For the past couple of days, the entire production department at Sakura TV had been walking on eggshells.
Everyone could feel just how foul a mood their department head, Akasaka Yoshitoki, was in.
The moment the ratings for 'Your Lie in April' dropped on Sunday night, he blew up in Monday's meeting—ripping into the producer of 'Scarlet Love' without mercy.
'Scarlet Love' had a bigger budget and a stronger marketing push than 'Your Lie in April', not to mention the prime-time advantage of airing on Sakura TV.
But the result?
Total defeat.
Akasaka's original intent in moving 'Scarlet Love' to Sunday night was to crush 'Your Lie in April'.
Instead, the outcome completely backfired—and he became the laughingstock of the entire industry.
It wasn't even a neck-and-neck competition over several weeks.
'Scarlet Love' got instantly KO'd in its first week.
A complete embarrassment.
And worst of all, Akasaka had personally handed over the opportunity to get humiliated.
"That idiot—I'm still laughing! He insisted on airing 'Scarlet Love' against 'Your Lie in April'. Classic pigheadedness."
Ogata Aya couldn't hide her grin as she discussed the matter privately with her team.
"Exactly, Chief. Akasaka Yoshitoki had just gotten promoted. He needed a strong performance to secure his position and establish authority. He tried to make an example and ended up making a fool of himself."
"Pity about 'Scarlet Love', though. The show isn't bad. If it had stuck to its original Saturday night slot, it might've pulled over 3.0% in ratings. Now it's stuck at 2.5%."
"Small missteps pile up into major failures. If Akasaka keeps making calls like this, both his team and the execs are going to lose faith. His position isn't exactly stable."
Ogata Aya's inner circle took turns weighing in.
And her smile grew wider.
Though her current position in the network was a little shaky, Akasaka's higher status meant he had more to lose.
He now bore ultimate responsibility for whether the shows succeeded or flopped.
Even as a Sakura TV veteran, Ogata Aya couldn't help rooting for Su Yan and her niece Shinozaki Ikumi, if it meant watching Akasaka fall flat.
In fact, she quietly hoped the station's revenue and performance would tank, so Akasaka would be judged against his predecessor's better results.
Of course, the media in Xia Nation wasn't about to let go of the drama between Su Yan, Shen Liqian, Akasaka Yoshitoki, and Shinozaki Ikumi.
📰'Summer Elegance' Tops Ratings in Week One, 'Your Lie in April' Becomes Breakout Hit of Summer Season.
📰'Your Lie in April' CRUSHES 'Scarlet Love' in Head-to-Head Showdown. Sakura TV's Attempt to Punish "Defector" Su Yan Backfires Spectacularly.
📰'Scarlet Love' Could Be This Season's Biggest Flop—A Quality Drama That Got Bulldozed by a Better One.
📰'Su Yan's 'Your Lie in April' Tops Summer Premiere Ratings Again.'
📰'Your Lie in April' Debuts with 3.69%, Ranked Sixth, Flooded with Praise!
📰'Music Dept. Head at Hudu University Applauds 'Your Lie in April'—Says the Performances Are Outstanding and May Spark Nationwide Interest in Classical Music.'
📰'Shen Liqian Returns to Top 10 in Female Celebrity Popularity Rankings Thanks to 'Your Lie in April'.'
📰'Despite a modest opening rating of 3.69%, Everyone Knows Su Yan's Dramas Peak in Later Episodes. Could 'Your Lie in April' Pull Off a 'To the Moon'-Level Comeback?'
📰'Sakura TV's Akasaka Yoshitoki Gets Slapped by Reality After Trying to Slap Su Yan—Truly Hoisted by His Own Petard.'
The success of 'Your Lie in April' had shattered the expectations of many in the industry.
Even airing on Aozora TV, a B-tier drama had completely outperformed 'Scarlet Love'.
All those critics who predicted Su Yan would fade into obscurity after leaving Sakura TV were suddenly silent.
By Wednesday, Aozora TV even held a celebration party for the team behind 'Your Lie in April', inviting Su Yan and the drama's core staff to meet with senior network executives.
Though Su Yan wasn't technically an Aozora TV employee, the collaboration was paying off far better than expected.
Even if the network didn't have full rights to the show, its success brought plenty of indirect benefits.
Executives enthusiastically asked Su Yan and Shinozaki Ikumi about production challenges, location permits, staff assignments, and assured them they'd use the network's connections to help streamline everything.
The better 'Your Lie in April' performed, the more everyone stood to gain.
With an opening episode ranked sixth in viewership, if the drama climbed a few more spots, Aozora TV's production department could see its best year in ages.
—
Meanwhile, on the production side—
The 'Your Lie in April' team was being bombarded with partnership offers from various brands.
In the past, Su Yan's product placements had mostly gone to Sakura TV, with only a small portion allocated to the drama team.
Now?
All the sponsorship money went straight to the company run by Su Yan and Shinozaki Ikumi.
While final payments would come in after more episodes aired, just the early-stage ad fees plus new offers had already brought in several million Xia yuan.
