Depressive Screenwriter

Late February.

Besides keeping an eye on the performance of "A Curious Life," Su Yan's primary focus was on the post-production of "Cyberpunk: Edgerunners" and the filming of "The Garden of Words."

Although these three productions were slated for release or broadcast in different time slots, their filming schedules were closely packed.

The filming aspects of "Cyberpunk: Edgerunners" posed no significant issues for Su Yan. He could perform the male lead's action sequences without relying on wires, making the action choreography less challenging than "Rurouni Kenshin."

However, some action scenes for Lucy, played by Gu Qingyuan, and Rebecca, played by Shen Liqian, were more demanding for them. Fortunately, both actresses possessed a natural talent, preventing excessive delays.

The most significant challenge for this series was its high demand for special effects.

If the special effects were cheap and shoddy, it would be better not to film it at all.

Producing subpar effects like those in the Japanese version of "Attack on Titan" would undoubtedly result in a barrage of negative reviews from the audience.

However, creating a special effects-heavy drama in Xia country has one advantage: because the overall economic level of the residents isn't too outrageous, Su Yan's investment of sixty to seventy million Xia country币 appears relatively modest, but the salaries of Xia country's special effects artists are also lower.

Moreover, their special effects production standards are by no means inferior.

The principle is similar to the game "Black Myth: Wukong" in Su Yan's previous life. It only cost forty million US dollars to produce in China, but foreigners generally believe that a game like "Black Myth" would require at least one or two hundred million US dollars.

The difference in national economic levels directly leads to huge disparities in the salaries of special effects artists of the same skill level.

In Xia country, what is generally referred to as an S-level television series essentially aims for film-quality visuals.

Su Yan and Shinozaki Ikumi felt relieved after communicating with the special effects company.

At the very least, Su Yan thought the produced quality was excellent.

The special effects produced with this level of investment certainly couldn't reach the level of Marvel or Hollywood blockbuster movies, but within the realm of television dramas, it was undoubtedly exceptional, representing a qualitative leap compared to the shoddy effects of those "big-budget dramas" in Xia country.

"Truly impressive."

After seeing off the head of the collaborating special effects company at the office, Su Yan exclaimed in admiration.

"In less than half a year, they've already completed the special effects for the first three episodes of 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners,' and they guarantee that subsequent effects will be produced successively during the broadcast of the series. This speed and quality are beyond my imagination."

"Of course, our progress payments were wired without a second's delay. In most industries in Xia country, as long as you pay on time and don't try to deceive people, they will work overtime and do everything possible to deliver what you need on time," Shinozaki Ikumi said in a calm tone.

"It would be different if our progress payments were delayed or if our demands for special effects kept changing."

"The owners and employees of these companies we collaborate with may not necessarily respect the projects we entrust to them, but they certainly respect Xia country币!" Shinozaki Ikumi said with a smile.

Su Yan's expression faltered upon hearing this.

It seemed that no matter the world, these working people were all quite diligent.

It reminded him a bit of himself before he transmigrated.

"Now that it's late February, we also need to cooperate with Zhong Xia Television to promote 'Cyberpunk' before its premiere," Shinozaki Ikumi said.

"Three S-level dramas premiering together next quarter… It's safe to say that whichever drama wins the quarterly championship next quarter will undoubtedly win this year's annual championship and the Best Television Series award," Shinozaki Ikumi said, her voice tinged with a hint of nervousness.

The performance of "A Curious Life" this season couldn't be considered poor. The viewership rating for the sixth episode was 4.34%, which, while still ranking fourth, wasn't far behind the first-place "Rain of Shanghai: Continued," which had a rating of just 4.52%.

However, of Su Yan's dramas that have been broadcast on television, there has only been one instance of it placing third; the other two times, it was first in the quarter.

The fourth-place ranking of "A Curious Life" was already the worst performance of Su Yan's work.

However, it was still an achievement that 99% of Xia country's screenwriters could never reach in their lifetime.

But it didn't matter that "A Curious Life" didn't meet expectations.

"Edgerunners" absolutely had to succeed.

Producers and screenwriters who fail to win the annual championship are forever considered second-rate in Xia country.

Even if Su Yan's popularity has been high in the past year, and his dramas have been praised by many people,

If the work doesn't win the annual championship, and no one in the production team receives awards such as Best Screenwriter, Best Television Series, or Best Producer at the Xia Flame Awards, then it's simply not good enough.

