As time passed and December arrived, the television market saw Jing Yu's three seasonal dramas — 'My Youth Romantic Comedy', 'Ef: A Tale of Memories', and 'Hyouka' — enter their final arcs.
Although they had already aired for two months, the ratings of all three hovered between 8% and 9%, with no sign of breaking the 10% barrier. The industry had long grown accustomed to this phenomenon.
Many people had once worried that Jing Yu could easily push even romance dramas with investments of just tens of millions past the 10% mark. But now it seemed that even for Jing Yu, reaching that level of ratings wasn't something just any drama could accomplish.
As for games, although 'Rurouni Kenshin''s game sales were no longer as explosive as during launch, its player base continued to expand. At the same time, the paid streaming numbers for the 'Rurouni Kenshin' movie kept rising day by day.
This wasn't limited to the Great Zhou — overseas was the same. The search volume for the 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal' movie surged to become the third most searched movie term globally.
The first and second spots were held by two foreign blockbusters currently in theaters. For a movie that had already been released for several years, 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal' could truly be said to be enjoying a second spring.
By late December, Jing Yu — along with his partnered global distribution companies — officially launched the sale of 'Rurouni Kenshin' merchandise.
Kenshin's reverse-blade sword, Aoshi's short sword, specific costumes of various in-game characters, figures, official expanded novels, and illustration collections.
Long before the game's release, Jing Yu had already coordinated with relevant partners. Of course, this was also preparation for the global releases of 'Pokémon' and 'Yu‑Gi‑Oh!' scheduled for mid‑next year.
Judging from actual operations, there were constant minor issues but no major problems. The explosive success of the 'Rurouni Kenshin' game allowed all parties to profit to varying degrees.
Previously, when Jing Yu's company wanted to promote the 'Rurouni Kenshin' game, they had to pay platforms for advertising. But once the game's sales leapt to 6.4 million copies, making it the best‑selling game of the winter season, the major platforms abandoned their former arrogance. They proactively expressed willingness to deepen cooperation with Jing Yu's Bluestar Media & Film.
Jing Yu handed the negotiations over to Cheng Lie and his team.
To put it plainly, games are never something a single company can handle on its own. Just like movies, producers, distributors, and theaters all need to work together. If any link fails, a film will never become a hit.
No matter how good a game is, without globally accessible distribution channels, players simply have no way to buy it.
Jing Yu still needed to maintain good relationships with these platforms so that when 'Pokémon' and 'Yu‑Gi‑Oh!' launched mid‑next year, they would receive preferential promotional resources.
Once these matters were mostly sorted out, time had reached the end of December.
"Another… year already."
That night, at home, Jing Yu looked out at the goose‑feather snow drifting down outside the window, filled with emotion.
If you have no goals and just muddle through life playing games, a year feels very long.
But for someone like Jing Yu — supporting an entire company of over fifteen hundred people — covering salaries, bonuses, mortgages, car loans, future growth, and industry ambitions… He still remembered the grand premiere of 'Gundam SEED' in the spring. It felt like only a few days ago, yet now another year was ending.
"Yeah, another year."
Beside him, Yu Youqing stood with a cup of coffee.
The two were inside the villa with the heater on, both wearing only thin shirts. Yu Youqing sighed.
"This year marks the tenth year since we met, doesn't it?"
"Ten years?" Jing Yu replied quietly.
Back then, he had only been in this world for a few months.
"I still remember filming 'My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday' like it was yesterday. We had only just left Jinhui TV."
In the blink of an eye, a few of them had come together to build Bluestar Media & Film, a rising giant in both television and gaming.
Yu Youqing found it hard to believe herself. While she, Xia Yining, and Cheng Lie were hardworking people, effort alone accounted for far too little of their success.
She glanced at Jing Yu.
"You're feeling unusually sentimental tonight. Are you tired?"
"Tired? Not really. I just feel like time's moving too fast." Jing Yu smiled.
"After these next few days, it'll be a new year. I'm no longer that workplace rookie."
