Although episode 8 of 'Kimi ni Todoke' had finished airing, the impact it caused among Xia Nation's TV drama audience was far from over.
It could be said that only up to this latest episode had the series fully completed a major story arc.
Sawako Kuronuma made friends, grew closer to Kazehaya Shota, rumors about her spread throughout the school, and in the end, the mastermind behind it all was revealed to be Kurumizawa.
The plot itself was extremely simple—something that could realistically happen in any school.
And yet, such a simple story achieved a 5.98% rating for episode 8.
Moreover, after it aired, the show's score rose to an astonishing 9.9.
On Xia Nation's video platforms, ratings required real-name verification—only users who had paid to watch the show could leave a score.
So while 'Kimi ni Todoke''s absolute ratings were lower than Su Yan's previous action-heavy dramas due to its genre—
Its approval rate spoke for its quality.
Almost everyone who watched it agreed on one thing:
This was the highest-rated work since Su Yan's debut.
["Su Yan is seriously amazing. How does a guy come up with such a good pure romance story from a female perspective?"]
["I've stopped questioning how he writes this stuff. Fine, it makes sense—but can the relationship progress faster? It's already episode 8, and they haven't even held hands. I'm dying here."]
["What's the rush? There's only one month left in the season. Confession is definitely coming in the next few episodes—just be patient!"]
["You guys are behind. According to the official filing, this show won't finish in the summer season. The confession might not come until October or even November."]
["? That's allowed? Aren't Xia Nation dramas supposed to follow seasonal schedules?"]
["Since when does Su Yan follow rules? Even if this show runs longer, Sakura TV would make more profit than producing their own S-tier drama. And after 'Kimi ni Todoke', Su Yan's works will probably be fought over by the three major TV stations—highest bidder wins."]
["So the seasonal champion rotates between the three networks… but it's always Su Yan's show winning anyway?"]
["Sigh, is that really what you're focused on? I care more about the story. I hated Kurumizawa last week, but now I just hope Su Yan gives her a decent ending."]
["Yeah… she's technically the antagonist, but the more you watch, the more pitiful she becomes. I'm gonna go support the actress—she got cyberbullied badly two weeks ago. Thinking about it now, that's really rough."]
For several consecutive days, 'Kimi ni Todoke' remained at the top of trending discussions on Xiaguang City's entertainment forums.
However, TV dramas typically only maintain peak buzz for a couple of days after airing before being overshadowed by other topics.
As September began, 'Your Name' officially surpassed 3 billion at the box office.
The industry's attention quickly shifted again.
After all, outside of the Spring Festival season, a film crossing 3 billion in total box office was unprecedented in the past decade.
And even though its daily earnings had dropped to around 10–20 million, it still had one to two weeks left in theaters.
At this rate, surpassing 'Rurouni Kenshin' was almost guaranteed.
Looking at all the data combined—
Industry insiders could only think of two words:
Terrifying.
Two films, with a total box office exceeding 6 billion.
And that didn't even include overseas distribution rights, streaming revenue, or the massive success of his TV dramas this year.
From just these two films alone, after deducting costs, Su Yan's profit had already exceeded 1 billion.
And that wasn't the end—
There were still streaming releases, merchandise, and international screenings.
Conservatively estimated, the final profits could more than double.
And this wasn't an inflated stock valuation—
This was real, liquid cash.
Dimensional Pictures might not be the largest company in Xia Nation—
But in terms of profitability, it was absolutely among the very top.
It had only been three years since Su Yan entered the film industry.
And only five to six years since he founded Dimensional Pictures.
As media outlets continued to ride Su Yan's popularity, they even began digging into stories from his middle and high school years.
Fortunately, his past self had been a normal person—there was no scandalous history to uncover.
That at least gave Su Yan some peace of mind.
After all, Dimensional Pictures was still largely supported by his personal reputation.
If any damaging rumors surfaced, it would be difficult to handle.
That said, Su Yan had long since grown used to constantly being in the headlines.
A little attention didn't bother him.
At present, he was juggling three productions simultaneously:
'Rurouni Kenshin' (film), 'Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion', and 'Fate/stay night'.
Fortunately, most of the filming for 'Rurouni Kenshin' was already completed, and his role in 'Fate/stay night' wasn't extensive.
So the progress of 'Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion' wasn't significantly affected.
That said—
Filming it did feel… strange.
In the series, Lelouch's Geass ability came with visual effects.
But on set?
It was just Su Yan striking a cool pose, while the actor opposite him pretended to be affected.
Even as an experienced actor, Su Yan often couldn't help but break into laughter during filming.
Even more amusing were the mecha battle scenes.
Characters like Kallen and Suzaku—ace pilots in the story—
We're essentially acting against thin air.
Although Su Yan explained the general idea of the scenes, without completed visual effects, the actors were mostly guessing.
The filming process was filled with both laughter and frequent mishaps.
Even when the director thought certain shots were fine, Su Yan often rejected them and demanded reshoots.
At noon, within the 'Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion' crew—
Su Yan, Shen Liqian, Gu Qingyuan, Shi Peihua, Shinozaki Ikumi, Zhuang Yuxin, and other senior members of Dimensional Pictures gathered together.
While eating, they discussed the afternoon's shooting plans.
But as the conversation continued, Shinozaki Ikumi steered the topic elsewhere.
Although 'Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion' was still in production, its promotional campaign had already begun—
Not just in the Xia Nation, but also heavily in Western markets.
"Su Yan… aside from domestic broadcasting channels, are you really confident about overseas distribution?" Shinozaki Ikumi asked.
She trusted him—but still felt uneasy.
Although Su Yan's previous works had been sold abroad, due to various reasons, they hadn't reached the same level of success as in Xia Nation.
This time, however, Su Yan's investment in overseas promotion for 'Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion' was on par with the domestic market.
"If you ask whether I'm confident—of course I am," Su Yan said with a smile.
"But if you're asking whether that confidence is 100%… then no."
He paused and looked at everyone.
"If the goal is just to become top-tier in Xia Nation's entertainment industry…"
"Then everyone here has already achieved that."
"But if we want to go further…"
"We have to break into overseas markets."
"Even if we fail this time…"
"I'll keep trying next time."
His tone was calm.
But everyone present felt a chill of realization—they could hear his determination clearly.
Su Yan didn't have absolute certainty that 'Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion' would succeed in Western markets in this world.
But if it didn't—
Then 'Fullmetal Alchemist' and others would follow.
One of them would eventually succeed.
And with his current resources—
He could afford to fail.
-------------
T/N: I won't be posting chapters for the next 2–3 weeks due to some real-life circumstances 🙏 Thanks for your understanding! 💙