Hearing the opening theme for the third time, Jiang Yuan felt something different.
This time, the theme song also extended the rain-soaked farewell scene at the end of last week's episode.
Waiting in the rain until late into the night, all Rika wished for was for Nagao to show up.
If he came, it would mean she wasn't that insignificant in his heart—that, at the very least, he cared, even just a little.
But… what if Nagao did come?
What awaited her then was another problem: Nagao had skipped out on their date to go do something else.
Back home, Rika accidentally knocked over the jigsaw puzzle she had left on the table. Casually, she picked up a random piece and tossed it toward the sofa.
This was a setup. A foreshadowing.
But on her first watch-through, Jiang Yuan clearly wouldn't have picked up on it.
In this drama, Akana Rika is an incredibly strong woman.
Even though she was mentally and emotionally drained in the rain the previous night…
The next day, when she saw Kanji again, she still greeted him with a smile.
Jiang Yuan was nearly in tears watching this.
Even though she felt that Nagao Kanji wasn't worthy of someone as amazing as Rika, well, there was nothing to be done. This was her choice.
"Every day I wake up is a good day," Jiang Yuan took a deep breath. Rika's smile tugged at the corners of her own lips.
The misunderstandings and awkwardness between Rika and Nagao gradually faded, melted away in the brightness of her smile at the office the next day.
The story moved forward.
After the unpleasantness between Rika and Nagao passed…
It was time for Rika and Satomi.
Satomi actually came to talk to Rika because she was upset about being rejected by Nagao.
"Do you like Nagao?"
Faced with this potential romantic rival, Rika showed no hostility. She didn't walk away. Instead, she responded to Satomi with a smile.
What made Akana Rika's character so compelling was that she never confused friendship with romance.
Yes, Satomi was her potential rival in love—but setting that aside, they'd had heart-to-heart conversations. They were friends in a way.
"I just want to be by his side."
"Do you like him?" Rika asked.
"When I'm feeling down, the person I most want to see is him." Satomi replied.
"Do you like him?" Rika's expression turned serious.
"But… doesn't that mean I do like him?"
Jiang Yuan's face twisted in disdain.
This Satomi—is she serious?
Dodging the question? Someone asks you if you like Nagao…
It's a yes or no.
And you answered?
[LOL]
[Most loved: Kenichi.]
[Nagao = backup.]
[Fight with Kenichi? Go cry to Nagao.]
[Nagao sees through it? Go cry to Kenichi.]
[Now you don't even know whether you like Nagao??]
["Whatever. Rika is the female lead. No matter what, there's no way Satomi ends up with Nagao. Judging by how the story's going, she's clearly fated to be with side character Kenichi!" With that, Jiang Yuan's heart settled.]
The story moved on—Satomi had a conversation with Nagao. He explained why her confession failed.
And while it seemed like Nagao had finally given up on Satomi…
The more Jiang Yuan watched, the more off it felt.
Why are you still comforting her?
She asked you when you started liking her.
If you don't want to date her, just make up a random answer!
But "Since the first time I saw you"?
Are you serious? That's practically flirting!
This kind of tangled back-and-forth, typical of Japanese romance dramas, was making Jiang Yuan uncomfortable.
In both Xia Nation and Su Yan's past life in China, once a romance drama confirmed who the leads were, there were clear boundaries in how they interacted with side characters.
You could be friends—but the story wouldn't blur those lines.
But a drama like 'Tokyo Love Story'? Completely different.
These characters were all so deeply entangled in each other's lives. Jiang Yuan even felt that if Satomi turned just a bit more manipulative, Nagao would fall right into her hands.
Judging it by Xia Nation's standards would only leave her feeling out of place.
Because of certain plot needs, Satomi had to pass a message from Kenichi's mother.
So, even though she and Kenichi were still in the middle of a cold war, she went to his house.
Cue another fight!
And who else but Nagao showed up again to mediate?
After their talk, Kenichi asked Nagao:
"If I cut off all the other women in my life and fully commit to Satomi, would you be okay with that?"
Nagao, ever the stubborn one, didn't object.
Then…
Kenichi actually made up his mind—to go after Satomi for real.
Huh?
Jiang Yuan's brain short-circuited.
Why are these characters so chaotic?
Fights, arguments, estrangement… and then one conversation and boom—he's ready to pursue the girl he's been half-hearted about for nearly a decade?
And Kenichi—the ultimate playboy—is really going to change?
The story continued.
Nagao visited Rika's home, saw her jigsaw puzzle, and she asked him to help complete it.
Cue their classic bickering couple vibes, and Jiang Yuan's mood lifted.
