By the end of June, all major TV stations and online platforms had launched full-scale promotions for their summer drama lineups.
Turn on any TV channel, and you'd see nonstop ads for 'Medical Soul', a 30-million-yuan production by Sakura TV.
Zhongxia TV's 'Legal Tycoon' and Hudu TV's 'Where the Gaze Falls' were also running aggressive ad campaigns.
On the streaming side, SakuraNet smacked users with 'Pure Breeze' as soon as they loaded the site. The moment you misclicked the tiny "close" button on the launch popup, your account would automatically like, favorite, and enable premiere notifications for the show—all in one go.
Many users frowned, but couldn't be bothered to complain.
After all, not everyone had the time, energy, or interest to sit down at fixed times to watch big TV dramas.
More niche or novel web dramas actually had decent viewership.
SakuraNet's high school romance 'Pure Breeze', ZhongxiaNet's cycling-themed sports drama 'Sprint Speed', and HongsongNet's fantasy romance 'I'm Trapped in the Temple!' all racked up over a million premiere reservations before launch.
But 'Pure Breeze' held the clear advantage—it had a hefty budget, strong promotional backing, and two C-list actors as leads.
Naturally, some media outlets that had taken money also joined in:
"Screenwriter duo Yusuke Kanzaki and Sanji Kiyota set to redefine romance this summer!"
"Industry insiders who previewed 'Pure Breeze' gave it a unanimous 9.0!"
"A web drama with a ten-million-yuan budget? 'Pure Breeze' might finally shake off the stigma of sloppy streaming productions!"
"A tearjerker romance—'Pure Breeze' isn't just a story, it's everyone's lost youth."
Before the show had even aired, media claiming to have "early access" were already laying on the praise thick.
At the 'Rurouni Kenshin' set, Su Yan had finished filming his scenes for now and was reading the news on his laptop while seated in a folding chair.
Beside him, Shinozaki Ikumi—dressed in a red dress, single ponytail, and subtle makeup—was sneaking glances at his screen.
Su Yan's expression was a little strange.
After all, in his past life, he'd been duped by these shameless media takes too many times—lured into theaters by glowing reviews only to watch steaming piles of garbage.
Wasting money was the least of it.
The real tragedy was the damage done to his brain.
And now, even after transmigrating, it was the same nonsense all over again.
"Truly the station's golden child, huh?" Shinozaki Ikumi suddenly said, scowling.
What is the current marketing budget for 'Pure Breeze'?
One million yuan of it had been sliced directly from the 'Rurouni Kenshin' crew's funding.
The more 'Pure Breeze' was hyped, the more irritated she felt.
"What's there to be mad about?" Su Yan said, smiling. "Imagine one day your work gets this treatment—top-tier resources, universal praise from the media, audiences counting down the days till release..."
"It's not that easy," Shinozaki muttered. "I don't have those kinds of connections in the production department. This kind of treatment won't ever come my way."
Getting smeared by others was one thing.
What really sucked was not knowing when you'd ever get to strike back.
"Sakura TV didn't get to be one of the Big Three just on connections," Su Yan said.
"Someone always has to put in the work, deliver results, and climb up with actual skill."
"For example, if 'Rurouni Kenshin' drops and dominates on Sakura Online or even across all platforms next season—tops in revenue—then your next project as producer is naturally going to get better treatment, right?"
"You're too optimistic," she sighed.
"It's almost impossible for 'Rurouni Kenshin' to top in revenue. It's only four episodes—how do we compete with shows that have 12 or 16 episodes?"
"The best we can hope for is a high per-episode average and strong reviews."
"Then just aim for a higher average sales per episode," Su Yan grinned.
"You make it sound so easy."
"You think Kenshin will lose?"
"Of course not!" Shinozaki replied seriously. "There's no way 'Pure Breeze' or 'Sprint Speed' or whatever else compares. Even without airing, I know those dramas aren't on Kenshin's level."
"You have no idea—last night I watched the edited version of Episode 1, and I literally got goosebumps. First time I've ever felt genuinely moved by something I helped make."
"But my liking it isn't enough. The audience has to like it."
