" 'We Made a Beautiful Bouquet'? '5 Centimeters per Second'?"
When Su Yan placed the two film scripts in front of Shinozaki Ikumi, her eyes widened.
He had mentioned these projects before, but in less than two weeks, he had already finished both screenplays. That definitely caught her off guard.
Just like Su Yan's previous favorite works, both films were emotionally devastating.
In fact, the two stories were different branches of tragedy.
'5 Centimeters per Second' tells the story of a boy and a girl who liked each other since childhood, but slowly drift apart due to long-distance separation and the passage of time.
But 'We Made a Beautiful Bouquet'?
A couple who are soulmates in every way—same taste in music, food, idols, fashion, even worldviews—do they automatically get a happy ending?
The film's answer: no.
Regret is something that accompanies life from beginning to end.
—
Following the usual process, Shinozaki Ikumi first read through the scripts.
The Xia Nation version of '5 Centimeters per Second' included many details from Makoto Shinkai's original novel, making the screenplay longer. It expanded on Akari's experiences during middle and high school, offering deeper insight into her personal growth.
Shinozaki Ikumi quickly became immersed, spending over half an hour reading.
When she turned to the final page of '5 Centimeters per Second', her chest felt like it had been struck by a hammer.
Crushing.
She had been mentally prepared.
After all, Su Yan's works almost always leaned toward heartbreak. There was no way these two new scripts would magically have happy endings.
But even knowing what to expect… still didn't soften the blow.
Taking a deep breath, Shinozaki looked over at Su Yan, who was sitting casually in his chair, watching 'Tokyo Love Story's online reactions and news coverage while playing a match-three game.
Yep. Smiling, eating toast, sipping coffee. Like a carefree, sunny young man.
But…
Shinozaki Ikumi glanced back at the scripts in her hand.
She could already imagine how many Su Yan fans were going to emotionally break down in theaters when these films dropped.
At least 'The Garden of Words' had a somewhat hopeful ending—even if the leads didn't end up together, it left a trace of longing behind.
But '5 Centimeters per Second' and 'We Made a Beautiful Bouquet'?
Not even a trace.
Couples walking into the theater to watch these would probably leave in complete silence.
Especially 'We Made a Beautiful Bouquet'—it was basically a template for break-up movies.
—
"How is it? Interesting?" Su Yan looked up just after finishing a level, catching her staring at him.
"Interesting?" Shinozaki's tone was… odd.
"Your scripts have nothing to do with 'interesting.' They're just deeply upsetting, but still impossible to stop reading. Maybe I'm a masochist. Maybe your fans are too…"
"Don't say it like that," Su Yan replied, grinning.
"It just means you—and my fans—have moved beyond cheap emotional thrills."
"..." Shinozaki Ikumi was speechless.
"Anyway, take the scripts and have the teams study them. Once 'Tokyo Love Story' and 'Madoka' finish production, we'll move straight into filming '5 Centimeters per Second' and 'We Made a Beautiful Bouquet'." Su Yan said.
Shinozaki nodded.
Since the whole company was still working out of Tokyo, Su Yan hadn't bothered rewriting the scripts to set them in mainland Xia Nation.
The settings in '5 Centimeters per Second', especially Akari's hometown and the early long-distance separation, didn't need much change.
But the male lead's post-transfer location—specifically, the place where satellites were launched—would need some adjustments. They'd have to research historical launch sites from the past 20–30 years in Sakura Island and find a fitting spot for filming.
It was a bit tedious, but doable.
As for the budget—
The company's account was sitting on over 300 million yuan in cash.
Once 'Tokyo Love Story' and 'Madoka' finished airing and the post-broadcast earnings came in, that number would climb even higher.
For two romance films?
More than enough.
—
In the film industry, it's not just about having a good script.
You need strong financial backing—otherwise, even the best screenplay won't reach its full potential.
Just look at Su Yan's past life: all those weight-loss dramas and werewolf game thrillers—people mocked the stories, but big-name stars were hired, a hundred million was spent, 60–70 million of it went to actor fees, and another 300–400 million was dumped into marketing.
Pick a good release date, and boom: even garbage plots could break the billion mark.
With smart capital operation, box office numbers could easily exceed the story's value.
Xia Nation audiences weren't quite that gullible, but they weren't that different either. Just slightly better.
So if Su Yan wanted these two films to succeed, it wasn't enough to rely on his reputation.
The company had to have muscle.
