As soon as Shinozaki Ikumi finished speaking, Su Yan started to waver.
Sure, drama productions often cost tens of millions, but if you blow half the budget just hiring top-tier celebrities, what's left for the actual production?
Su Yan's acting in his own dramas costs zero. Gu Qingyuan charged very little. And as for Shen Liqian—she had already made it clear: if Su Yan wanted to cast her again, she was willing to accept half the market rate, just like in 'Your Lie in April'.
Officially, she framed it as gratitude for how 'Your Lie in April' had revived her career.
Unofficially? She was holding tight to the Su Yan lifeline.
Fame over money—easy choice.
"But wouldn't audiences get tired of seeing the same faces?" Su Yan voiced a lingering concern.
"Aesthetic fatigue?" Shinozaki Ikumi chuckled.
"Do you have any idea how many fans in Xia Nation are begging for you, Gu Qingyuan, and Shen Liqian to reunite?"
"Your past works have left deep emotional impressions—your fans are still riding that wave!"
"Besides, Gu Qingyuan is planning to sign with us officially—she'll be our studio's contracted lead actress."
Shinozaki paused for effect.
"So if your script has any major female roles, whether for emotional ties or business reasons, we have to push Gu Qingyuan."
Su Yan went quiet.
He already knew that Gu Qingyuan had approached them two weeks ago, asking to join Dimensional Pictures.
Of course, both he and Shinozaki Ikumi understood the real reason. Su Yan was now one of the industry's biggest names, and she had him to thank for her rise to stardom.
After all, they'd started as nobodies together, struggling to break in. Now that things were going well, it'd be heartless to leave her behind.
"…Got it," Su Yan said, thinking over their past collaborations.
In terms of acting, ability, and professionalism, both Gu Qingyuan and Shen Liqian had proved themselves. There was no real reason to hesitate.
And besides, if you really wanted to get picky, 'Edgerunners' and 'Life Is Strange' probably should've been cast with foreign actors.
But that wasn't practical.
"Alright. Let's go with your plan."
With casting decided, Shinozaki and Su Yan shifted into audition mode.
'Life Is Strange' was originally a Japanese game, but its setting was clearly Western in nature.
The names "Max" and "Chloe" said it all.
Still, since this was being adapted for the Xia Nation, some localization was necessary.
'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' was a futuristic dystopia—Western names were fine. In a world where nations and ethnicities barely existed, names meant little.
But 'Life Is Strange' was set in modern times, so they had to be careful.
Su Yan made the call to localize Max and Chloe into Xia names: Xiao Mai and Xiao Yi.
And for the setting? He moved it to a former colony city in the south—chaotic decades ago, much like the Hong Kong of his past life.
That would justify the inclusion of firearms in the plot.
When Shen Liqian received Shinozaki Ikumi's invitation to join 'Edgerunners' and 'Life Is Strange', she was immediately excited.
Still, she hesitated slightly—neither role was the lead.
But when Su Yan met with her in person and explained that both roles had standout moments and would leave a deep impression, she let go of that concern.
After all, based on the character designs, she wasn't a good fit for either female lead anyway.
Maybe Su Yan had tailored the leads for Gu Qingyuan from the start.
Regardless—
One A-grade drama with her as co-lead (Xiao Mai(Max) in 'Life Is Strange')
One S-grade drama with her as supporting female lead (Rebecca in 'Edgerunners')
These were still great roles.
As for Su Yan and Shinozaki heavily promoting Gu Qingyuan—
That was understandable.
They had four dramas together. She'd only just started working with them six months ago.
Still, they had chosen her again—for two back-to-back projects.
That was a signal.
If she performed well in these two shows, she could very well become Su Yan's next "go-to lead actress."
Realizing this, Shen Liqian's expression lit up with confidence.
Late October.
Dimensional Pictures issued an official announcement:
A-grade drama 'Life Is Strange' would premiere on Sunday, January 5, at 8 PM, on Aozora TV.
S-grade drama 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' would air on Sunday, April 6, at 8 PM, on Zhongxia TV.
A coming-of-age film, 'The Garden of Words', was also in production.
Across all three projects, one pattern was obvious:
Su Yan, Gu Qingyuan, and Shen Liqian — the trio appeared in every main cast list.
And with that—BOOM.
'Your Lie in April' still hadn't cooled off. And Su Yan was already launching three new works?
With the same three actors?
The internet exploded.
["Su Yan, Gu Qingyuan, Shen Liqian—again?! This is just role-shuffling at this point!"]
["Familiar faces, but I'm not complaining!"]
Inside Su Yan's fandom, chaos broke out:
Su–Gu CP fans
Su–Shen CP fans
The two factions clashed hard.
After all, 'Your Lie in April' had been Su Yan's biggest hit to date.
Su–Shen CP fans had the upper hand, since their characters shared more screen time.