Add in the licensing fee from Aozora TV—
And with only one episode aired, the show had already recouped most of its 20-million-yuan budget.
And that's without the online streaming revenue even going live yet.
In the office, Su Yan was going over the projections with a relaxed smile.
Running your own company was tiring and risky—but the payoff was undeniable.
"If this momentum keeps up, we might be able to fund our next project at full A-tier production standards," Shinozaki Ikumi said, putting down a document with a grin.
The greatest fear when going independent was a flop right out of the gate.
But 'Your Lie in April' was performing well beyond expectations. Her mood was sky-high.
Most producers and writers in the Xia Nation didn't have a lot of capital. If your first indie project failed, chances were you'd never get another shot.
In contrast, working inside a big network as a cog in the machine? As long as you had a decent track record, even if one or two of your shows flopped, the network would give you another shot—just with a smaller budget.
Those with a proven track record in B- and A-tier dramas might eventually be offered an S-tier project—where networks pour in millions, aiming for 5%+ ratings.
"Let's aim higher. Maybe one day we can pull off an S-tier drama of our own. Not just a seasonal champion—the champion of the year," Su Yan said thoughtfully.
"S-tier?" Shinozaki Ikumi looked both inspired and hesitant.
"That'd take at least 50 to 60 million yuan in funding, plus a primetime slot on one of the Big Three networks, and a wildly commercial script... You think we could really pull that off?"
"Why not? It's all up to us," Su Yan smiled.
—
That afternoon, at a concert hall in Hudu—
While most of 'Your Lie in April' was shot at Hudu Film Base, the music scenes had to be filmed in expensive real-world venues with large groups of extras posing as the audience.
Although cast salaries weren't massive, the costs for locations and instrument rentals were easily two or three times higher than for other romance dramas.
Episode 5 featured a piano solo by Su Yan as Kousei Arima in a competition setting.
During his performance, flashbacks and inner monologues would be edited in later.
The fans of Su Yan, Gu Qingyuan, and Shen Liqian who were invited as extras mostly thought they were just going to watch their idols and maybe appear in the background.
Instead, they witnessed a live performance that left them speechless.
Su Yan's system-given skills weren't magical in the supernatural sense—but when fueled by intense emotional immersion, the results went beyond belief.
With music, it takes a trained ear to grasp the depth of a master's playing.
Ask someone tone-deaf whether they prefer Beethoven or 'Two Tigers', and they'll probably pick the latter—they simply can't hear the difference.
But that day, Su Yan slipped so deeply into Kousei Arima's mindset…
…the piano skill granted by the system reached a level even he hadn't anticipated.
Even fans with zero musical knowledge were brought to tears by the performance.
Through Su Yan's fingers, they felt what music could mean.
They felt resonance.
They discovered the beauty of classical music.
The system wouldn't necessarily make Su Yan the top pianist in Xia Nation—
—but it did let him move people in ways most professional musicians could only dream of.
As soon as the performance ended—
Before any prompts from staff, the crowd of extras erupted in thunderous applause.
["That was incredible!"]
["I thought Shen Liqian was just being humble when she said Su Yan was musically gifted. But this?! This is insane!"]
["I don't even like music and I got chills."]
["I nearly cried."]
["So this is what a music genius looks like?"]
["No wonder Shen Liqian called Su Yan a genius trapped in the wrong profession."]
["I had no idea hearing live piano could be this powerful. Watching it on TV never felt like this."]
["Sure, live concerts always hit harder, but Su Yan? That's not just live music—that's legendary. And he's not even conservatory-trained? Unreal."]
["No wonder he dared to write a music-themed drama. He's not just talented—he's a factory that makes talent."]
Off-camera, the main cast—Shen Liqian, Gu Qingyuan, Shinozaki Ikumi, Shi Peihua, and Chen Ji—all looked at Su Yan differently.
Turns out, the one who fit the role of Kousei Arima best…
Was Su Yan himself?
His flawless, multi-minute solo was captured in a single take—no mistakes, no retakes.
When Episode 5 airs, the audience's experience is going to explode.
No amount of dialogue about Kousei's genius could match what they'd just seen.
"What a waste that he's not a full-time musician," Shi Peihua muttered.
"What doesn't he know how to do..." Shinozaki Ikumi sighed.
She'd worked with Su Yan for over a year—and the guy was still a complete mystery.
Skills others train for a lifetime, he could casually pull off like breathing.
Shen Liqian remained silent, watching Su Yan talk with the camera crew.
She was genuinely shaken.
She had always considered herself a prodigy.
Now she had met someone who outshone her at every turn.
"I'm curious," Gu Qingyuan said softly. "What will my performance as Emi Igawa look like in the show?"
Episode 4 featured her solo scene.
Gu Qingyuan had learned piano as a child, but only to an intermediate level.
Her playing was decent, and with the right camera angles and editing, her performance looked professional.
But the actual piano audio for her scene?
Su Yan would be the one recording it.
If the emotional impact of her music could even approach what Su Yan delivered today, then starting from Episode 4, the drama's popularity was going to skyrocket.
After all, to emphasize how skilled the lead is…
His rivals need to be impressive, too.
