After the second episode of 'Your Lie in April' aired, fans all over Dazhou—especially the younger audience who'd been left hanging by that cliffhanger ending—rushed to Jin Hui TV's official website, flooding the forums with heated discussions and speculations about the plot.
As for the slightly older demographic, those less familiar with online interactions, they didn't post or comment. But they remembered the show. They noted the airtime. And they would absolutely be tuning in next week.
By the early hours of the following morning, Jing Yu woke up in his small rental apartment.
Roughly twenty or thirty square meters, tidy and clean. After washing up, he hopped onto his motorcycle and headed to the set.
Early morning in Lan City—on the open roads, a handsome young man sped past on his motorcycle. He caught the attention of quite a few high schoolers on their way to class.
"Was that You Gongsheng?"
"That was You Gongsheng, right?"
"Definitely! That face—that's the male lead of 'Your Lie in April'!"
"It's really him!"
"He's the screenwriter, the actor, and the one who did the music for the show!"
It wasn't uncommon for students to recognize him now. After all, over half of 'Your Lie in April's audience came from Lan Province, and the student demographic made up a large portion of that viewership.
Jing Yu had grown used to this sort of attention lately. A screenwriter's name alone might not mean much to the public, but an actor—especially one starring in a local drama with over 10% viewership—was practically a celebrity in Lan Province.
He already knew the second episode's ratings. Thanks to contacts at the station, he had the numbers before morning. The ratings spike didn't surprise him; he'd expected it.
But when he arrived at the set...
Everyone was acting… strangely.
People's expressions were buzzing with barely contained excitement.
Especially when he entered his office and found both Gao Wencang and Liu Neng already waiting for him.
"You two are here early," Jing Yu said with raised eyebrows.
Normally, he was the earliest arrival on set.
Liu Neng had dark circles under his eyes. Gao Wencang was visibly shaking with excitement.
"Okay, okay, I know already. 'Your Lie in April' broke 1% in viewership. To be precise, 1.29%. I found out last night, so you two don't need to report it like it's breaking news," Jing Yu said before they could even open their mouths.
Gao Wencang froze, a mouthful of bragging pride stuck in his chest like indigestion.
It was like finally getting something worth boasting about to your best friend—only for him to say, "Please. Spare me."
"Teacher Jing, how are you so calm? Episode 2 reached 1.29%! That's huge!" Liu Neng couldn't help but raise his voice, unable to contain the thrill.
After all, just two months ago, he was the station's go-to "damage control" guy—whenever a producer had to step away for promotion or a shoot went sideways, the higher-ups would temporarily assign Liu Neng to fill in.
He had plenty of on-set experience. Yet in the massive pile of dramas produced by Jin Hui TV every year, not one had ever had his name in the credits.
But now, just two months of working with Jing Yu—first 'My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday', and now 'Your Lie in April'—and look where they were.
"Exactly!" Liu Neng continued. "1.29%! We're getting close to our 2% target!"
"Close?" Jing Yu sighed. "We're far from 2%."
He wasn't worried about later episodes—he knew the drama would explode later on. But if the early numbers were too weak, even if future episodes hit 3%, it might not be enough to raise the average to above 2%.
Gao Wencang and Liu Neng exchanged glances.
Was Jing Yu... disappointed in 1.29%?
"Well... you know... baby steps, right?" Gao Wencang said awkwardly.
He had heard Jing Yu talk about Episode 2 potentially outperforming Episode 1, but back then, he didn't take it literally.
Average viewership of 2%? That was insane.
Jin Hui TV hadn't produced a drama with those numbers in twenty years.
"There's no choice," Jing Yu said calmly, sitting at his desk and opening his notebook. "Like Producer Liu said: if we want 'Your Lie in April' to be recognized nationally, it needs to rank in the top 20 of all spring dramas. And to do that, it needs an average rating of at least 2.0%."
"So no, 1.29% isn't worth celebrating."
"'Your Lie in April' is planned for just eleven episodes. Let's do the math—Episode 1's average was 0.82%. To pull the entire series average up to 2%, the final episode needs to hit 3.18%. The second-to-last episode? 2.71%. And so on."
He looked at the two of them.
"So right now, we're still dragging dead weight. These numbers aren't good enough."
"Wait, hold on—3%? You're serious?" Gao Wencang's eyes widened. "That's not just ambitious—that's delusional!"
"There are fewer than ten TV stations in the entire country whose dramas ever break 3%. And the ones that do are mostly from the Big Three: Xingtong, Huanshi, and DiDu TV."
"Even among second-tier giants like Chenghai, Squirrel, and Aurora TV, 3% is considered great. Anything under 2.5% is seen as underperforming, but even that is rare."
In short: Jin Hui TV had never—not even once—produced a drama that broke 3%, not even a single peak rating.
Let alone a stable average.
"That's true," Gao Wencang said. "We're not like Xingtong, where most dramas casually hit 4%, or occasionally explode past 10% when they have a top-tier writer on board. We're… Jin Hui."
"Exactly," Liu Neng added. "Even those second-tier networks—Chenghai, Squirrel, Aurora—at least have brand recognition and a steady viewership base. Jin Hui's scale and market share just can't compete."
"Which is why," Jing Yu said with a calm smile, "we have to rely on ourselves."
Yes, he knew it sounded unrealistic.
But both 'My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday' and 'Your Lie in April' had shown him that his adapted works could thrive in this world.
Manga or not, anime or not—it was just another storytelling medium. And as long as the core narrative remained intact, the audience would respond.
Jin Hui was still a national network with full coverage. If the drama was good enough, if it built strong word of mouth, then… why not break 3%?
Sure, Xingtong could go from 5% to 10% when a drama popped off. A twofold jump.
Why couldn't Jin Hui, with a solid 1.5%, go to 3%?
"Realistically, yeah, big-name dramas from Xingtong are of insanely high quality," he admitted. "And if a top-tier drama came along, it'd never air on a station like Jin Hui."
"But every rule has its exception." He gave them a meaningful look. "And I… am the exception."
Breaking viewership records didn't depend on history—it depended on quality.
And records? They existed to be broken.
Liu Neng nodded slowly, finally catching on to Jing Yu's mindset.
"I get it. This year's spring lineup has been kind of weak. The average needed to break into the top 20 might not even be a full 2%. So maybe we don't have to hit 3% after all."
"Teacher Jing, don't stress too much. Director Gao was just throwing out numbers. Honestly, even if we aim for the top 20, we may not need to go that high."
Liu Neng didn't know how 'Your Lie in April' was going to unfold from here. But if they were going to work with Jing Yu, they had to at least entertain the possibility of success. Otherwise, they'd never be in sync.
"It's just that…" Gao Wencang let out a long breath. "Your goal is crazy. Like, really crazy. But I can't deny… the trend does make it feel possible."
Jing Yu looked at them both seriously.
"You have to understand—people like us, with no connections at the station, could lose everything at any time."
"There's no shortage of talent in this industry. What's rare is the opportunity to prove yourself."
"If 'Your Lie in April' performs just okay, we'll still be at risk of being replaced."
"But if it's a nationwide hit…"
He smiled.
"Then the entire country… becomes our opportunity."