["For this drama alone, I want the damn writer to just kill off Satomi already!"]
["I'm a hardcore Gu Qingyuan fan, but even I can't take it anymore. Why did she have to take on this role?!"]
["Because the whole point was to bait Gu Qingyuan's fans into watching, duh!"]
["Criticize the character if you must, but don't attack the actor. Haven't any of you noticed how insanely good Gu Qingyuan is in this role?"]
["In 'Edgerunner', Shen Liqian played a supporting role. Now in 'Tokyo Love Story', Gu Qingyuan's playing a supporting role too—fair's fair!"]
["I mean, yeah, but still! I just want Satomi to disappear! She's such a manipulative little fake, always acting innocent and pitiful. Ugh!"]
["Honestly, Gu Qingyuan looked like she was having a blast in this role. She even said in an interview with Tokyo media that when she was in school, there were girls like Satomi in her class—and playing one now is pretty amusing to her."]
["It may be fun for her, but for us? Pure pain."]
["Ugh, forget Satomi. I think it takes two to tango. The male lead is a problem too—how's someone with such a weak will supposed to be in a relationship?"]
["Why is no one talking about Kenichi?"]
["What's there to say about Kenichi? It's not like Satomi didn't know he was a player. Even after they got together, is he just supposed to pretend all his old female friends don't exist? Come on, Nagasaki Naoko is literally his research lab junior from the same advisor—basically his academic 'sister.' How do you avoid that? If Satomi can't even stand them talking, why date at all? She should go become a nun!"]
["..."]
["Look, the show's called 'Tokyo Love Story'. You have to understand it through the lens of Tokyo's dating culture. Don't project mainland values onto it, or all the characters will seem messed up."]
["All I ask is: please, no more angst. If they keep this up, I'm going to get stress ulcers."]
["Su Yan, you damn sadist—stop already. Just give us some happy scenes with Rika and Nagao. I swear the ratings will beat 'Edgerunner' if you stop with the nonsense!"]
After episode five of 'Tokyo Love Story' aired, fans in Xia Nation had already begun sensing where things were headed.
You thought that now that Nagao and Rika had slept together, and Kenichi and Satomi had too, everything would stabilize?
That's how it would go in a mainland drama.
There, sleeping together = commitment = everything.
But in Sakura Island-style romance dramas? Not even close.
That's just how things are there.
In Su Yan's previous life, Sakura Island had a 49% infidelity rate among married women, and men weren't far behind. So, when it comes to unmarried couples? Even fewer constraints.
And Sakura Island culture in the Xia Nation was pretty much the same.
That's why, even though Rika and Nagao were already living together in 'Tokyo Love Story', the story remained tangled and complicated.
This was also why so many of Su Yan's scripts couldn't be adapted to a mainland setting.
If you changed the backdrop of 'Tokyo Love Story' to a mainland one, the backlash would be overwhelming. But for now, all viewers could do was pity Rika, blame Nagao, understand but not support Kenichi, and loathe Satomi.
Still, controversy is a good thing.
A drama that generates no debate? That's a guaranteed flop.
By noon, episode five had pulled in a rating of 5.35%, up slightly from the previous episode's 5.29%.
Meanwhile, its top competitor, 'Blood Route', had dropped to 4.98%.
'Tokyo Love Story' was pulling far ahead of the competition.
That same week, a big piece of entertainment news broke in Xia Nation:
Shen Liqian had chosen not to renew her contract with her longtime agency. Instead, she and her manager of nearly eight years had both signed on with Dimensional Pictures, under Su Yan.
This stirred up a lot of chatter across the industry.
Her former agency, furious about losing her, went on the attack—spreading negative rumors about her behavior on set, calling her arrogant and entitled, and even suggesting she was being blacklisted by Akasaka Yoshitoki.
Typical scorched-earth tactics: if we can't have her, we'll ruin her.
But now that Shen Liqian was under Su Yan's wing, he wasn't going to sit back and take it. He launched legal action—knowing full well it might not lead to anything substantial. Even if they won, damages would only amount to a few tens of thousands. Still, the principle mattered.
Taking advantage of the media attention, Su Yan dropped another tidbit during an interview:
Shen Liqian's starring drama, 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica', would premiere next April.
He didn't say much more.
But he did tease that a film starring Shen Liqian would hit theaters next year.
Su Yan wouldn't appear in either '5 Centimeters per Second' or 'We Made a Beautiful Bouquet' due to not matching the roles.
However, the female lead of 'We Made a Beautiful Bouquet'? That was confirmed: Shen Liqian.
As for '5 Centimeters per Second', casting would be done through open auditions in Xia Nation, focusing on well-known child actors and young talents.
