involving Gu Qingyuan and Shen Liqian happened in 'Life Is Strange', which Su Yan himself hadn't acted in.
And Su Yan's on-screen first kiss… still hadn't happened?
Can you believe it?
A male actor who had starred in four romance dramas—and hadn't even held hands beyond a certain point on screen!
Su Yan's fans had long been losing patience.
But the story was never that simple.
The scene Bian Xi expected didn't happen.
The bright image of the girl in front of David vanished instantly.
His consciousness was violently pulled from the device.
The moon.
The girl.
The planet.
All gone.
In front of David now stood a muscular man and his subordinates.
A gun was pressed to David's head.
The reason why the muscular man—Maine—did this was soon revealed.
The cyberware Sandevistan implanted in David was originally something David's mother had planned to sell to Maine. The payment had already been made.
But David's mother died and couldn't be contacted. Lucy then saw David using this rare military-grade cyberware.
A misunderstanding followed.
They believed David's mother had double-crossed Maine, selling the cyberware to David instead.
["So, everything Lucy did in the virtual world just now was fake? A honey trap to lower David's guard? The 'partner,' the 'team'—all lies? Just to lure him in and let Maine catch him once he was defenseless?"] Bian Xi instantly understood everything.
Nearby, Lucy sat casually on the table, smoking.
David's face showed shock and desolation.
Bian Xi felt a sharp pain in her chest.
In this drama, David, played by Su Yan, was a pure, innocent boy.
And the Lucy played by Gu Qingyuan—
Was a thoroughly bad woman!
The ending theme played.
That electronic, cyberpunk-style track filled the room.
Bian Xi felt empty inside.
At this moment, the ending song felt unbearably noisy.
Because she carried emotional baggage from 'Rurouni Kenshin' and 'An ancient love song'.
She instinctively viewed the characters played by these two as lovers with no deceit between them.
The atmosphere between them in Episode 2 of 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' had been so romantic that it made her heart race.
And now, the story told her—
It was all fake.
Lucy had deceived David.
And this cliffhanger—
Teacher Su Yan, you really know how to cut an episode.
I'm not cursing you because I have manners. You'd better not go outside for the next few days and run into fans with fewer scruples.
Otherwise, how many people can Flying Heaven Sword Style really take on?
On ZhongxiaNet—
Fans of Su Yan and Gu Qingyuan completely exploded.
[This cliffhanger—]
[I can't accept this!]
[Why did Gu Qingyuan end up playing a bad woman? This feels wrong!]
[Calm down—it's only Episode 2, why panic?]
[I get it now. Like 'Rurouni Kenshin', the real main line is probably David and Lucy's romance. All the sci-fi and cyberpunk stuff is just background.]
[That makes sense!]
[Starting as a bad woman, then slowly falling in love? Yeah, now that you say it, it did feel too fast. What kind of girl takes you home and shows you the moon in a virtual world after knowing you for one day? Is David just that handsome?]
[If you ever realize you're popular with women, don't fantasize. It's always a trap.]
[Isn't David handsome though?]
[He is, but in the story he's just an average-looking high school kid!]
[I've been tricked by girls three times. A real man, a true warrior, has no fantasies left. David is still too young.]
[Anyway, Gu Qingyuan finally showed up tonight—I'm satisfied! And the effects are insanely good.]
[That moon-walking scene made me so jealous. How does Su Yan, a single guy, come up with so many romantic scenes?]
[Maybe because he's single. Writers who marry early just write about daily life and expenses—too real.]
[No way the ratings drop after tonight, right? Episode 2 was way better than Episode 1.]
[We'll find out tomorrow!]
On the night Episode 2 aired, 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' score surged to 9.2.
Most viewers weren't especially fond of the fight scenes.
But Lucy and David's meeting—and the final twist—were different.
Those were the parts Su Yan's core fans loved most.
The next morning—
Major media outlets and critics across Xia Nation went to work.
📰The top visual-effects drama of the season! Moonwalking—an ultimate romantic feast in 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners'!]
📰In despairing Night City, a girl who dreams of reaching the moon—are Lucy's words all lies, or half-truths?]
📰Why does Lucy want to go to the moon so badly? Does 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' connect to 'To the Moon'?]
📰'Edgerunners' sees a surge in reputation. After the minor stumble of 'Life Is Strange', romance returns!]
📰The classic pairing of Gu Qingyuan and Su Yan. Will 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' end in a BE?]
📰Even now, the main plot of 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' remains unclear. Is a drama overflowing with virtual worldviews and values truly worthy of such praise?]
📰All three S-tier dramas rise in reputation in Week 2. When will the winner finally be decided?]
📰Genius screenwriter Su Yan continues his legend. Despite early doubts, quality, ratings, and word of mouth prove 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' is a true S-tier drama!]
📰Can 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' hold onto the ratings crown this week?]
"A distant rumble of thunder, clouds hanging low—"
After reciting the line, Gu Qingyuan, playing Yukari Yukino, wiped away the tears at the corner of her eyes. The fragility on her face vanished instantly.
That scene wrapped.
It was lunch break.
Su Yan and Gu Qingyuan, holding their boxed lunches, headed together toward Shinozaki Ikumi's area.
The moment they approached, Shinozaki Ikumi knew what they wanted to ask.
"5.13%." She took a deep breath, her expression heavy.
"Episode 2 of 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners'—5.13%. Same as 'The Black Gate'."
Gu Qingyuan's expression tightened.
Su Yan froze for a moment, then quickly returned to normal.
The same as 'The Black Gate's Episode 2?
That was rare.
They hadn't fallen from first—but sharing first place still felt uncomfortable.
Especially since the other show was Sakura TV's 'The Black Gate'.
"But we won at the hundredth decimal place," Shinozaki Ikumi said, breaking into a mischievous smile.
"'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' was 5.136%, 'The Black Gate' was 5.132%."
"So we still won Week 2."
"…" Su Yan
"…" Gu Qingyuan
"Alright, but it was a narrow win," Shinozaki Ikumi said seriously.
"'The Black Gate' really is excellent. I'm hooked too. Honestly, I can't say whether we'll be able to keep first place week after week."
That was her real worry.
Chasing from behind had never been as stressful as defending first place.
"It's fine," Su Yan said with a smile.
He knew there was a stretch in the middle of 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' that wasn't as strong as other episodes. He had anticipated Shinozaki Ikumi's concern.
"When have our works ever been number one right from the start? We always surge later."
"'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' is the same. Even if we get overtaken for a week or two, I believe—"
He continued.
"Once it truly kicks into gear, its final results will exceed everyone's expectations."
"No need to stress."
"As long as we win in the end, the process doesn't matter that much."
And Shinozaki Ikumi's worry wasn't unfounded.
Another week passed.
After Episode 3 of 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' aired, its ratings rose to 5.15%.
But 'The Black Gate' climbed to 5.21%.
And 'South Dreams', with its outstanding quality and twists, surged from third to first, topping the charts at 5.25%.
In Week 3 of the new season, 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' fell from first to third.
The ratings battle among the three shows was far from over—still intensely competitive.
But 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' now seemed to be slipping behind.
And at that moment—
Media criticism of 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' began to appear.