Despite its fast pacing and what seemed like an illogical opening, the ratings for 'My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday' steadily climbed.
While most viewers did notice that the story moved quickly and felt a bit unrealistic, it wasn't as if the show gave no hints to support the development.
Aimei's frequent, inexplicable tears, her words that hinted at foresight, and the deep emotion in her gaze whenever she looked at Gao Shan—all of it gave viewers the feeling that there was more to her than met the eye. Maybe their "coincidental" meeting wasn't so coincidental after all.
She broke down crying while cutting his hair. Gao Shan had a locked box given to him by his elder sister, who had saved him as a child.
Amid all the sweet moments of romance, subtle foreshadowing was constantly being laid.
And when the plot reached the 30-minute mark—with the two of them walking down a quiet alley at night, and holding hands for the first time—
"This is my first time holding hands with a girl,"
Gao Shan said nervously.
Aimei began to cry.
"What is with this girl and her tears!?"
"She's drop-dead gorgeous, not the type who should be crying over everything!"
"So weird... But I just spent thirty minutes watching these two flirt?"
"Hey, visuals are justice."
"Honestly, I don't think this is any worse than White Lovers. It's short and simple, but it feels light and fun."
"Same here. After a long day at work, something like this is just what I need. White Lovers is all scheming and betrayal—so exhausting."
"Nah, this girl's definitely hiding something. Feels like a manipulative type. There's a twist coming."
"Shut up. Don't insult my new goddess."
"???"
At Jinhui Television, the ratings analysts were stunned.
Thirty minutes in, the show's ratings had already climbed to 0.91% nationwide, and 13% in Lan Province.
Wait, this is getting ridiculous...
Even factoring in the loyal viewer base from White Lovers, these numbers were unexpected.
For a new show with no major promotions, these numbers were astounding. If the viewership held steady, it could outperform 90% of Jinhui's other primetime dramas this year.
"What the hell is this?" one analyst muttered.
Normally, emergency "firefighting" dramas—thrown together in a week or two with minimal investment and zero promotion—were universally panned. The scripts were usually written on the fly during filming, and there was no time for proper setup or intricate plotting. Out of ten such shows, ten would be garbage.
The expectations for "firefighting dramas" were basically on par with filler arcs or recap episodes in anime—something just to fill airtime while the main series caught up.
But 'My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday' had an edge—it was based on a film that, in Jing Yu's past life, had ranked among the top twenty box office hits in Japan and received critical acclaim.
Imported into the world of the Great Zhou, the quality ratio was even higher when compared to most local productions. Sure, the early "sweet romance" scenes weren't mind-blowing, but they were more than good enough to keep viewers from changing the channel.
And when the story hit the 40-minute mark, with the kiss between Gao Shan and Aimei and the moment they became an official couple—
Nationwide ratings broke through the 1% barrier.
Now things were getting serious. Analysts were already dialing their superiors.
Meanwhile, TV drama fans were exploding with emotion:
"Absolute visual feast."
"Why is the female lead crying again?"
"Seriously, I have no idea what she's crying about!"
"But... she cries beautifully. I'm obsessed."
"Hold up, the leads got together in 10 minutes, kissed in 30, what the heck are they going to do in the second episode? White Lovers needed 10 episodes to do what this show did in one. If next week is another episode, what's left to watch?"
Zhou Yinyin glanced away from the comments in her chat group, only to realize—
The background music had quietly shifted from lighthearted and warm to soft and mournful.
Aimei's kiss at the train station... her phone call to Gao Shan, saying she had something important to tell him tomorrow...
The entire tone of the show shifted in an instant—from a sweet, feel-good romance to a knife-twisting emotional drama.
6 AM the next morning.
Bathed in the golden glow of dawn, Gao Shan and Aimei met in an art studio.
"God, they're so good-looking together," Zhou Yinyin muttered, now completely immersed in the show.
And then—finally—the biggest twist of the show was revealed.
Aimei told Gao Shan the truth:
They were from parallel worlds.
Every five years, their worlds briefly overlapped, and they could meet—for exactly one month.
Zhou Yinyin's chest tightened. She felt like she understood... but not fully.
Until—
Aimei used a key she had been carrying to open the locked box Gao Shan had kept since childhood.
Inside was a photo—Gao Shan, Aimei, and Gao Shan's parents.
The photo was dated 15 days later, and it had been given to 10-year-old Gao Shan by 30-year-old Aimei, back when he was a child.
Zhou Yinyin's mind went blank.
You can do that with a plot?!
In the discussion group, no one was typing anymore.
Everyone was glued to the screen.
