Sunday, Dangerous Girlfriend Production Set.
Everyone in the team felt an oppressive weight in their hearts.
The third episode of Dangerous Girlfriend had reached nearly 1.7% in viewership ratings. Under normal circumstances, this would've been a moment of celebration. But today, no one could bring themselves to smile.
After all, the drama 'Your Lie in April', airing on the same channel, had just hit 1.68% with its fourth episode.
Right now, these two dramas airing concurrently on Jinhui TV could easily be considered the most explosive premieres the network has seen in the past ten years.
This should've been something worth celebrating. But…
No matter how high Dangerous Girlfriend's ratings got, if it didn't secure the #1 spot in the spring season, it would all be meaningless.
It was like breaking a world record in a 100-meter sprint—only to lose to someone in your heat who ran even faster. What was the point?
Inside the production office, Dangerous Girlfriend's lead actress Xu Xiangwen was currently yelling at the show's producer and screenwriter.
Everyone else on the set had quietly distanced themselves—no one wanted to get caught in the crossfire. Still, the shouting could be heard clearly from outside.
"So, Writer Jiang, what the hell is going on with that 'Your Lie in April' show? I came all the way to this backwater province to shoot some regional drama, and now you're telling me I'm going to walk away with second place in Lan Province?!"
"Miss Xu, there's no need to worry. 'Your Lie in April's ratings won't surpass Dangerous Girlfriend. I can assure you of that."
"Do you even realize how my peers are mocking me right now? I took the highest paycheck in Lan Province, starred in the most expensive drama of the season here, and now I'm being beaten by a show written by a part-time actor and starring some washed-up actress. Do you have any idea how damaging that is to my career?!"
Xu Xiangwen's expression was livid.
She now deeply regretted agreeing to shoot a drama in Lan Province. For an actress, it's hard to climb up the ladder of fame, but all too easy to fall back down.
If Dangerous Girlfriend ended up flopping—especially here—it would leave a permanent black mark on her resume. Future investors would see that during the peak of her popularity, she starred in a provincial TV drama that failed to outperform a local production.
And what would that tell them? That she couldn't convert her popularity into viewership, that she lost to a local drama on its own turf—and in a smaller market, no less.
Once that kind of perception took root, it was terrifying.
Jiang Shiqing was clearly trying to suppress his anger, but he didn't dare lash out at Xu Xiangwen.
After venting for ten minutes straight, Xu Xiangwen stormed out. Still, she had her own sense of professionalism—the crew was waiting to start filming.
"Shi Qing, have some tea."
Song Xin gently handed Jiang Shiqing a cup of tea.
But Jiang, still stewing in frustration, lashed out at her instead.
"You have time to fuss over these useless things, but not enough to polish your acting? Just look at yourself—both you and the actress playing the third or fourth female lead… Why is it that the character Jin Hui in 'Your Lie in April' instantly won over audiences the moment she appeared? In just two days, she already has an official fan club hyping her on the network's website. And your character? From episode one, you've had zero popularity. Last week, people were dragging you through the mud online."
Song Xin's eyes widened in disbelief.
So now the screenwriter was blaming her acting?
The role she played had been poorly written, insignificant, and unlikable. And now he dared compare her to Jin Hui, a character who was perfectly styled, beautifully shot from every angle, and had a standout piano performance?
"But… no one has said my acting was bad."
She tried to suppress her growing resentment and spoke in the calmest voice she could muster.
"What do you mean by that?" Jiang looked over at her coldly.
Song Xin didn't argue further. She just turned away, but an overwhelming wave of injustice surged in her chest.
The ratings for their drama were being chased down by 'Your Lie in April', the online scores were lower, and somehow, she was being blamed?
Then he had the nerve to compare her to Xia Yining, who played Jin Hui in 'Your Lie in April'? That hit right where she was most vulnerable.
Seeing how well 'Your Lie in April' was doing, the most complicated emotions of all belonged to her.
Every bit of success and praise that Yu Youqing received in Da Zhou's entertainment scene felt like a knife stabbing her heart.
So many people at the station had mocked her for her lack of foresight. Back when Jing Yu had invited her to star as the female lead in 'My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday', she'd not only rejected him but made a joke out of it—bragging about it to her coworkers.
Now? Every colleague who remembered that story treated her like a walking punchline.
