Su Yan's temporarily verified account post proved to be effective.
In less than a day, more than half of the posts that had previously been filled with complaints and curses against Su Yan disappeared from the comment sections.
Casual viewers were no longer affected by the hostile atmosphere, and the paid playback numbers for 'An ancient love song' on SakuraNet began to surge rapidly.
The average paid views per episode for the entire series had already exceeded 6.4 million.
Not only had it surpassed 'The Gilded Ones' in internal paid-play data within Sakura TV, but looking across the entire autumn-season market, only 'The Painted One'—which ranked first for the quarter with a latest-episode rating of 4.13% and an average of 6.7 million paid views per episode—was stronger than 'An ancient love song'.
Because of this, in late November, Shinozaki Ikumi's direct superior, Okabe Sosuke, along with two others, specially invited Shinozaki Ikumi and Su Yan to a dinner at a well-known hotel near the TV station.
Within Sakura TV's production department, the strongest internal faction undoubtedly belonged to the group led by department head Yoshizaki Shigeyoshi.
Unfortunately, Yoshizaki Shigeyoshi was already advanced in age and in poor health. Managing the overall production of a massive organization like Sakura TV placed a heavy burden on him, and in both the previous year and the current one, he had been hospitalized twice due to exhaustion.
This was precisely why Akasaka Yoshitoki, despite being only the deputy director, held such immense influence within the production department.
Very few people wanted to offend the future leader.
Once Yoshizaki Shigeyoshi stepped down, the production department would inevitably become Akasaka Yoshitoki's domain.
Below those two, the trio of senior production executives led by Okabe Sosuke had long been on bad terms with Akasaka Yoshitoki.
However, ever since Okabe Sosuke lost the competition for deputy director to Akasaka Yoshitoki four years ago, their faction had gradually fallen into a disadvantaged position.
Projects and funding requests from producers under them were often deliberately suppressed or reduced by Akasaka Yoshitoki.
No matter how far 'An ancient love song' eventually went, one thing was already certain—it had completely surpassed 'Night Sakura'.
For Okabe Sosuke, it had been years since she last experienced the satisfaction of winning against Akasaka Yoshitoki. At the dinner table, the way she looked at Su Yan was no different from how one might look at their own son.
The table was filled with exquisite dishes. The alcohol had been brought by Okabe Sosuke herself from her hometown on Sakura Island, said to be a treasured wine she had stored for over a decade.
But when Su Yan actually drank it, he found it less enjoyable than Xia Nation's local liquor.
"You truly are a youthful genius, Su Yan. To think someone like you was buried in the screenwriting department for one or two years before being discovered this year—this clearly shows flaws in the station's promotion system. Still, talent will always shine eventually."
Okabe Sosuke sat beside Su Yan and spoke in a gentle, measured tone.
The words were polite, but undeniably pleasant to hear.
Even after several glasses of wine, Su Yan remained clear-headed. Smiling, he replied calmly,
"I wouldn't dare. It was thanks to Director Okabe and Producer Shinozaki being willing to support my projects and help them get approved."
Shinozaki Ikumi, seated nearby, watched Su Yan with a faint smile as he awkwardly endured the necessary flattery toward her and the other senior women.
She could tell—Su Yan genuinely disliked this sort of thing.
But there was no choice.
In the film and television industry, success required both human relationships and ability.
Lacking either meant going nowhere.
Naturally, this dinner invitation wasn't just about socializing.
As the meal reached its latter half, Okabe Sosuke adjusted her slightly disordered cuff and looked at Su Yan with a sharp, calculating gaze.
"Su Yan, if I remember correctly, your contract with the station is a standard one-year contract, right?"
Su Yan—or rather, his pre-transmigration self—had only officially signed with the station in March of this year.
A one-year term.
Normally, once such contracts expired, the station would decide whether to renew or terminate based on performance. New writers weren't burdened with harsh non-compete clauses or massive breach penalties.
Xia Nation's labor laws were far stricter than those of Su Yan's previous world—contracts with absurd penalties were outright illegal.
But Su Yan was different.
Most rookie writers spent their first year doing menial tasks under senior writers, building connections and experience. Only in their second or third year did they typically get a chance at project approval.
Yet in just half a year, Su Yan had delivered two low-budget, high-return hits.
Okabe Sosuke could no longer sit still.
Before Su Yan's contract expired next April, she clearly intended to offer him a highly favorable long-term contract and bind him firmly to her faction.
However, after she made her intention clear, Su Yan remained silent for a long moment before speaking softly.
"I haven't really thought about renewing my contract yet."
Okabe Sosuke's expression stiffened. Wrinkles gathered at the corners of her eyes as her thoughts raced.
"Su Yan, tell me honestly—have Zhongxia TV or Hudu TV contacted you? Don't worry, this is normal. The station won't punish you for private contact. No matter what conditions they offered, I can responsibly tell you that Sakura TV can match them."
She then went on at length about the unspoken rules of the three major TV stations—poaching talent, internal favoritism, and how externally recruited staff were often marginalized compared to internally cultivated talent.
Shinozaki Ikumi immediately perked up upon hearing this topic.
In truth, Okabe Sosuke already knew the answer.
Unless Zhongxia TV and Hudou TV were run by fools, how could they possibly ignore a genius screenwriter whose contract was about to expire?
"Yes, seven or eight TV stations have contacted me," Su Yan said, cutting off Okabe Sosuke's speech.
"But I turned them all down."
Both Okabe Sosuke and Shinozaki Ikumi's eyes lit up.
Su Yan took a deep breath. Though he disliked flattery, Okabe Sosuke had helped him twice, getting both 'Rurouni Kenshin' and 'An ancient love song' approved. For that alone, he didn't mind setting aside his pride.
"To answer the call from the Golden Terrace, I would lift the jade dragon and give my life in return."
His expression was sincere.
"Everything I've achieved in this industry so far is thanks to Producer Shinozaki and Director Okabe. If I just left without regard for that because some stranger contacted me—that wouldn't be right."
The line hit home.
Both Okabe Sosuke and Shinozaki Ikumi understood classical Xia Nation poetry well enough to grasp its meaning.
Their impressions of Su Yan immediately changed.
A screenwriter's most important asset was cultural depth—and Su Yan's effortless eloquence far surpassed that of most writers in Sakura TV's screenwriting department.
Su Yan, however, had long planned his future path—he simply wasn't saying everything yet.
"Under equal conditions, I would never consider leaving Sakura TV. As long as I'm here, I'll choose to work with Producer Shinozaki. As for renewing my contract… I plan to wait until it expires."
The first half was flattery.
The second half was his true stance.
In reality, Su Yan had no intention of transferring stations—or even staying.
The reason he rejected other offers wasn't loyalty alone.
Every offer he received came with a five-year contract—some even longer.
The same would inevitably be true of Sakura TV.
To Su Yan, that was unacceptable.
He had done the math.
The answer was clear.
Go independent. Become his own boss.
Working for others—never.
Sakura TV wasn't a long-term solution.
One day, Akasaka Yoshitoki would become department head.
And when that happened, Su Yan would be forced to bow his head and beg for funding from the very man who had suppressed him.
That disgusted him.
So his first goal was clear:
When his contract expired in March, he would not renew with any station. He would go independent and establish his own company.
As for convincing Shinozaki Ikumi to join him—
That was a plan for later.
For now, Okabe Sosuke believed Su Yan simply wanted to wait for better leverage.
And that was good enough.
As long as he didn't jump to another station—and didn't collaborate with Akasaka Yoshitoki's faction—everything was acceptable.