A month passed quickly. By the end of June, the summer solstice had passed, and the climate in the capital was gradually becoming hot.

Tsinghua University's first semester final exams have successfully concluded, and another summer has arrived in the blink of an eye.

Today marks the third year that Jiang Xia has been studying at university in the capital. He will officially begin his senior year in the second half of the year, with fewer classes and students entering the internship phase one after another.

Looking back over the past three years, Qitian Animation has gradually developed from a small studio into a leading animation production company in China. All of its works are of high quality, and it has also expanded into the animated film market and the international market. Several of its major IPs have gained considerable influence worldwide.

Jiangxia's second chance at life can be described as quite smooth and wonderful.

Today, Tom and Jerry has an incredibly stable audience, with each new season of the cartoon released every two months generating high viewership and click-through rates. Director Wang Ming has even begun production on a feature film for the Year of the Snake in 2013.

Having tasted success twice, the Zodiac series of films is undoubtedly the top priority for Qitian Animation.

The Four-Wheel Drive Brothers have also entered the national tournament storyline, and Retsu and Go's mini racing cars have finally been updated to the third generation of super-fast racing cars, namely the most popular Cyclone Sonic and Hurricane Sonic.

With a more stylish design and gorgeous color scheme, coupled with a streamlined body, these two cars have become extremely popular in the lower-tier toy car market since their debut, and demand exceeds supply.

Furthermore, Gaoyuan Toys Company also built a huge track based on the animation's storyline, inviting mini racing enthusiasts from all over the country to participate, with a champion prize of up to 100,000 yuan.

This move also brought the popularity of mini racing cars to its peak, greatly increasing the market sales of toy racing cars.

As for Pokémon, the world's number one IP in its previous life goes without saying. A large number of adorable Pokémon characters can generate countless merchandise items, and many game companies have contacted Qitian Animation to buy the game copyrights at extremely high prices.

Gaoyuan Toys also launched a collection-oriented Pokémon card set, with different colors to distinguish the rarity. The rarest legendary cards are even plated with a gold edge. Many true Pokémon fans and collectors are willing to spend a lot of money to have a complete set of cards.

After the original Slam Dunk project team returned from their vacation, Jiang Xia, after careful consideration, finally decided to hand over the Digimon IP to Su Qing for production.

Because the market for sports anime is only so big, it's a niche within a niche. Basketball is a little better, since it's everywhere, but things like tennis, swimming, archery... are too far removed from the general public, and viewers feel a bit less connected to them.

He had certainly considered drawing ping-pong balls in the style of The Prince of Tennis, with all sorts of cool special effects flying around, but the way the images were presented was too flashy and unrealistic, and it didn't fit the national context.

Jiang Xia handed a thick stack of scripts to Su Qing, smiled, and said, "Do you want to be one of the chosen ones?"

Su Qing froze, looked down at the animation script in her hand, which had a small black label with large Song characters and the title was "Digimon".

"Digimon?" he said instinctively, turning to look at Jiang Xia. "Is this the new animation project you were talking about?"

"Yes, look, this is just the plot of the first season."

"Something similar to Pokémon?"

After flipping through a few pages of character designs, Su Qing frowned slightly. He had originally thought it would be a new sports anime or a Slam Dunk movie.

"Very different."

Jiang Xia took a sip of water and continued, "The premise of Digimon is that several chosen children are transported to the Digital World, where they adventure with their Digimon to find their way home. Unlike Pokémon, the anime doesn't allow for constant Pokémon capture; each chosen child has only one Digimon."

He suddenly thought of Butterfly and Brave Heart. The intros of these two energetic songs echoed in his mind, and he got goosebumps all over his body.

Courage, friendship, love, knowledge, innocence, honesty, hope, and light are memories of a bygone childhood.

Looking back now, all I feel is gratitude.

Jiang Xia temporarily put aside his childhood memories of playing the Evolution Song for the neighbor's dog and smiled faintly:

"The storylines of the two are also different. Digimon is an exciting and thrilling adventure with the theme of saving the world, and it belongs to the action genre. Pokémon, on the other hand, is more inclined towards gym challenges and daily adventures."

"That sounds interesting," Su Qing said; he liked action-packed stories.

Jiang Xia patted his shoulder and smiled, "If this animation is developed well, its IP value will be no less than that of Pokémon. The Digital World is a place with infinite possibilities. We can decide whether to launch a second or third season based on market popularity."

"As for the Slam Dunk movie..." Jiang Xia paused, "It's not the right time yet. I'll let you make it when the time is right."

Upon hearing this, Su Qing nodded.

"Old Su, go back and study this carefully during this time. I will provide character designs and some storyboards, and I will also be credited as an executive director. The task of being the chief director will be yours."

Entrusted with such an important task, Su Qing took a deep breath, her gaze becoming firm: "Okay, I definitely won't let you down. If the sample doesn't meet your requirements, you can replace me at any time."

Jiang Xia smiled slightly.

He still recognized Su Qing's abilities.

◇

During the summer vacation, Shen Ying went to the capital for a business trip as usual.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!