For two consecutive weeks, 'Your Lie in April' held the position of second-highest rated drama of the season. This success triggered a flood of new viewers flocking to RaccoonNet to catch up on the series.
Thanks to this surge, 'Your Lie in April' officially surpassed an average of ten million paid views per episode—a major milestone.
And yet, the show had only aired up to episode eight.
Veteran fans were already sensing that something was off.
Newer fans, however, remained blindly optimistic. Years of watching typical Xia Nation dramas had conditioned them into a sort of mental autopilot.
Sad endings?
Tragic fates?
Come on, this was just the beginning.
New fans saw 'Your Lie in April' as a bright and youthful love story.
They saw its uniquely high-quality musical segments.
They saw how the show broke away from the formulas of Xia Nation's usual mainstream dramas.
The female lead was just sick, right? Like, how bad could it be? No way the writer would actually kill her off.
Of course, the story would end with her defeating the illness.
In most shows, if an illness doesn't serve as a villain to be overcome, what's even the point?
These new drama fans firmly believed this.
So, in the RaccoonNet comments section, heated arguments broke out between the fresh fans and the veterans.
["No need to overthink it. I guarantee you—before episode ten, the female lead's illness will definitely be cured."]
["Too naive! It's obvious you just started watching Su Yan's works."]
["I just watched the male and female leads' first violin-piano duet on RaccoonNet... so Kaori fainted because of illness and not exhaustion?"]
["Binge-watched all eight episodes in one go—couldn't sleep all night. When are they going to confess? When will Kaori get better?"]
["If you're looking for other music-romance dramas in Xia Nation as good as 'Your Lie in April', good luck. Nothing else compares in terms of blending music, emotion, and story like this."]
["Su Yan is a true genius! But honestly, only someone with his level of real musical talent could write something like this. No other screenwriters could pull this off."]
["Hey, why are you guys talking about Kaori getting better or confessions? You should be worrying about whether Kaori will get killed off! That's the real threat here."]
["Oh, here we go again with the death theories. If you're this scared, maybe just stick to variety shows. Nothing dramatic ever happens there."]
["Listen, no reasonable screenwriter would kill off the most beloved female lead in a show—unless they're ready to be blacklisted from the industry. You guys say Su Yan has a dark track record, but I don't believe even he would risk that kind of backlash!"]
["Exactly. Even if you doubt Su Yan's morals, at least trust his desire to make money. Unless he's trying to go bankrupt with his next drama, he wouldn't pick a fight with the audience and the box office."]
["Support Su Yan! Support 'Your Lie in April'! Are all these doomsayers talking about sad endings just paid trolls hired by Sakura TV to smear Su Yan?"]
["That's right! I've seen the drama between Su Yan and Sakura TV in the media. These people are clearly hired shills! So, how much are you getting paid per smear post? Fifty cents? Is your conscience worth just fifty cents?"]
["Unbelievable. Your new fans are still defending Su Yan even with disaster looming? Fine. Based on what I know of this guy, once the final episode airs, y'all will be flipping sides so fast it'll make your heads spin. I'll livestream myself eating a shoe if I'm wrong."]
["Here we go again. Another beggar trying to scam food on the internet."]
The massive influx of new fans even caused Su Yan's public reputation to rise.
Many long-time fans woke up to find they were no longer dominating the discourse—some were even being accused of being Sakura TV's hired trolls.
It was exactly like the old saying:
"When the work is good enough, new scholars will rise to defend it."
Su Yan felt a little embarrassed about it.
He was touched by the sincerity and trust of these new fans.
And yes, he did plan to film a second, alternate ending for the online version of the show.
But the first broadcast on TV would still have the bittersweet, heart-wrenching ending.
And he knew…
When that twist landed, it would stab those innocent, trusting new fans right in the back.
Some of those sweet, wide-eyed viewers would eventually become bitter old fans who cursed his name.
Thinking about it, Su Yan felt a bit melancholy.
"Well, good thing I know swordsmanship. I can handle any fallout."
He reassured himself with a smirk.
By the end of August, episode nine of 'Your Lie in April' aired.
If episodes 1 through 7 had been about Kaori saving Arima Kousei...
Then, starting from episode 8, the roles had reversed.
Now, Arima Kousei was the one trying to rescue Kaori from the torment of her illness.
Episode 9 also brought Aiza Nagi, an important character introduced earlier, into the spotlight.
She was participating in a duet piano competition—and invited Arima Kousei to accompany her on stage.
Kousei accepted, hoping his music could reach Kaori in the hospital and give her the strength to face her illness.
Another episode filled with emotional musical performances—fan favorites.
The episode ended on a rooftop scene between the two leads.
In truth, the plot of 'Your Lie in April' wasn't complex.
A boy and a girl healing each other through music.
But what made it powerful was the extreme depth of emotional detail explored between them.
The simplicity of the story made it easier for viewers to fully immerse themselves.
Watching Kaori's suffering, most fans couldn't help but feel like it was someone they personally loved who was going through it.
That deep emotional repression—
that fear of watching the next episode while still holding out hope for a miracle in the next—
That was what kept people hooked.
They all dreamed of Kaori leaving the hospital.
Of her standing once more with Arima Kousei on stage.
Violin in hand.
Performing a duet once again.
Episode nine's ratings rose to 4.56%.
It was clear, though—the growth rate was slowing.
But 'Summer Splendor', Your Lie in April's biggest competitor, was starting to show fatigue too.
Last episode, it had just barely passed 4.6%.
This week, it dropped slightly to 4.58%.
Now, the two shows were neck-and-neck.
Before the summer season began, no one in Xia Nation's drama community thought 'Your Lie in April' would come this far.
But now that it had—
Fans, creators, media, and even the broadcasters were all going all-in.
If not now, then when?