And now Jiang Shiqing, her own screenwriter, had personally told her she wasn't even as good as 'Your Lie in April's third female lead.
"Men are all bastards. Jiang Shiqing's just using me, and Jing Yu… he's just a heartless jerk."
Her muttered curses echoed through the hallway.
8 PM – Episode 4 of Dangerous Girlfriend airs.
Thanks to nearly a month of accumulated popularity, the show launched with an impressive 1.46% rating, which steadily climbed throughout the broadcast. Although the subplot of the male lead getting too close to the second female lead caused a temporary dip, ratings quickly rebounded.
By the end of episode 4, Dangerous Girlfriend had reached an average rating of 1.68%.
The next day, when the data spread across the station, everyone at Jinhui TV was stunned.
Two dramas, airing just two days apart, and by episode 4, both were sitting at 1.68% average viewership.
Of course, the numbers weren't the same. If you extended the stats to three decimal places, there would definitely be a winner. But like this? The draw left a delicious cliffhanger.
Monday morning, the entire TV station turned into a gossip hub. Rumors about the ongoing grudge between Jing Yu, Jiang Shiqing, and Song Xin spread like wildfire.
In those stories, Song Xin had become the biggest joke at the station—not only blind, but foolish. If she had shown even a sliver of decency after her breakup, if she hadn't publicly mocked Jing Yu, she might have been the female lead in 'Your Lie in April' right now.
During the routine Monday production meeting, Chu You took center stage for the first time in over a year—and went head-to-head with Xu You.
"In summary, I believe there's still time to fix this. We should increase promotional funding for 'Your Lie in April' and begin marketing it in other provinces. I guarantee April will achieve a ratings miracle for the station," Chu said, his voice full of confidence.
"The station's budget is limited," Xu You shot back coldly. "We already allocated promotional funds to Dangerous Girlfriend. There's nothing left for 'Your Lie in April'."
"Then maybe we shouldn't give any more to Dangerous Girlfriend, Minister Shi." Chu You turned to Minister Shi Teng. "Right now, Dangerous Girlfriend has already exceeded 40 million in total budget, yet it's delivering the same results as 'Your Lie in April', which only had a 10 million budget."
"We're a commercial station. Commercial decisions should be based on ROI. 'Your Lie in April' achieved the same ratings with just 25% of the investment. If we're allocating a single dollar to spring dramas, then from a purely economic standpoint, that dollar should go to 'Your Lie in April'."
"F**k you, Chu You. What the hell is that supposed to mean? Minister, I object! 'Your Lie in April's ratings are a fluke. Meanwhile, Dangerous Girlfriend is only just hitting its stride. If we cut its promo budget now, what about all the money we've already spent?!"
The meeting devolved into an outright verbal brawl between Xu You and Chu You. The two hurled quotes, stats, and eventually even descended into full-blown Da Zhou national-grade swearing, raising the "intellectual tone" of Jinhui TV's production department meetings by several notches.
"Alright, alright. Both of you, mind your language."
Minister Shi Teng rubbed his temples, clearly exhausted.
Budgets were normally set before a drama even started. You weren't supposed to just throw in more money mid-run.
But given how explosive both dramas had become, the station execs had grown ambitious—they now wanted one of these shows to break viewership records for the network.
After all, such high ratings had already led to increases in the station's other revenue streams.
"The station has, in fact, allocated a bit over 10 million in additional promotional funds to our production department," Shi Teng said calmly, looking at both men.
Chu You and Xu You instantly turned to him in unison.
"Currently, both 'Your Lie in April' and Dangerous Girlfriend are ranked #22 and #27, respectively, on the national spring drama charts."
Shi Teng's voice grew serious.
'Your Lie in April's early low ratings dragged down its average, so despite its recent rise, it still lagged behind Dangerous Girlfriend in rankings.
Fortunately, this year's spring season had been weak overall. Aside from the top 10 dramas, most others had abysmal ratings. In any normal year, both shows would've been ranked 5 to 8 spots lower.
"The station's goal," Shi Teng continued, "is for at least one of our spring dramas to break into the Top 20 nationally. Ideally, both would. That way, we'd have leverage to increase ad pricing."
"But if we spread our resources too thin, we might get nothing. If we split the 10 million equally, neither show may make it."
"So the decision is: All of the funds will go to just one drama."