In the first week of October, film and television dramas for the Xia Nation's new quarter began airing one after another.
This quarter saw a total of five A-tier dramas and sixteen B-tier dramas go on air, creating a strong viewing atmosphere across the market.
However, among them all, the two dramas with the highest buzz were undoubtedly 'Blood Route' and 'Tokyo Love Story', standing far above the rest in terms of popularity.
A figure as famous as Su Yan—both a screenwriter and actor—naturally had an enormous fanbase in the Xia Nation. At the same time, he also had just as many people who disliked him.
The reason was simple.
A genius who rose to fame at a young age, achieving such results in the Xia Nation's film and television industry for two or three consecutive years, going from a complete newcomer to someone worth hundreds of millions.
In the Xia Nation, there were plenty of people who didn't even watch Su Yan's works, yet harbored an irrational hatred toward him.
They hated anyone better than themselves.
Whether in Su Yan's previous life or in the Xia Nation, there was never a shortage of such people.
After 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' finished airing, Su Yan's fame in the Xia Nation's film and television circle reached a peak. 'The Garden of Words' then achieved a huge success by leveraging a small investment into massive box office returns and critical acclaim. For a long time afterward, Su Yan's name appeared in industry headlines almost every day, which only further irritated this group toward the young man who wasn't even twenty-three yet.
This quarter's 'Tokyo Love Story' had already faced hostility from many people before it even aired. They were all waiting eagerly for its ratings to flop.
But no matter what, before either show aired, 'Tokyo Love Story' clearly had greater momentum within the Xia Nation television industry than 'Blood Route'.
No matter how capable Akiyama Shunsuke was, he was still a screenwriter who had been active in the market nearly ten years ago.
Su Yan, on the other hand, was a genius who had just broken records a few months prior.
Although the cast lineup of 'Blood Route' was slightly stronger than that of 'Tokyo Love Story',
The trio of Su Yan, Gu Qingyuan, and Shen Liqian—after collaborating on multiple projects—had built up an enormous influence in the Xia Nation.
Moreover, Su Yan's previous works were simply too dazzling, and not a single one had ever flopped.
Whether it was the media or professionals within the Xia Nation television industry, most people favored 'Tokyo Love Story' before the two dramas aired.
On Friday night, filming for both 'Tokyo Love Story' and 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' wrapped up early.
Su Yan returned ahead of time to his residence in the Tokyo area and switched the television to Sakura TV.
He was also curious—under his current circumstances, what level of quality had Akasaka Yoshitoki managed to achieve with a drama produced by his team?
At eight o'clock in the evening, the first episode of 'Blood Route' officially aired.
Su Yan's expression sharpened as he focused his attention.
The rhythmically intense theme song of 'Blood Route' began to play.
An hour later, as the ending theme played, Su Yan looked at the screen with lingering interest.
To be honest—
It was good.
Even though Su Yan was hostile toward Akasaka Yoshitoki, he had to admit that the first episode was genuinely engaging.
In terms of subject matter and viewing experience, it was extremely similar to the bloody, grotesque survival-game dramas from his previous life's Japan, like 'As the Gods Will' and 'Alice in Borderland'.
The pacing wasn't bad either.
Judging solely from the first episode's viewing experience, Su Yan even felt it was more interesting than Sakura TV's spring-season 'The Black Gate'.
However—
Su Yan was well aware of the problems inherent in this type of drama.
Bloody, grotesque, dark works centered on mind games and survival struggles often started strong but fizzled out later.
That was because they had to continuously deliver novelty stronger than the last to keep viewers excited.
But screenwriters weren't gods. How could every plot point be a climax, each one stronger than the last?
At some point in the middle, the quality would inevitably dip. Once viewers found it less interesting, they would drop the show.
"Mm, shouldn't be a big problem," Su Yan muttered.
He turned off the television and went to sleep peacefully.
But that night, countless drama fans across the Xia Nation couldn't sleep.
Whether they were Su Yan's fans or his haters, everyone could feel the quality of 'Blood Route's first episode.
["Interesting! Akiyama Shunsuke's been quiet for years—turns out he was working on this kind of material."]
