Although many Saber fans were dissatisfied with Episode 3 of 'Fate/stay night', its ratings still surged to 6.31%, a breakthrough that sent Hudu TV into celebration. The head of the production department even personally led a team to Tokyo, bringing gifts of appreciation from the network's executives.
By the time Episode 4 aired, however, the story began to take a rather unexpected turn.
Because Shirou stubbornly clung to his ideal of "justice," he came to believe that—
Not only was he unable to supply Saber with mana as a Master, but he was also being protected by her.
So, to prevent Saber from overexerting herself—
Shirou decided to fight the Servants himself and end the Holy Grail War.
This development, along with the increasingly deepening bond between him and Saber—even to the point where Saber began worrying about him—
Left many viewers completely stunned.
["Wait… are they actually going to fall in love?"]
Just when audiences thought Saber's backstory had already been mostly revealed in the official character profiles—
'Fate/stay night' introduced something new.
Due to his contract with Saber, Shirou began to see fragments of Artoria's past in his dreams.
These scenes were only briefly touched upon in the anime from Su Yan's previous life—
But here, Su Yan filmed condensed flashbacks of Saber's battles and wars in detail.
Combined with her unexpected "big eater" trait—
Saber in 'Fate/stay night' was no longer just a tragic figure.
She now had a touch of charm and softness.
After four weeks of airing, audiences in Xia Nation had a clear understanding of the show:
It wasn't particularly tragic.
Instead, it leaned more toward youth and school life, with a main storyline centered on mystery—uncovering the identities of the seven Masters and seven Servants.
This was completely different from 'Fate/Zero', where all identities were revealed upfront, allowing viewers to watch from a god's perspective.
In 'Fate/Stay Night', there were far more unknowns.
Even so—
Newly introduced characters like Rider, Archer, along with Tohsaka Rin and Matou Sakura's actresses, became wildly popular after just four weeks.
Explosively so.
'Fate/Zero' had its own appeal.
'Fate/stay night' had its own charm.
Su Yan personally preferred darker, more tragic works like 'Fate/Zero'—
But for his core audience—teenagers—
The youthful tone, strong female characters, and emotional elements of 'Fate/Stay Night' were far more appealing.
Not only did the show's ratings continue to climb in Xia Nation—
Its overseas performance also surged, reaching top-tier rankings in both viewership and paid streams.
In the Xia Nation, no one dared to invest so heavily in a high-quality production like this.
The same was true overseas.
Without a sufficiently large market, spending this much money on a 12–13 episode series would likely result in losses—even if it performed well.
But once 'Fate/stay night' got going—
Its high production quality enabled it to dominate across the board.
Action, school life, youth, fantasy—
The combination resonated strongly with international audiences as well.
By now, it was already approaching February.
In Tokyo, light snow still fell endlessly, and the cold wind cut sharply.
Despite the company's busy schedule, with less than a week before the Spring Festival, most employees had already received their bonuses and gone home for the holidays.
Only a small group remained—
Su Yan, Shinozaki Ikumi, Gu Qingyuan, Shen Liqian, along with a few assistants—
They headed to Hudu to attend the Xia Flame Awards and continue promoting 'Rurouni Kenshin' up until the Spring Festival release.
"Back here again…" Su Yan sighed, looking at his luxury villa in Hudu, which he hadn't visited for a year.
The rest of the company staff stayed in hotels.
But due to their status, Su Yan preferred not to risk information leaks—so he and several executives stayed at his private residence.
"You only stay here a few days a year, but still spend hundreds of thousands maintaining it. You might as well sell it," Shen Liqian said lazily, sinking into the sofa and stretching.
"I'm filming in Tokyo, not living there permanently. If I don't even have a home in the mainland, that'd be a joke," Su Yan replied.
"Come to think of it, weren't we all here last January, too?" he added, looking around.
"I wasn't here last year," Zhuang Yuxin quickly raised her hand.
Two years ago, Shen Liqian won Best Actress at the Xia Flame Awards.
Last year, it was Gu Qingyuan.
And this year—
There were two nominees:
Zhuang Yuxin (Artoria)
Gu Qingyuan (Sawako Kuronuma)
But everyone already knew the likely outcome.
Sawako was popular—
But compared to the "King of Knights," Saber, she still fell short.
Three consecutive years.
Three different actresses under Su Yan's company have won Best Actress.
And Su Yan himself would most likely win Best Actor again this year.
The Xia Flame Awards had even been jokingly nicknamed the "Su Yan Awards."
But it wasn't mockery—
Because if these awards didn't go to Su Yan's productions, the awards themselves would become a joke.
"Alright, it's about time. Let's go," Su Yan said, looking at everyone.
Su Yan, Zhuang Yuxin, Shen Liqian, Gu Qingyuan, and Shi Peihua, along with their assistants and makeup artists, left the villa and headed to the awards venue.
At the ceremony—
Dressed in formal attire, Su Yan's group was seated in the absolute center of the venue.
Multiple cameras were locked onto them from every angle.
Su Yan felt extremely uncomfortable.
Even his smile was carefully controlled.
He didn't dare scratch his back if it itched—maintaining a perfect expression the entire time, afraid that millions of viewers might catch even the slightest "flaw."
Finally—
When Su Yan won Best Actor for his role as Kazehaya Shota—
He stepped onto the stage.
After delivering a smooth and polite speech, he ended with:
"Please continue to support me in the future—and my upcoming 'Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno' movie!"
With a smile, he stepped off the stage.
If any other actor or writer had promoted their upcoming movie at a TV awards ceremony—
They would've been harshly criticized by the industry and resented by the committee.
But when Su Yan did it—
No one found it strange.
In fact, it felt natural.
Because at his level—
It wasn't that he needed the Xia Flame Awards for exposure.
It was that the Xia Flame Awards needed him.
They needed his presence to boost ratings and maintain credibility.
The committee leveraged his popularity—
And he used the opportunity to promote his film.
A win-win.
If the committee had taken offense, inviting him again next year would have become difficult.
That very night—
"Su Yan promotes 'Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno' at Xia Flame Awards" shot to the top of trending searches in Xia Nation.
Other related topics—Shen Liqian, Gu Qingyuan, and more—also trended.
But ultimately—
The biggest impact of the night was clear:
Through media coverage, the release of 'Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno' had been widely publicized across the country.
The promotional effect was excellent.
Anyone even slightly following the entertainment industry now knew:
On Spring Festival Day—
Su Yan's new film, 'Rurouni Kenshin: Kyoto Inferno', was coming.