That's more like it! The whole Satomi–Kenichi thing? Mention it in passing and move on. Don't let it take up so much screen time.
The more time spent on Rika and Nagao's romance, the better!
They spent the whole night working on the puzzle together—but in the end, one piece was missing.
Jiang Yuan remembered the beginning of the episode—Rika had tossed a puzzle piece away.
"So that was a setup? But what's the point of it? Why dwell on this one missing puzzle piece for minutes?"
'Tokyo Love Story' costs six million yen per episode to produce. Just a few minutes of screen time already costs tens of thousands.
And knowing Su Yan's level as a scriptwriter, there's no way he'd waste time on meaningless filler.
So what did the missing piece mean?
That's when the real explosive twist hit.
Kenichi drove out to find Satomi and brought her to the seaside.
He talked about his childhood—shared deeply personal memories.
"Wait, is this… a confession scene already?" Jiang Yuan blinked in surprise.
But Satomi…?
Just a few scenes ago, she was crying about how much she liked Nagao.
Now Kenichi's confessing—how would she respond?
Of course—
She hesitated for only a few seconds, then her eyes lit up.
"Really? I can really like you?"
["Aaaahhhh!!"] Jiang Yuan grabbed her head in disbelief.
She had never seen a character like this before.
Episode 2: Likes Kenichi. Fights with him. Goes to Nagao to confess.
Gets rejected by Nagao, then lies to Kenichi, saying Nagao dumped her.
Episode 3: Goes back to Kenichi. Kenichi chews her out. Nagao mediates.
Now Kenichi confesses, and she just… switches targets again?
["I can't. You two need to stop. I've never seen such shamelessness in all my life!"]
Even though Jiang Yuan deeply disapproved of Satomi's character, she had to admit—the show couldn't go on without her.
She was the key to driving the entire plot. Dislike her as one might, her actions made the drama good.
But then… came a truly emotional moment.
Kenichi took out a notebook from his pocket—100 pages or more—crammed with girls' phone numbers.
And then he took out a lighter…
And burned the notebook right in front of Satomi.
It was his token of sincerity. Proof that his confession was real.
"?" Jiang Yuan was stunned.
Shocked that Kenichi, the ultimate playboy, actually had a collection like that…
And even more shocked, he burned it.
[Legendary move. God-tier.]
Satomi was deeply moved. She finally believed in Kenichi's sincerity and kissed him under the setting sun.
["Hmph, still a fool,"] Jiang Yuan muttered, sipping her yogurt.
["Kenichi only burned the numbers. But for a playboy, it's not about how many girls he's known. It's about his skills and aura! Just wait, Satomi. A year from now, he'll probably have two new notebooks."]
Whatever. As long as those two get together, no one will bother Rika and Nagao anymore.
Jiang Yuan kept watching—
PFFT!
She spat out her yogurt.
The kiss between Satomi and Kenichi lasted less than two seconds—and the very next shot showed them in bed together.
Jiang Yuan froze.
This show—this bold??
Confess and sleep together on the same day?
Across all the mainland dramas she'd seen, none moved this fast.
Shouldn't it be: dating → holding hands → kissing → then bed? With at least a one- or two-month gap?
At the very least, a week!
Same day confession → immediate fade to black?
And the most explosive twist… was still to come.
Kenichi woke up and immediately called Nagao.
"Nagao, I've fulfilled my promise!"
Right—the promise was that if Nagao would mediate, Kenichi would treat Satomi seriously and cut off his other relationships.
But why call Nagao about this?
Jiang Yuan was already squirming from secondhand embarrassment.
She wasn't even self-inserting as Nagao or Kenichi—but the awkwardness made her want to curl into a ball.
Seriously, Kenichi? Nagao is your bro, your lifelong friend!
And you're calling to say what?
"Promise?" Nagao sounded confused.
"Yeah. Satomi just left. I… slept with her!"
Legend.
Jiang Yuan gave Kenichi a standing ovation in her heart.
A true king of the dating game. Saying the things ordinary mortals wouldn't dare say.
You knew Nagao liked Satomi—and still, you called to tell him this?
What is this—phone call, NTR?
Truly a "good brother."
Jiang Yuan always prided herself on being well-versed in Xia Nation romance dramas—able to predict every plot twist. Most of the time, if she saw the first few episodes, she could predict the whole arc.
But 'Tokyo Love Story'? She couldn't even guess what would happen in the next minute.
All these characters—who would be absolute disasters in real life—somehow came together and made this story work so well.
No wonder it was called 'Tokyo Love Story'.
People from the mainland just didn't have this kind of take on romance.