March ended, and April arrived.
The final box office for 'Rurouni Kenshin: Movie' settled at 3.042 billion, temporarily ranking as this year's box office champion in the Xia Nation.
After Fate/Zero concluded, its popularity didn't drop—instead, it climbed even higher. Streaming numbers on SakuraNet continued to rise daily, and merchandise sales on Su Yan's official site and major e-commerce platforms across the Xia Nation became even more explosive than during the broadcast period.
Zhuang Yuxin's commercial appearance fees skyrocketed, and her schedule was booked months in advance.
For Zhuang Yuxin, having a mixed-race appearance meant fewer suitable roles in general, so Su Yan didn't make many additional arrangements for her.
After all, with the Fate series continuing, Artoria alone was enough to sustain her popularity for the next ten to twenty years.
Even though she was now signed under Su Yan's company, the revenue she earned from endorsements and appearances tied to Artoria was still shared with her at a relatively generous industry rate.
Compared to the profits generated by the fate series, it wasn't much—but for someone who was still a sophomore last year and had now risen to top-tier female popularity, she was more than satisfied.
Not everyone becomes arrogant after fame and tries to leverage their influence against their agency.
Zhuang Yuxin wasn't foolish.
Even if some major capital paid her contract penalty to poach her—
Artoria was Su Yan's creation.
The rights belonged to him.
Without that role—
Who would even know her in the Xia Nation entertainment industry?
So she had no complaints about Su Yan's arrangements and cooperated fully with the company, showing none of the typical post-fame arrogance.
Meanwhile, in Tokyo—
Filming for 'Your Name' and 'Kimi ni Todoke' had both entered their final stages.
'Kimi ni Todoke' was progressing slightly slower, since its broadcast would span several months, leaving more than half a year for production.
But 'Your Name'—
Had to speed up.
With only three months until release, a large amount of post-production work remained.
Even though Fate/Zero had ended, Su Yan hadn't had an easy week.
From his perspective—
Hundreds of employees depended on the company.
Even with two projects still in production, he had to start planning the next ones.
At his current level, the works he produced had to maintain a certain standard.
And most of them could no longer follow the low-cost "shoot while airing" model.
Post-production was time-consuming, especially visual effects, which often required at least half a year of preparation.
So—
Even though Fate/Zero had just ended, Su Yan moved quickly.
To capitalize on the hype, he had already released a teaser for 'Fate/stay night'.
He then spent a large amount of emotional points to exchange for the full Fate/stay night work.
At the same time—
With 'Rurouni Kenshin: Movie' achieving massive success—
He naturally prepared the second film as well.
The script would be completed within a month, followed by assembling the production team.
For a series like this—
Releasing one film per year was ideal.
Over four to five years, the live-action franchise could be fully established.
And with that—
The Kenshin IP would be solidified.
Su Yan's company now had sufficient funds, and the game development department was also being set up.
In the future, he could adapt the original anime into a game—perhaps a sword-combat JRPG similar to 'Sekiro'—or even produce it as a long-running TV series.
Given the length of the original story—
The IP could maintain popularity for over a decade.
Naturally—
He planned to apply the same strategy to the fate series.
Although he intended to adapt Fate into a game—
It definitely wouldn't be a galgame.
That genre had limited commercial value, especially in the Xia Nation, where it remained niche.
Instead, it would be a large-scale single-player title—
Or a high-quality mobile game.
Sitting at his computer, Su Yan paused for a moment.
Kenshin and fate—
Would be the company's two flagship IPs for the foreseeable future.
But—
He couldn't rely solely on them.
After exchanging for Fate/stay night and the second Kenshin film, he still had plenty of emotional points left.
"Let's finish these scripts first… then draw for another project."
He took a deep breath, deciding against rolling immediately.
"And… for long-running series like these, I should avoid taking on major acting roles."
He muttered to himself.
Even though fans loved seeing him on screen—
Like with 'Rurouni Kenshin: Movie', the project wouldn't even start without him.
