With the decision made to add an if-line alternate ending, the script needed rewriting.
But for 'Tokyo Love Story', the if-line was straightforward—the divergence point would obviously be the final episode, where Rika waits for Nagao at the station.
What is the difference between the two endings?
One where she chooses to wait a bit longer, and Nagao arrives.
The other—like the original ending—where she, heartbroken and crushed, walks away.
Judging from Rika's behavior in previous episodes, she was the kind of person who would wait.
After all, in Episode 2, she waited from 7 p.m. until late into the night just for a simple dinner with Nagao.
There was no reason to believe she'd suddenly become impatient in the final episode.
So the only possible explanation for her departure in the original version… was utter heartbreak.
She had simply lost all hope—even in herself.
Rewriting the script in this way would actually align better with her character.
As for the events that follow, Satomi would still need some screen time—after all, she's the only "loser" in love. But there was no way she could go crawling back to Kenichi. She could stay single, or maybe be shown meeting a new man at the end, leaving things open to interpretation.
As for Nagao and Rika, they'd get some sweet scenes—affection, warmth, intimacy. Show that Nagao has truly made up his mind and no longer wavers because of Satomi.
After all, the point of the if-line is to give the audience exactly what they want.
And what do they want?
Su Yan didn't even have to guess. In his past life, the 'Tokyo Love Story' fandom—millions strong—had already answered. All he had to do was copy it.
That afternoon, Su Yan filmed a short commercial in a Tokyo studio to fulfill ad partnership obligations for 'Tokyo Love Story'. Before getting out of work that evening, he also picked up a thick stack of documents from Shinozaki Ikumi.
These were letters of intent from a slew of overseas TV stations and streaming platforms that wanted to license 'Tokyo Love Story'. If Su Yan gave the green light, the company would start negotiating partnerships.
After wrapping up his work, Su Yan returned home.
At this point, 'Tokyo Love Story' was nearing the end of production.
The same went for 'Madoka'. Previously, Shinozaki Ikumi had suggested that since the company's first film had performed well, they should strike while the iron was hot and start developing a new one.
Su Yan had subtly hinted to Shen Liqian that if a new film project was greenlit, she would be first in line for the female lead.
Now, the system's emotion value reserves have built up quite a bit.
More importantly, Su Yan had to find new work for his team.
Otherwise, once 'Tokyo Love Story' and 'Madoka' are wrapped, letting the entire company go idle would be a waste of talent and resources.
Since the next priority was a film, Su Yan decided against using the random draw.
The lottery system was too unreliable.
There were just too many film and TV projects out there—who could guarantee what might come up?
Most of the works Su Yan knew well from his past life were games, anime, and a few Japanese live-action films.
So he didn't have a wide range of options for direct exchanges.
After 'The Garden of Words' succeeded at the box office, logic dictated that he should keep tapping into Makoto Shinkai's works.
First in line would be 'Your Name'.
But because of how wildly successful that film was in his past life—both commercially and critically—it would cost too many points to exchange.
Su Yan couldn't afford it.
Same with 'Weathering with You' and 'Suzume'.
Though the latter two didn't have as stellar reputations among Shinkai's works, they still raked in Millions in global revenue.
And let's be real—those weaker reviews were only "bad" compared to Shinkai's own standards.
Compared to the general film market of Su Yan's previous world, they were still above average—at least better received than those "weight-loss movies" that flopped hard.
Sure, some parts were seen as cringey, but that was just the usual your favorite herb might be someone else's poison type of debate.
Among Shinkai's works, the ones Su Yan could afford to exchange—and that were also suitable for adapting in Xia Nation—were '5 Centimeters per Second' and 'The Place Promised in Our Early Days'.
But the latter was too abstract and artistic. Su Yan decided to pass.
Still, even with all this thought, Su Yan's first choice wasn't '5 Centimeters per Second'. The reason was simple.
He had already committed to promoting Shen Liqian through the company's next film.
And '5 Centimeters per Second' had no suitable female role for her.
So he picked another title to exchange first:
'We Made a Beautiful Bouquet'
A Japanese romance film that Su Yan had adored in his past life.
It had technically released in Huaguo, but with only modest box office returns—about 100 million yuan.
But film revenue depends on many factors.
Most Japanese live-action films performed poorly in China, and for a reason.
They'd usually release in Japan a year earlier, and by the time they got imported to China, piracy had already flooded the internet.
People who wanted to see it had already watched it online. Naturally, few bothered with the cinema. Box office numbers suffered.
Plus, these films were often imported through "batch acquisition."
The buyer would pay a flat fee for rights, screen the film with near-zero promo, and recoup costs by relying on a small niche audience.
Spending millions on advertising would be foolish—what if it flopped?
In China's film industry, which worships capital and star power, Japanese actors had little pull. With no promotional push and no star appeal, Japanese films usually flopped.
The only Japanese film that defied all odds and exploded at the China box office?
'Your Name'
So Su Yan didn't care that 'We Made a Beautiful Bouquet' didn't do well in his past life.
He trusted his judgment of the Xia Nation's film market.
If 'The Garden of Words' could explode here—
Then, in his eyes, 'We Made a Beautiful Bouquet' was even better.
After exchanging for 'We Made a Beautiful Bouquet', Su Yan checked his remaining emotion value.
He hesitated—then went ahead and exchanged '5 Centimeters per Second' as well.
