After 'Life is Strange' dropped from third to fourth place in the ratings, Su Yan originally thought that the anxiety-prone Shinozaki Ikumi would be so worried she wouldn't be able to sleep.
But a few weeks passed, and not only did she show no signs of panic—she was actually working more smoothly than ever, juggling tasks between the 'Life is Strange' crew and the 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' crew with growing confidence.
Shen Liqian and Gu Qingyuan were the same. Neither of them seemed discouraged by the fact that 'Life is Strange' was drifting further and further from its original "aim for the top" goal.
On the night Episode 4 aired, everyone filmed until midnight. After the wrap-up, the group went out to eat near the studio base. Watching everyone chatting and laughing, Su Yan finally voiced the question he'd been holding back.
Back when 'Your Lie in April' was airing, these same people would be restless late into the night—refreshing comments at one or two in the morning, anxiously speculating about the next day's ratings.
Now?
'Life is Strange' was underperforming relative to expectations, yet their mental state seemed far more relaxed.
"I thought everyone would be pretty down about the ratings," Su Yan said honestly. "I even prepared a bunch of comforting lines. Didn't expect you all to be this calm."
"What's there to be upset about?" Gu Qingyuan paused, understanding his meaning. "Fourth place for the season is still a good result, no matter how you look at it."
"Exactly," Shinozaki Ikumi said as she popped a slice of grilled beef into her mouth and glanced at Su Yan.
"Sure, it's a bit frustrating that we don't see much chance of overtaking 'Rain in Hudu: The Sequel' anymore—but this is still an A-tier drama. Over 4% ratings, and the highest score of the season. Even if 'Life is Strange' were airing on one of the big three networks, their production departments wouldn't be able to find fault with these numbers."
Su Yan thought it over.
She wasn't wrong.
"Teacher Su Yan, you're being way too hard on yourself," Shen Liqian added.
"Winning and losing are common in this industry. 'Life is Strange' didn't do as amazingly as we imagined—but that doesn't mean it flopped."
"I've acted in A-tier dramas that dropped to fifteenth place for the season," she continued. "That was real despair."
Su Yan immediately knew which project she was referring to—the one that had sparked his fallout with Sakura TV.
"Sure, it's annoying that we couldn't beat Sakura TV's 'Rain in Hudu: The Sequel'. Akasaka Yoshitoki is probably laughing his head off in his office right now," Shen Liqian said, clenching her fist slightly.
"But the season isn't over yet. There's still a chance 'Life is Strange' could rebound in the second half. And even if it doesn't—next season, with 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners', we'll take it all back."
Both Shen Liqian and Gu Qingyuan were simultaneously working on 'Life is Strange' and 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners'.
They knew the later parts of both stories inside and out.
Especially 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners'.
After reading the script for Episode 10 last week, the crushing despair they felt rivaled anything Su Yan had written before.
As long as the visual effects were good enough, they were convinced it would be a bombshell next season.
Even if Sakura TV and Hudu TV were both planning to roll out S-tier dramas next quarter, neither of them believed 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' would lose.
"Anyway, the winter season isn't over yet," Shi Peihua said calmly while eating beside them.
"Everyone knows the reason this show's ratings are rising so slowly—crime, violence, and a heavy tone. But the script quality itself is unquestionable. Honestly, I think starting from Episode 5, the ratings will see a noticeable bump."
The next day, Episode 4's ratings came out.
4.30%, still fourth place for the season.
Mainstream media continued to praise the plot of 'Life is Strange'.
But Sakura TV—followed closely by Hudu TV—finally made their move.
Critics with close ties to those networks began publishing articles in large numbers. On SakuraNet and HongsongNet, the two streaming platforms under their control, mocking headlines flooded the front pages:
["The 'genius screenwriter' Su Yan exposed—'Life is Strange' falls to fourth place!"]
["There are no eternal winners. Su Yan's peak ended with 'Your Lie in April'."]
["'Life is Strange': a catastrophically bad drama. Absurd time-reversal powers, bizarre relationships—its disappointing ratings prove that Xia Nation's audience standards are improving!"]
["Television exists to help audiences relax. A show filled with death, shootings, bullying, suicide, and discrimination is destined to be abandoned!"]
["After leaving Sakura TV, Su Yan's quality is clearly declining. Judging by 'Life is Strange', his next drama 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' will be trash as well!"]
Su Yan's fans were furious.
Sure, 'Life is Strange' wasn't a crowd-pleasing subject—but did it deserve this level of ridicule?
Even if the ratings weren't outstanding, it still had the best reputation of the season. Who gave these media outlets the right to smear Su Yan like this?
By mid-February, Su Yan's fans were locked in an all-out war with the paid posters and media mouthpieces hired by Sakura TV and Hudu TV.
Notably absent was Zhongxia TV.