He looked at her.
"Do you remember what I told you before? Once the company stabilized and reached a certain scale, I'd gradually step away from my workaholic lifestyle and focus more on life. Money is just paper issued by the state. I've never even seen most of what I've earned — it's just numbers in a bank account. You can never earn it all."
"Next year… if everything goes smoothly, let's get married."
Yu Youqing froze.
"M‑married?"
"Yes. Married." Jing Yu turned to her with a teasing smile.
"I'm already thirty‑three. You're only two months younger. At this age, still 'dating' doesn't feel right. When I visited your family last year, your mom already looked displeased. If we don't settle this this year, she'll definitely explode."
Yu Youqing lowered her head and sighed softly.
"Is this… a formal proposal?"
"Yes. And I'm very serious."
"Then why are you sighing? Even if you're not thrilled, you shouldn't look this depressed." Jing Yu blinked.
"I'm saying I shouldn't have had expectations." She looked helpless.
"In your romance dramas, male leads woo girls perfectly — girls all over Great Zhou sleep smiling because of your shows. But you, in real life, are so clueless. You didn't even take me to a nice restaurant, prepare flowers, a ring, or something romantic. We're just standing by the window watching the snow, and you suddenly say this. I'll agree, but… It's not romantic at all!"
"Huh? You actually care about those drama clichés? Flowers, rings, romantic dinners — you're not even interested in those usually."
"I don't care about the things themselves. I care about the effort you put into preparing it for me."
She rolled her eyes, though she wasn't truly angry.
She was used to Jing Yu's way of doing things. Flowers and rings weren't things she lacked money for. And Jing Yu knew that, so he didn't bother with the theatrics.
"You agreed out loud. No backing out." Jing Yu laughed.
He held her hand.
"Once 'Pokémon' and 'Yu‑Gi‑Oh!' launch…"
Her heart raced at the warmth of his palm, her cheeks flushing.
She teased him for being unromantic — yet this was exactly the Jing Yu she loved.
So after 'Pokémon' and 'Yu‑Gi‑Oh!' release… that's our wedding?
By the end of December, Jing Yu's three major seasonal dramas had concluded successfully.
They didn't ignite waves like 'Gundam SEED', 'Ultraman Tiga', or 'Attack on Titan', but they were all rare, high‑quality works with strong fan loyalty. In their final days, ratings surged, and all three occupied the top three spots of the winter season.
Bluestar employees celebrated together.
This year, Bluestar had been nothing short of monstrous.
At the beginning of the year, 'Attack on Titan' and 'Gundam SEED' ignited the drama market, with 'Attack on Titan' even taking the crown as the highest‑rated drama in Great Zhou's history. By year's end, three romance dramas wrapped up perfectly.
Without doubt, Bluestar Media & Film was the brightest star in the industry this year.
On December 29, Jing Yu rented out a luxury hotel in Modo and hosted the most extravagant annual party since the company's founding.
Not only was the venue lavish, but the year‑end bonuses were what truly stunned people.
This year alone, profits from 'Attack on Titan', 'Gundam SEED', 'Ultraman Tiga', and the 'Rurouni Kenshin' IP across drama, merchandise, and gaming exceeded 2 billion.
And the company had only 1,629 employees.
Top executives received nearly 3 million yuan each. Even interns with over six months of tenure received 70–80k. Ordinary staff mostly received over 100k.
In total, the bonus pool accounted for less than one‑fifteenth of the company's net profit.
But after the annual party, the entire Great Zhou film and game industry was filled with envy.
Bluestar wasn't just generous — it was unreal.
Rumors spread rapidly during the New Year holiday.
"Damn it, I could've joined Bluestar last year…"
"Their average salary is double the industry standard."
"Let's see how 'Pokémon' and 'Yu‑Gi‑Oh!' sell next year. If they explode like 'Rurouni Kenshin', this company will be terrifying."
As the holiday ended and the spring season approached, Bluestar officially launched its aggressive promotional campaign for the upcoming release of 'Spirited Away'.