She looked at Su Yan and sighed.
"No matter what fantasies I have in my head, reality always punches harder."
"The market's unpredictable. Even if the entire cast and crew believe in a project, we're nothing compared to the millions out there. For all we know, our crew is just a niche bubble, hyping ourselves up over something that won't click with the public."
"As the producer, I can't get my hopes too high. I just want 'Rurouni Kenshin' to pull in an average of over a million paid views per episode—even without a marketing budget or funding—so the station at least breaks even."
"That way, I keep my job… and maybe we get to team up for a second project."
"A second one?" Su Yan blinked.
"You want to work with me again?"
"Of course," Shinozaki said, locking eyes with him.
"You don't want to?"
"I never thought about what happens after Kenshin airs," Su Yan replied.
After all, who knew what IP or skill he'd unlock next from the system? Planning was pointless.
"But you don't even know what my next script is, and you already want to work with me again? Aren't you afraid it'll be trash?"
"Then I'll send it back and make you rewrite it. Again and again, until it's good enough," she said without hesitation.
"And if I can't?"
"I don't believe the screenwriter behind 'Rurouni Kenshin' can only write 'Rurouni Kenshin'."
"You're going to be famous—someday."
She stared at Su Yan. After a few seconds, she smiled gently.
"Of course, that's just my gut feeling. Or maybe it's just wishful thinking. I'm not great at judging people. Otherwise, I wouldn't be the joke of the production department."
"Maybe you won't have to wait 'someday'... maybe it's already happening," Su Yan replied with a faint smile.
But he didn't say more.
Once 'Rurouni Kenshin' aired, its results would speak louder than anything else.
Shinozaki lacked market data, so even if she believed in the show, she had no confidence.
Su Yan was different.
He knew what 'Rurouni Kenshin' had achieved in his past life:
Nearly 80 million manga volumes sold.
Over 20 billion yen at the box office for the live-action films.
This was no niche cult classic.
It had already proven itself in the market—just not in Xia.
July 1st.
TV dramas across all stations began airing.
At the same time, the first episodes of all major web dramas launched across the four big streaming platforms.
Fueled by media hype, 'Pure Breeze' dominated the headlines. The moment its first episode dropped, its paid view count skyrocketed.
By the end of Week 1, as expected by Sakura TV, 'Pure Breeze' led all web dramas:
Episode 1 paid views: 1.09 million
Viewer rating: 8.1 (not amazing, but better than its competitors)
'Sprint Speed' launched with a 7.3 rating and 910,000 paid views.
'I'm Trapped in the Temple!' got a 5.9 and 850,000 views.
Naturally, online media outlets wasted no time showering 'Pure Breeze' with even more praise.
When the Week 1 numbers dropped, the 'Pure Breeze' crew threw a celebration banquet.
Where did the money come from?
Siphoned off the production budget, of course.
And if funding ran out for future episodes?
With 'Pure Breeze' pulling ahead this strongly, getting the station to invest more would be a breeze.
"Congrats, Mr. Kiyota!"
"'Pure Breeze' is a huge success! You're incredible!"
"Over a million paid views in Week 1—breaking three million this month will be no problem!"
"Long live Kiyota-san!"
With compliments and wine flowing, Sanji Kiyota was floating in the air.
Sure, maybe 80% of the script was written by his co-writer, Yusuke Kanzaki, and he'd just given some "constructive feedback."
Maybe the producer, Tu Heng, was brought in by his uncle.
Maybe the director, too.
But it didn't matter. Without his uncle's connections, would any of them be here, celebrating?
No way.
Without him, 'Pure Breeze' wouldn't exist.
So he was the show's undisputed hero.
"Summer dramas are all airing now. All four major platforms are live. Just one show left…" he muttered, sneering.
"That garbage 'Rurouni Kenshin'—airing on the 22nd."
He smirked.
"It's in the bag. Once 'Pure Breeze' wins top sales and top rating for the quarter, I'll finally shed my label as an unproven rookie screenwriter. Time to prep my first TV broadcast drama."
With that thought, he downed another glass, his head spinning with ambition.