Late February.
Aside from keeping an eye on the performance of 'Life is Strange', Su Yan's main focus had shifted to the post-production of 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' and the ongoing filming of 'The Garden of Words'.
Though these three projects belonged to different airing and release schedules, their production timelines were tightly packed.
For Su Yan, shooting 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' wasn't much of an issue—he could pull off the male lead's action scenes without wires. In terms of filming difficulty, it didn't even compare to 'Rurouni Kenshin'.
The real challenge was the action scenes for Gu Qingyuan (playing Lucy) and Shen Liqian (as Rebecca), which were demanding for them. But both actresses had a natural talent for it and didn't require too much extra time to get it right.
The greatest difficulty in this drama?
The VFX—which had to be top-tier.
If it was going to have bargain-bin special effects, then there was no point filming at all.
If the visuals ended up looking like the live-action adaptation of 'Attack on Titan' from Su Yan's previous world?
Forget it. Audiences would obliterate it with one-star reviews.
However, doing a high-VFX drama in Xia Nation had its advantages.
Thanks to more balanced economic levels, a 60–70 million yuan investment seemed modest—but in practice, Xia's VFX artists charged much less.
And their skills?
On par with global standards.
It was like how the game 'Black Myth: Wukong' in Su Yan's previous world only cost $40 million to develop in China—but outsiders swore it must've cost $100–200 million, because of the production quality.
This was the result of differing wage standards across economies.
In the Xia Nation, an S-tier drama was, by industry standard, expected to have cinematic-level visuals.
After wrapping up the latest VFX meeting, Su Yan and Shinozaki Ikumi let out a long sigh of relief.
At least from what they'd seen, the quality was excellent.
It wouldn't reach the level of Marvel or Hollywood blockbusters—but for a drama, it was more than impressive.
A world apart from the "big-budget" shows in Su Yan's previous world that still had cheap, laughable CG.
"That's amazing..." Su Yan muttered after seeing off the VFX company director.
"In under half a year, they've already finished the effects for the first three episodes of 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners'. They even guaranteed they'll keep up with the weekly broadcast schedule moving forward. I honestly didn't expect this kind of speed and quality."
"Of course," Shinozaki Ikumi said calmly. "We've paid every single installment on time. In most Xia Nation industries, if you pay on time and don't keep changing your specs, they'll move heaven and earth to get your work done."
"If we'd delayed payment or constantly changed the VFX specs, it'd be a different story."
"These companies may not respect the projects they're working on, but they definitely respect the yuan."
Su Yan paused at her words.
No matter the world, it seemed hardworking people were everywhere.
It reminded him of who he was before he came here.
"It's already late February," Shinozaki Ikumi added.
"We should start coordinating with Zhongxia TV on pre-broadcast promotions for 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners'."
Next quarter, three S-tier dramas would premiere simultaneously.
Whichever one won the season crown would also become the strongest contender for Drama of the Year and Best Drama Grand Prize.
Shinozaki's voice carried a trace of tension.
While 'Life is Strange' had decent results—with Episode 6 earning 4.34% and holding onto the #4 spot, the top-ranked 'Rain in Hudu: The Sequel' wasn't far ahead at 4.52%.
But for Su Yan, this was his worst-performing drama.
All his other dramas had either finished first, or—only once—third.
This fourth place was his lowest ranking yet.
Still, it was a result 99% of writers in Xia Nation could only dream of.
But that didn't matter now. 'Life is Strange' could underperform.
'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' had to succeed.
In Xia, only those who won Yearly Viewership Crowns were seen as first-rate writers and producers.
No matter how hot Su Yan had been over the past year, no matter how loud the praise—
If he didn't win the year, he was still second-rate.
"You're still upset about how we only got nominations last month, right?" Su Yan asked, instantly catching on to Shinozaki's tone.
In the midst of 'Life is Strange's broadcast run, the Xia Flame Awards ceremony had taken place at the end of January.
Su Yan had been nominated for Best Screenwriter, Shinozaki Ikumi for Best Producer, and Shen Liqian for Best Actress.
But only Shen Liqian took home the win.
Her performance as Kaori Miyazono had simply been too popular.
Among all characters in all dramas that year, she was unmatched in audience appeal.
If that award hadn't gone to Shen Liqian, the Xia Flame Awards would've been ridiculed into oblivion.
As for Best Writer and Best Producer?
Those went to the team behind 'White Deer in the Forest', the #1 show of the year by ratings.
Its reputation didn't match 'Your Lie in April', but its ratings beat it—and that was all that mattered.
You could claim the committee was pressured by the Big Three networks—
But without solid proof, that meant nothing.
"If 'Your Lie in April' had been the yearly viewership champion," Shinozaki Ikumi said quietly, "no matter how much pressure the big networks applied, the committee wouldn't have dared to ignore it. A drama that's #1 in both word-of-mouth and ratings—if that didn't win, the backlash would've been brutal."