But fans of 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal', 'An Ancient Love Song', and 'To the Moon' weren't going down without a fight.
It was a draw.
Eventually, both sides had to stop fighting and focus on the bigger question:
'Edgerunners' didn't air for another six months—no one had much to go on.
But 'Life Is Strange'?
Only two months away. And it raised a lot of questions.
["Why do the official credits for 'Life Is Strange' only list two leads—Max and Chloe? No mention of Su Yan??"]
["Wait… no male lead?!"]
["That's… weird. All of Su Yan's previous works had romance. What's going on here?"]
["The title sounds mystical. Is this a fantasy drama?"]
["Kaori vs. Tomoe Yukishiro?"]
["Shouldn't 'Life Is Strange' be a love triangle? Why is Su Yan not even in it?"]
["Where's my romance?! I don't care about two female leads!"]
["Exactly! Two beautiful leads and no love story? What a waste!"]
["In 'Your Lie in April', even with the alternate ending, Kaori and Kousei never kissed. I was hoping they'd do a kiss scene in their next drama!"]
["It won't happen in 'Life Is Strange', but maybe in 'Edgerunners'."]
["But 'Edgerunners' already listed Gu Qingyuan as Lucy—the main girl. Shen Liqian's Rebecca is just a second lead. Romance? Slim chance."]
["Not so fast. Remember 'Your Lie in April's first ending? The second lead, Tsubaki, was the one who stayed with Kousei in the end. Maybe 'Edgerunners' will kill off the lead and pair the guy with the second girl!"]
["Exactly. In Su Yan's stories, screen time doesn't equal romance. Anything can happen."]
["I get it now. Anything goes in Su Yan's world."]
However, based on the current information released by Dimensional Pictures, most of the industry—and Su Yan's own fans—weren't exactly optimistic about 'Life Is Strange'.
All of Su Yan's previous hits leaned heavily on tragic romance.
But this one?
No male lead.
No love triangle.
No obvious romance.
How was that supposed to sell?
But what they hadn't realized yet was:
Just because it's a dual female lead doesn't mean there's no romance.
And if the fans kept insisting on pairing up the trio…
In mathematics, three people can form exactly three combinations.
They had:
Su Yan × Gu Qingyuan (Su–Gu)
Su Yan × Shen Liqian (Su–Shen)
But they were missing one:
Gu Qingyuan × Shen Liqian (Gu–Shen)
And in 'Life Is Strange', the two girls?
By the end of the story… they're definitely more than just friends.
In terms of emotional weight and heartbreak—
'Life Is Strange' might just out-sad 'To the Moon', 'An Ancient Love Song', or even 'Your Lie in April'.
Late October.
Filming officially began for both 'Life Is Strange' and 'Edgerunners'.
But for now, 'Life Is Strange' took priority.
'Edgerunners' was focused on scenes that required visual effects—so they could be sent to post-production early for rendering. The everyday scenes would be shot later, once 'Life Is Strange' wrapped.
Time passed quickly.
November arrived.
This season, the Big Three were on high alert.
'Your Lie in April' had taken the Season Crown last quarter with a 4.78% rating—the highest of the year so far.
That was a massive blow.
There was no undoing 'Your Lie in April's win, but they were not going to let it take the Year-End Crown, too.
The Big Three had entered full battle mode.
Especially Sakura TV.
They pumped an absurd amount of marketing resources into their new A-grade drama.
On SakuraNet, the drama got every trick in the book: limited-time free streams, discounts, and viewer bonuses.
Their goal? Maximize reach.
They wanted to pad the numbers with everything they had.
Zhongxia TV and Hudu TV followed suit.
It didn't matter which of them won the Year-End Crown.
As long as it wasn't 'Your Lie in April'.
This wasn't just about pride anymore.
It was about ad revenue.
If Aozora TV took the Year Crown, the Big Three would lose their bargaining power next year. That couldn't happen.
Even if their new dramas were average in quality, their ratings had climbed slightly above last season's.
And that made 'Your Lie in April's grip on the crown a little less certain.
But Su Yan?
He wasn't paying attention to any of that.
"If I win this year, great.
If not, then I'll just win next year."
Zhongxia was still friendly, thanks to their 'Your Lie in April' collab.
But Sakura TV and Hudu TV were a different story.
After learning that Su Yan would be airing an S-grade drama next April, they began making moves of their own.
So far, no announcements—likely to avoid overshadowing their current releases.
But they weren't just aiming for April.
They also had counterattacks ready for January, when 'Life Is Strange' would premiere.
Once was enough.
They wouldn't let Su Yan and Aozora TV humiliate them again.
That's why the Big Three had pulled out all the stops for their January dramas: veteran crews, top-tier directors, and elite production teams.
And just like that, November ended.
December had arrived.