What followed next in the story was Nagao's complete emotional breakdown.
And then, he witnessed Rika at the office slapping one of his coworkers across the face. In his rage, he lashed out and scolded her.
Only later did he learn the truth—Rika had been furious because that colleague had been secretly spreading vile rumors about Nagao behind his back.
And then came the most emotionally moving moment of Episode 3.
Nagao, filled with guilt, reached into the pocket of his coat absentmindedly…
And pulled out a puzzle piece.
The one final piece of the puzzle they'd spent all night trying to find in Rika's apartment.
Rika had secretly tucked it into his pocket.
Jiang Yuan teared up instantly.
The foreshadowing from the start of the episode had come full circle.
That's the female lead for you. That's Rika.
Even if there was no proof… this was, without a doubt, her doing.
The BGM swelled.
After being scolded by Nagao, Rika walked home, dejected, and ended up shooting hoops alone on the court downstairs.
Just then, Nagao arrived. Their eyes met.
Jiang Yuan's heart thudded.
Her eyes widened, not daring to blink, afraid to miss a single second.
Nagao apologized to Rika.
And Rika… responded with her signature smile.
"I'm not very good at comforting people," Nagao said.
"Then just say—" Rika looked at him.
"I like you!"
Every episode of 'Tokyo Love Story' ended with a god-tier cliffhanger and perfect emotional timing.
Especially the dialogue.
Jiang Yuan was trembling. Her eyes brimmed with tears.
"You don't need to say you love me. Just say you like me. Even if it's a lie, that's enough to make me happy!" Rika's smile was as dazzling as ever.
What kind of angel is this girl?
Nagao—are you even human?
Hug her! Don't make me yell at you!
Jiang Yuan clenched her fists.
Say it already!
Say you like her!
"I like you." Nagao turned and said it, his voice uncertain.
"How much?" Rika asked, her face lit up with joy.
"This much." Nagao held out his hands to show a small distance.
"That little?"
"This much." Nagao took a running start and sprinted far ahead before finally turning back.
"I like you!"
Rika's eyes shimmered, her face filled with innocence and happiness.
And then… the episode ended with a line that no one across all of Xia Nation could have predicted.
"Then… let's make love." Rika said.
Cue ending theme.
Jiang Yuan's expression was a whirlwind: sweetness, shock, excitement, and a pinch of anxiety.
What kind of line was that?
What kind of development was that?
What kind of evil cliffhanger was that?!
Jiang Yuan was fuming.
["Su Yan, you bastard! Did you even think about our emotional stability when you chose to end the episode here?!"]
What happened next?
Would Nagao accept? Or would it be like Satomi and Kenichi—fade to black, roll credits?
Jiang Yuan was fully wired now. Her brain had been completely activated.
'Tokyo Love Story' brought her right back to the feeling of watching her very first romance drama.
That thrill. That tension. That restlessness.
"Su Yan, you'd better write this properly. If this show turns into another emotionally devastating mess, I will swim to Tokyo to find you!"
Episode 3 of 'Tokyo Love Story' had officially solidified the key character pairings.
Kenichi and Satomi.
Nagao and Rika.
Four people, paired off two by two. Things were finally becoming clear.
Well… for now.
But fans across Xia Nation were still reeling from how Episode 3 had not only defied expectations—but actually exceeded them.
["I swear, this is the best romance drama I've ever watched. A ten-out-of-ten rating is just the limit of the website, not this drama's limit."]
["I can't believe Su Yan is this good at writing traditional romance. What was he doing before this? If he'd started with dramas like this, he'd have gone big way earlier!"]
["I used to be the only one in my house who watched his shows. My parents and sister never cared. I'd be watching while they chatted next to me. But tonight was different. My entire family is still discussing the episode! My mom told me to make sure I call her the moment Episode 4 drops next week."]
["Same here! My sixty-year-old grandma watched it with her mouth wide open the whole time. She was so cute!"]
["Who wouldn't be confused by this plot?! The twists are insane!"]
["I really didn't expect Nagao and Rika's relationship to develop this quickly."]
["I can't sleep. Why didn't Su Yan just make the episode one minute longer so we'd know whether Rika and Nagao actually did it?!"]
["Please. This is a Su Yan drama—we know he never shows explicit scenes. Even if they did do it, it'll be like Satomi and Kenichi. Instant fade to black."]
["Next week, hurry up! I need Episode 4 right now!"]
["This cliffhanger… I've held back from complaining before, but this time, I can't. I get that it's for ratings, but can't you please consider our feelings? Holding this in for a week is going to give us internal injuries!"]
["Say what you want, but just these three episodes blow 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' out of the water!"]
["No need to compare—different genres."]
["True, but I still prefer 'Tokyo Love Story'! 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' was too sad. 'Tokyo Love Story' is more my thing!"]
["Green tea meets Playboy. Pure love meets pure love. Su Yan really knows how to write."]
["Anyone else shipping Rika and Kenichi? Now that would make for some explosive drama!"]
["When did you all start thinking 'Tokyo Love Story' wasn't going to end in tragedy?"]
