4.01%
The third episode of 'Your Lie in April' barely scraped past the 4% threshold—but it made it nonetheless.
Though it still ranked fifth for the season, it had officially broken the 4% mark.
Here were the week-three ratings for the summer season:
1st place: 'Summer Splendor' – 4.49%
2nd place: 'The Simplest Love!' – 4.35%
3rd place: 'The Hopeful.' – 4.23%
4th place: 'Single Men & Women' – 4.12%
5th place: Your Lie in April.'
6th place: 'Words of Power' – 3.68%
As for 'Scarlet Love', 'Your Lie in April's competitor in the same slot…
Its ratings fell even further, down to just 2.19%, ranking 23rd overall.
That night, the entire 'Your Lie in 'Your Lie in April'' production team immediately held a celebration banquet.
There was no need for words.
A B-grade drama airing on Aozora TV, managing to crack 4% in ratings? If that's not worth celebrating, what is?
As for others in the industry…
At this point, no one was focused on how high 'Summer Splendor' could climb anymore.
The real question was: could Su Yan's new show surpass the A-grade dramas from the Big Three networks this season—and if so, how many?
Previously, even when Su Yan's shows on Sakura TV had outperformed other A-grade series from rival networks, the Big Three were annoyed—but didn't react too strongly.
After all, the Big Three had been competing for years. Wins and losses were normal.
But this time was different.
Now, a drama on Aozora TV was sticking a metaphorical bayonet straight into the backs of the Big Three's prime-time slots.
Zhongxia TV had two A-grade dramas sitting at 3rd and 4th in the rankings, with only a 0.1% to 0.2% lead over 'Your Lie in April''.
With 'Your Lie in April's current growth trend, it might overtake them as early as episode 4.
Zhongxia TV was in full-blown panic mode.
Getting surpassed by a show on Aozora TV? That would be a disgrace.
So this week, Zhongxia TV went all out promoting 'The Hopeful' and 'Single Men & Women'.
They rearranged variety programming at the last minute to air cast and crew interviews, bringing on the most popular actors, directors, and writers from both shows to share behind-the-scenes stories—all in hopes of boosting the week's ratings.
And the results?
On Saturday:
'Summer Splendor' Ep. 4: 4.52%
'The Hopeful.' Ep. 4: 4.29%
'Single Men & Women' Ep. 4: 4.18%
Slight improvements from the previous week.
But both the media and Zhongxia insiders felt the numbers were shaky.
'Your Lie in April's momentum was too strong. Ratings spikes were coming out of nowhere.
Currently, 'Your Lie in April' has passed 6 million average paid views per episode on RaccoonNet, ranking second only to 'Summer Splendor' among this season's streaming dramas.
Its viewer rating stood above 9.3—holding the number one spot since its debut.
'Summer Splendor' had climbed to 9.2, but there was still no sign of
it overtaking 'Your Lie in April'.
And in the middle of all this, rumors and gossip about Su Yan began flooding the internet.
Accusations included: Su Yan bullying crew members, punishing extras with humiliating tasks over minor mistakes…
Claims of shady dealings, rumors of an improper relationship with Gu Qingyuan…
Allegations that Shinozaki Ikumi, Gu Qingyuan, and Shen Liqian were fighting over him on set, turning the 'Your Lie in April' crew into a behind-the-scenes palace drama.
Even someone claiming to be a middle school classmate said Su Yan was a school delinquent—smoking, drinking, skipping classes, fighting, and gambling.
It wasn't hard to figure out where these stories were coming from.
Su Yan's show now posed a direct threat to the Big Three's dominance.
If Zhongxia TV's A-grade shows lost to 'Your Lie in April', you can bet that Sakura TV and Hudu TV wouldn't be thrilled either.
It would send a clear message to the entire Xia Nation television industry: "The Big Three? Maybe they're not all that after all."
If Zhongxia TV fell today, Sakura TV and Hudu TV could fall tomorrow.
Even advertisers would begin shifting tactics, using 'Your Lie in April' as leverage in price negotiations.
So, it wasn't likely that only Sakura TV had paid off media outlets to slander Su Yan.
Chances were... all three networks had taken part.
But of course, Su Yan's fans weren't about to take this lying down.
These so-called whistleblowers didn't even dare go on record—every source came from tabloid-tier news outlets.
Legitimate news platforms wouldn't touch this—they were too scared of being sued.
Most people weren't buying it anyway.
["This is clearly jealousy. Just an intentional smear campaign against Su Yan!"]
["LOL, they said he was some unpopular loner in middle school? C'mon, look at that face! He plays piano, violin, and flute—and you expect me to believe he didn't have fans even back then? Please, he probably had a fan club."]
["The Big Three are clearly panicking. They're scared 'Your Lie in April' might blow up too much and shake up their status, so they're throwing whatever garbage they can at Su Yan."]
["Fame comes with hate. Poor Su Yan."]
["If you're walking a clean path, you don't fear lies. If someone dares to speak up under their real name, then I'll listen."]