Even with such limited details, the news was enough to send Xia Nation's fans into a frenzy.
Shen Liqian starring in a movie?!
That must mean Su Yan is already working on a film script?!
Just last summer, his film 'The Garden of Words' brought plenty of surprises to Xia's moviegoers.
Su Yan had earned a solid reputation in the film world.
Now that a second movie was confirmed, fans were all in.
Sunday arrived. Episode six of 'Tokyo Love Story' aired.
In the first half, the main four characters had a relatively peaceful group gathering.
Misunderstandings from the previous episode seemed resolved.
But then came the second half.
Nagasaki Naoko made a move on Kenichi—and Kenichi didn't resist.
And of course, Tokyo being tiny, Satomi saw everything.
Devastated, she called Nagao, who immediately rushed over.
Meanwhile, Rika, just getting home from work, listened to the voicemail Satomi had left on their landline.
Once again, the episode ended with Rika in tears.
The story had officially descended into chaos.
And the fans in Xia Nation? They'd had enough.
Su Yan's creator account was flooded with the most intense wave of backlash since the show began.
Two straight episodes of Rika suffering? Who could tolerate that?!
["Su Yan, you sick freak, what the hell are you doing?!"]
["This plotline is garbage! Please, just stop letting Satomi stir things up! Can she get hit by a car already?!"]
["I'm speechless. Why does Satomi always run to Nagao whenever something happens? Tokyo has what, 30–40 million people? Don't tell me the only men available are Kenichi and Nagao? If Kenichi isn't working out, go date someone else—or stay single! Why can't she survive without clinging to someone? I'm gonna puke."]
["If not for Satomi, Rika and Nagao wouldn't have had so many misunderstandings! She knows they're dating and still pulls this? She's insane."]
["Please, I beg you, Su Yan. Don't make Rika and Nagao break up! I can't bear seeing Rika cry again."]
["If you want us to support 'Madoka Magica', then you'd better take care of Rika next episode!"]
["This is so exhausting to watch. I just want Rika to find real love. Is that so hard?!"]
["Nagao's values and abilities are normal, sure. But as a male lead? He's by far the dumbest one Su Yan's ever written. He's indecisive, easily swayed. If he still has feelings for Satomi, then why the hell is he dating Rika?! He knows it's not right, and still lets Satomi's words mess with his head over and over again. I'm losing it."]
["If I saw Nagao and Satomi in real life, I'd slap both of them."]
["Even Kenichi doesn't make me this mad. He's just playing true to type. But Satomi? She's pure green tea trying to act like a white lotus."]
["Satomi's officially ranked #1 on Xia Nation's 'Most Hated Female Drama Characters' list tonight."]
["As a Gu Qingyuan fan, I feel bad for her!"]
["Attack the character, not the actor!"]
["I can't believe there's a day I'd feel this level of rage toward the actress who played Tomoe in 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal'. Is it Su Yan's fault for writing her this well, or Gu Qingyuan's fault for acting so damn convincingly? Maybe both?"]
["I can't believe this drama is only on episode six! The number of love twists and emotional whiplash would take two seasons in another show!"]
["Let Satomi die already!"]
["Akana Rika forever! Su Yan, if you hurt her again, I'm blocking you!"]
Noon rolled around, and episode six's viewership was revealed: 5.41%.
With a surge in support from housewives, the numbers were rising faster than anyone in the industry expected.
And this was only the sixth episode.
That week, fan rage in Xia Nation reached an all-time high.
There were no official plot hints, but audiences could already sense the looming direction.
Everything hinged on Satomi and Mikami's relationship.
If they broke up and Satomi went crawling to Nagao—what would he do?
Could this naive male lead resist Satomi's green tea tactics?
Could he fend off her tears?
Could he hold firm in the face of her innocent, white-lotus smile?
Judging from his past behavior, the answer was a clear no.
And if Nagao couldn't resist?
Then what about Rika?
How could the story go there?
The emotional storm brewing in Xia Nation surged toward Su Yan in waves.
Nagao Kanji quickly followed Satomi in claiming the title of "Most Hated Male Character" in Xia.
And with that, art was complete.
After six episodes, 'Tokyo Love Story' now holds:
#1 most popular female character: Akana Rika
#1 most hated female character: Sekiguchi Satomi
#1 Most Hated Male Character: Nagao Kanji
They swept both the blacklists and redlists.
The online backlash was now spilling into real life.
A huge number of stay-at-home women began binging the show on ZhongxiaNet.
The series hit over 15 million paid views per episode.
Yes, the pacing was intense. And yes, it was getting slammed.
But anyone in the industry could see it:
The influence of this drama?
It was only just beginning to take off.