It was Friday again.
'The Garden of Words' had been in theaters for exactly one week.
The film's rating held steady at 9.1, and its total box office crossed 210 million.
That number might not be record-breaking in Xia Nation's film history, but within this summer's release season, it was outstanding.
After all, among the three films in July with budgets over 100 million, 'High-Energy Girlfriend' alone had nearly 200 million in investment. Yet even after half a month in theaters, its total box office was only 230 million, and its daily box office had dropped to just 6 million.
Meanwhile, 'The Garden of Words' was still pulling over 15 million per day on weekdays. And on Friday, as the weekend approached, it broke 30 million again.
For seven consecutive days, it was the daily box office champion in Xia Nation.
On Saturday and Sunday, it continued its reign, earning 32 million and 30.1 million, respectively, pushing its total beyond 300 million.
Of course, by Monday, numbers dropped again—averaging just over 10 million per day.
But neither Su Yan nor Shinozaki Ikumi was disappointed.
Back in Su Yan's previous life, 'The Garden of Words' had great word of mouth, but limited results—since Makoto Shinkai was still just a small-name animation director at the time.
Now, while Su Yan's own name in the film industry was still modest, a 40-million investment in production and promotion gave this version of 'The Garden of Words' far more backing than the original ever had.
Film success is always tied to capital.
A great film with no backing often fades away.
But a mediocre one, with capital, can still make waves.
That was true in Su Yan's world—and in Xia Nation's film industry too.
At the very least, his 40 million investment gave 'The Garden of Words' the opportunity to compete at the top.
It might not be hailed as a cinematic masterpiece...
But among the 15 million viewers in Xia Nation, the vast majority saw it as a beautiful, high-quality romance film.
That's why it earned such a high rating.
And why it managed to stand out in a release season crowded with similar mid-budget titles.
Meanwhile, in Tokyo, filming for both 'Tokyo Love Story' and 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' continued smoothly.
"Su Yan," Shinozaki Ikumi said, "several local TV stations in Tokyo want to invite you to appear on talk shows next week. What's your plan?"
"Sure. It's already August—' Tokyo Love Story' will air in less than two months. The series should get more attention in Tokyo anyway. It's a good time for promotion."
"The VFX team sent over some updated scenes for 'Madoka'. Can you review and see if they match your vision?"
"Also, three companies are offering endorsement deals. The rates are quite good—are you interested?"
Work came in waves and was cleared just as fast.
Over his month in Tokyo, Su Yan had clearly lost weight. He was only sleeping five to six hours a night, with the rest of his time packed with work.
Besides acting, there was a mountain of company operations to handle.
"395 million. It'll cross 400 million tomorrow."
Shinozaki Ikumi was obsessively refreshing the live box office tracker on her phone.
"Yes, yes, I hear you," Su Yan said with a smile.
"Still," she added, "at this pace, it looks like the film will end up somewhere around 500 million. Even if you don't put this much energy into it now, the box office won't just disappear."
"What do you know?" Ikumi shot him a glance.
Since coming to Tokyo, her fashion leaned toward local trends. Just two days ago, she'd stunned the entire crew at a group dinner by showing up in a soft pink kimono.
"This is my first time as a film producer! It's not just your movie debut—it's mine too. Of course I care!"
She paused, then added with a sly look, "Honestly, Su Yan, your movie's doing so well in the Xia Nation market—you should really consider writing more screenplays."
Before the release, she had told him that even if the movie flopped, it could be treated as a learning experience.
Now that it had exceeded expectations, she was already thinking ahead.
"It's not that easy," Su Yan laughed. "Even for me, inspiration doesn't just come like eating or drinking."
But after a moment's thought, he added, "Still, you're not wrong. Since 'The Garden of Words' did well, we should definitely consider expanding our investment in film."
Although Su Yan's system allowed him to randomly draw new works, he could also use emotion points to directly purchase specific titles.
The catch? It costs far more than random draws.
For instance, 'Tokyo Love Story' might come up in a random draw with 40–50 million points, but a direct purchase? Over 100 million.
Still, if Su Yan really wanted to adapt a specific film and had enough points, he could just buy it outright.
"Oh, by the way," Ikumi suddenly said, "Auntie Ogata Aya called me last night. This October, Sakura TV is airing a major new production."
"Investment: 60 million. Title: 'Blood Route'. It's a bloody, violent, action-oriented high school drama."
