After Episode 4 of 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' aired, Su Yan's entire fanbase exploded that very night.
Those who had believed this was a cheerful, harmonious story about justice defeating evil were completely dumbfounded.
["What the hell was that plot tonight?!"]
["Wait, my brain is a mess. Why did the story suddenly turn this dark and twisted?"]
["My daughter burst into tears on the spot. I immediately returned the officially licensed Kyubey plush I bought online."]
["Why would Su Yan set it up like this?"]
["This is insane. So, the essence of a magical girl is paying the price of becoming a stone?"]
["Where are all the people from the past few weeks who said they wanted to become magical girls? Come out!"]
["Didn't Su Yan say this series wouldn't be depressing? This isn't depressing? Becoming a magical girl itself is already a tragedy!"]
["And the more I think about it, the more something feels off. Does Kamijou Kyousuke even like Sayaka? Or is Sayaka just being self-indulgent?"]
["Exactly. Sayaka paid the price of becoming a magical girl to heal her childhood friend. But he doesn't even know it was her wish that cured him. So what is she supposed to do now? She's become a 'monster'—can she even have a future with Kamijou Kyousuke?"]
["If it were me, I'd be completely shattered. A perfectly fine magical girl turning into a monster."]
["I don't think it's that different, though. Sure, the soul becomes a Soul Gem, but she's still using the same body, right?"]
["How is that not different? When you sit in the driver's seat and drive a car, do you think you are the car? When you control a human body through a Soul Gem, do you still feel human?"]
["Damn… when you put it that way, it really is different."]
["Su Yan cutting the episode off right there made me miserable."]
["Guys, I've got a bad feeling. I think this show is heading straight into dark, heavy, tragic territory."]
["Take out the 'I think.' It's definitely going there."]
["Then what about Su Yan saying it'll have a happy ending?"]
["What else? He lured us in like pigs and is now sharpening the knife."]
["Time to adjust expectations. Magical girls? Happy ending? Something feels wrong. Don't let the theme song and bright visuals fool you. I've got a feeling this show is going to go even bigger later."]
["Su Yan, you'd better not show your face for the next few days!"]
Just as expected, after Episode 4 aired, the emotional intensity among fans skyrocketed.
Traffic on Dimensional Pictures' official website—especially the 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' setting book—surged dramatically.
Many media outlets that had questioned the show last week quietly deleted their previous articles.
Something was changing.
As Tokyo's weather warmed, and with filming for '5 Centimeters per Second' complete, the company now only had 'We Made a Beautiful Bouquet' left to shoot.
The overall workload decreased significantly, and Su Yan's schedule returned to something resembling normal.
Revenue from domestic and overseas licensing of 'Tokyo Love Story' gradually flowed in—nearly three to four hundred million entering company accounts—relieving the previously tight cash flow.
Su Yan even purchased a villa in Tokyo under the company's name as his residence.
After getting up, washing up, and having breakfast, he drove to the Tokyo office.
A stack of documents already awaited his review and signature—cooperation agreements and funding plans for the coming months.
Across from him, his partner, Shinozaki Ikumi, dressed in a black dress, was already hard at work.
Since many matters required real-time discussion, their offices were combined into one space.
"You're here?" Shinozaki Ikumi glanced at him.
"You've been pretty relaxed lately. Showing up this late."
"Since I'm not acting directly, the workload's lighter. My schedule isn't as packed as before," Su Yan replied with a smile, taking his seat and flipping through the documents.
"The post-production effects for 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' are nearly finished. Post-editing for '5 Centimeters per Second' has begun. And we now have a rough idea of which films will compete with us in the summer season," Shinozaki Ikumi reported while working.
"If we're aiming for the summer box office championship, you'll need to start heavy public appearances in June. Coordinate promotions for both '5 Centimeters per Second' and 'We Made a Beautiful Bouquet' with the main cast."
"Understood." Su Yan quickly scanned and signed the documents.
"And one more thing." Shinozaki Ikumi looked at him.
"Sakura TV. Aunt Ogata Aya contacted me yesterday. She talked for a long time. Basically… if Akasaka Yoshitoki steps down as head of the production department, would we be willing to cooperate with Sakura TV again in the future?"
She felt slightly uneasy saying this.
She deeply disliked Akasaka Yoshitoki—but she didn't harbor much resentment toward her former employer, Sakura TV.
