She swung her small handbag and walked through the main gate. As long as Ryan Chandler didn’t cause trouble for her here, she was satisfied—there was no need to care about what he was up to.

But, can a person really change so much in just over two years?

It’s really strange!

……

COKC is a café, its full name a long string of French words, specializing in hand-crafted, freshly ground coffee. Ian Murphy is a regular here, and was even greeted by the server when placing her order.

Ryan Chandler sat across from her, not in any hurry, and took the opportunity to carefully observe Miss Murphy in the warm-toned lighting of the café.

Ian Murphy looked to be about twenty-five or twenty-six, around 1.6 meters tall, with delicate features, pure eyes, and tasteful makeup—clearly well-educated, exuding an intellectual beauty. Her hair was slightly permed, giving it a bit of a wavy look. She wore a light silvery-gray jacket, but the style was a bit odd: the shoulders were noticeably padded, wide and thick, making her shoulders appear as broad and sturdy as a man’s, giving her a strong impression—her delicate, intellectual face and not-so-tall figure paired with such a strong, inverted-triangle physique looked awkward no matter how you saw it.

However, Ryan Chandler was quite familiar with Japan and knew the reason behind this.

Japan is currently promoting gender equality, encouraging women to step out of the home and work. This started with the enactment of the “Equal Employment Opportunity Law for Men and Women” in the mid-1980s (when they were frantically selling appliances to China and facing a severe labor shortage). But the results had always been poor—over 80% of urban women still stayed at home as housewives. It wasn’t until the 1990s that female professionals like Ian Murphy began to emerge—Ian Murphy dressed herself to look strong, probably as a way to show that she was as powerful as a man and could shoulder the same responsibilities.

Of course, the limitations of the era still existed. A thousand years of tradition is no joke, and since Japan never had a great figure to lead a women’s liberation movement, for someone like Ian Murphy, who didn’t want to be a mere ornament or support as a woman and insisted on competing head-on with men for workplace resources, the obstacles were bound to be immense.

That’s right, the information was accurate—this was exactly the person he needed.

After ordering her coffee, Ian Murphy politely asked, “When Chandler-san said you could help me, what did you mean?”

“This.” As Ryan Chandler spoke, he took a stack of papers from his briefcase and placed them on the table, slowly pushing them toward Ian Murphy.

Ian Murphy glanced down and asked curiously, “What’s this?”

“A TV drama script.”

Ian Murphy was instantly disappointed. Her beautiful fantasy of joining a faction and having a powerful backer was shattered in an instant—she almost got up to leave. But her years of education wouldn’t allow her to be so rude—women are always at a disadvantage compared to men, so even if she was unhappy, she had to maintain at least basic etiquette. She absolutely couldn’t show a bad attitude, or her reputation would suffer greatly.

Still, she had no intention of opening it to look, and only forced a smile, saying, “Perhaps Chandler-san doesn’t know, but we generally don’t accept external scripts. Even for well-known manga or best-selling books, our own screenwriters handle the adaptations… Maybe you should try a production company?”

Ryan Chandler nodded repeatedly as he listened. Of course he knew—if he didn’t, why would he go to all this trouble to corner Ian Murphy?

He smiled and said, “I don’t want to go to a production company. Since you’re already here, Miss Murphy, spending a little more time isn’t a big deal, right? Please, just take a look. I’m begging you!”

Japanese TV program production is very different from other countries. In most places, production and broadcasting are separate—for example, TV dramas are made by production companies and then sold to a TV station for the premiere, or even to multiple stations for simultaneous broadcast. But in Japan, it’s completely different—TV dramas are produced independently by the TV stations, which hold exclusive broadcasting rights, and only the station itself and its affiliated local stations can air them.

This production department is generally called the “production bureau.” From TV dramas to variety shows, reality shows, news specials, science education programs, and historical documentaries, all are produced by the production bureau—covering everything imaginable. Some production bureaus even employ artists to create anime works.

Of course, Japan does have production companies—otherwise, Ian Murphy wouldn’t have made such a suggestion—but they’re usually subsidiaries or affiliates of major TV stations, and still have to follow the station’s lead. Their production types are often limited, making them unsuitable for long-term development.

Joining a production company is not as good as joining a TV station directly. Ryan Chandler’s goal wasn’t just to make TV dramas—dramas were merely his stepping stone into the industry.

Ryan Chandler didn’t explain all this to Ian Murphy in detail. He simply nudged the script toward her again, and after a moment of silence, Ian Murphy slowly picked it up.

This is what’s called sunk cost. If he’d handed it to her on the street, Ian Murphy would probably have brushed him off and walked away. But now she was already seated, and had already ordered coffee…