Gu Qingyuan's question hung in the air.
But everyone's thoughts were drifting elsewhere.
What was supposed to be a youth romance with music…
…might just become the defining music drama of Xia Nation.
—
Soon, the weekend arrived.
Episodes 2 of 'Summer Splendor', 'The Hopeful', and 'Single Men & Women' aired Friday and Saturday, reaching 4.42%, 4.23%, and 4.03% respectively.
That meant all four A-tier dramas had broken past the 4% threshold.
Meanwhile, the B-tier fantasy drama 'Words of Power'—with a 30-million-yuan budget on Hudu TV—saw a slight boost to 3.79%.
That edged out 'Your Lie in April's debut 3.69% by 0.1%.
For the 'Words of Power' team, it was a relief.
Surely this week, they had a safe lead.
After all, Su Yan's dramas always heated up later—there's no way Episode 2 would leapfrog the rankings, right?
Surely, 'Your Lie in April' couldn't pass 'Words of Power' this early.
Still, the industry at large could see that this season's lineup was stacked.
Most top-rated dramas had seen slight bumps in Episode 2.
And tonight, the second episode of 'The Simplest Love!', 'Scarlet Love' and 'Your Lie in April' would air.
'The Simplest Love!' had narrowly lost to 'Summer Splendor' last week.
If it wanted a comeback, tonight's performance and word of mouth were crucial.
As for 'Your Lie in April'—
Fans and media alike were watching to see if it could surpass 'Words of Power' and reach fifth place.
If that happened, it would officially become the top-performing B-tier drama of the summer.
Even if it held steady at sixth through the end, that would already be a phenomenal result.
It's completely normal for B-tier dramas to lose out to A-tier ones.
Just because Su Yan's last two shows were blockbusters doesn't mean this one can defeat everything.
Even if 'Your Lie in April' ended the season in fifth, no one would question Su Yan's ability.
—
That evening, Episode 2 of 'The Simplest Love!' aired.
As with last week, it was met with massive praise—even more engaging than the premiere.
SakuraNet was ablaze with discussion about the show's love triangle.
But for Xie Lu, there was no hesitation.
She switched to Aozora TV without a second thought.
For her, the main course tonight was 'Your Lie in April'.
'The Simplest Love' was just the appetizer.
As for 'Scarlet Love'…
Xie Lu could only wish it luck.
Su Yan's fans had moved from SakuraNet to RaccoonNet.
On that platform, Episode 1 of 'Your Lie in April' had already been uploaded—and in just one day, paid views exceeded 2 million.
A ton of viewers were coming back just to re-watch Kaori's violin scene.
["Su Yan's dramas always hit harder on the second watch. Who knows what kind of foreshadowing is hidden in Episode 1?"]
Xie Lu closed her laptop, ignoring the chaos in the comments section.
Because the time had come.
The bright, whimsical theme song of 'Your Lie in April' began to play.
Xie Lu immediately focused.
The story picked up from the end of Episode 1: Kaori dragging "Friend A" Kousei to a dessert shop.
Turns out, when she said "take his place," she just meant a casual shopping trip.
At the shop, Kousei improvised a piano accompaniment for some kids.
But partway through, he stopped abruptly.
That's when Kaori discovered his trauma.
If forced to perform, Kousei would start hallucinating—unable to hear the notes he was playing, overcome by mental strain.
And that—
—was exactly why Kaori got mad.
Everyone in the city's music scene knew who Kousei Arima was.
A genius, idolized by peers.
And yet, he had given up over a mental block stemming from his mother's death.
"Alright, decision made. I officially appoint you as my accompanist! Since the audience voted for me, I've got a second-round performance. You're playing piano for me!" Kaori declared with a smile.
This wasn't surprising to Xie Lu or many viewers.
After Kaori's wild improvisation in Episode 1, she had clearly fallen out with her accompanist.
And Kousei's background made him the obvious replacement.
But even though the plot direction was expected, the execution still moved Xie Lu deeply.
'Your Lie in April' didn't have a complicated plot.
What made it a legendary tearjerker in Su Yan's past life was its introspective depth.
Those long, minute-plus inner monologues dissecting every raw emotion—
Viewers called it: ["Watching this anime is like reading the male lead's diary essays."]
In Su Yan's past world, only 'Kimi ni Todoke' came close in terms of emotional nuance.
It was those monologues that created such a strong emotional connection.
They made Kousei and Kaori feel real.
Even as Kousei protested, saying he would ruin her performance—
Kaori insisted.
"I appoint you, Friend A, as my accompanist. That's final!"
"What a selfish heroine," Xie Lu muttered with a laugh.
"But honestly? That's exactly what someone like her would do."
So far, the second episode was playing out exactly as Xie Lu predicted.
The surface plot was about music and school life.
But the true core?
Kousei's journey to healing.
His childhood trauma.
He has been unable to touch the piano since his mother died.
The moment he can play freely again—that will mark his emotional rebirth.
And along the way, he and Kaori would fall in love.
["Yeah... this is the kind of story I like,"] Xie Lu smiled.