Obtaining emotional value was no longer difficult, and with over 3 billion in cash reserves in the company's accounts, funding for productions was basically not an issue either.
The only problem was—
Su Yan was still human.
He couldn't just shout like Dio and suddenly transcend human limits.
He still had to eat and sleep every day. Even though writing scripts was essentially "copying," it still took time. On top of that, as the company's chairman, he had to handle a wide range of matters.
And as the company's biggest public-facing artist, he also needed to maintain a certain level of on-screen presence. Otherwise, if he stopped appearing in film and television projects for too long, even his fans might not continue supporting his works as strongly as before.
With all sorts of responsibilities tying him down, even though he had many ideas, Su Yan could only move forward step by step.
However, the moment Dimensional Pictures began making moves again, the news spread instantly across the Xia Nation's film and television industry.
Right now, Su Yan's company was already working on the 'Fate/stay night' game, the 'Rurouni Kenshin' game, 'Rurouni Kenshin: Movie 2', the 'Fate/stay night' drama—and with 'Your Name' and 'Kimi ni Todoke' currently airing…
And now there was another new project?
Was he even human?
Especially for Shinozaki Ikumi.
Although she had followed Su Yan's instructions to contact major talent agencies across the Xia Nation and begin screening actors suitable for roles in 'Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion', she genuinely had no idea what Su Yan had been working on during the release period of 'Your Name'.
It wasn't until Saturday that Su Yan handed her the script for 'Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion'.
She didn't say anything—just picked it up and started reading.
At first, she felt a bit confused.
The Holy Britannian Empire… Area 11… the Chinese Federation?
This fictional world actually seemed pretty interesting.
Then the setting gradually unfolded.
Giant robots.
Geass.
A prince hiding his identity.
Conflicts between various factions…
After reading a few episodes' worth of content, Shinozaki Ikumi felt that parts of the story were a bit "chuunibyou." Some of Lelouch's lines even felt slightly embarrassing.
But upon closer reflection—
They were incredibly cool.
A sharp, youthful intensity practically leapt off the pages.
As for the political elements and factional struggles in the story, they were somewhat simplified. Lelouch's intelligence, at times, was highlighted by lowering the intelligence of supporting characters.
But none of that was a real issue.
In Su Yan's previous life, a drama like 'Ming Dynasty 1566' had extremely complex political writing—but when it aired, its ratings were dismal, even hitting record lows for its network.
Audiences often claimed they liked "deep" and "thoughtful" stories.
But in reality, the moment something required even a bit of thinking, those same viewers would quickly drop it.
After all, who wanted to analyze political intrigue in a drama after already dealing with workplace politics all day?
'Code Geass' struck the perfect balance.
It had depth, and it was complex—but not to the point of being exhausting.
As she kept reading—
Two hours passed.
When she reached the part where Shirley lost her memories, her heart ached.
When she got to Euphemia's death, her fists clenched, and her eyes reddened.
And when she reached the end—when Lelouch's mask shattered, revealing his identity—
She flipped the page.
"…That's it?"
"Yeah. That's it," Su Yan said.
"You're ending it here?"
"That's just the first season. This story is split into two parts." Su Yan smiled.
"Two parts?" Shinozaki Ikumi thought for a moment.
"Your recent works have all been pretty long… 'Kimi ni Todoke' is long, and this one is even longer—two full seasons."
"They might get even longer in the future," Su Yan said with a smile. "Maybe one day I'll release something that spans over ten seasons."
"A slice-of-life sitcom?" she blurted out.
There were long-running dramas like that in the Xia Nation—but their ratings were usually average.
"Not necessarily," Su Yan replied.
If he ever accumulated enough emotional value to bring out those truly long-form masterpieces, he definitely wouldn't waste the opportunity.
For example, something like 'One Piece'—
In his previous life, it had already been adapted into live-action and released by the world's largest streaming platform, topping viewership charts in over 80 countries.
Most of Su Yan's previous works had been rooted in the Xia Nation's cultural sphere.
If he wanted to expand his influence into the global—especially Western—market, then naturally, he had to look toward globally popular IPs from Japan as well.
Once someone reached a certain level of influence domestically, their gaze would inevitably shift to the world stage.
Su Yan wasn't the type to settle just because he had achieved some success.
As people grew, so did their ambitions.
"I'm actually looking forward to these long-form series you're talking about," Shinozaki Ikumi said with a smile.
She knew Su Yan never spoke without purpose. If he said something like this, then sooner or later, he would make it happen.
"A screenwriter and investor like you is really rare," she sighed.
"Most people in this industry, once they succeed in film, start looking down on television. But you—despite winning the annual box office championship—still seriously plan out TV dramas."
"A good story doesn't depend on the medium," Su Yan said. "Whether it's a drama or a film, I don't rank them differently."
He looked at her.
"So going forward, I won't just be producing drama scripts—I'll also keep putting out film scripts. As the company's second-in-command and producer, you should be prepared."
"The next few years will be a period of rapid expansion. When things get busy, the workload will be much heavier than it is now."
"If you can handle it, why can't I?" Shinozaki Ikumi laughed lightly, completely unfazed.
The next day is Sunday.
Episode 5 of 'Kimi ni Todoke' aired.
From this episode onward, the story finally began pushing the main romance plot.
In Japanese storytelling—whether romance, action, or shounen—the most common way to advance the main plot was simple:
Introduce a new character.
And in Episode 5, the story introduced the only female antagonist—and, in Su Yan's opinion, one of the best-written female antagonists in romance anime—
Kurumizawa.
She liked Kazehaya Shota.
But she didn't dare confess.
Because every girl in school who had confessed to him had been rejected.
As long as she didn't confess, she could remain friends.
But once she did, even that would be gone.
Understanding this, she chose never to confess.
But she also feared that someone else might capture his heart first.
So her solution was—
To spread rumors about girls who got too close to him.
At this point, viewers immediately realized something was off.
["I knew it! Those girls earlier didn't seem smart enough to come up with those rumors—so it was YOU behind it?"]
In this episode, Kurumizawa also approached Kuronuma Sawako with a sweet, manipulative demeanor, befriending her while secretly causing trouble behind the scenes.
Episode 5 of 'Kimi ni Todoke' left many viewers furious.
Kurumizawa's "green tea" persona was among the most masterfully written Su Yan had ever seen.
That night, fans flooded Su Yan's account with comments.
["Can this Kurumizawa character just disappear already?"]
["Su Yan, you've written so many tragic heroines before—this time, can you please just let Kurumizawa get written out of the story?"]