And she respected Ogata Aya greatly.
If 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' continued crushing 'Peerless' this quarter, a department head who, despite huge investments, could only deliver second place would be meaningless to the station.
If Akasaka stepped down, there was a 90% chance Ogata Aya would take over.
And she would face the same question: how to boost Sakura TV's performance?
Continue competing against Su Yan?
Impossible.
In today's Xia Nation television industry, who dared claim they could beat Su Yan fairly?
Of course, her idea was to win him over.
If Su Yan could cooperate with Zhongxia TV, why not Sakura TV?
Su Yan paused to think.
His cooperation with Zhongxia TV was solid—but purely business. There wasn't much personal sentiment involved.
Ogata Aya was different.
If she truly pushed Akasaka out—
Given that she had helped secure funding for several of Su Yan's early works, it would be hard for him to reject her outright.
And he understood the relationship between Shinozaki Ikumi's mother and Ogata Aya.
Shinozaki Ikumi rarely interfered in strategic company decisions.
If she brought this up, her stance was clear—she hoped for some level of cooperation.
After all, among the three major networks, partnership was partnership. As long as the person he disliked was gone, it was fine.
Of course, repaying favors had limits. Su Yan couldn't compromise excessively.
He was now chairman of Dimensional Pictures. Hundreds of employees depended on him.
"We'll talk when Akasaka actually steps down," Su Yan said with a smile. "And it depends on Sakura TV's sincerity."
"Understood." Shinozaki Ikumi caught his meaning immediately.
He wouldn't close the door—but his ambiguous tone showed he wasn't opposed to working with Sakura TV, minus Akasaka.
"Thank you," she said softly.
"What's there to thank me for? The cunning rabbit has three burrows. My relationship with Zhongxia TV isn't some lifelong alliance. Who knows if conflicts might arise in the future? Partnering with Sakura would just be another safeguard."
He paused.
"Still, relying on major TV stations to air all our productions… it sometimes feels like being constrained."
"That's just how the industry works," Shinozaki Ikumi replied. "Production companies, distributors, theaters—it's always collaboration. Even the three major networks have limitations. They rely on private studios to boost ratings."
She looked at him knowingly.
"You don't need to worry about the three majors uniting to block you."
"With our current influence, that would only benefit stations like Aozora TV. If the three majors united against us, within a year or two, their monopoly status would crack. We know it. They know it. The whole industry knows it."
"So—they wouldn't dare."
Before his rise, Su Yan needed the three major networks' traffic to promote his work.
Now, they needed each other.
Even if he aired a show on Aozora TV, how much would ratings really drop?
For drama fans, switching channels was just a two-second button press.
Su Yan was worth that effort.
He nodded. That made sense.
At noon, as the company chef delivered lunch, Su Yan's phone rang.
"5.39%," he said after a pause.
"Episode 4's ratings for 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica'."
"5.39%…" Shinozaki Ikumi fell silent.
Having witnessed 'Tokyo Love Story' surpass 6%, she was no longer easily shocked by ratings.
Still, it felt surreal.
At this pace, 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' might not surpass 'Tokyo Love Story', but exceeding 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' seemed highly likely.
A five-year ratings record in Xia Nation—broken three times within a single year by Su Yan.
At Sakura TV, the hope Akasaka Yoshitoki had just rekindled was extinguished by the 5.39% figure.
After Zhongxia TV announced the ratings, undercurrents surged inside Sakura TV.
Akasaka's side was eerily quiet.
But around Ogata Aya, it was lively.
Many of Akasaka's former confidants began privately contacting her, leaking damaging information from his tenure as department head and deputy head.
Managing billions annually in production budgets—how could there be no skeletons?
Everyone knew it.
And now, with 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' at this level, who believed 'Peerless' could overtake it?
His subordinates were simply hedging their bets—submitting loyalty pledges in advance.
On Friday, Episode 5 of 'Peerless' aired.
5.18%.
That number effectively crushed Sakura TV's hopes of taking the top spot.
From industry insiders to media to general audiences, few still viewed 'Peerless' as a threat.
Even on Saturday, in overall online drama popularity rankings, 'Peerless' failed to surpass 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica'.
Its ratings were excellent.
But second place meant it was the biggest loser of the quarter.
Saturday passed quickly.
Sunday arrived once again.