Then, on screen, a timeline chart appeared for the two characters:
Gao Shan (Aimei)
Not born (45) — 0 (40) — 5 (35) — 10 (30) — 15 (25) — 20 (20) — 25 (15) — 30 (10) — 35 (5) — 40 (0) — 45 (Not born)
When this parallel timeline appeared on screen, the smarter viewers immediately understood the full scope of the story's setup.
From this point forward, the ratings jumped again—
From 1.1% to 1.21% nationwide in just five minutes.
In Lan Province, ratings stabilized at 14.8%.
Even viewers who had tuned in mid-way were captivated by this magical, tragic twist.
Across the other three major TV stations in Lan Province—each airing competing shows in the same time slot—
"What the hell? Jinhui TV just overtook us?"
"Wasn't White Lovers supposed to be on hold this week? They're airing some short filler drama, right? How the hell is that pulling over 1.2% nationwide?"
"No way. No prep, no promo, filmed in two weeks—how are that many people watching this?"
"Wait... is this some secret masterstroke from Jinhui? Like a surprise winter release, they've been hiding?"
The rating analysts at the other stations were just as stunned.
The four main stations always kept an eye on each other's shows. Everyone thought 'My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday' would bomb.
But from a launch of 0.7% all the way to 1.2%, they all understood what that meant.
Despite no marketing, no prior audience base, and barely an hour of airtime, this show had doubled its viewer retention.
A 1.2% rating wasn't unheard of.
But to gain that much within a single episode—without a single drop in the ratings curve—was something else entirely.
And then came the final line:
"So for Aimei... my tomorrow is your yesterday."
Gao Shan said it with a shocked, sorrowful expression.
The show's logo appeared in the corner:
A Date with the You of Yesterday
End of Episode 1.
Runtime: 55 minutes.
Final national rating: 1.24%
Lan Province: 15.3%
Zhou Yinyin sat frozen for a few seconds, then let out a long breath.
She glanced at her group chat.
"Cliffhanger bastards."
The phrase was everywhere.
Discussion about the show's premise and twist exploded—hundreds of messages in mere moments.
Better than expected. Way better.
Zhou Yinyin never expected that this drama would not only be visually stunning but also genuinely well-written.
At the Jinhui TV headquarters, Jing Yu, Gao Wencang, and Liu Neng were gathered in the office.
The latter two were beaming with joy.
"Holy crap, Lao Yu, did you see this?! 1.24! Lan Province broke 15! This first episode already beat the station's benchmark. The second episode's definitely going even higher!"
Gao Wencang froze for a second, then grabbed Jing Yu's shoulders and shook him with excitement.
This was almost on par with White Lovers' record-breaking numbers.
Compared to past dramas aired in this time slot, this was an absolute outlier—an enormous success.
"Yeah, yeah. Don't get too excited. You're supposed to act like a refined director," Jing Yu said, quickly calming him down.
He glanced over at Liu Neng. The producer nodded at him.
Both were more reserved, but that didn't mean they weren't thrilled. The excitement just didn't show as loudly.
Back at the flower shop, Yu Youqing and her mother looked away from the screen.
"That was great! Xiao Qing, this show is way better than White Lovers! That handsome male lead—isn't he the young man who came here before? He's so good-looking. You two look great on camera together," her mom gushed.
"What's the rest of the plot? Come on, tell Mom. Also... was that kiss real?"
"Mooom! That's not the point!" Yu Youqing groaned.
She finally calmed her mother down, then checked her phone.
A message from Jing Yu came in, containing the ratings report for episode one.
Her eyes lingered on the numbers.
She already knew that all the big moments were in episode two.
She hadn't expected episode one to already perform this well.
Back at the White Lovers set, in the writers' office—
Jiang Shiqing stared at the ratings sheet his assistant handed over.
He checked it three times.
"You sure you didn't grab the wrong one? This isn't the data for Meeting Him from Shuimeng TV?"
Meeting Him was produced by Shuimeng TV, one of the other big four in Lan Province, and White Lovers' biggest competitor.
"No mistake. This is the first episode data for 'My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday'," the assistant replied cautiously.
He, too, could tell something was off.
1.24% for a filler drama? That had to be a joke.
White Lovers' first episode had peaked at 1.03%, with 12% in Lan Province—and that was with half a month of aggressive marketing.
If this "backup" show outperformed the network's flagship, what would that mean for the face of Jiang Shiqing and everyone involved in White Lovers?
At that moment, Tang Yidong, Song Xin, and White Lovers' producer Xu You also received the numbers.
Whatever good mood they still had tonight vanished.
They weren't idiots.
Everyone in this industry knew what it meant when a drama pulled these numbers in the first episode.
Something wasn't right.