Friday.
Episode 4 of 'Blood Route' aired.
Ratings: 5.06%
Another strong showing.
That is, as long as you don't compare it to 'Tokyo Love Story'.
On its own, 'Blood Route' represented the ceiling of production quality and reception in Xia Nation's television industry.
But in comparison to 'Tokyo Love Story'?
Crushed across the board.
Its performance was solid—but still, the creators of 'Blood Route' were feeling the sting. Hard.
They had always known it was possible to lose to a Su Yan production.
But they hadn't expected to be defeated so thoroughly.
Not even one week could they claim a win.
Now, everything Su Yan had said before the fall season began was turning out to be true—one by one.
Worse yet, 'Blood Route' could only muster some buzz on Saturdays.
Come Sunday, the entire internet was flooded with discussion about 'Tokyo Love Story'.
That night, Qidian released the weekend viewership breakdown:
Zhongxia TV was leading by a landslide.
Massive viewership from other channels had been siphoned off by the unstoppable 'Tokyo Love Story'.
All because—
Episode 3 ended on a huge cliffhanger.
Would Nagao and Rika actually sleep together?
8:00 PM sharp.
Episode 4 of 'Tokyo Love Story' began airing.
Su Ruicong, holding a massive off-season watermelon in his arms, had a fire in his eyes.
Just like every fan had guessed—
The opening scene of this episode was Nagao and Rika in bed.
That's it.
Ten seconds. Mystery solved.
And that ten-second scene had strung along the entire fandom of Xia Nation for an entire week.
Su Ruicong couldn't help but grin.
Nailed it.
He'd waited a whole week just for this.
And in Xia Nation's love drama landscape, one ironclad rule always applied:
If the leads sleep together, they're guaranteed to end up together.
So this show?
Definitely not going full tragedy.
...Well...
That said, Nagao—what was that expression?
Why do you look like you just got taken advantage of?
You look like you're sulking after Rika slept with you.
Lighten up, dude.
Whatever. You're handsome—we'll let it slide.
In the Xia Nation adaptation, Su Yan's Nagao might have been a bit gloomy, but thanks to good looks, audiences were forgiving.
Unlike the original Japanese version, in that one, the actor playing Nagao wasn't bad at all, but when he wore that poker face, it was just too depressing. His presence didn't land.
In this respect, the Xia Nation version came off much better.
The first half of Episode 4?
Surprisingly smooth.
Nagao and Rika's sweet daily life.
Nagao is opening up to Satomi.
And post-sleep, they instantly move in together.
Yes—light-speed cohabitation.
But a romance drama where everything goes smoothly?
Boring.
So, of course, problems began to arise.
First: Kenichi.
On his side, a former classmate—Naoko Nagasaki, whom he used to flirt with constantly—got more screen time.
It was obvious she still liked him.
Though Kenichi distanced himself after starting to date Satomi, he had to re-approach her for help with his graduation project. He needed her lab notes to pass.
Watching this, Su Ruicong's nerves were already on edge.
["This girl is a walking landmine,"] he muttered.
And then the real fear struck him.
["I don't care if Satomi's happy or not, just don't let her break up with Kenichi and then come wreck Rika and Nagao's relationship!"]
He could see it happening.
Satomi's the type that—if things go bad with Kenichi—she'd 100% run back to Nagao, her former backup.
And with her level of shamelessness?
You think she'd back off just because Nagao's with Rika?
Don't kid yourself.
Meanwhile, Nagao was assigned to negotiate a product placement deal with a department store.
The manager?
Only wanted to talk if Rika was there too.
At first, no big deal.
But then… Rika made one phone call.
And the manager suddenly approved everything.
Nagao's face changed instantly.
Earlier, the man insisted that Rika be present to negotiate.
Now? One call, and he agrees?
Su Ruicong, being an adult, knew exactly what was going through Nagao's head.
In the adult world, there's no such thing as kindness without motive.
Even though Su Ruicong knew Rika wasn't that kind of person, it was clear—Nagao was doubting her.
Doubting that she might've gotten the manager's favor through improper means.
After all, before dating Nagao, Rika had been with the department head.
And her relationship with Nagao had progressed fast.
Nagao, being conservative, started to think—
"Was Rika this easy with everyone?"
Cue that infamous line from 'Oregairu':
"People who are kind to me... are kind to everyone."
If Rika could be so sweet and intimate with him this quickly—
Was she like that with everyone?
["Too much,"] Su Ruicong growled, his brows furrowed.
Nagao's train of thought wasn't illogical—
It was, in a sense, realistic.
But that's the problem.
A guy this "normal" felt completely incompatible with someone like Rika.
Rika's view of love might be unorthodox, but she wasn't lost.
She had never flirted with other men while dating someone.
She always ended things cleanly before starting something new.
You seriously couldn't understand even that?
How can someone this dense be the male lead?
And then came the turning point.
Rika purposely told Nagao about Kenichi and Satomi dating.
Only to realize—Nagao already knew.
That one moment was enough for her to understand everything.
"So… the reason you were with me that night… was because Satomi was already with Kenichi, right?"
Rika said it with a smile.
Su Ruicong felt a jolt in his chest.
She was too smart.
And too sensitive.
Even if she had guessed right, it was clear—she was only going to hurt herself.
"Alright. So now it makes sense."
"That night… let's just pretend it didn't happen, okay? That way, you'll feel better."
Still smiling.
Rika, no!
You're stabbing your own heart with these words.
Nagao, can't you see she's in pain?
She's putting on that smile so you'll comfort her, you idiot!
And yet—this is what makes Nagao so frustrating.
He's so emotionally tone-deaf.
If he had even a tenth of Kenichi's emotional intelligence, half this drama wouldn't exist.
Because of her breezy attitude, Nagao jumped to conclusions again.
