During July and August, when 'Kimi ni Todoke' and 'Your Name' were both hugely popular, the entire market was practically flooded with news about Su Yan.
At this point, any slight movement from Su Yan was impossible to keep hidden.
Dimensional Pictures alone had over 300 direct employees.
On top of that, there were dozens of companies that maintained long-term partnerships with him.
So when Dimensional Pictures sent out notices to major talent agencies across the Xia Nation—requesting actor profiles that met specific requirements—
The news spread across the internet within just a few days.
Su Yan's fans immediately became alert.
["What? A new project again?"]
["Is this real? If there's another new project, doesn't that mean Su Yan is working on three productions at once? 'Fate/Stay Night', 'Rurouni Kenshin: Movie 2' , and this new one?"]
["That's not that strange, right? Big film companies in the Xia Nation often handle multiple projects at once."]
["But everyone knows—Su Yan writes all his scripts himself. How is he producing scripts this fast?"]
["I heard not all his scripts are written by him. Some are actually bought."]
["Yeah, I've heard that rumor too."]
["I don't know if you're haters or just dumb—but it's definitely one of the two. If you could write something like 'Your Name' or 'Fate/Zero', would you sell it?"]
["Some people just don't think. Let's give them some face and move on."]
["Honestly, I think they're just stupid. Su Yan's haters are malicious—but not stupid."]
["But seriously, where's his limit? In five or six years, he's already created nearly twenty productions. One per quarter isn't enough anymore—now he's doing three at once?"]
["Don't be surprised yet. In another month or two, he might announce yet another project."]
["Does anyone even know what genre this new work is? The industry reaction seems huge. Obviously, his top three actresses—Zhuang Yuxin, Gu Qingyuan, and Shen Liqian—will get the lead roles if suitable. Right now, they're basically the top three TV actresses in the Xia Nation. I've heard even A-list actors are competing for supporting roles in Su Yan's new drama."]
["That exaggerated?"]
["It's true. Even a second female lead role in Su Yan's drama boosts fame more than being the main lead in an A-tier production from the big three TV stations. He's the only one consistently producing S-tier dramas with ratings above 6%. The others just can't compete."]
["In this industry, it's better to be the tail of a phoenix than the head of a chicken."]
["I work at one of the top three VFX companies in the Xia Nation. I can't reveal too much, but from what we've been told, this new project is at least sci-fi. We've been tasked with building a combat model for a giant robot called Lancelot."]
["Lancelot? Isn't that the knight who fought Artoria in 'Fate/Zero'? And what do you mean by " giant robot"?]
["Can't say more. Just know that starting next week, our team won't have a single day off. Hahaha!"]
["And you're still excited?"]
["Of course! Everyone in the industry knows—Dimensional Pictures pays the best. No delays, no cutting budgets after delivery. As long as your work is good, the pay is top-tier. If I work hard this year, I'm buying a new car next year!"]
["Same here. Our company handled VFX for 'Fate/Zero'—seriously, they pay insanely well. I used my bonus to buy an apartment back home!"]
["Where do you think Su Yan's billion-level production budgets go? One person's projects support thousands—even tens of thousands—of jobs across the industry!"]
Every day, discussions and rumors about Su Yan filled the internet, alongside the ongoing buzz for 'Your Name' and 'Kimi ni Todoke'.
Meanwhile, without anyone really noticing—
Two weeks had passed since 'Your Name' premiered.
Its daily box office had stabilized at around 50–60 million.
But by now, its total box office had officially surpassed 2 billion, reaching 2.132 billion.
TV drama fans were focused on Su Yan's new project.
Film fans, on the other hand, were eagerly watching to see if 'Your Name' could surpass 'Rurouni Kenshin' and take the annual box office crown.
Who said Spring Festival releases would always dominate the yearly rankings?
This year, Su Yan might break that pattern.
And if 'Your Name' really overtook 'Rurouni Kenshin', then both the number one and number two films of the year would belong to him alone.
As for the rest of the year—
While summer releases had occasionally taken the top spot before, films released after August usually fell into a weak season.
It was unlikely that any upcoming movie could threaten Su Yan's position.
Even if 'Your Name' didn't surpass 'Rurouni Kenshin: Movie', securing second place would still be remarkable.
Then things would get interesting.
At next year's Imperial Capital Film Festival—
How would they decide the Best Actor and Best Actress awards?
Su Yan, Gu Qingyuan, Shen Liqian—
How would they compete against each other?
Was Su Yan about to recreate his five-year domination of the TV industry—
This time, in a film?
Amid all these complicated thoughts, fans were in a frenzy.
The fanbases of 'Fate/Zero', 'Rurouni Kenshin', and 'Your Name' clashed daily.
And just like that—
Sunday arrived again, the day Episode 6 of 'Kimi ni Todoke' aired.
That afternoon, Meng Xueqing—forced to work overtime on a weekend and in a terrible mood—rushed home via subway, shared bike, and a final sprint.
She barely made it back before 7:45 PM.
Turning on the TV at lightning speed, she collapsed onto the sofa, breathing heavily.
"Made it!"
A hint of satisfaction appeared on her face.
For someone who worked overtime so often, following TV dramas wasn't really practical.
But 'Kimi ni Todoke' was different.
For years, she had heard people around her talk about Su Yan's works—
But she had never been interested.
She barely had time to finish her work every day. Watching dramas? Impossible. At best, she could lie in bed and scroll through short videos on her phone.
But this season, things were different.
Work had been lighter at the beginning of the quarter, and under her best friend's persuasion, she started watching 'Kimi ni Todoke' from Episode 1.
And then—
She couldn't stop.
In just a month, she used her lunch breaks to binge multiple of Su Yan's works on streaming platforms—
'Your Lie in April', 'To the Moon', 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica', 'Fate/Zero'…
As for 'Kimi ni Todoke'—
She couldn't even wait for it to release online.
Because—
This story made people anxious every single week.