When Shen Liqian signed her previous management contract, she was nowhere near as popular as she was now. Joining Su Yan's company under the same terms she had agreed to back then was, in essence, a voluntary pay cut.
With Shen Liqian's current level of fame, if she jumped to any other agency, wouldn't negotiations start at double the terms of her old contract at the very least?
But then again, the reason she had become this popular in the first place was because Su Yan had backed her. She didn't dare use her current popularity as leverage to demand better conditions.
After all, this time, she was the one asking Su Yan.
"No problem," Su Yan said with a smile.
"As soon as your contract with your previous agency expires, I welcome you to join us, Shen Liqian."
"However, our company has been established for less than two years. So far, we've only produced three or four films and television works. Even though our prospects look bright right now, the future is still uncertain. In terms of scale, industry connections, and distribution channels, we still can't compare to 'Stellar'. Joining us carries significant risk for you."
"I've already thought it through," Shen Liqian said, pouring Su Yan a glass of wine before lifting her own. "Anything worth doing comes with risks."
"Without you, Teacher Su Yan, I'd probably still be suppressed by Akasaka Yoshitoki with no way to make a comeback. Let alone talk about a bright future. This toast is for you."
Shen Liqian looked at Su Yan nervously. She knew he was a man who kept his word. Even though tonight's conversation wasn't written into a contract, as long as Su Yan drank this wine, he wouldn't go back on it.
And once she returned tonight, she could start discussing her job change with her agent.
As one of the top five artist management companies in the Xia Nation, 'Stellar Talent Agency' had also been applying pressure on Shen Liqian lately, hoping she would renew her contract. Not only that, the agency even wanted to use her—and her agent's connections—to stuff people into Su Yan's production crews.
That kind of behavior was exactly what Shen Liqian hated the most.
When there was trouble, the company was useless. The moment there was profit to be made, they swarmed in like flies.
Who were they looking down on?
As long as Su Yan agreed to her joining, she would have no more worries about her next steps.
"We've achieved success together," Su Yan said, lifting his glass with a smile and clinking it against Shen Liqian's before draining it in one go. "In the past, and in the future as well."
If 'Tokyo Love Story' could become as popular as it had been in Su Yan's previous life in Japan, it was foreseeable that Shen Liqian would leap straight into the ranks of the Xia Nation's top female stars. At the very least, before the hype around 'Tokyo Love Story' faded, that "top-tier" label wouldn't come with the word one of attached.
After that would be the broadcast of 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica'.
To be honest, Su Yan couldn't confidently predict whether the live-action adaptation of this fantasy animation would explode in popularity in the Xia Nation the same way it had in the anime fandom of his previous life.
But one thing was certain.
Any drama starring the actress who played Akana Rika after 'Tokyo Love Story'—especially as the female lead—would draw massive attention even before it aired.
And that drama had already been confirmed.
It was 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica'.
Su Yan had already taken care of the timing, the circumstances, and the people involved for 'Madoka'. What results it would ultimately achieve would depend on the show itself.
By then, Shen Liqian would be "one of their own", and there would be no need to worry about hidden risks.
A faint blush appeared on Shen Liqian's face as her heart finally settled.
Now, at last, her standing in Su Yan's eyes was the same as Gu Qingyuan's.
When Su Yan had new works in the future, he would weigh her and Gu Qingyuan fairly on both sides of the scale, without favoritism.
Seeing this, Shinozaki Ikumi also showed a trace of relief.
After all, wealth should stay within the family. One of Shinozaki Ikumi's long-standing worries was finally resolved.
Su Yan had produced so many hit dramas, making himself, Shen Liqian, and Gu Qingyuan famous. Yet Shen Liqian hadn't been an internal member of the company, which had always been a hidden danger. She was afraid that one day Su Yan would end up sewing wedding clothes for someone else.
"Ah, right," Su Yan suddenly spoke up at this moment.
"Miss Shinozaki, didn't you say last time that after 'The Garden of Words' finished its theatrical run, the market response was quite good, and that our company should invest some energy into developing films?"
Shinozaki Ikumi and Shen Liqian both froze, their chopsticks hovering midair.
The two of them looked at Su Yan at the same time.
"Once the first few episodes of 'Tokyo Love Story' air, and the frequency of our roadshows and variety show promotions drops a bit," Su Yan said softly, "I might have a film script ready."
"Everyone can prepare in advance and adjust their state."
Shinozaki Ikumi and Shen Liqian felt their hearts race.