After all, 'Tokyo Love Story' would keep pouring in emotional points, and so would 'Madoka' as it aired.
No need to worry about running out.
Once both dramas wrapped, he'd begin production on both films simultaneously.
Right now, the company has the money and the people.
And Su Yan had the fame.
There was no need to over-calculate.
He could cast Shen Liqian as the lead in 'We Made a Beautiful Bouquet'.
As for '5 Centimeters per Second', that would require a whole new cast.
Eventually, once his emotional value was high enough, he planned to remake all of Shinkai's "Disaster Trilogy" and produce live-action adaptations in Xia Nation.
With everything mapped out—
Su Yan exhaled slowly.
He was about to get busy again.
In the following days, Su Yan's schedule became packed.
Just because 'Tokyo Love Story' was dominating didn't mean he could slack off.
He still had to appear on variety shows, film commercials, attend interviews, and roadshows—none of it could be skipped.
And now, every time he spoke to reporters, he promoted 'Tokyo Love Story' and 'Madoka' together.
Three weeks after airing, 'Tokyo Love Story' had locked down both the #1 spot in viewership and #1 in public praise.
But unlike Su Yan's earlier works—which mainly attracted younger viewers—
Tokyo Love Story appealed to a much broader audience.
Stay-at-home moms, elderly viewers, retirees—all were watching with rapt attention.
Its accessibility was the highest of any Su Yan drama so far.
On ZhongxiaNet, its average paid views per episode had already exceeded 10 million after just three weeks.
It was leading this season's web drama rankings by a mile.
Naturally, the media was buzzing:
📰'Tokyo Love Story' Secures Top Seasonal Ratings, May Surpass 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners'!
📰This Year Is Historic: 99% Chance the Annual Champion and Runner-Up Will Both Be Su Yan Productions.
📰Sakura TV Silenced. After Vowing to Crush 'Tokyo Love Story', Now Lying Low in Shame. 'Blood Route' Unlikely to Ever Catch Up.
📰'Tokyo Love Story' Outperforms Other Regions in Tokyo, With Locals Praising Its Authentic Cultural Depiction.
📰Mainland Viewers Slam Satomi's "Green Tea" Behavior, Rika's Bold Values. But for Sakurajima Locals—It's Just Everyday Love.
📰Phone Call NTR, Instant Bed Scenes After Confession—The Story Shocks, Yet Viewers Accept It Instantly. What's Its Magic?
📰Most Beloved Female Lead in Xia Nation Drama History? Rika, Despite Being Involved With a Married Boss, Is Still Massively Loved. Is Cuteness All That Matters?
📰Shen Liqian Locks In a Xia Flame Best Actress Nomination for Rika. After Winning Last Year for Kaori, Could She Win Two Years in a Row?
📰Episode 3 of 'Tokyo Love Story' Hits 5.2% Ratings. Su Yan, Shen Liqian, and Gu Qingyuan Now the Hottest Names in TV.
📰Grannies and Housewives Binge-Watching Online—Future Ratings Might Exceed All Projections!
In just a few days—
'Tokyo Love Story' was outperforming even 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' at its peak.
Sakura TV, on the other hand, was in crisis.
The writing department had been mostly supportive when Su Yan left, and its head had even clashed with Akasaka Yoshitoki in a board meeting.
But the production department—Akasaka's stronghold—was feeling the heat.
Thanks to Su Yan's string of hits, Zhongxia TV had pulled far ahead of its two rivals.
Akasaka Yoshitoki, seen as the root of the disaster, was scolded for half an hour in a recent board meeting.
Everyone in the company could sense the shift.
One of Akasaka's top men, Deputy Director Satake Hiroyuki, was removed for the station's poor performance.
And Ogata Aya—who'd been suppressed for years—was promoted to Vice Director of Production.
She was the one who recognized Su Yan's talent early on and fought to give his dramas fair treatment.
If Akasaka was at fault for stifling Su Yan, then Ogata deserved credit for doing the opposite.
Of course, some bitter voices sniped that if it weren't for Ogata, Su Yan might've remained stuck in the writing department, and Sakura TV wouldn't have "created" such a powerful rival.
But that kind of talk only made people laugh.
Would someone like Su Yan really have stayed buried forever?
If Sakura TV hadn't discovered him, someone else surely would've.
Ogata, now vice director, was riding high.
Last night, she'd chatted for hours on the phone with her old friend, Shinozaki Ikumi's mother, Shinozaki Aki.
She was subtly probing for intel on Ikumi's movements in Tokyo—particularly anything related to 'Madoka'.
Akasaka Yoshitoki's only remaining hope now rested on 'Peerless', a high-budget fantasy series currently in production.
If it could outperform 'Madoka'…
He might survive.
Otherwise—
He was finished.
From what Ogata had heard, the Madoka team was cautiously optimistic.
She didn't understand much about "magical girls" and all that.
But from the early VFX footage she'd seen—
The production values were jaw-dropping.
Even higher than 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners'.
"Su Yan, little Ikumi… you better crush it. My chance at becoming director depends on you."
In her office, Ogata Aya glanced at the word "Vice" on her door plaque.
Ambition flashed in her eyes.
The whole situation was absurd, but she knew—
This was her only shot.
Su Yan would apply outside pressure on Akasaka.
And she—on the inside—would turn up the heat from within.