The news of 'Your Lie in April' topping the viewership charts spread across Xia Nation's television industry within half a day.
A drama hitting 4.6% wasn't rare—
Every year, several shows achieved that level.
But for Aozora TV to hit 4.6% and take seasonal first?
That was like a disabled athlete entering the Olympics and winning gold.
Before this happened, while the media and insiders liked to joke about 'Your Lie in April' possibly overtaking the Big Three or a young screenwriter humiliating veteran networks—
Deep down, most people still believed 'Summer Splendor' would hold its ground.
After all, just one episode earlier, the two shows had a 0.1% difference.
How did episode 10 suddenly pull off a reversal?
Still, jokes or not, the media reacted fast:
📰'Your Lie in April' Tops the Charts! Season's #1, Uncontested Champion!
📰'Summer Splendor' Loses Out—Episode 10 Viewership Reversal Shocks Summer Season
📰Aozora TV's Best Ratings in History! 21-Year-Old Su Yan Creates a Legend in Xia Drama!
📰Big Three Lose Season Crown for the First Time in Over a Decade—Is Xia's TV Industry on the Brink of Change?
📰A One-Year Rookie Forces the Giants to Their Knees—Genius Makes Past Glory Irrelevant
📰With 'Your Lie in April' Leading in Ratings, Is the Battle Already Decided? Or Will 'Summer Splendor' Reclaim the Throne in Final Week?
📰Episode 10 of 'Your Lie in April' Sets Highest Single-Episode Rating of the Season—Can 'Summer Splendor' Strike Back in Its Final Episode?
📰Fan Wars Escalate as 'Your Lie in April' Overtakes—Viewers of Both Shows Clash Online and Off
📰A Genius Wasted—Su Yan Could've Been Sakura TV's Blade, Now Locked in Feud With Akasaka Yoshitoki
The media frenzy, along with the fan wars between 'Your Lie in April' and 'Summer Splendor' supporters,
pushed both dramas to peak popularity as the final week of the summer season began.
Wednesday.
Filming for 'Your Lie in April's alternate ending wrapped up.
Su Yan, Shinozaki Ikumi, Gu Qingyuan, and the entire supporting cast all felt a touch of melancholy.
"That's a wrap," Su Yan said quietly.
Silence lingered.
"Tonight is our wrap party. Everyone, take the production bus to the hotel afterward."
"And… I hope we'll work together again in the future."
Those words made everyone's eyes light up.
Work together again?
Was there still a chance?
No one had expected 'Your Lie in April' to perform like this.
Not even the cast.
Especially Shinozaki Ikumi—
When she reached out to Su Yan months ago, she only hoped for a Top 5 finish,
just enough to fuel her comeback after over a year of career silence.
Now, with 'Your Lie in April' at the top,
she remembered what Su Yan told her weeks ago—
"This show could not only bring you back—it might make you bigger than you ever were."
"It might even win you the Best Actress award at the Summer Flame Awards."
"The finale will air in just a few days," Su Yan told the cast.
"And next Sunday, the alternate ending we just filmed will go live on RaccoonNet."
He looked across the team.
"Let me just say this—
What we've achieved won't just end with this drama.
It'll become a legacy.
A credit that sticks with your acting career forever.
You'll be proud to say you were part of this project.
Thank you—for everything these past few months."
"Tonight, let's celebrate like there's no tomorrow!"
The speech ignited cheers across the set.
From across the film base, crews from Sakura TV productions
could faintly hear 'Your Lie in April's wrap party celebrations.
And they couldn't help but feel bitter.
This glory should have been theirs.
Had 'Your Lie in April' aired on Sakura TV,
It would've met all seasonal performance goals—
And everyone would've gotten generous bonus payouts.
But now?
'The Simplest Love!'—Sakura's top hope—was barely clinging to third place.
And who was to blame?
Akasaka Yoshitoki, head of the production department.
Playing favorites, suppressing Su Yan for the sake of his clueless nephew—
Well, look what that got them.
A total disaster.
In the final days before the season ended, both Aozora TV and Hudu TV went all-out in support of their respective contenders:
'Your Lie in April' and 'Summer Splendor'.
For Hudu TV, the mission was clear:
If 'Summer Splendor's final episode fulfilled two conditions:
It must beat 'Your Lie in April's final episode in ratings.
It must set the highest single-episode rating of the season.
Then 'Summer Splendor' could reclaim the seasonal crown,
preserve the Big Three's legacy,
and extend their decade-long domination over the Xia TV industry.
For Aozora TV, the stakes were even higher.
Would this be their only chance to work with Su Yan?
No one knew if he'd stick around—
or if another opportunity like this,
where a drama was just one step away from a seasonal crown,
would ever come again.
So for them, it wasn't just a drama.
If 'Your Lie in April' failed to secure the crown now—
It would become the greatest regret in Aozora's history.
"So what if we're not the Big Three?"
"We don't need to beat them every season—just this season."
"This win alone gives us a legacy worth bragging about for a lifetime!"
Ironically, the Big Three's united front also made non-Big Three channels quietly root for Aozora TV.
And since TV stations controlled media channels,
The bias was clear.
Now, within the drama-viewing community,
The 'Your Lie in April' vs 'Summer Splendor' battle had become the most-watched showdown of the entire summer.
Friday night.
'Summer Splendor' episode 11 aired.
Simultaneously, the other two Big Three stations aired trash-tier programs,
avoiding any internal competition.
That night, 'Summer Splendor's finale made a splash.
Its fanbase flooded all four major streaming platforms—
RaccoonNet, ZhongxiaNet, HongsongNet, and SakuraNet—
pushing it to #1 on trending.
The next day, the ratings dropped.
4.74%
Hudu TV and the 'Summer Splendor' crew breathed a sigh of relief.
Because that number did two things:
It beat 'Your Lie in April's previous high of 4.69%
It was now the highest-rated episode of the entire season.
If 'Your Lie in April's final episode couldn't surpass this—
Then 'Summer Splendor' would still hold the crown.
The seasonal title would return to the Big Three,
and their decades-long dominance would continue.
Now, all eyes were on 'Your Lie in April'.
Could its finale break through 4.74%?
It sounded simple: just 0.05% higher than last week.
But it wasn't.
Because from 95 to 98 is a lot harder than from 80 to 95.
Maybe 4.69% was already the ceiling—
Not just for Aozora TV,
But for Su Yan's fanbase itself.
By Saturday, the Big Three's media allies launched a full offensive—
hyping 'Summer Splendor' while downplaying 'Your Lie in April',
mocking Su Yan, Shinozaki Ikumi, Gu Qingyuan,
and all actors involved.
They were trying to paint the battle as already over.
But Su Yan's fans—and Aozora TV—refused to give up.
They promoted 'Your Lie in April' through every available channel.
Aozora TV even invested millions to buy ad space on RaccoonNet,
Xia's largest streaming platform.
That Saturday, every visitor to RaccoonNet
was greeted with a quick-watch link to 'Your Lie in April'.
And it worked.
'Your Lie in April's paid viewership stats skyrocketed that day:
Episode 1: Over 14 million paid views
Entire series: Average over 11 million per episode
Su Yan, his fans, and all of Aozora TV
We were on edge the entire weekend.
As the clock ticked forward—
Sunday, 9 PM drew near.
The final episode of 'Your Lie in April'
was about to begin.
The grand finale.
Would it fall short, or would it become a true legend?