They still showed Su Yan some courtesy—after all, his S-tier drama 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' would be airing on Zhongxia in just a month or two. Smearing him now would be shooting themselves in the foot.
Still, in television, ratings were the ultimate metric.
Arguments aside, fourth place simply didn't inspire confidence.
Time quickly moved into mid-February.
By then, filming for 'Life is Strange' had entered its later stages.
At the same time, 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' was reaching a critical phase of post-production and visual effects.
Su Yan, Shen Liqian, and Gu Qingyuan had to constantly work with the VFX studios.
Money was pouring out of Su Yan's company account every single week.
And under these circumstances—
Episode 6 of 'Life is Strange' aired.
The first five episodes followed Max and Chloe—two childhood friends reunited after years apart—as they investigated the disappearance of Chloe's close friend Rachel.
Along the way, they formed connections with Chloe's stepfather, the campus security chief from Max's university, Rachel's boyfriend, and Kate, a girl who'd suffered bullying at school.
Piece by piece, the clues all pointed to one person:
Nathan—the rich classmate who had dared to fire a gun on campus in Episode 1.
But Episode 6 delivered a massive twist.
Max's time-reversal ability evolved.
She was no longer limited to short rewinds.
By focusing on a photograph, she could return to the moment it was taken—to that specific era.
However, once there, she could only control her past self and only move within the boundaries captured in the photo.
Max had always been haunted by the car accident that killed Chloe's father five years ago.
Because of that death, Chloe's mother remarried.
Because of that remarriage, Chloe clashed with her new stepfather, the campus security chief.
And because of all that, Chloe dropped out of school, fell in with dangerous people, and became withdrawn and sharp-tongued.
So Max asked herself:
What if Chloe's father didn't die?
After realizing the true power of her ability, Max didn't hesitate.
Using a photograph taken five years earlier, she returned to that morning—and stopped Chloe's father from going out.
The timeline was rewritten.
Chloe's father lived.
Her mother never remarried.
The hated stepfather never entered her life.
Chloe remained a top student.
She got into a key high school.
And then—
As a graduation gift, her father gave her a car.
She got into an accident.
From the waist down, she was paralyzed.
Her life fell into ruin.
From Episode 6 onward, the true emotional weight of 'Life is Strange' finally emerged.
In this new timeline, Max still lost contact with Chloe due to moving away, and only returned to the city years later for college.
Crossing timelines, Max eagerly rushed to see the friend whose life she believed had finally become bright and whole.
She opened the door—
And saw Chloe lying in a hospital bed, unable to move, only her head free, smiling softly at her.
This Chloe was gentle. Obedient.
She never dropped out.
But she also couldn't attend school.
She had no delinquent friends.
No social circle at all.
Max was the only person who visited her.
Her only friend.
Max had saved Chloe's father—
But in doing so, she shattered Chloe's fate in another way.
Changing someone else's destiny was, in the end, nothing but arrogance.
In Episode 6, the two friends—separated for five years—finally spent time together.
Max pushed Chloe's wheelchair along the beach.
That day, Chloe was genuinely happy.
But when they returned home, Chloe made a decision.
She didn't want her family crushed by medical bills.
She didn't want her parents to live in constant fear of her condition worsening.
She didn't want to be a burden anymore.
To the only friend she had left, Chloe made the only request of her life:
"I really want to run around outside with you again… just like when we were kids."
"Max… please. Let today be my final memory. Just turn the medication valve from four to eleven. Let me sleep like this. I'll dream of us being together. Forever."
She told Max where the painkillers were.
And asked her to inject the maximum dose.
A painless end.
Just like in so many stories about altering timelines, forcibly changing fate only leads to an even crueler outcome.
'Life is Strange' was no exception.
But for Xia Nation's audience—
Episode 6 was devastating.
The final scene, where this version of Chloe died peacefully in Max's arms, smiling as she closed her eyes—
Left Shen Liqian's and Gu Qingyuan's fans completely silent.
Five episodes of buildup had etched Max and Chloe deeply into viewers' hearts—their friendship, their subtle, indescribable emotional bond.
And then, it was all torn apart.
People had said this drama was heavy.
That it had depth.
But compared to Episode 6?
Those words felt laughable.
This was utterly, brutally heartbreaking.
After Episode 6 aired, the reputation of 'Life is Strange' soared once again.
But at the same time—
Its label as an extremely heavy drama was cemented.
Unlike Su Yan's previous romance-focused tearjerkers—
This was despair at the level of life itself.
A shooting in Episode 1.
Bullying in Episode 2.
Five episodes building friendship—
And then Episode 6 forced Max to personally end her best friend's life, paying the price for her arrogance in thinking she could change fate.
Even if Max later reversed the timeline again—
The memory of killing her friend would never disappear.