"But 'Your Lie in April' lost in ratings. That gave the committee a reason to hand the award to someone else."
"So let me be clear. If you want the Best Screenwriter award, Su Yan, then next quarter, 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' has to be the #1 show."
"Only when your show is undeniably #1 in ratings and reviews will the committee dare to ignore the pressure from the Big Three and give you what you deserve."
As time passed, the winter dramas continued to air as scheduled.
The four A-tier dramas' rankings had stabilized.
'Life is Strange' aired Episodes 7 and 8.
Max, returning to the original timeline, had to confront all the familiar tragedies of Chloe's life.
The mystery of Rachel's disappearance.
The escalating hostility of Nathan.
And a vague, creeping sense of danger.
Through time reversal and investigation, Max and Chloe slowly uncovered the truth.
At the end of Episode 8—
The truth behind Rachel's disappearance was revealed.
Yes, Nathan was the one who did it.
But he wasn't the mastermind.
Behind him stood a far more chilling figure: Xu Jie, the photography instructor—Max's own teacher.
A deranged artist who drugged his victims to take photographs while they were unconscious—building a grotesque collection of "art".
He had given Rachel an overdose that killed her.
Once he realized Max and Chloe were getting close to the truth, he killed Chloe and attempted to drug Max for his final "masterpiece".
At last, the central mystery was resolved.
Fans of the show were obsessed.
They tuned in religiously every week.
But for some, it was too much.
In Xia, most dramas still favored a light, easygoing tone.
Something as intense as 'Life is Strange'—no matter how good—just wasn't for everyone.
Fantasy-crime hybrids like this were always polarizing, in any world.
March arrived.
The four A-tier dramas reached their final episodes.
In the final arc, Max discovered a set of her own old photographs in Xu Jie's room and used them to go back in time.
She managed to report Xu Jie, alert the authorities, and escape alive.
But—
She had used this power so many times.
The more she changed the past, the more she altered the destinies of those around her.
Eventually, a massive storm formed, tearing through the city and causing widespread destruction.
A third of the town's population was lost.
Now, she had two choices:
Let the town die.
Go back to the very beginning, using the photo of the blue butterfly from Episode 1, and do nothing. Let Chloe die.
In the original game, players could choose between the two.
But the TV version couldn't depict a protagonist choosing to sacrifice an entire town.
So in Episode 10, amid the grief, powerlessness, and heartbreak—
Max cried, kissed Chloe, and made her decision.
Using the butterfly photo, she returned to that day.
Alone, hidden in the restroom, she listened to the argument between Chloe and Nathan—
And did nothing.
Bang.
The fan-favorite character, Chloe—who had accompanied audiences for ten weeks—died.
This was the timeline Max chose.
And the one Chloe would have chosen, too.
'Life is Strange' ended with a scene that shattered hearts.
It began with Chloe's death.
And it ended with it.
Max ultimately chose not to change anyone's fate.
Because in the end, the outcome didn't matter as much as the journey.
Chloe—the brash, sharp-tongued girl who always faced everything head-on—had become deeply beloved over the course of ten weeks.
And because of that final kiss between Max and Chloe—
Overnight, Gu Qingyuan and Shen Liqian's fanbases exploded.
At the same time, on the night of the finale, Su Yan's official account was flooded with comments.
Thousands of fans screamed at him—
["WHY didn't you choose the town to die?!"]
["You should've saved Chloe!"]
["How can you give us that ending and sleep at night?!"]
And the age-old question resurfaced:
["If it's your loved one on one side of the scale, and hundreds of strangers on the other… what would you choose?"]
A show that made its audience reflect—even after it ended—was a successful one.
The next day.
Episode 10's ratings were released.
4.41%, placing third for the week.
Media outlets and reviewers praised the finale to the skies.
"It's over."
Su Yan stared at the full 10-episode ratings chart and the flood of glowing reviews.
"Seven weeks at fourth place, three weeks at third…"
A bit of a shame.
He really believed this show was a masterpiece.
But a critical darling that didn't blow up in ratings—
There wasn't much he could do.
"At least Aozora TV paid ¥15 million for the broadcast rights.
And on RaccoonNet, average paid views per episode hit 6.5 million.
Throw in ¥6–7 million in product placement and a few million from overseas licensing…"
Su Yan did the math in his head.
"That brings the total to about ¥57 million in revenue."
Considering the production cost was ¥40 million—
They definitely made a profit.
A 40% return was already a strong result.
But compared to the 300%+ return of 'Your Lie in April', it was a big gap.
"Still, at least we earned enough to fund the rest of 'The Garden of Words' and 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners'..." Su Yan took a deep breath.
'Cyberpunk' was expensive—but it also had a lot of ad sponsorship.
Combined with the returns from 'Life is Strange', Su Yan's studio didn't have to worry about funding—for now.
"The winter season's over," he murmured.
"Next up—spring."
In just two weeks—
'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' would begin airing.