["It's here."]
["The long-awaited pure romance drama from the old sadist after two years."]
["A truly pure love story… the last one should've been 'Tokyo Love Story', right?"]
["Don't mention 'Tokyo Love Story'… I'm still hurting from that."]
["Who would've thought? The actress who got so much hate for playing Satomi back then—Gu Qingyuan—is now the female lead of 'Kimi ni Todoke'."]
["We had issues with the character, not the actress. After all these years, we've always targeted roles, not actors… except for the old sadist."]
["A youthful campus romance drama… kind of nostalgic. But isn't the peak of this genre still 'Your Lie in April'? If he can't surpass that, he might as well stick to fantasy."]
["And how do you know he can't surpass it?"]
["No real reason… I just feel like it's impossible. That show is number one in my heart. None of his works after 'Your Lie in April' have reached that level."]
From 7 PM onward, Sakura TV's ratings began climbing at an astonishing rate.
Ever since Akasaka Yoshitoki stepped down and Ogata Aya took over as head of Sakura TV's production department, Su Yan had consecutively handed over two of his dramas—including 'Kimi ni Todoke'—to Sakura TV for broadcast.
Even though Hudu TV and Zhongxia TV had approached him with higher offers for broadcasting rights, Su Yan declined.
Back when he was still a newcomer, it was Ogata Aya who had helped secure funding for three of his early dramas. Now that she was the head of production, as long as the conditions weren't excessive, Su Yan continued selling his next dramas to Sakura TV—essentially helping her build her track record.
The result?
During Akasaka Yoshitoki's two years in charge, he had achieved nothing notable. Meanwhile, Ogata Aya secured two annual ratings championships within the same timeframe.
The contrast couldn't be clearer.
Of course, that preferential treatment only applied to these three projects. After 'Kimi ni Todoke', any future broadcasting rights would go to the highest bidder.
Su Yan was a businessman, after all—repaying favors was fine, but not forever.
Ogata Aya understood this. So did every major TV station in the Xia Nation.
As airtime approached, Lin Youyou shifted her attention away from forums and fan groups and focused on the television.
The advertisements before 'Kimi ni Todoke' were absurdly intense—almost none lasted longer than ten seconds. Most were just quick product mentions before ending.
Even so, their effectiveness was astonishing. Companies across the Xia Nation had to bid aggressively in special auctions just to secure ad slots.
There were even firms that specifically targeted ad placements around the broadcast times of Su Yan's dramas.
After watching for a few minutes, Lin Youyou felt dizzy from the overload.
Finally, at 8 PM, the screen flickered—
A dim, gray-toned scene appeared: a gloomy, slightly eerie restroom.
"This is bad… I heard that if you make eye contact with her for more than three seconds, something unlucky will happen!
At the sink, a clearly minor female student whispered nervously to her companion.
"Yeah, yeah! It's terrifying. I heard Yuka got sick after making eye contact with her."
"So it's true…" the two said with uneasy expressions.
Lin Youyou's curiosity immediately spiked.
["Um…"]
Just as the two finished washing their hands and were about to leave, a soft, eerie voice sounded behind them.
They turned—
A beautiful girl stood there, long black hair cascading down, a faint smile on her face, her eyes fixed directly on them.
She was beautiful.
But combined with the black-and-white filter and the subtly dim lighting surrounding her—
The horror atmosphere was overwhelming.
The two girls stepped back, their faces filled with fear.
Lin Youyou instantly understood who they were talking about.
From the trailer, she already knew—the female lead, Kuronuma Sawako, had once had her name misread in elementary school as "Sadako." From then on, "Sadako" became her nickname.
Because of that nickname, by middle school, people genuinely believed she could communicate with spirits—and that being near her would bring misfortune.
At first, her classmates only half-believed the rumors.
But Sawako was overly pure and introverted. As the rumors grew more exaggerated in high school—and as she became increasingly isolated—her attempts to smile and speak sincerely only came across as awkward.
Combined with everyone's preconceived notion of her as "Sadako," it gave her an unintentionally eerie presence.
The rumors escalated to the point where people believed talking to her could make them sick, bring bad luck, or even attract spirits.
The opening of the story explained why Sawako was isolated at school.
Just this beginning alone made Lin Youyou want to cry.
Having experienced bullying herself in elementary and middle school, she deeply understood how much psychological damage rumors could cause.
And yet, Sawako—despite feeling hurt that others feared her—was so pure-hearted that she could still adjust her mindset.
She deliberately kept her distance from others.
Since people believed getting close to her would bring misfortune—even though she knew it was nonsense—she chose not to approach others, just to avoid making them uncomfortable.
She even felt guilty for not being able to summon ghosts or see spirits, as if she were letting others down.
After watching her backstory, Lin Youyou felt genuinely pained.
She longed for friends, yet feared causing trouble for others—so she quietly minimized her presence at school.
And precisely because she was the least popular person in class—
She paid special attention to the most popular one:
Kazehaya Shota.
"Emmm… this opening…" Lin Youyou frowned slightly.
This actually felt like a genuine youthful campus romance.
So the female lead really can't see ghosts?
Then all those pre-release discussions about it being some supernatural ghost-hunting action drama were completely off the mark?
She kept watching.
Kazehaya Shota and Kuronuma Sawako were classmates.
And before starting high school, they had once crossed paths.
Under blooming cherry blossoms, at a fork in the road, the boy asked the girl—wearing the same school uniform—for directions.
Sawako politely guided him.
"Thank you!" the boy said with a bright smile.
For the first time in her life—
Someone thanked her with a smile instead of running away in fear.
Even knowing this was just a drama, and knowing the female lead could endure the malice around her—
That single moment nearly broke Lin Youyou.
Too tragic.
Just because of rumors, could someone's entire school life—from elementary to high school—really be this miserable?
The earlier scene had been a flashback to their first meeting.
The story then shifted to the end of the school term, where the class planned a nighttime courage test event near the school.
But organizing such an event required someone to handle miscellaneous tasks.
Naturally, the unpopular Sawako was pushed into the role.
Meanwhile, Kazehaya Shota openly criticized the class—
for always dumping unwanted responsibilities onto others, especially onto Sawako.
["…Wait a second."]
Lin Youyou sensed something off.
This male lead…
Don't tell me he already likes the female lead?
Sure, in a romance drama, mutual feelings are inevitable.
But right from episode one?
If that were the case—
Wouldn't episode two be a confession, and episode three a wedding?