["Eight people died in the first episode alone. My adrenaline was through the roof!"]
["My daughter was scared to tears. Who zooms in so clearly on eyeballs popping out after someone dies? Bad review!"]
["This is dangerous! I'm a Su Yan diehard, but 'Blood Route' is insanely interesting. I'm definitely following it next week!"]
["It's just okay. 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' was way more interesting. This one's watchable, but not worth the hype."]
["But Su Yan's drama this quarter isn't cyberpunk! You don't seriously think every one of his shows can reach that level, do you?"]
["It's only the first episode. What's there to hype?"]
["Don't forget—Su Yan said that even for a single week, 'Tokyo Love Story' wouldn't lose to 'Blood Route'. If 'Tokyo Love Story' gets crushed in week one, that'll be hilarious."]
["I just want to see this stubborn genius get slapped in the face. Never lose even once? Who does he think he is? Akiyama Shunsuke is an industry veteran—how can he say something like that?"]
["Heh, all Su Yan's haters are coming out now. Akiyama Shunsuke was the one who deliberately clung to Su Yan for clout before the premiere, and now you're saying this?"]
["Just wait. I want to see what 'Blood Route's first-episode ratings actually are tomorrow!"]
["You think a bit of cleverness and some bloody shock value is enough to take the seasonal ratings crown? It's not that easy."]
That night, Su Yan's fans, Sakura TV supporters, Akiyama Shunsuke's camp, and various haters argued nonstop online.
The next day at noon, the ratings for 'Blood Route's first episode were released.
4.91%.
During the spring season, all three S-tier dramas from the three major TV stations had debuted with ratings above 5%, though only slightly above.
In fact, even for S-tier dramas, breaking 5% at premiere was already an excellent result.
And 4.91%—
Generally speaking, this was the kind of premiere rating expected from an average-performing S-tier drama.
Once the data was confirmed, the entire Sakura TV staff breathed a sigh of relief.
At the very least, it proved that a drama like 'Blood Route' definitely had a market in the Xia Nation.
Although its investment wasn't on the level of an S-tier drama, its premiere performance had already reached that standard.
After 'Blood Route's premiere results came out, the pressure shifted to Su Yan.
Shen Liqian, Gu Qingyuan, Shinozaki Ikumi, and the other core members of the production team all carried a sense of unease.
They had confidence in Su Yan—
But 'Blood Route's reputation, word of mouth, and results this quarter were undeniably strong.
Su Yan had said that 'Tokyo Love Story' would never lose—not even once—and that it would take the seasonal crown.
While they knew how powerful 'Tokyo Love Story's later plot developments were, and how many times they'd been shocked by the script during filming—
Those were things only they knew.
The Xia Nation's audience didn't.
First and foremost—
Could the first episode of 'Tokyo Love Story' surpass 4.92%?
The next day, Sunday.
Xia Nation television media was flooded with praise for 'Blood Route'.
Online, the battle between Su Yan's fans and various haters reached a boiling point.
Tens of millions of people across the Xia Nation were watching closely, waiting for tonight's premiere of 'Tokyo Love Story's first episode.
["Su Yan, don't make me lose face!"] Xia Shiyun posted on XingxiaNet through her computer.
[If 'Tokyo Love Story's premiere ratings lose to 'Blood Route' tonight, I'll livestream myself cutting my three-year-long hair into a short cut on the spot!]
As the leader of Su Yan's three major fan groups, she'd been fighting nonstop against haters online these past few days, completely exhausted.
To suppress the haters' momentum, she'd even deliberately posted something like this to show her support as a fan group leader.
Xia Shiyun wasn't just talking big. Although she'd already been considering changing her style from long hair to short hair—
She definitely didn't want to do it under these circumstances.
At this moment, it was already close to eight in the evening.
On Zhongxia TV, the screen was filled with nonstop promotional previews for the premiere of 'Tokyo Love Story', practically brainwashing-level repetition.
Xia Shiyun chatted nervously with fellow fans in the group as time passed. Soon enough, eight o'clock arrived.
The Zhongxia TV screen paused—
A shot of an airplane descending toward an airport appeared.