After a week of fighting, Su Yan's old and new fans decided to call a truce—temporarily.
No matter how they felt about Su Yan,
They all loved 'Your Lie in April'.
If the ratings gap had been huge, that'd be different.
But just 0.02%?
Now was the time to unite.
Whether or not Su Yan was a good person didn't matter.
But 'Your Lie in April' had to reach #1.
Kaori Miyazono had to become the season's top female character.
On RaccoonNet, ZhongxiaNet, HongsongNet, and SakuraNet—the four major streaming platforms—
The rising popularity of 'Your Lie in April' was directly threatening 'Summer Splendor's top spot.
Fans of both shows clashed across the internet.
On Xia Nation's actress popularity rankings, Shen Liqian had just overtaken the reigning queen, Fei Meiya, to claim the #1 spot.
It made sense—Shen Liqian's rise as Kaori Miyazono had taken her from 16th all the way to the top.
Similarly, Gu Qingyuan, who played Emi Igawa, soared from outside the top 40 to the #10 spot.
Meanwhile, on the actor rankings, Su Yan trailed just behind 'Summer Splendor's male lead, Movie King Mai Huabin, in second place.
These rankings were updated in real-time based on search volume, trending keywords, media coverage, and more.
They didn't reflect the actual industry status, of course.
Airing a hit drama naturally led to higher popularity.
Still, Su Yan, Shen Liqian, and Gu Qingyuan all breaking into the top ten of their categories said a lot.
On Wednesday, things erupted into a full-scale online war.
The main battleground: the lead actor and actress fandoms.
["What a garbage drama 'Your Lie in April' is. A mommy's boy male lead, a glass-hearted female lead, and their musical dreams that make you losers cry like babies. Think you can beat my queen Meiya? Dream on!"]
["Fei Meiya is 36 playing an 18-year-old. I'm 15. My mom is 34. I don't even know what to say."]
["A screenwriter who can't do anything right. He's not the best writer, actor, or musician, and neither are his characters. But somehow his fans still think he deserves to be #1. What a joke."]
["Look, I can insult Su Yan all I want. You guys? You don't get to. Sure, he's got flaws. But show me one actor who can write, act, AND play piano, violin, flute, konghou, and choreograph fight scenes better than him. Yeah, maybe his acting's still rough. But at least when he says the ending will satisfy us, there's still hope. Unlike your Mai Huabin, who was still playing extras at 21 while Su Yan's already topping seasonal ratings—for the second time."]
["Think you're gonna take the #1 spot? Keep dreaming!"]
["If a historically accurate period drama like 'Summer Splendor' loses to an angsty, melodramatic romance like 'Your Lie in April', it'll be the downfall of our entire TV industry."]
["'Accurate'? Since when did Emperor Ming of the Xia Dynasty steal his son's wife? That's tabloid nonsense. And you call that a serious drama? If 'Your Lie in April' is melodramatic, then 'Summer Splendor' is just historical fanfiction written by keyboard warriors."]
["You guys just wait. This week, 'Your Lie in April' is going to overtake 'Summer Splendor'! Let's see you run your mouths then!"]
As online fan wars burned hotter than ever,
The 'Summer Splendor' production team started to panic.
They had led the season in ratings for months—
Now, in the final two weeks, they were at risk of being overtaken?
Until now, they'd been calmly watching 'Your Lie in April', 'The Simplest Love!', and 'The Hopeful.' battle for second place.
Now they were the ones under siege.
If 'Summer Splendor' lost to 'Your Lie in April', that would mean all three major TV networks in Xia Nation had been beaten by Su Yan and the "outsider" Aozora TV.
This wasn't just about pride anymore—
This was about industry influence and profit.
Back when Su Yan caused chaos at Sakura TV,
Even if he spiked ratings, it was still a battle between giants.
Ad revenue negotiations remained unaffected.
But now, if 'Your Lie in April' beat 'Summer Splendor' in ratings...
The long-standing dominance of the three big networks would be broken.
And that would directly weaken their ability to negotiate ad prices next season.
In response, Sakura TV and Zhongxia TV suddenly got very generous.
They invited the 'Summer Splendor' team onto their own variety shows,
and even helped rival Hudu TV promote the drama.
Facing Su Yan and Aozora TV as a common threat,
The three networks had strangely united.
But would it matter?
The media didn't think so.
And Su Yan? He just smiled.
'Summer Splendor' had always had high exposure.
Even with extra help, the effect was limited.
Meanwhile, starting Wednesday, Su Yan—having completed filming for episode 11—paused production on the "IF route" ending
and hit the road with Gu Qingyuan, Shen Liqian, Shi Peihua, She Yuan, and Chen Ji for a nationwide cast tour.
Fan meetups.
Live violin-piano duets between Su Yan and Shen Liqian.
In the drama, they only performed together once.
But in real life, fans got as many live performances as they wanted.
If they couldn't get their dream ending on screen,
They could get it in real life.
Su Yan didn't hold back either.
With his system-boosted piano skills, he went all out.
Every live show left fans utterly dazed.
The power of his performance—the emotion—
was truly capable of touching the audience's soul.
Clips of Su Yan and Shen Liqian's live duets dominated all four major streaming platforms.
Good-looking, talented, and backed by a relatable underdog story (having been suppressed by Akasaka Yoshitoki),
Su Yan and Shen Liqian resonated with the Xia Nation's working class.
Plus, 'Your Lie in April's genre appealed to all age groups.
Unlike 'Summer Splendor', which, as a historical drama, had a more selective audience.
From Wednesday to Friday, 'Your Lie in April' steadily overtook 'Summer Splendor' in online buzz.
The 'Summer Splendor' team felt the pressure.
Still, their episode 10 aired on Friday at 8 PM as scheduled.
The next day, the ratings came in...