"Are you still dwelling on the fact that we were only nominated last month but didn't win any awards?" Su Yan asked, understanding Shinozaki Ikumi's tone.

During the month that "A Curious Life" was broadcast, this year's Xia Flame Awards ceremony also took place at the end of January.

Su Yan was nominated for Best Screenwriter of the Year, Shinozaki Ikumi was also nominated for Best Producer of the Year, and Shen Liqian was nominated for Best Actress of the Year.

But Su Yan and Shinozaki Ikumi were only nominated and ultimately didn't win any awards.

However, Shen Liqian did get her wish and won the Best Actress of the Year award. After all, Kaori Miyazono's popularity was simply too outrageous, leading all other characters in all broadcast television series throughout the year by a wide margin.

If this award hadn't been given to Shen Liqian, then the credibility of the Xia Flame Awards would have been too low.

The Best Screenwriter and Best Producer awards were given to the production team of last year's annual viewership champion, "White Deer in the Woods."

Although that drama's reputation was far inferior to "April," there was no way around the fact that "April's" viewership ratings lost to it.

You could insist that the awards committee was pressured by the three major television stations to deliberately not give the awards to Su Yan's work, but you would need evidence.

"If 'April' had been last year's annual viewership champion, then no matter how much the three major television stations pressured the Xia Flame Awards committee, it would have been impossible to lose out on the Best Screenwriter award. A work that is first in both reputation and viewership ratings not winning the award can only mean that the committee is brain-dead and can't withstand such public opinion. But 'April' failing to become the annual champion gave the committee a reason…" Shinozaki Ikumi took a deep breath.

"The situation is very clear now. Su Yan, if you want to win awards like Best Screenwriter, 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' next season must win the annual viewership championship. Only by becoming undeniably first in reputation and viewership ratings will the committee ignore the pressure from the three major television stations and give you the award!"

Time passed, and the winter season's dramas were broadcast as scheduled.

The viewership rankings of the four A-level dramas this season became exceptionally stable.

The seventh and eighth episodes of "A Curious Life" were broadcast in succession.

Wheat, having reintroduced the world line to its original path, had to face the tragedy of Xiaoyi's life in the original world again.

The disappearance of Xiaoyi's friend, Shen Qiu, the animosity of the rich second-generation, Li Sen, towards her…

And, an inexplicable and unclear danger seemed to shroud her.

As Wheat and Xiaoyi continued to find various clues through their time-rewinding ability, finally…

At the end of the eighth episode, the truth about Shen Qiu's disappearance was revealed.

The real culprit was indeed Li Sen, but Li Sen was only the one who acted. Behind Li Sen was the photography teacher at the school, Xu Jie, who was also Wheat's teacher.

As a perverted photographer, Xu Jie's greatest hobby was drugging people and then taking photos of them in a state of confusion as collectibles.

A perverted and artistically inclined ultimate villain appeared.

The reason for Shen Qiu's disappearance was that he had given Shen Qiu too much of the drug, causing her to die, and after realizing that Wheat and Xiaoyi were investigating Shen Qiu's disappearance…

Xu Jie first killed Xiaoyi, and then prepared to drug Wheat, intending to take photos of her according to his preferences as collectibles before killing her.

Thus, all the mysteries of the drama "A Curious Life" from the previous life were revealed.

Viewers who liked the drama liked it to death, following each week's episodes on time.

But there were still some viewers who couldn't continue to follow it.

The atmosphere of Xia country's television dramas was still mainly light-hearted.

The plot of "A Curious Life" was too heavy, and although many passersby knew that the drama had extremely high praise, there were still some people who didn't like it.

Crime-themed fantasy dramas, whether in Xia country or in Su Yan's previous life, were quite picky about their audience.

Time entered March.

All four A-level dramas of this season entered the final stages of their broadcast.

The last two episodes of "A Curious Life" told the story of the female lead, Wheat, using a pile of photos she had taken of herself in her photography teacher Xu Jie's room. She activated her ability, returned to the time when the photos were taken, and reported Xu Jie through methods such as calling the police and sending text messages to relevant responsible parties, ultimately escaping alive.

However,

After successfully reporting Xu Jie through various methods of constantly rewinding time, another problem was placed before Wheat.

