"Alright, done."
After signing the contract, Su Yan stretched lazily.
"Thank you for your hard work, Teacher Su Yan."
The person in charge of negotiations from Zhongxia TV carefully put away the contract, his expression a mix of seriousness and excitement.
Only now—
With everything finalized—
Did he finally feel relieved?
As expected of the department head…
Cutting funding from in-house productions ahead of time… just to secure this deal.
While silently praising his superior,
He also kept a close eye on Su Yan.
"Let's go, Director Zhou. How about we grab a meal together?" Su Yan said with a smile as he stood up.
"No need, Teacher Su Yan. I still have to return to Hudu—there's a lot to take care of. I won't trouble you further."
The man declined quickly.
Once the contract was signed—
Zhongxia TV's real work was only beginning.
That 100+ million investment—
Had to be earned back through advertising during the broadcast.
And with this contract in hand—
Advertisers across the Xia Nation would soon come knocking.
"I won't insist then."
Su Yan smiled, said nothing more, and turned to leave.
In dealing with the three major TV stations—
Sakura TV, Hudu TV, and Zhongxia TV—
He had always maintained balance.
Rotate cooperation.
Keep all sides satisfied.
Otherwise—
If he only worked with his closest contact—
Someone like Ogata Aya—
Then Zhongxia TV and Hudu TV would inevitably turn against him.
And competition in this industry—
It wasn't always visible.
Sometimes it came from behind the scenes:
Regulatory approvals
Content censorship
Broadcasting permissions
Su Yan wasn't naive enough to think his success alone made him untouchable.
These three networks had decades of influence.
If pushed too far—
No one knew what might happen.
Eat the meat—leave some soup for others.
That was how you survived at the top.
Stepping out of the building,
Su Yan felt the warm breeze of late May brush against his face.
It was comfortable—
Almost enough to make one drowsy.
"Summer… is coming again."
June
Temperatures rose.
And across Dimensional Pictures—
Everyone entered overtime mode.
Although Season 1 of 'Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion' was essentially complete—
There was still:
Promotion
Overseas streaming negotiations
TV distribution coordination
At the same time—
'Weathering With You' (film release at the end of July) also needed full-scale promotion.
Su Yan himself had to prepare schedules and appearances.
Meanwhile—
Subsidiaries under the company—
Especially merchandising and manufacturing—
We're working overtime to produce:
Knightmare Frame models
Character goods
Even before the show aired—
Everyone already believed one thing:
It would explode.
From top to bottom—
The entire industrial chain was activated.
From Su Yan's 600 million production budget—
To:
Zhongxia TV
Advertisers
Physical media manufacturers
Overseas platforms
Countless streams of capital were revolving around this single project.
And behind it—
Were tens of thousands of workers benefiting from the ripple effect.
Mid-June
After two years—
Su Yan once again collaborated with Zhongxia TV.
Back then—
After leaving Sakura TV—
Many of his works include:
'Tokyo Love Story'
'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners'
'Puella Magi Madoka Magica'
Had all aired on Zhongxia TV.
Later—
Due to favors owed—
He shifted projects to Sakura TV.
And now—
The cycle had come full circle.
So when Zhongxia TV invited him to Hudu for a promotional variety interview—
Su Yan only hesitated for a day—
Before agreeing.
Relationships mattered.
And this—
Was a favor worth returning?
During the program—
Su Yan revealed quite a bit.
About 'Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion'.
About the mecha genre.
And even—
Plans.
"If this series performs well…"
"I already have ideas for more works in this genre."
"As for specifics…"
"I can't say much yet."
"But the title—"
"It will include the words 'Gundam.'"
For audiences in the Xia Nation—
That name meant nothing.
But decades later—
It would become:
A legendary IP.
And this interview—
It would be remembered as its first public mention.
At this moment—
Industry peers thought Su Yan had already reached his peak.
But twenty years later—
Looking back—
They would realize:
This—
It was only his rise.
For Su Yan—
This trip to Hudu was both work and vacation.
Season 1 of 'Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion' → complete
Season 2 → filming done, in post-production
Other projects → mostly on track
Even 'Howl's Moving Castle'—
Was progressing smoothly without him,
Filming Sophie's scenes.
For once—
He relaxed.
A short domestic trip.
A week of relative peace.
And then—
Time moved forward.
Temperatures climbed.
July approached.
Another Storm Begins
In the final week of June—
The trailer for 'Weathering With You' was released.
Compared to 'Your Name'—
It had a weaker reception in Su Yan's previous world.
Especially the ending—
Which had drawn criticism.
But over time—
Its reputation improved.
From Su Yan's perspective—
The biggest issue wasn't the story—
But the male protagonist.
Too passive.
Too indecisive.
So in this version—
He adjusted the character:
More decisive
More aligned with the Xia Nation audience preferences
Same story—
Better execution.
Final Build-Up
Last week of June—
The third trailer for 'Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion' dropped.
Within two days:
Over 30 million views across platforms
Hundreds of thousands of discussion threads
With joint promotion from:
Dimensional Pictures
Zhongxia TV
The premiere date—
July 6th, Sunday, 8 PM
Became common knowledge among drama fans.
Everyone—
Was counting down.
Days passed.
June ended.
And then
July Arrived
Summer had officially begun.