["LOL at the ones saying Su Yan and Gu Qingyuan are 'too close' on set. As 'Rurouni Kenshin' fans, we WISH they were dating. Just go public already and give us a win!"]
["They're making things up because they can't find a real flaw. I was Su Yan's elementary school classmate. He was the class prince. We didn't even know he could play instruments—we just thought he was good-looking."]
["Ignore these dumb fake articles. What matters is 'Your Lie in April's ratings! It's been stuck at 5th for two weeks, and I'm not used to this. Let's push it higher!"]
Akasaka Yoshitoki watched the flood of online support for Su Yan—and it left him fuming.
At this point, it wasn't just Zhongxia TV feeling the heat.
Did he, Akasaka Yoshitoki, not feel the crisis?
If 'Your Lie in April's ratings rose just a little more, surpassing 'The Hopeful' and 'Single Men & Women', then next in line would be 'The Simplest Love!'.
And if 'Your Lie in April' even managed to surpass 'The Simplest Love!'—
The ripple effect in the industry would be catastrophic for him.
A drama made by a writer he had suppressed, starring an actress he had blacklisted… beating out Sakura TV's flagship drama?
That would be a full-on collapse.
Sunday night, 8 p.m.—' The Simplest Love!' aired its fourth episode on Sakura TV.
This episode featured a small climax, and comment numbers on SakuraNet surged noticeably.
But at the same time…
Aozora TV's viewership began to rise sharply.
From a 2.87% lead-in drama, the numbers surged to 4.02% right before 'Your Lie in April' began.
Shen Yun watched the TV screen with anticipation.
Then, the familiar opening theme played.
Of course, as a longtime Su Yan fan—from 'Rurouni Kenshin' to now—tonight was special.
Because the preview had revealed Gu Qingyuan's character, Emi Igawa would finally make her debut.
Shen Yun wasn't just a fan of Su Yan. She was also a diehard Gu Qingyuan fan.
Soon, episode 4 began. It opened with Arima Kousei's school life.
His best friend, Watari Ryota, had just suffered a crushing defeat in a soccer match and was crying.
Kousei, having promised Miyazono Kaori to return to music, began confronting his trauma and resumed piano practice.
But the more he forced himself to play...
The more vivid the memories became—of his mother's abusive "hell training."
Gray-toned flashbacks showed her beating him for each wrong note.
Shen Yun held her breath.
An eleven-year-old boy, pushing himself to play piano just to make his dying mother smile.
Yet she never once praised him.
No matter how many trophies he won, or how many people called him a genius—
She always found new ways to tear him down. Compared him to historical greats. Used others' achievements to belittle his.
["This is horrifying."]
Shen Yun couldn't imagine the despair of being punished for not living up to legendary prodigies from history.
No wonder Kousei hated the piano so much.
But after all that came the warm, colorful present.
Miyazono Kaori, sitting by his side, smiled as she listened to his pain.
"Don't get discouraged! I could tell—when you touched my hand, you were happy!" She said, smiling and placing her hand against his.
"Your hands are telling me they still want to play the piano."
Who wouldn't fall in love with her?
"Don't be fooled, Shen Yun. You're a Gu Qingyuan fan—you should only love the role she plays." Shen Yun reminded herself.
But she couldn't help it—Kaori was too lovable.
No wonder Shen Liqian's popularity ranking had soared from 16th pre-season… to 5th now.
Next came the moment Kousei submitted his piano competition form.
News spread fast.
His childhood rivals—Emi Igawa and Aiza Takeshi, the eternal 2nd and 3rd placers—immediately signed up too.
They waited eagerly for his arrival at the venue, ready to challenge him face-to-face.
But when he arrived, he looked at them blankly.
"Uh… who are you again?"
Funny. But painfully real.
Shen Yun winced.
To chase someone for years—only to find out they never even noticed you.
That led to the true climax of episode 4.
While 'Your Lie in April's daily life and romance arcs were charming, the music scenes were clearly the highlight.
From the moment Kousei decided to compete again, Su Yan's fans were already hyping this episode's piano solo scenes online.
Many fans who fell in love with the music in episode 2 dropped everything—work, games, even dates—
Just to be home in time to catch it on Aozora TV.
Sure, they could stream it on Raccoon later…
But streaming could never match the tension and excitement of watching live.
And when the competition began, the first to perform wasn't Kousei.
It was his old rival, Aiza Takeshi.
He had turned down another major international competition just for this—
Just to stand on the same stage as Kousei, even if it was only once.
Shen Yun's heart pounded.
The way this character was written—the tension—it was perfect.
And then the performance began.
Her expression changed. The moment the powerful piano melody rang out, her entire body reacted.
Just ten seconds in, and she had goosebumps.
Completely different from the male lead's style—but even as a music outsider, she could hear how stunning it was.
She knew: every piece of piano music in this drama was composed by Su Yan.
This wasn't just good writing.
The music was real.
Su Yan's skill? Even amateurs could feel it.
And from that moment on, the ratings for episode 4 of 'Your Lie in April' began a sharp, unmistakable climb.