Previously, in order to save Xiaoyi's father, she had changed the original course of the world. Perhaps due to the law of causality, Xiaoyi was soon involved in a car accident and became paralyzed.

Merely using her ability once would cause such serious consequences.

And from the time Wheat obtained her ability until now, she didn't know how many times she had used her ability, changing the fate of a large number of people to varying degrees.

And these actions…

Ultimately led to the formation of a huge storm in the town where she lived.

This storm swept through the entire town, causing casualties to more than one-third of the city's population.

In order to avoid this from happening,

Wheat had only one choice at this time.

Let the people in the city die.

Or, through the photo of the blue butterfly she took in the toilet in the first episode, return to that timeline, return to the source at the beginning.

Do nothing and just watch her best friend Xiaoyi be shot to death by Li Sen.

In the original game, players had two choices here.

Save Xiaoyi.

Save the town.

But the television series certainly couldn't be created with a plot of sacrificing the entire city for one person.

So the tenth episode of "A Curious Life"…

In the depressing, empty, and heartbroken yet helpless emotions of the drama's die-hard fans.

Before making a decision, Wheat kissed Xiaoyi with tears in her eyes. At this moment, the friendship between the two girls was frozen.

She returned to that day through the photo of the blue butterfly.

Wheat, alone, hugged her knees and hid in the deepest part of the toilet.

Listening to her best friend Xiaoyi arguing with Li Sen, she shed tears without taking any action.

With the sound of a gunshot…

Xiaoyi, the popular character who had accompanied fans for ten weeks, died completely.

This was the world line chosen by Wheat.

It was also the world line chosen by Xiaoyi.

The drama "A Curious Life" ended its broadcast with a tearful plot for the audience.

It began this story with Xiaoyi's death.

It ended this story with Xiaoyi's death.

In the end, Wheat did not use the ability to rewind time to change anyone's fate.

But many times, the outcome was no longer important.

The process was more important than the outcome.

Xiaoyi's image as a poisonous-tongued, bold, and daring girl was imprinted in the hearts of fans during the ten weeks of the broadcast.

Also because of the kiss between Wheat and Xiaoyi in the tenth episode.

After this episode aired, the number of fans of Gu Qingyuan and Shen Liqian in Xia country mushroomed overnight.

At the same time, on the night that "A Curious Life" ended, the comment section of Su Yan's verified account was almost flooded by fans.

Countless people were spraying Su Yan in the comment section, asking why the finale didn't choose "sacrifice the city?"

What followed was an extension of the two choices in this drama.

If a relative and a bunch of unrelated people were placed on opposite sides of the scale, what should be chosen?

And a television series that can inspire viewers to have these thoughts after it ends has actually succeeded.

The next day,

The viewership rating for the tenth episode of "A Curious Life" was released.

4.41%, was the third in this week's viewership rankings.

And the plot of the tenth episode of this drama was frantically praised by a group of media outlets and drama critics.

"It's over."

Su Yan looked at the viewership data for all ten episodes of "A Curious Life" and the praise articles from the media.

"Seven times ranked fourth, three times ranked third?"

Although he felt a little regret, he really thought this work was a masterpiece.

But there was no way around the fact that it was well-regarded but not popular.

"But fortunately, the introduction and broadcast fee for this drama on Qingkong Television is fifteen million. The average paid viewing volume on Raccoon Net is also six and a half million times. Plus six to seven million in GG placement fees, and several million in overseas broadcast copyright fees…" Su Yan's eyes flashed with thought.

"Overall, this drama's revenue will be more than fifty-seven million."

Compared to its investment of forty million, it was definitely a profit, and a profit rate of over 40% certainly counts as a good result.

But compared to "April's" profit rate of over 300%, there was definitely a huge gap.

"But at least the subsequent filming costs for 'The Garden of Words' and 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' have been earned back…" Su Yan took a deep breath.

Although the production of "Cyberpunk" was very expensive, its GG placement fees were also considerable.

Coupled with the return of funds from "A Curious Life," Su Yan's company didn't have to worry about filming funds for the time being.

"The winter season is over…" Su Yan whispered.

"Next, it's the spring season!"

In another half a month, it will be the spring season, and the time for 'Cyberpunk: Edgerunners' to premiere will also be approaching!