He probably assumed she was just using her "connections" to get business done.
Later in the episode, the four leads—Rika, Nagao, Kenichi, and Satomi—went to the aquarium together.
Cue more awkwardness.
After they split up, Rika and Nagao talked again.
"So… were you really joking with me that night?"
Nagao finally asked.
Small-town boy Nagao couldn't handle her seemingly casual attitude.
Forget everything? Pretend it never happened?
Su Ruicong just facepalmed.
This male lead… had the emotional intelligence of a rock.
She says she's casual?
She's serious.
She said she'd always been like this—wasn't that basically saying she treated everyone the same, not just you?
What kind of expression is that?
You really believed it?
After getting hurt, Rika still smiled and said that Nagao had guessed right.
She really was that kind of woman—open-minded, casual, someone who could like a person enough to sleep with him at lightning speed, and afterward both sides would just go back to being ordinary people.
"So you slept with that supervisor too, and that's how you sealed the deal?"
BOOM.
This drama, 'Tokyo Love Story', always goes in the exact direction the audience least wants to see, right when everyone is hoping the story won't go there.
With the saddest expression on his face, Nagao said the words that hurt Rika the most.
The moment that line was spoken—
Su Ruicong almost suffocated.
His blood pressure shot up.
This was too much.
["You animal! Nagao, you actually said it out loud? Are you even human?"]
The camera cut to a close-up of Rika.
The composure she had been pretending to maintain froze instantly, replaced by pure sadness in her eyes.
"What are you talking about?"
Rika turned and walked away.
Nagao stopped her.
"From the airport, from the very beginning—let's forget all our memories!"
Rika ran off, her expression filled with sorrow.
This time, she was truly, deeply hurt.
Su Ruicong was practically on the verge of a stroke.
["Go after her, damn it! Are you an idiot? Su Yan, you old thief—what kind of freak did you write this male lead to be? It's fine if he's never been in a relationship, but how can he not even have basic intelligence?!"]
This was absurd.
This male lead was absolutely absurd.
He'd thought Satomi was already ridiculous enough.
Who knew Nagao was just as much of a weirdo?
Su Ruicong watched in furious frustration.
At times like this, that so-called Playboy Kenichi actually felt like the most normal man in the entire show.
["Why not just let Rika like Kenichi instead? Let Satomi and Nagao love and hate each other—so long as Rika's happy, who cares how the other characters turn out!"]
Later on, the plot revealed that Kenichi and Satomi were arguing due to Nagasaki Naoko.
Su Ruicong sensed something was wrong.
No way… are both couples going to break up and send the story completely off the rails?
But his worry was quickly dispelled.
During a conversation with a mall manager, Nagao learned that Rika had obtained the products through completely legitimate means.
The story became tangled once again.
At work, Rika treated Nagao like he didn't exist—no talking to him, no acknowledging him—leaving him hanging like that for half a month.
Then Rika went on a business trip.
When she returned, she gave everyone in the company a small souvenir.
Everyone—except him.
Tsundere-cute, in her own way.
Su Ruicong was anxious watching this.
You know damn well you were wrong—why aren't you apologizing?!
Is this male lead even a normal human being?
Sigh.
["What a shame. Rika is perfect in every way—except she fell for a blockhead! If only she liked me instead."]
But… they're not really going to break up, are they?
Even though Nagao doesn't deserve her, he really didn't want to see Rika hurt.
And what came next made Su Ruicong tear up completely.
Late at night, as Nagao worked overtime alone in the office, he discovered a box under his desk.
A refrigerated box.
When he opened it, inside was a small snowman.
It had already snowed where Rika was on her business trip.
But Tokyo's weather was still mild.
Rika had made a snowman there, packed it in a refrigerated container, sent it to Tokyo, and then—
secretly gave it to Nagao as a gift.
Su Ruicong's vision blurred with tears.
["What kind of heavenly female lead is this?"]
["How can someone be this gentle?"]
["After you said something so cruel to her, she still gave you a gift? You bastard, Nagao—go apologize properly!"]
A truly classic work doesn't need every single scene to move the audience.
It only needs one unforgettable moment—just one—and that's enough to make it last forever.
In a phone booth, Nagao called Rika.
On the other end, Rika answered with a trace of sadness on her face.
The two stayed silent for a long time.
"I want to see you," Nagao finally said.
"Mm," Rika replied.
The ending theme of 'Tokyo Love Story' began to play.
In the park, Rika appeared before Nagao—still wearing that playful smile, still with those bright eyes.
She had forgotten
all the hurtful things Nagao had said to her.
She forgave everything.
But this wasn't humility. Su Ruicong didn't feel that Rika was lowering herself or desperately chasing love.
What he felt most strongly was that Rika's love for Nagao was deep enough to let her overlook all the conflict, all the friction, all of Nagao's misunderstandings.
Episode four ended with Rika and Nagao embracing in reconciliation.
"I've always believed that you would definitely fall in love with me, Kanji!"
Rika's final smile became an image Su Ruicong could never erase from his mind.
If this were viewers from a past life who loved 'Tokyo Love Story', most of them would probably suggest ending the drama right here at episode four—and never filming anything after that.
After all, the few genuinely sweet moments were all used up in episode four.
Everything that followed was just there to squeeze tears from the audience.
But Su Ruicong didn't know that.
He lay back on the sofa, deeply satisfied, feeling like life was complete.
["It's only episode four, and it's already this sweet. I really want to see what other tricks Su Yan, that old thief, has up his sleeve!"]
Even though episode four started with pain and ended with sweetness,
As long as the ending was sweet, the suffering along the way didn't matter.
After episode four finished airing, the comment section—previously flooded with insults during the broadcast—became much more harmonious.
Everyone spoke politely, showing the high quality of Su Yan's fanbase.