The camera shifted to a handsome man in a white trench coat, briefcase in hand, scanning his surroundings near the airport exit.
The moment she saw Su Yan's face, Xia Shiyun's heart immediately settled.
Still so handsome.
"Kanji! Nagao Kanji!"
A lively, adorable voice rang out.
A beautiful woman holding a pick-up sign, waving it vigorously with both hands and wearing a radiant smile, appeared on screen.
The pacing was fast.
The male lead, Nagao Kanji, had arrived in Tokyo by plane to start a new job.
The cute woman was named Akana Rika, a colleague from the same department sent by the company to pick up the new employee.
The opening of the drama leaned toward the office daily life of Nagao Kanji and Akana Rika.
Since Kanji was a newcomer, Akana Rika, as a senior colleague, naturally guided him through many aspects of the job.
Through this segment, Xia Shiyun quickly grasped the personalities of the two leads.
Nagao Kanji—somewhat indecisive, but with a strong sense of responsibility.
And Akana Rika—
cheerful, outgoing, absolutely not a naive airhead, and highly capable at work.
And—
Her smile was really beautiful.
Before 'Tokyo Love Story' aired, Xia Shiyun had assumed that Shen Liqian's character would be similar to Kaori Miyazono from 'Your Lie in April'.
But after just a few minutes, she realized that wasn't the case at all.
Akana Rika was lively and bright, but also smart, decisive, and—
very good at understanding a guy's heart.
At least within just a few minutes of the premiere, Nagao Kanji had already been encouraged several times by her words.
The office scenes quickly passed, and the story moved on to Kanji meeting his friends in Tokyo.
This introduced his high school friend Mikami Kenichi—who woke up in a big bed with a naked beauty beside him—along with another high school friend, Sekiguchi Satomi, who now worked as a kindergarten teacher in Tokyo.
The three had been close friends in high school, and the story clearly hinted that Sekiguchi Satomi liked Mikami Kenichi.
Kanji's new job in Tokyo served as a long-overdue reunion, bringing the three high school friends back together for a gathering in Tokyo.
Of course, there would also be other classmates working in Tokyo attending.
By this point, ten minutes of the first episode had already passed.
Naturally, Xia Nation audiences had the patience for this.
A romance drama's first episode had to establish the upcoming cast and character personalities, which required time and detail.
If Su Yan were an unknown screenwriter, this portion might've caused a noticeable ratings dip.
But with Su Yan's current fame, that concern was basically nonexistent.
"Is the girl you have a crush on going to come?" Akana Rika asked with a curious yet sunny smile.
"Yes. We haven't seen each other in five years," Nagao Kanji paused, then nodded.
"Then you'll get to see the girl you like," Akana Rika said with a smile as she looked at her junior colleague.
"I hope you can meet her smoothly at this gathering."
Seeing this, Xia Shiyun felt slightly puzzled.
From the trailers and the information released on the 'Tokyo Love Story' official site, Akana Rika was clearly the female lead.
Yet in the very first episode, the male lead already had someone he liked—and Akana Rika was even encouraging him to pursue Sekiguchi Satomi, played by Gu Qingyuan?
The plot continued.
Due to a misunderstanding on the road, Akana Rika met Mikami Kenichi by chance and ended up joining the main trio's class reunion.
After the gathering ended, the four of them left together.
Just in the first half of episode one—
Mikami Kenichi, Nagao Kanji, Sekiguchi Satomi, and Akana Rika all met, became acquainted, and even formed a friend group.
This…
Kanji liked Satomi.
Satomi liked Kenichi.
Kenichi was a complete playboy, flirting and hooking up everywhere.
And then Akana Rika had joined their trio.
A sense of unease appeared on Xia Shiyun's face.
Something was off. This drama wasn't what she had imagined.
It probably wasn't a simple youthful romance.
"Just like in high school—every time I talk to a girl for two sentences, I feel a pair of disdainful eyes staring at my back," Mikami Kenichi said unhappily after returning from chatting up a girl at the party.
"Satomi's cleanliness obsession really is incurable."
The plot advanced rapidly.
After clearly laying out the relationships among the four characters, it immediately delved into the frictions and tensions between them.