At first, Su Yan's fans thought he had changed.
That he had stopped making tragic stories and switched to pure romance.
But as 'Kimi ni Todoke' continued airing, something started to feel off.
Wasn't it established in the very first episode that the male and female leads liked each other?
Then why—
By Episode 6—
Were they still stuck in the "friendship" stage?
And why was the plot progressing so slowly—
Yet viewers were still eagerly anticipating every new episode.
It was supposed to be a lighthearted romance comedy—
So why did people feel so frustrated after each episode, itching to storm Su Yan's house and force him to reveal what happens next?
["This is driving me insane!"]
["I'm dying from the suspense!"]
["Su Yan is ridiculous! I'm a guy, and I'm completely hooked on a shoujo romance drama!"]
["Same! I'm a working adult, and I relate so much to Kuronuma Sawako… I'm a guy too!"]
["Sometimes when I watch it, I feel like my inner teenage girl is awakening. Watching Sawako and Kazehaya interact makes my heart race!"]
["Guys feel that too?"]
["Of course! My coworkers didn't want to watch at first because it's a romance drama, but after a few episodes, total addiction!"]
["It's not about the genre—it's about the story! If the story is good, who cares about the genre?"]
["Gu Qingyuan is really dominating this summer. 'Your Name' is approaching 2.4 billion at the box office—at this rate, it might actually win the annual championship. And 'Kimi ni Todoke' is also a huge hit. Even if its ratings aren't as insane as 'Fate/Zero', it's already at 5.81%."]
["I have a feeling next year's Xia Flame Awards and Imperial Capital Film Awards might all be swept by Su Yan and his team…"]
["I can already imagine the Best Actress nominations—Gu Qingyuan vs Zhuang Yuxin at the Xia Flame Awards, and Gu Qingyuan as Miyamizu Mitsuha vs Shen Liqian as Kamiya Kaoru at the Imperial Capital Film Awards. These awards used to be competitive, but now it feels like Su Yan is about to dominate everything…"]
["Doesn't anyone else in the industry have a problem with this?"]
["Of course they do. But what can they do? Su Yan isn't some nobody anymore. In just four or five years, Dimensional Pictures has produced so many successful works. Sure, some investors lost competing against him—but many others made huge profits working with him. Just look at the four major streaming platforms—SakuraNet, XingxiaNet, HongsongNet, and RaccoonNet. Each of them has earned billions from the streaming rights of their dramas alone. Not to mention merchandise sellers, cinema owners… You can't suppress someone like him anymore."]
["Exactly. Back when he was a newcomer, he wasn't afraid of Sakura TV. Now that he's a major force in the industry—who could stop him?"]
["Give it another two years—Su Yan will become the biggest capital player in the industry. Just from 'Fate/Zero', 'Kimi ni Todoke', 'Rurouni Kenshin: Movie', and 'Your Name', his share of profits alone is probably over 2 billion. Compared to some listed film companies worth tens of billions, his company's profitability absolutely crushes them!"]
As always, whenever Su Yan's fans gathered, discussions would inevitably drift toward his earnings and the future of his company.
At this point, everyone in the Xia Nation's film and television industry understood—
For someone at Su Yan's level, still writing scripts and filming projects—
That was pure passion.
A young man in his mid-twenties, who had built tens of billions in assets from scratch—and in cash, no less—
It was almost absurd.
Most people in his position would have long stepped back.
Someone like Su Yan, still working tirelessly on the front lines—
It was practically one of a kind.
And interestingly—
Fans didn't feel jealous.
People might envy those who got rich through luck.
But for someone who earned everything through ability—
No matter how much they made, it inspired admiration more than jealousy.
On Wednesday—
The auditions for 'Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion' officially began.
At Su Yan's current level, it was impossible for him to personally select every actor.
Minor supporting roles were left to assistant directors.
He only focused on key roles—
C.C., Suzaku, Shirley, Euphemia, and others.
Moreover, aside from Lelouch himself, almost every character in the series required strong physical ability.
There were many close-combat scenes.
So, beyond acting skills, physical performance was also important—
This slowed down the audition process significantly.
During this time, media outlets in the Xia Nation tried every possible angle—sneak peeks, leaks, even secret information—to obtain audition footage.
Some clips even made it onto trending lists.
But Su Yan didn't mind.
There wasn't enough information to reveal anything substantial about 'Code Geass' anyway.
If anything—
It was a free promotion.
In fact, Su Yan even deliberately leaked some information.
'Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion' would be split into two seasons—
With a total investment exceeding 600 million.
This—
It was the most explosive news of the entire preparation phase.
Not just the TV industry—
Even the film industry was stunned.
A production with this level of investment was extremely rare in the Xia Nation.
Even executives from the three major TV networks felt their scalps tingle.
In an era where S-tier dramas typically had budgets of around 100 million—
Su Yan had raised the bar to 600 million.
Even if it was split across two seasons—
It was still outrageous.
Wouldn't that mean—
A television drama with cinematic-level production quality?
Before, people thought Su Yan's advantage lay in his scripts.
But now—
Even his production scale seemed to exist on an entirely different level.
Over the next few days, Su Yan and Dimensional Pictures stayed busy with pre-production for 'Code Geass'.
Time passed quickly, and soon, the weekend arrived again.
'Your Name', now in its third week, still showed incredible staying power.
On Friday, it surpassed 40 million.
On Saturday, it reached 60 million.
For three straight weeks since release—
It had maintained the number one daily box office position.
Even when another big-budget film premiered in mid-August—
It was completely suppressed by 'Your Name'.
The media barely even bothered covering it.
Meanwhile, Su Yan's fans continued their daily routine—
Checking updates and discussing 'Your Name'.
And soon—
Sunday arrived.
The day Episode 7 of 'Kimi ni Todoke' aired.