They both knew exactly who "everyone" referred to.
Even if Shinozaki Ikumi was too busy, she would still be credited as a producer on Su Yan's works.
This was clearly said for Shen Liqian's benefit.
Su Yan had always known that Shen Liqian wanted to move into films.
Movies might not be as profitable as TV dramas, but a film star's influence, recognition, and industry status were on an entirely different level.
Even in Su Yan's previous life, Hollywood movie stars were known worldwide—but how many people could name a currently popular American TV star?
Gu Qingyuan was more laid-back, the type who acted happily and peacefully.
But Shen Liqian?
She was a full-on career queen.
As for Su Yan himself, after 'The Garden of Words' finished screening, combined with the emotional value contributed by new audiences drawn in by his previous works, the emotional points stored in his system space had already accumulated to over sixty million.
By the time 'Tokyo Love Story' aired, it might increase by another ten or twenty million, or even more.
Using those points to redeem some famous, classic films from his previous life and release them in the Xia Nation would perfectly align with Su Yan's interests.
Dimensional Pictures, after all.
Of course, it had to grab both films and television with both hands.
September passed quietly.
As the summer season dramas gradually wrapped up, the popularity of unaired works slated for the October fall season soared.
During a summer season with no new Su Yan dramas and no S-tier productions, the highest-rated show was a romance drama from Zhongxia TV, which ended with a 4.59% rating—a respectable result.
But Xia Nation audiences had already feasted on three S-tier dramas airing simultaneously during the spring season.
How could they possibly be satisfied with this quarter's offerings?
Countless drama fans were now fixated on the October premieres of Sakura TV's 'Blood Route' and Zhongxia TV's 'Tokyo Love Story'.
Although neither was officially labeled S-tier, their investment scale, production value, and promotional efforts were barely any weaker.
After all, neither was a special-effects-heavy production. Saving on VFX costs meant there was no need to forcibly stuff in seventy or eighty million just to push the production standard up to S-tier—it would've been meaningless.
But judging purely by cast and screenwriting teams, both shows essentially had S-tier lineups.
As October approached, Zhongxia TV and Sakura TV both went all out.
Thanks to their previous successful collaboration on 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners', Zhongxia TV had no intention of holding back this time.
They pushed hard to promote 'Tokyo Love Story'.
At the very least, from busy streets to wet markets, even elderly uncles and aunties who loved watching dramas had gained a basic awareness of the two shows' premieres.
The promotion could be considered thorough.
Su Yan had already proven his value.
Even if an imported drama couldn't maximize a TV station's copyright revenue, as long as it secured the seasonal championship, the potential follow-up gains would be far from small.
Moreover, a peculiar phenomenon had emerged in the Xia Nation's advertising market.
Whenever Su Yan's dramas aired, the probability of them becoming the seasonal champion was extremely high—even in cases like 'Life Is Strange', which didn't take first place.
The word-of-mouth was still exceptionally strong.
Any commercials inserted during Su Yan's broadcast slots ended up performing extremely well in the market.
The reason was simple: when audiences resonated emotionally with a show, they were more receptive to its advertisements.
If a drama was trash, viewers had little interest in paying attention to ads at all.
As a result, advertising slots during Su Yan's broadcast periods always sold at significantly higher prices.
This kind of reputation effect was slowly fermenting in the Xia Nation market.
By late September, Sakura TV invited the main creative team of 'Blood Route' onto their channel for three consecutive days, promoting the drama through variety shows, talk shows, and interviews.
Naturally, during the process, under Sakura TV's guidance, the creators of 'Blood Route' openly and subtly took shots at 'Tokyo Love Story'.
Since things had already reached the point of open hostility with Su Yan, Akasaka Yoshitoki no longer bothered maintaining appearances.
In the Xia Nation's film and television market, only one of them could enjoy long-term glory.
Either Su Yan's reputation would be dragged down—or Akasaka Yoshitoki himself would be forced to pack up and leave.
Decorum could wait for later.
As for Akasaka Yoshitoki's smear campaign, Su Yan initially ignored it.
But with less than a week left before 'Tokyo Love Story' aired, Su Yan didn't mind engaging in a bit of mutual marketing warfare.
He began responding to Sakura TV's attacks—without holding back at all.
The media had fresh material to report every day. Fans on both sides had new gossip to chew on daily, and the internet was in an uproar.
Just like that—
Time entered October.
The fall season of Xia Nation television dramas officially began.