Summer season, Week 11.
Viewership Rankings:
#1 – 'Your Lie in April', Episode 11: 4.77%
#2 – 'Summer Splendor', Episode 11: 4.74%
#3 – 'The Simplest Love!', Episode 11: 4.51%
#4 – 'The Hopeful.', Episode 11: 4.35%
#5 – 'Single Men & Women', Episode 11: 4.28%
4.77%.
Shinozaki Ikumi stared at the number. Though her heart was filled with joy, her eyes couldn't help turning red.
They had surpassed 'Summer Splendor's 4.74%.
Without question, the highest-rated drama this quarter was 'Your Lie in April'.
"Let's go. You haven't eaten yet, right?" Su Yan finally put down his phone.
Though he had spoken with confidence this whole time, he had been holding his breath inside.
Now that the result was out, a taut string in his chest finally loosened.
He didn't want to deal with any work right now. Any contracts or business could wait until tomorrow.
Right now, eating a proper meal, getting some rest, and preparing for the challenges ahead were what mattered most.
Their company's first drama had not only achieved commercial success—
It also received excellent word-of-mouth and finished the season as the ratings champion.
That meant for Su Yan's studio, future drama negotiations would no longer be approached with humility.
The news of 'Your Lie in April' clinching the top viewership for its final episode spread rapidly through the entire TV industry of Xia Nation.
Across all the major networks, industry veterans had complex reactions.
When it came to Su Yan, now they all had one shared thought:
Monster.
He had taken the top spot while at Sakura TV.
Now, he'd taken the top again with Aozora TV.
In all the years since the Big Three had formed, they had never been slapped in the face like this.
Still, not every network took the loss poorly.
At Zhongxia TV, since their shows had already been surpassed by 'Your Lie in April' weeks ago, their production team was glad to see both Sakura and Hudu TV get beaten too.
"Wasn't it supposed to be the Big Three? If I've already lost face, you two better come down and keep me company!"
Everyone at Zhongxia TV was practically glowing with relief.
Sure, 'The Hopeful' and 'Single Men & Women' had flopped this quarter.
But now, it wasn't just their shame to bear.
Meanwhile, over at Hudu TV, while staff were disappointed and frustrated, they had no choice but to accept it.
At least among the Big Three's lineup, 'Summer Splendor' had managed to fight 'Your Lie in April' to the very end.
All three networks had underperformed this season.
But Hudu TV could still claim that their show performed the best of the three.
Surely the higher-ups wouldn't blame them in a situation like this, right?
'Summer Splendor' was an A-tier investment with a 4.74% rating—what more could you ask?
No one could have predicted a dark horse like 'Your Lie in April' would show up!
But Sakura TV... was suffering the most.
For Akasaka Yoshitoki, who had been head of the production department for two seasons now, today was the biggest blow to his reputation yet.
Su Yan used to be a Sakura TV writer.
Shinozaki Ikumi used to be with Sakura TV, too.
So by rights, the #1 drama of the season—'Your Lie in April'—should have been a Sakura TV show.
How did things end up like this?
When everything's going well, any decision seems justified.
But when things go sideways, all of Akasaka's past actions come under scrutiny:
Cutting the budget in half for 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal'...
Giving 'An Ancient Love Song' a trash time slot...
Interfering in 'To the Moon's development...
All of it now looked like sabotage.
The Sakura TV execs had been ignoring his pettiness—until now.
Akasaka had been with the station for decades. Even if he had no big wins, he'd put in the years. He wasn't going to be ousted over this one failure.
But that didn't mean the board would do nothing.
If it was true that he'd pushed a genius out of the company just to prop up his own useless nephew...
Well then—
That same afternoon, Kiyota Sanji, still confused, received a termination notice from the script department.
He had been fired.
When Akasaka Yoshitoki heard the news, he locked himself in his office for the rest of the day.
He knew exactly what this meant.
This was a warning from upper management.
When Su Yan left Sakura TV, he'd made it very clear it was because of Akasaka.
Whether that was sincere or just a final jab didn't matter anymore.
The execs didn't care about intent.
Sakura TV could not continue to be humiliated by a "traitor" like Su Yan.
They could lose to Hudu. They could lose to Zhongxia.
But not to Su Yan and Shinozaki Ikumi.
From now on, Su Yan's very existence would haunt Akasaka like a curse.
The higher Su Yan climbed, the worse Akasaka would look for pushing him out.
His face twisted in frustration. He slammed a fist on the table.
He had to suppress Su Yan's growing influence—or risk losing the trust of the top brass entirely.
Once the final ratings came out, Xia Nation's entertainment media and drama critics exploded with excitement.
The buzz had arrived.
A freelance screenwriter, airing a show on a second-tier network, had shattered a decade-long monopoly held by the Big Three.
This season's drama scene had been a feast for gossip-hungry fans.
The media didn't hold back:
📰"Sakura TV gets publicly slapped by its own 'traitor.'"
📰"Aozora TV takes its first-ever seasonal crown. Su Yan creates yet another miracle."
📰"The Big Three's long-standing arrogance finally backfires. Su Yan proves that no amount of investment can make up for a lack of creativity. Maybe it's time the industry leaves its comfort zone."
📰"The most satisfying twist of the year. Su Yan wins a seasonal crown at Sakura TV, walks out, then wins again at Aozora. Two crowns in four quarters. If the Big Three can't step up their fall lineup, even the annual crown might go to 'Your Lie in April'!"
📰"A debut-year writer pulling this off? Su Yan's nomination for this year's Xiayan Awards—Best Screenwriter—is all but guaranteed."
📰"Tragedy, and still more tragedy. 'Your Lie in April' fans may curse Su Yan to the ends of the earth, but the series just passed 13 million paid streams on RaccoonNet and now holds a 9.6 rating."
📰"Everyone's watching for Su Yan's next drama. Can he break the industry again?"
The media and 'Your Lie in April' fans joined forces.
And so, at the tail end of the summer drama season, audiences across Xia Nation realized—
In just one night, 'Your Lie in April' had become the eye of the storm.
Even though its ratings weren't that much higher than 'Summer Splendor'…
Its buzz had left the rest in the dust.
And the fans? Still fuming.
Still grieving.
Still spamming Su Yan's name in rage-filled posts.
Until—
That very evening, a new teaser trailer appeared on 'Your Lie in April's page on RaccoonNet.
It was short. Very short.
The content? Simple.
A snippet from Episode 11—when Kaori Miyazono's family was discussing which hospital to choose for her surgery.
In the original, because Kousei Arima was focused on his music competition, Kaori, not wanting to distract him—and lacking the courage—never asked for his opinion.
But in this teaser...
Kaori picked up her phone and called Kousei.
At the end of the clip, a single line of text appeared:
"Your Lie in April.if Line"
No words could describe what fans felt at that moment.
Still fuming in the comment section—then suddenly:
Shock.
Elation.
Tears.
Everyone knew what the " if line meant.
Life is a series of choices.
What if, at one critical moment, you'd chosen differently?
What if Kaori had made that call?
What if Kousei's words had given her the courage to choose the riskier surgery?
What if that other medical team had been the key to saving her?
No one could say for sure.
But just the possibility...
It was enough to bring tears to the eyes of every 'Your Lie in April' and Kaori fan.
In under 30 minutes, the teaser surpassed 3 million views and was boosted by fans to #1 on RaccoonNet's trending list.
This show—
It wasn't over yet.
Kaori Miyazono's story...
Still had another possibility.