On Sunday, Yu Youqing left the 'Your Lie in April' drama set just after 7:00 AM.
She took a taxi back to her house.
"You're back already? So early today?" her mother asked in surprise.
"Yeah, today's shoot went really smoothly, so the schedule moved faster than expected. I was able to leave the set by seven," Yu Youqing replied, then glanced around the quiet flower shop at home and asked with some confusion, "Where are all the flowers?"
"Isn't it obvious? We've got a big celebrity in the house now—who around here doesn't know? People are coming from all over Lancheng just to see the place you lived. Even though you weren't home, thanks to my very persuasive sales skills, hmph… not a single one of them left empty-handed," her mother said proudly.
"A big celebrity? Come on, that's embarrassing. 'Your Lie in April' just happened to have slightly better ratings recently. That's all thanks to Teacher Jing Yu. It really has nothing to do with me," Yu Youqing said, feeling awkward.
She couldn't do anything about how others saw it, but hearing her own mother say that made it all the more weird.
"Well, it's true, isn't it? 'Your Lie in April' is so popular right now! My lovely daughter is finally getting recognized—is it so wrong to brag a little? But seriously, you finish work and just come straight home, no wonder you're still single. Why not invite that Jing Yu over for tea sometime?" Her mother gave her a look.
Hearing this, Yu Youqing couldn't help but grumble.
"Mom, what are you saying? Teacher Jing Yu and I are just coworkers. If you keep talking like that and someone overhears and starts spreading rumors, it might hurt his reputation."
"Oh? So you're only worried about that Jing Yu's reputation? But you don't seem to care about yourself? Or... maybe, when people misunderstand, you actually don't get upset—maybe you even like it, but you're afraid he will get the wrong idea and dislike you?" her mother said in a tone full of meaning.
Yu Youqing felt a tightness in her chest. Mom, your train of thought is really something else.
Not wanting to continue arguing with her mother—who always focused on the weirdest things—she quickly found an excuse and hurried upstairs.
By 7:30 PM, she had tuned the TV to Jinhui TV.
She already knew the ratings results for 'Your Lie in April'. The battle between 'Your Lie in April' and Dangerous Girlfriend for Episode 5's viewership had spread through both sets.
Her class group chat had been buzzing all week. Even now, it was full of discussions about 'Your Lie in April' and Dangerous Girlfriend.
Since 'Your Lie in April' started airing, she had gotten over a dozen calls from people asking her to help them land a role in Jing Yu's drama team. She turned them all down.
The last two months had felt like a dream to her.
In such a short time, she had gone from being unknown to getting recognized on the street. She had even climbed into the top five most popular actresses in the province.
All of this began the day she accepted the role in Jing Yu's 'My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday'.
At 8 PM sharp, Episode 5 of Dangerous Girlfriend began airing.
The production quality was consistent with the previous episodes. The female lead, Xu Xiangwen, delivered a flawless performance, while the second lead, Tang Yidong, portrayed a deeply scheming woman.
Heartbreak, revenge, intrigue, and sabotage—Dangerous Girlfriend blended all these elements well. But even though she was the lead in 'Your Lie in April', Yu Youqing had to admit objectively that Dangerous Girlfriend had a much more gripping plot compared to 'Your Lie in April'.
Her mind drifted to that handsome figure playing the piano on set.
Even though she knew it was basically useless, Yu Youqing still stared at the TV screen, muttering under her breath:
"Tank in the ratings. Tank in the ratings. Tank in the ratings…"
Meanwhile, at Jinhui TV headquarters.
Tang Yidong, Xu You, Jiang Shiqing, Song Xin, and other core members of Dangerous Girlfriend were all gathered at the office.
Statistician Lao Li glanced around at the tense group, looking speechless.
This is even more stressful than that drama from two nights ago.
The ratings were in:
Opening viewership: 1.41%
Five minutes in: 1.56%
Slowly climbing after that…
Inside the office, Xu You and Jiang Shiqing's voices rang out nonstop:
"Why is it going up so slowly?"
"Damn it, it's already been twenty minutes, and it's only at 1.71%?"
"This episode should be doing better! I even had the cast promote it everywhere. Why is the growth so slow?"
Sigh...
That single sigh seemed to drain the energy out of everyone.
Ten minutes later, they left the office—faces pale and listless.
Episode 5 Ratings for Dangerous Girlfriend
Peak: 1.76%
Average: 1.71%
It fell short of 'Your Lie in April's Episode 5 ratings by 15 basis points.
That was a huge gap. Jiang Shiqing's face turned ghostly pale.
Not only had they lost in ratings, but he hadn't even managed to narrow the gap between the two shows to within 0.1%.
Jiang Shiqing never considered himself invincible in the screenwriting world—there were plenty of top-tier talents in first-tier cities, capable of producing dramas with ratings over 10%.
But he could not accept losing here, at a station like Jinhui TV, with such a high-budget, highly-anticipated show like Dangerous Girlfriend, and worst of all—losing to someone he had always looked down on: Jing Yu.
Xu You shot Jiang Shiqing an annoyed look.
Was Dangerous Girlfriend a failure?
Of course not. The numbers were good.
But they didn't matter.
No one remembers second place.
He had burned through his connections for this drama, and all it got was second in the spring season? Ridiculous.
Still, he was too shrewd to start arguing with Jiang Shiqing here. Losing composure now meant losing face and the ratings war.
He didn't bother speaking to Jiang Shiqing again. Instead, he pulled Tang Yidong and headed toward the parking garage.
Song Xin and Jiang Shiqing followed in silence.
"I think I'll head home tonight. You go on ahead," Song Xin said.
"Huh?" Jiang Shiqing looked surprised.
But Song Xin wasn't in the mood to comfort his fragile ego.
If anything, she was the one who needed comfort.
Compared to Jiang Shiqing's "loser" expression, Song Xin felt like a bottle of mixed spices had been knocked over in her chest.
Anger. Regret. Self-blame. Embarrassment.
All these emotions boiled inside her until she felt like she might break down behind the wheel.
Driving alone through the night, her grip on the steering wheel tightened with every passing thought.
"'Your Lie in April' won… 'Your Lie in April' actually beat Dangerous Girlfriend."
"That Miyazono Kaoru character…"
Song Xin knew very well—with 'Your Lie in April's Episode 5 results, now that the network had backed the show with investment, it was only going to climb further.
A drama that could still show growth with an average rating of 1.86%?
That was rare.
And the female lead of this drama… should have been her.
Even though she knew moping over it wouldn't change anything, the regret gnawed at her from the inside out.
The Next Day – Monday Morning at Jinhui TV's Weekly Meeting
"Alright, I assume you all know the situation," said Shi Teng, addressing the production department.
Chu You sat with a modest but satisfied smile.
Xu You, on the other hand, kept a calm, indifferent expression—like none of it mattered to him.
"The station is shifting its spring season promotional focus from Dangerous Girlfriend to 'Your Lie in April'. We're reallocating 13 million yuan for 'Your Lie in April's post-production and marketing efforts. In addition, the 5 million yuan that was originally reserved for Dangerous Girlfriend's production boost will now go to 'Your Lie in April's continued filming," Shi Teng said, glancing at Chu You.
"Director Chu will be fully in charge of this effort. I want to see 'Your Lie in April' enter the top 20 rankings for all spring-season dramas nationwide by the time the season wraps in a month."
"Rest assured, Minister. I'll give it everything I've got," Chu You replied confidently.