Money for marketing was essential.
And fortunately, Su Yan was now exactly the kind of well-funded producer he used to envy.
When it came to his own work?
He would never cheap out.
—
"Oh, and—" Shinozaki added, "'Madoka's pre-broadcast schedule has been confirmed. April next year."
Su Yan nodded. "Got it. What about Sakura TV?"
"Just as expected—they're planning to air their S-tier fantasy drama 'Peerless' in the same timeslot."
Su Yan chuckled.
"Akasaka Yoshitoki's backed into a corner. He has to go head-to-head now."
"If 'Madoka' dominates the spring season and takes the seasonal crown," Shinozaki said, "then Akasaka has a 99.9% chance of being removed from his position."
Su Yan leaned back, smiling.
"Fitting. Two years, huh?"
"Two years ago in April, we left Sakura TV to start our own company."
"And next April, 'Madoka' premieres. If Akasaka crashes, then—it'll be poetic justice."
—
In the Xia Nation's entertainment industry, every move made by Dimension Pictures was under intense scrutiny.
Now that the two film scripts had been distributed internally, the next step was casting. Regardless of final budget decisions, the casting process would kick off immediately.
Major talent agencies across Xia Nation were receiving emails from Dimension Pictures, asking for actor submissions.
Because everyone knew—
When Su Yan was preparing a new project… it was a big deal.
And now?
He's making something new again?!
The news spread like wildfire within the industry.
Even though Su Yan had been heavily promoting Shen Liqian and Gu Qingyuan over the past two years—
Getting a supporting role in a Su Yan production was still better than landing a lead role in many B- or even A-tier dramas.
Just look at 'Tokyo Love Story'.
The actors who played Mikami Kenichi and Naoko Nagaki—Satake Shunsuke and Yoshikawa Kotone—were nobodies in the mid-tier actor pool before the show aired.
Now?
Only a few weeks into the broadcast, their names were trending alongside top-tier stars.
Especially Kenichi's actor.
Sure, the character was a flirt, a heartbreaker, a textbook playboy.
But the audience couldn't hate him.
Handsome. Charming. Emotionally intelligent. Knows how to treat people. Has boundaries. Loves deeply—he's just someone with too much love to give.
Just like Duan Zhengchun from Su Yan's past life dramas.
You could call him a player, sure—but you couldn't deny his genuine affection for every woman he loved.
In fact, Kenichi's popularity now even exceeded Nagao's and Su Yan's own character.
So now, with rumors of a new Su Yan production, countless actors across Xia Nation were fighting for a spot.
Shinozaki Ikumi, the director and assistant director of 'Tokyo Love Story', and even middle managers at the company were all being bombarded with industry connections, trying to get info.
—
Amidst all this, Episode 5 of 'Tokyo Love Story' aired.
Previously, the structure was clear:
Kenichi and Satomi, Nagao and Rika—two cleanly paired couples.
Stable.
But then, in Episode 4…
Naoko Nagasaki entered the picture.
Her screen time suddenly increased.
A lot of viewers already felt something was off.
And sure enough, Episode 5 stopped playing nice.
—
Kenichi and Nagaki became entangled.
Kenichi didn't intend to cheat—but Nagaki clearly had feelings for him.
And Satomi, being a woman, could obviously tell.
The audience already understood Satomi's pattern:
She liked Kenichi.
But Nagao was her backup.
Anytime she felt hurt by Kenichi, she'd remember how "good" Nagao was—and go running to him.
And every time she did, she would undermine Nagao and Rika's relationship.
Episode 5 officially shattered the "two-couple" setup and pushed the show into pentagon romance territory.
The episode ended with Nagao hiding the fact that he met with Satomi.
He lied to Rika, saying he was just out on business.
Rika cried and told him—
"I'm really angry, Kanji. You only have one heart. Not two. Where exactly are you putting it?"
"Please… just use your whole heart to tell me you love me. Hold me tight. Look only at me—or else…"
"I'll run away."
In the moonlight, Rika raised her head, tears streaming down her cheeks, sorrow etched into every word.
Another devastating blow to the fans.
At this point, the entire audience had taken Rika's side.
They were furious.
No one cared about Satomi's feelings anymore.
She gets hurt and immediately runs back to Nagao?
She ruins other people's happiness just because she's suffering?
What nonsense.
Even if she approached Nagao as a friend, and claimed their conversations were innocent—
It was pure green tea behavior.