"5.61%"
When Su Yan announced the viewership for episode 9 of 'Tokyo Love Story' on set, a wave of cheers erupted among the crew once again.
Even though Su Yan was getting flamed daily by 'Tokyo Love Story' fans all across Xia Nation, the backlash barely affected the production team.
The drama's 9.6 rating remained untouched.
It's 19 million average paid views per episode on streaming platforms that acted as a stabilizing anchor.
Not to mention, the fact that television stations in 22 countries and regions overseas were lining up to license the show at premium prices said it all.
Su Yan's expression turned serious as he raised his voice.
"Episode 9 of 'Tokyo Love Story' continues to lead in ratings. And starting today, the production of 'Tokyo Love Story' is officially wrapped—completed!"
Standing closest to him, Gu Qingyuan, Shen Liqian, and director Shi Peihua all visibly relaxed.
It was finally over.
This rollercoaster of a drama had finally reached its last page.
Thank goodness for that "What If" alternate ending. It gave the team peace of mind. They knew that once that version aired, the risk of fan riots would drop dramatically.
Without it, for months to come, probably no one besides Shen Liqian could walk the streets without a disguise.
The fear of extreme fans was real.
Even usually serene Gu Qingyuan had become afraid to open her phone.
Her verified social media account was bombarded daily with hundreds of thousands of hate comments—even for someone with thick skin, it was hard to ignore.
"Starting now, the company and both drama teams will get a two-week break," Su Yan continued.
"The wrap party for 'Tokyo Love Story' and 'Madoka Magica' will be held together in three days. After the break…"
He paused.
"We'll be recruiting a batch of experienced film professionals to join our current staff and split into two crews—for 'We Made a Beautiful Bouquet' and '5 Centimeters per Second'. Everyone, get ready!"
"Understood!"
"Got it!"
"All clear, boss!"
The crew exchanged glances—each with a flicker of anticipation and contemplation.
Shi Peihua, being more seasoned, had mainly handled TV drama direction. At her age, film production would be too physically demanding.
And film was a different beast than television.
For his upcoming movies, Su Yan had already secured two of Xia's most acclaimed directors.
At his current status, securing production talent wasn't hard.
Sure, top-tier professionals exclusively contracted to major corporations were off-limits.
But plenty of excellent freelancers were still available—and with Su Yan's scripts, it wasn't hard to get them onboard.
They weren't working on trash.
Once the schedule was set, Su Yan relaxed.
"Just two weeks left before this drama ends," said Shinozaki Ikumi, approaching Su Yan with a stack of plans and funding documents that required his signature.
"And there's less than a month left in the year!"
"This would make it our third year working together, huh?" Su Yan mused.
He'd been in this world for three years now. Not exactly fast, but not slow either. The achievements felt surreal.
"I never counted, but now that you say it… yeah," said Shinozaki, taking a deep breath.
"One project after another. Before we knew it, we'd climbed to where we are now."
As she spoke, she pulled out a set of sleek black invitations from her bag.
She handed several to Su Yan.
Xia Flame Awards — Nomination Invitations.
Best Screenwriter
Best TV Drama
Best Actor
Best Drama Soundtrack
Both 'Edgerunner' and 'Tokyo Love Story' had been nominated for the screenwriting, drama, and soundtrack categories.
Only 'Edgerunner' got a Best Actor nomination, via its lead David.
Su Yan understood instantly. Given the outrage surrounding Kanji Nagao, there was no way the committee would nominate that character for Best Actor.
"That's not all," Shinozaki added, waving two more cards.
"Best Producer — both 'Edgerunner' and 'Tokyo Love Story' are nominated."
"And Gu Qingyuan, for her role as Lucy, is nominated for Best Actress. Shen Liqian, for Rika Akana, is also nominated for Best Actress."
"Shi Peihua is up for Best Director for both dramas. Even our stylists and art directors got nominations for Best Costume Design and Best Art Direction."
"All in all, between the two dramas we released this year, our company received a total of 21 official nominations."
Shinozaki's eyes sparkled with pride as she said this, her elegant face practically glowing.
"This January's Xia Flame Awards is going to be our grand slam!"
"But aren't these invites usually sent out in early January?" Su Yan asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Under normal circumstances, yes. But with the kind of numbers 'Tokyo Love Story' and 'Edgerunner' pulled in, they don't need to wait until the year's over to guess the outcome," Shinozaki replied, visibly excited.
"The awards committee sent them early to show just how seriously they take us. And you."
"No need to get too excited," Su Yan said quietly.
"What? How can you not be excited?!" Shinozaki's tone carried a trace of frustration.
"Have you forgotten last year's Xia Flame Awards? We got a bunch of nominations and ended up as nothing more than filler. All because the three major networks influenced the outcome. The award went to 'Your Lie in April' instead."
"This time, we finally get to hold our heads high."
Su Yan chuckled.
"Of course I remember. But things have changed."
"Back then, Dimensional Pictures was still new. We needed the recognition to build our name.
But now?"
"We no longer need awards to prove our strength. It's the Flame Awards committee that needs us—to prove that their selection process is still fair and credible."
"That's why I said there's no need to get worked up.
We're not clout-chasing the Flame Awards.
The Flame Awards need us to legitimize themselves as the top award ceremony in Xia's TV industry."
Shinozaki paused in thought.
The more she considered it, the more it made sense.
"More than that," Su Yan added, "I'm looking forward to seeing how 'The Garden of Words' performs at next year's Xia Nation Film Festival."
"Just like we were back in the spring, we now need to win film awards. That way, when 'We Made a Beautiful Bouquet' and '5 Centimeters per Second' are released, we can use the accolades as part of my promotion as a screenwriter."
"Ugh… you're always so pragmatic. You talk about awards like they're business deals," Shinozaki sighed.
"Well, we've got two hundred people at this company counting on us to keep food on the table," Su Yan replied.
"Awards are great, but they're not my ultimate goal."
"Then what is your goal?" Shinozaki asked, curious now.
Su Yan smiled.
"Since I've chosen this path, I want to live a life in this industry with no regrets. No hesitation."
"So… no regrets means what? That you'll be so far ahead that you have no rivals? You'll go undefeated and become a living legend of the industry?" she asked.
"Exactly. You're catching on fast today," Su Yan said with a grin.
"And not just me. I want our entire company to be unmatched."
Looking down at the stack of production plans for future projects, he added:
"What we've achieved so far is just the beginning."
A few days later, both 'Madoka Magica' and 'Tokyo Love Story' finished filming.
At the wrap party, Su Yan made sure to invite plenty of reporters for interviews and photo ops, feeding the hype around both series.
Zhongxia TV began aggressively promoting 'Tokyo Love Story' as it neared its finale.
As for the audience—
By episode 9, most viewers could sense where the plot was heading.
But deep down, everyone still held on to one hope:
Let Rika Akana have a happy ending.
Meanwhile, on ZhongxiaNet, discussions began between Dimensional Pictures and platform executives over how to promote the "What If" ending of the drama, and how much spotlight it would get.
Beneath the surface of the entertainment market, waves were churning.
Above it, all eyes were fixed on the final two episodes of 'Tokyo Love Story'.
In that atmosphere...
The autumn season approached its close.
And on Sunday night, Episode 10 of 'Tokyo Love Story' aired.