On Sunday, starting from the afternoon, Zhongxia TV's ratings began climbing rapidly.
From seven to eight in the evening, the station even aired a special variety program dedicated to the finale of 'Tokyo Love Story'.
During the show, they revealed behind-the-scenes footage obtained from Su Yan.
That variety special alone maintained ratings above 4.5% throughout its broadcast.
Although online criticism of Su Yan had been intense lately, among actual television audiences, the majority remained silent.
Young viewers vented their anger loudly online, but most of 'Tokyo Love Story's audience consisted of housewives.
This group had seen far more of life.
Nagao, Rika, Satomi, Kenichi, plus the wealthy heiress Nagasaki Naoko—their five-way entanglement was nothing shocking to them.
Scumbags? Manipulative women? White lotus types? Green tea schemers?
Those were trivial matters.
Sure, their emotions fluctuated with the plot—but they would never completely lose control over it.
Of course, they still hoped that in the final episode, Rika would receive a perfect ending.
Tao Lei watched the variety show end with visible irritation.
He took a deep breath.
It was time.
The program ended at 7:59 PM. After a thirty-second closing sequence—without a single second of commercials—the screen seamlessly transitioned into the theme song of Episode 11 of 'Tokyo Love Story'.
The last time I heard this song…
Tao Lei felt a trace of melancholy.
The opening scene showed Nagao standing on a soccer field in Ehime, looking lost and hollow.
Then he turned—
And saw that familiar figure.
No dragging it out.
The moment he saw that smile,
The heaviness in Tao Lei's heart began to fade.
In this drama, as long as Rika smiled, everything felt worth it.
Even for him—someone still unable to move on from a breakup half a year ago—this show had healed him multiple times through the heroine's personality.
But he never imagined the story would develop like this.
Nagao searched all over Ehime for Rika—if she was really there, she would have heard about it.
Now she appeared before him on her own initiative.
Had she finally made up her mind to end things properly?
The narrative rhythm remained the same—multi-threaded storytelling.
Nagao and Rika met in Ehime.
Meanwhile, in Tokyo, Kenichi and Satomi reunited after a long time.
Perhaps the most surreal thing about this drama was how it completely separated friendship and romance.
Even Kenichi and Satomi, once lovers, could sit together laughing like old friends after breaking up.
So what about Rika and Nagao?
Could this reunion help Nagao finally sort out his feelings, apologize properly, and get back together with Rika?
Though they had clearly broken up in the previous episode,
In romance dramas, breakup-then-reconciliation was common.
"As long as Su Yan wants to, this episode can still be a happy ending," Tao Lei thought.
The scene shifted.
After Kenichi and Nagao finished talking, it returned to Ehime—
Nagao and Rika's conversation.
Rika: "I've decided. I'm going abroad!"
Her face shone with a radiant smile.
Just like in Episode 1.
Rika: "I'll keep the fact that I once loved you deep in my heart."
Tao Lei's heart sank.
He had guessed this direction might happen—but when it truly arrived, he couldn't accept it.
Nagao: "Rika, try to live more freely."
He didn't know how to comfort her, so he spoke in a heavy tone.
You have the right to say that?!
Tao Lei grew angry again.
Do you not know why she can't live freely?
It's because you kept wavering! Because you lacked resolve!
On the seaside embankment, Rika walked with her back to Nagao.
Her smiling face slowly turned sorrowful.
She turned around—
And looked at him with one final, determined gaze.
Then she ran into his arms.
The background music swelled.
Tao Lei's eyes widened.
Rika: "I'll wait for you at the station!"
Her voice trembled.
Rika: "The train leaves at 4:48 PM. There are two hours left."
"If you change your mind before then, come find me!"
"If you still can't… I'll just leave."
She looked at Nagao.
But from the television's perspective, it felt as though she was looking directly at the audience.
Her eyes were still so bright. So gentle.
Rika: "This is my last request. I want to see you at 4:48. So… I won't say goodbye."
Tao Lei's previously sluggish heart jolted back to life.
This was Rika.
Even at the very end, she was still fighting for a chance.
["Nagao, I'm begging you. Can you just be brave for once? You must have feelings for Rika in your heart, right? Think carefully—will there ever be another woman in this world who loves you like this? Satomi? That woman gets upset at the slightest comment from others. Do you really think she's better than Rika?"]
Tao Lei was frantic.
He wished he could transmigrate into the drama, possess Nagao, and make the decision himself.
Rika or Satomi?
How was that even a choice?
Nagao—this was Rika's final hope. Her final opportunity for you.