As the boss of Dimensional Pictures, he already had to handle company operations, filming schedules, and script adaptations.
Even for him—
The workload was intense.
"But for mid-length projects like 'Kimi ni Todoke', occasional appearances are fine. Maintaining my personal popularity helps sustain the company and its works."
He exhaled and smiled wryly.
In the entire Xia Nation—
A wealthy, successful industry figure still grinding on set like this—
He was probably the only one.
Then—
His gaze shifted to several envelopes on his desk.
They had been delivered that morning.
From the Xia Nation's most prestigious film awards—
The Imperial Capital Film Festival.
Inside—
Nomination invitations.
Shen Liqian had been nominated for Best Actress and Best New Actress for 'We Made a Beautiful Bouquet'.
After all, it was her debut film—
And it had ranked in the top ten of last year's box office.
She had a strong chance of winning Best New Actress.
As for Best Actress—
Su Yan wasn't optimistic.
The judges weren't going to hand out such a major award so easily.
In the Xia Nation's history—
No one had ever won Best Actress with their first film.
As for Su Yan—
'5 Centimeters per Second' earned him a nomination for Best Screenplay.
Since his debut film 'The Garden of Words' was released the year before last, he didn't qualify for Best New Screenwriter.
As for other technical nominations—
Music, lighting, art direction—
He didn't care much.
At his level, those were just bonuses.
Late April…
He thought quietly.
The award he cared about most—
Best Film.
Unfortunately—
Neither 'We Made a Beautiful Bouquet' nor '5 Centimeters per Second' had been nominated.
That dampened his interest in the event.
But Shinozaki Ikumi and Shen Liqian—
Felt very differently.
Especially Shen Liqian.
When she found out—
She screamed in Su Yan's office.
"Do you have to be this excited?" Su Yan said helplessly. "You already won Best TV Actress at the Xia Flame Awards. It's just a nomination."
"You've already made it, of course, you don't care!" Shen Liqian shot back. "I've been in this industry for nearly ten years. It took me that long to enter film and get nominated. How could you understand?"
"You're a genius too," Su Yan replied. "Top 7 in the Xia Nation youth violin competition, scouted early, second drama already topping ratings—"
"And compared to you?" she cut in. "Still just an ordinary person."
She rolled her eyes.
At 26, with ten years of experience and a Best Actress nomination—
She was already exceptional.
But compared to Su Yan—
She didn't stand a chance.
"Alright, that's enough," Shinozaki Ikumi interrupted, pouting. "Listening to you two 'geniuses' talk is exhausting."
"And Shen Liqian, you know your chances for Best Actress are low. Best New Actress is where you'll win. Your competitors aren't even close to your level."
"I'm already satisfied just being nominated," Shen Liqian smiled.
Gu Qingyuan, sitting nearby, covered her mouth and laughed softly.
"Win Best New Actress this year with 'We Made a Beautiful Bouquet', then next year win Best Actress with 'Rurouni Kenshin: Movie'."
She rarely praised people—
But for Shen Liqian, she made an exception.
"Now that I like hearing," Shen Liqian beamed.
"Don't celebrate too early," Su Yan interrupted.
"Even if you get nominated next year, winning Best Actress will still be extremely difficult."
"Huh?"
All three women looked at him.
That wasn't like him at all.
"When you two are busy supporting each other, did you forget?" Su Yan said calmly. "The female lead of 'Your Name'—Mitsuha—will also be competing next year."
The Xia Nation's awards were practical.
Judges mattered—
But so did influence and reception.
The box office reflected influence.
Critical acclaim reflected quality.
And both—
Would likely be strong for 'Your Name'.
"You two might end up as each other's biggest rivals next year," Su Yan said.
Shen Liqian and Gu Qingyuan exchanged looks.
"…Why does this keep happening?" Shen Liqian sighed. "We already compete in TV—now films too?"
"That just proves all of Su Yan's works are masterpieces," Gu Qingyuan said smoothly.
"Oh? Qingyuan, you've changed. You've learned how to flatter people now."
"Not at all."