["Get outta here. Satomi is already hooked up with Kenichi. There are no more obstacles between Rika and Nagao. Don't get paranoid. Sure, Su Yan's written a lot of tearjerkers, but he's not going to do that every time!"]
["Heh. We'll see."]
That entire night, 'Tokyo Love Story' dominated every online platform and media outlet in Xia Nation.
Its popularity had far exceeded expectations.
After all, strictly speaking, the first three episodes were just setting up the main characters.
Episode 3 was when the real plot began.
Even the media was working overtime to put out commentary.
Some were critical.
After all, the relationship dynamics and values in this drama felt wildly out of line.
Episode 3 alone featured Satomi and Kenichi's emotionally whiplash-inducing hookup—and then that final line from Rika?
"Let's make love."
It was blunt. It was explosive. It short-circuited people's brains.
But ultimately, the quality of a drama is decided by the audience.
And the audience had no problem with it. So niche critics wouldn't be making waves here.
The show's rating skyrocketed overnight—rising to 9.6, a clear sign of how people really felt.
And Rika?
Her popularity reached a level that absolutely crushed the rest of the industry.
On every major site's female drama character ranking list, her votes outnumbered positions two through ten combined.
All of the Xia Nation was now waiting for noon.
Waiting for the official viewership rating of Episode 3.
What would it be?
"5.26%."
Su Yan announced the number with a calm voice.
And just like last week, the production office of 'Tokyo Love Story' erupted into deafening cheers.
What more was there to say?
Compared to 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners', the growth rate of 'Tokyo Love Story's viewership in its first three episodes was off the charts.
Episode 3: 5.26%.
Meanwhile, 'Blood Route' was slipping further and further behind.
If it could hold onto even 5% in Episode 4, it'd be considered lucky.
There was no hope of catching up to 'Tokyo Love Story'.
Season champion.
They were once again the season's champion.
And maybe—just maybe—'Tokyo Love Story' could surpass 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' and take this year's annual viewership crown.
If that happened…
It would be the first time in Xia Nation's history that both the annual champion and runner-up dramas were created by the same person.
Next January's Xia Flame Awards would be a one-man show starring Su Yan.
And many members of the production team would likely win big.
That was what everyone truly cared about.
For Su Yan, awards were just the cherry on top.
But for the crew, they were vital. Proof of skill, credibility, and position in the industry.
Inside the office, Shinozaki Ikumi sat listening to the team's cheers, her expression glowing with joy.
But quickly, that joy gave way to concern.
"So, Su Yan… once again, you're not going to listen to anyone, huh."
She looked at the 'Tokyo Love Story' finale script lying on the table.
She'd read it three or four times that morning.
And still couldn't accept how it ended.
But she'd had this conversation with Su Yan many times before.
And he had never once taken her advice.
To be fair, his choice to twist the endings, to bring emotional devastation at the finale—that approach had skyrocketed both him and his studio to the top.
"…Yeah, this is the ending," Su Yan replied with a smile.
"But couldn't you… I don't know, do what you did in 'Your Lie in April'? Give us an alternate ending? A little if-line?" Shinozaki Ikumi offered.
"Otherwise, with how things are going now, you're going to have a hard time explaining this ending to your fans. 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' was popular too, but at least the one who died was your own character, David. Fans could accept that a little more…"
"Hey—Rika doesn't die, right? This isn't a tragedy ending, is it?" Su Yan cut her off quickly.
"At least in 'Your Lie in April', Kaori died in the first ending."
"Is there a difference?" Ikumi's gaze turned serious. "In a romance drama, when a beloved character's love fails, it's no different than them dying. You seriously don't understand the potential of Akana Rika's character. At this rate, I can't even imagine how big her popularity will be by the finale."
"And at that point, how much hate do you think Nagao—the biggest jerk in the show—will receive from the audience? And you, Su Yan, as the actor who plays Nagao… You're not afraid of getting mobbed by Rika fans in public?"
"I'm not joking."
Su Yan fell silent.
He knew—in his past life, the actress who played Satomi was actually assaulted at a train station by angry Rika fans after 'Tokyo Love Story' aired.
She admitted it herself during an interview.
And him? Su Yan?
These days, even with a mask, he'd get recognized by 60–70% of fans on the street.
He wasn't scared of an attack, but… There was no need to invite that kind of trouble.
"…An if-line isn't out of the question," Su Yan finally replied.
After all, it had worked for 'Your Lie in April'.
This drama could do the same.
All it would take was keeping Rika at the train station a little longer—long enough for Nagao to show up. A minor change.
And as for Satomi getting hurt by this alternate ending?
Let's be honest—Satomi doesn't have many fans in Xia Nation.
Even Gu Qingyuan's fans probably wouldn't mind too much.
In fact, Su Yan had secretly joined one of Gu Qingyuan's fan groups, and even though they held back from openly criticizing Satomi, a ton of them had spent last night openly cheering for Rika.
Su Yan had always believed the original endings to his dramas were perfect—altering them to be artificially happy often felt cheap.
But 'Your Lie in April' had proven that the second ending, though less emotionally devastating, had a way better audience reception.
And if the audience liked it… Well, maybe it was worth respecting that.