Just like Takaki and Akari in '5 Centimeters per Second'.
If the distance between their hearts drifted apart at five centimeters per second, then over more than a decade, the changes would be like oceans turning into mulberry fields, until they eventually became the two most distant people in the world.
On this planet, there was no distance greater than that between the South Pole and the North Pole.
And yet Su Yan, that old thief, still dared to say this film wasn't depressing?
The moment you look at the settings, the truth is already exposed!
Clang!
Clang!
In Tokyo, inside an old traditional building rented by the production team as a filming location—
The sound of swords clashing echoed through the air.
Su Yan and Yasukawa Yuto, an actor who was also the inheritor of a certain kendo school in Sakura Island, were performing an intense duel in front of the camera.
Smooth aerial flips.
Drawing swords mid-motion.
Dodging, striking, and retreating as both were pushed back by the force of their blows.
Not only was Su Yan not using wires, but his opponent wasn't either.
The difference between pure martial combat and fights assisted by wires was enormous.
This was the rainy duel between Kenshin and Saitō Hajime in 'Rurouni Kenshin'.
In truth, although the production team had visited many dojos across Sakura Island and finally persuaded Yasukawa Yuto, a nearly forty-year-old inheritor of a kendo lineage, to play Saitō Hajime, he was still somewhat weaker than Su Yan in actual combat choreography.
During filming, both sides used real blades, though the fight was carefully choreographed.
Su Yan frequently held back during the shoot, and many movements were pre-arranged.
Even so, capturing the perfect combat sequence Su Yan envisioned remained difficult.
Su Yan could perform the moves faster, smoother, and more spectacularly.
But he simply couldn't find an opponent who could fully keep up with his fight choreography.
"Ah…"
Su Yan sighed as he walked to the monitor and reviewed the footage.
In his eyes, the scene still had many flaws, and Yasukawa Yuto's speed was too slow. The fight could clearly have been executed better.
But the director looked extremely excited.
"Teacher Su Yan, Teacher Yasukawa—you two were incredible! I'm certain audiences will cheer in the theater when they see a fight scene like this!"
"Not at all. It's really thanks to Teacher Su Yan's choreography as the martial arts director," Yasukawa Yuto replied modestly.
He knew very well that in the fight scenes of 'Rurouni Kenshin', Su Yan was the true king of the battlefield.
Throughout filming, Su Yan constantly adjusted to match him.
Even during extremely dangerous stunt sequences, Su Yan always caught the moves perfectly.
Even when Yasukawa Yuto made mistakes, Su Yan managed to avoid injuries every single time.
Yasukawa Yuto sincerely admired Su Yan's swordsmanship skills.
Su Yan watched the footage again.
Although he wasn't satisfied, he still nodded.
"Everyone worked hard. This shot turned out great. All the effort today wasn't wasted."
This wasn't the limit of the fight scene Su Yan had imagined.
But it was the limit of the actors, and he couldn't push Yasukawa Yuto any harder.
The moment Su Yan said that, the entire crew breathed a collective sigh of relief.
For ordinary scenes, whether a take passed or failed depended on the director.
But for fight scenes, the final decision was made by Su Yan.
After all, 'Rurouni Kenshin' was fundamentally an action-focused story.
So in the Xia Nation film adaptation, Su Yan absolutely intended to emphasize the combat.
"Teacher Su Yan, you've worked hard!"
At that moment, Shen Liqian, the female lead of 'Rurouni Kenshin', stepped forward at just the right time and handed Su Yan a bottle of water.
"I've told you already—given our relationship, you can just call me by my name. 'Teacher this, teacher that'… we're about the same age. It makes me sound old," Su Yan said as he took the water.
"That wouldn't be appropriate. During work, we should use professional titles," Shen Liqian said with a light laugh.
"After work, of course, I'll call you by your name."
The familiar phrasing made Su Yan pause for a moment before he jokingly replied.
"Looks like you're eager to make progress."
"?" Shen Liqian didn't quite understand the phrase, but she quickly continued.
"That's true."
"The box office of '5 Centimeters per Second' reached 360 million yuan in three days, and major institutions are predicting a final total between 1.2 and 1.45 billion yuan."
"And when '5 Centimeters per Second' leaves theaters, that's exactly when the film where I play my first movie lead—' We Made a Beautiful Bouquet'—will be released."
Her voice carried a trace of anxiety.
"Of course I want to improve. I don't want to embarrass you, Su Yan."
The success of '5 Centimeters per Second' had already proven Su Yan's ability as a screenwriter.
But if 'We Made a Beautiful Bouquet' failed at the box office—
No matter the reason, the label of "box-office poison" would immediately fall on Shen Liqian.
"Relax," Su Yan said calmly.