"They've cast three A-list TV stars from Xia Nation. The screenwriter is Akiyama Shunsuke, a veteran from the previous generation."
"Even though we're likely to win next year's Xia Flame Awards with 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners', you shouldn't underestimate Akiyama. Ten years ago, his scripts won two of those awards."
"Is Akasaka Yoshitoki still not giving up?" Su Yan asked, intrigued.
"The higher-ups at Sakura TV gave him a direct order: the embarrassment he suffered because of you? He must get it back," Ikumi said, smirking with satisfaction.
The fact that Akasaka was being forced to scramble after them delighted her.
"So once we locked in 'Tokyo Love Story' for October," she continued, "Sakura TV was forced to respond. There wasn't enough time to greenlight a proper high-investment S-tier series with advanced VFX—so Akasaka copied our budget and brought Akiyama Shunsuke back from semi-retirement."
Su Yan nodded.
Writers like Akiyama often had scripts prepared years in advance, waiting for the right chance to bring them to life.
If 'Blood Route' was ready for this kind of rushed production, the script had probably been polished for a long time.
"Looks like Akasaka's just chasing us at this point," Su Yan chuckled.
"Everything we do, he tries to mimic."
"He has no choice. To be fair, his performance since joining Sakura TV has been decent. Strictly speaking, he's capable."
"But…" Ikumi added, "Letting you walk away was his greatest mistake. Then 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' stole the seasonal crown from 'The Black Gate'—that humiliation will eat at him until he proves himself."
"Auntie Ogata said if he doesn't redeem himself within a year, there's a high chance Sakura TV will fire him."
Su Yan thought for a moment, then smiled.
"In that case, October is when we crush him completely."
"I don't care how good 'Blood Route' is—if it tries to go head-to-head with 'Tokyo Love Story', it's picked the wrong fight."
"You really think so?" Ikumi asked.
"Think? No." Su Yan said softly. "I know. From Episode 1 to the finale, 'Tokyo Love Story' will not give 'Blood Route' a single chance to top its ratings."
"I'm not making a prediction. I'm stating a fact."
"…?"
Shinozaki Ikumi stared at him, stunned.
This wasn't just confidence anymore.
"Even though the investment in 'Tokyo Love Story' isn't as high as 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners', that doesn't mean the show is worse," Su Yan said after a moment.
"Didn't you say yourself that 'Cyberpunk''s ratings record would be nearly impossible to break anytime soon?"
Ikumi nodded.
"Well, it's not impossible. If one of the Big Three networks gathered the most popular stars and commissioned a masterpiece script from a top-tier writer—while investing over 100 million—then it might happen."
"But realistically? For a 10–13-episode season, nobody's spending that kind of money."
"That's movie-level funding."
"I think that record…" Su Yan smiled, "…will be broken in October."
"By 'Tokyo Love Story'."
Ikumi blinked. Then her scalp tingled.
It was happening again—Su Yan's prophetic statements, before a drama even aired.
By now, no matter how outrageous his words sounded, she had learned to believe him.
Like a student who always scored perfect marks—if he says he'll ace the next exam, do you doubt him?
"You, you!" Ikumi exhaled deeply.
"Working in the same industry as you these past two years has been torture! Even I, your partner, kinda want to see you flop for once. Every time you open your mouth, you make people furious."
Su Yan just chuckled lightly and said nothing more.
From early to mid-August, 'The Garden of Words' continued to lead the box office. Weekday sales hovered just above 10 million, while weekend numbers dipped slightly compared to earlier weeks.
Still, the other films in its cohort were doing worse.
By mid-August, 'The Garden of Words' had passed 470 million in total box office.
For half a month, media outlets and film critics had not stopped praising it.
Xia Nation's film industry wasn't all about box office. A great film could win acclaim even if its earnings were modest.
Even though 'Gun Grave' and 'Firefly' (released in early July) had higher total sales, 'The Garden of Words' was far superior in critical reception.
Thanks to this, both the public and industry insiders were beginning to remember Su Yan's name.
His reputation in cinema was taking shape.
Meanwhile, two new big-budget films were being prepared for release in August.
Naturally, the media and audience attention began to shift away from 'The Garden of Words'.
That's the nature of movies—hype comes fast, and fades just as quickly.
Unlike seasonal dramas, which at least air for a full quarter.
With the buzz fading, Su Yan's fans immediately shifted focus—
To 'Tokyo Love Story'.
[What kind of series will this be...?]