And yet, the plot continued to hesitate.
Nagao sat by the sea, struggling internally.
4:48 PM drew closer.
Rika's eyes were red as she listened to the distant sound of a train bell.
At one moment, Nagao suddenly stood up.
He ran toward the station.
He arrived on time.
The 4:48 train—
But Rika was gone.
A station attendant told him she had boarded the 4:33 train.
Tao Lei clenched his fists, a deep sense of helplessness rising within him.
Every time in this drama, Rika waited for Nagao.
And every time, he was late.
This time, when he didn't come immediately, she must have thought he wouldn't come at all.
Absurd. Painful.
Almost laughable through tears.
Nagao looked at where she had sat.
A white handkerchief lay there, with lipstick writing:
"Bye-bye, Kanji!"
Across the Xia Nation, countless viewers were completely controlled by the plot.
On the train, Akana Rika lowered her head.
She looked like she was about to cry, but suppressed her sobs.
She returned to Tokyo—then immediately accepted a company transfer overseas.
Nagao was devastated.
But after Rika left—
He ended up with Satomi.
A powerful wave of loss flooded Tao Lei's heart.
Was this ending bad?
Objectively speaking, it wasn't.
Every time Nagao dated Satomi, he arrived early.
Every time he dated Rika, he arrived late.
If just once—just once—he had placed Rika on equal footing with Satomi and arrived early instead of cutting it close,
He would have made it before 4:33.
He would have met Rika.
Arriving exactly on time meant failure.
It meant hesitation.
The true happy ending of this story wasn't Rika waiting endlessly at the station.
It was Nagao arriving early to stop her.
He didn't.
So perhaps they were simply fated but not destined.
Still—
["It's so hard to accept,"] Tao Lei whispered.
Understanding was easy. Acceptance was not.
["Nagao, you idiot! You always arrived early for Satomi. Why cut it so close this time? Couldn't you just be decisive for once and go early?!"]
Soon after, the story fast-forwarded three years.
Tao Lei's expression turned hopeless.
Three years?
That completely erased any possibility of Nagao chasing Rika overseas.
Kenichi's marriage to Nagasaki Naoko was almost a minor subplot.
Though her marrying her fiancé, then running back during the honeymoon to reunite with Kenichi—and marrying him three years later—was absurd…
Within this drama, it somehow felt normal.
Anyone who could love Kenichi would naturally be that unconventional.
Melancholic background music played.
Nagao and Satomi, leaving Kenichi's wedding, encountered—
Her.
Akana Rika.
Their reunion after three years.
Rika looked calmer now.
She smiled gently as she glanced at the wedding rings on their fingers.
Tao Lei had endured everything until now.
But when Satomi tactfully left them alone—
The calm atmosphere between Nagao and Rika broke him.
They smiled like they had before they ever dated—
Yet something invisible stood between them.
They finally said all the words left unsaid at their parting.
Perhaps there were regrets.
But they had both… let go.
As they parted—
Nagao: "Want to grab a meal together?
Rika: "No. Isn't this nice? Running into each other by chance on the street. Next time… maybe in a few more years."
Nagao: "Goodbye."
Rika: "Goodbye."
[Nagao: Bye-bye.]
Rika: "Bye-bye!"
The familiar dialogue. The familiar scene.
Wasn't this just like Episode 1?
Nagao: "Do your best."
Rika: "You too!"
Nagao: "Feels like we've done this before."
Rika: "We have!"
Rika: "Then let's count to three like before!"
Nagao: "Okay!"
Both: "One, two, three!"
This time, after counting, they both jumped backward simultaneously.
Unlike Episode 1, Rika didn't stay behind.
They walked in opposite directions.
Rika: "Kanji."
Nagao froze.
So did Tao Lei's heart.
Hope surged—
But it fell empty.
Rika: "Kanji."
Nagao turned.
She simply smiled brightly and waved.
Then walked away without looking back.
This time—
It was truly over.
Their love.
The drama.
They had let go.
But Tao Lei couldn't.
It hurt even more.
As the powerful ending theme played, Tao Lei collapsed onto the sofa, mind blank.
When the credits finished,
He sighed.
At least… this wasn't a bad ending for Rika.
She had figured it out. Let it go.
Life was full of setbacks—
In work, in love.
That's what he thought.
Then, text appeared on the screen.
['Tokyo Love Story, What IF!' Next Sunday, 8 PM on Zhongxia TV. 9 PM streaming simultaneously on ZhongxiaNet.]
Tao Lei shot upright on the sofa like a carp flipping out of water.
His entire posture straightened instantly.