He understood exactly what she was worried about.
Even though she knew worrying wouldn't change anything, someone as career-driven as her still wanted reassurance from Su Yan—the person she considered a genius in the film industry.
For the first time in years, she felt the same nervousness she had experienced before her first television drama aired.
"The results of 'We Made a Beautiful Bouquet' won't be bad."
Shen Liqian's eyes lit up.
"Whether it'll perform better than '5 Centimeters per Second', I can't say," Su Yan added.
"But compared to 'Windmill', it will definitely perform better."
Boasting wasn't illegal.
And Su Yan was actually quite confident now.
The success of '5 Centimeters per Second' had already tested his box-office influence in the Xia Nation film market.
"Better than 'Windmill'?" Shen Liqian narrowed her eyes slightly.
"Yes." Su Yan nodded with a smile.
"Oh, so from the very beginning, you planned to take first and second place at the summer box office?" she asked.
Su Yan nodded again.
"Last year, 'The Garden of Words' finished third during the summer season. After a year, I can't just stay in the same place."
"So since I happened to release two films this year, aiming for first and second place seems reasonable."
Strictly speaking, before '5 Centimeters per Second' premiered, Su Yan hadn't been completely confident either.
In his previous life, the film had excellent reviews but mediocre box office, partly because Makoto Shinkai had been a relatively unknown director with little funding.
But now, with the results '5 Centimeters per Second' had already achieved in the Xia Nation—
No one could easily argue against him.
Exaggerating slightly to stabilize Shen Liqian's mood wasn't a bad thing.
After all, she was the female lead of 'Rurouni Kenshin'.
If she kept worrying about next month's film, it could affect the current shoot.
Shen Liqian took several deep breaths.
Suddenly, her confidence returned.
"Don't overthink things. Your most important task now is finishing 'Rurouni Kenshin' properly. The release of 'We Made a Beautiful Bouquet' is next month's matter."
"And although Kamiya Kaoru doesn't have many fight scenes, she still has some. If the combat coach assigned to you isn't teaching well, come find me."
"I'm busy these days, but for your matters, I'll definitely make time."
"Thank you, Su Yan."
"I said already—no need to call me 'teacher.' Today's filming is done. Everyone's off work."
"Let's go. If you haven't eaten yet, we can grab something. My treat."
Shen Liqian paused briefly before quickly following him.
"Su Yan, I want seafood."
"You really aren't shy at all."
Filming, promotional events, fan meetings, and recording short videos to promote '5 Centimeters per Second' became Su Yan's main schedule over the next several days.
Meanwhile, the film's box office trend remained extremely stable.
How could the movie with the highest rating and highest box office of its release period suddenly lose momentum, as the haters hoped?
Even on weekdays from Monday to Thursday, '5 Centimeters per Second' still earned over 30 million yuan per day.
And when the second weekend arrived, its daily box office climbed back above 50–60 million yuan.
Released on July 16, '5 Centimeters per Second' would face no serious competitors until August 20.
And that date happened to be the premiere of 'We Made a Beautiful Bouquet'.
While promoting '5 Centimeters per Second' in front of the media, Su Yan naturally didn't neglect promotion for 'We Made a Beautiful Bouquet' either.
At this point, seeing '5 Centimeters per Second' surpass 700 million yuan in less than two weeks, the attitude of people in the film industry began to change.
First of all, it was already certain that '5 Centimeters per Second' would be the box office champion of July.
Meanwhile, 'Windmill', heavily impacted by the film, had only reached 550 million yuan in total box office so far.
It had almost no chance of overtaking '5 Centimeters per Second'.
If no movie is released in August, it could stop it—
Then the summer box office champion would belong to '5 Centimeters per Second'.
But at this point, everyone finally realized a serious issue.
Most of August's major films were scheduled for release on August 20.
Among them, 'We Made a Beautiful Bouquet' had originally been the least favored.
Yes, its investment was large.
But did high investment automatically guarantee success?
From the perspective of the film industry, choosing Shen Liqian, who had never acted in a movie before, instead of a film queen-level actress, was a questionable decision.
There were countless examples of high-investment films losing money.
Did this young man, Su Yan, really think the film industry was as easy as the television industry?
But after the explosive success of '5 Centimeters per Second', attitudes changed drastically.
What if—
Su Yan didn't just have '5 Centimeters per Second' as a dark horse in July…
But 'We Made a Beautiful Bouquet' was also a dark horse in August?
What if the July box office champion was '5 Centimeters per Second'…
And the August champion was 'We Made a Beautiful Bouquet'?
Once that thought appeared—
It became impossible to suppress.
The media found the idea insane.
And the production companies behind the films competing against 'We Made a Beautiful Bouquet' suddenly began to feel pressure.