Tong Xiaoqi sat in total silence, focusing intently on the trailer.
Up until today, all 'Rurouni Kenshin' fans knew was that Su Yan's next drama would be called 'An Ancient Love Song'.
And that was it—no confirmed genre, no actor lineup, no crew information.
Even if Su Yan and Gu Qingyuan were starring again, the fans still needed to know what the story was about.
"We are not strangers brought together by fate.
You've always been a part of my life."
Gu Qingyuan's voice rang out.
The camera cut—
Lu Yuan, dressed in red, lay in a pool of blood.
She looked at Shen Buyan, who held her in his arms, completely unaware of why she had risked her life to save him.
Confused, lost, and afraid.
Her gaze, however, held affection, reluctance, and finality.
She smiled.
"You'll see me again."
Just that one scene gave Tong Xiaoqi one clear impression:
Historical drama.
And, most likely—a romance.
But then—
The camera cut again.
Shen Buyan woke up in his bedroom, wearing modern clothes.
On the desk before him: a still-glowing laptop and a few shattered jade fragments.
"Huh?" Tong Xiaoqi blinked.
What's going on?
A historical drama with laptops?
What kind of genre was this?
And that blood-soaked scene of Lu Yuan gave her a bad feeling—
Could this be another tragic story?
Suddenly, the trailer music swelled, intense and dramatic.
Su Yan's voiceover followed.
"I returned to the time before the Yuanqi Rebellion…
Returned to the past.
Lu Yuan and I met in a reversed timeline."
Tong Xiaoqi's brain went into overdrive.
A few seconds later, everything clicked.
He went back in time.
So that's why.
In the Xia Nation, time travel wasn't a common theme in dramas.
The trailer had only hinted at it briefly, but now that she understood, her curiosity skyrocketed.
No wonder there were both modern and historical scenes.
"First meeting… Final farewell."
That line appeared on screen, but Tong Xiaoqi didn't understand it.
She had only just wrapped her head around the time travel concept.
But if she watched 'An Ancient Love Song' in full and then came back to this trailer, she'd realize how deep and heartbreaking those few words really were.
The riddles ended there.
Next came flashes of key supporting characters:
Prime Minister Li Yong, maidservant Yihua, younger brother Lu Shi, and Emperor Yuanqi—all with their own standout moments.
War.
Power plays.
Mystery.
Martial arts.
Romance.
From just these clips, Tong Xiaoqi could grasp the variety of genres at play.
And she could also see the quality of the production.
Though the actors weren't famous, the costumes, sets, and visuals were a major step up from 'Rurouni Kenshin'.
"If fate cannot be defied, then forgive me…
For the unfamiliar look in my eyes when you loved me most."
Gu Qingyuan's voice echoed one last time.
The final image showed a public execution.
The crowd roared for a woman's death.
In the crowd, a man in modern clothing—Shen Buyan—locked eyes with a regal, elegant woman about to be executed.
The screen faded to black.
"An Ancient Love Song"
Premieres October 1st, midnight at 12:00 AM
Tong Xiaoqi blinked.
She didn't fully understand the trailer, but without a doubt—
Her curiosity was hooked.
Even if Su Yan and Gu Qingyuan hadn't been cast, she'd still be drawn in by the premise.
Time travel was already a huge hook.
But that line—
"Forgive me… for the unfamiliar look in my eyes when you loved me most."
What kind of story did that suggest?
Who could fall in love with a stranger they'd never interacted with, touched, or even met before?
Tong Xiaoqi opened the comments section on 'An Ancient Love Song''s official page.
[Wow! Just checked the cast list—Su Yan as the male lead, Gu Qingyuan as the female lead!]
[Confirmed: This is a seasonal drama—at least twelve episodes!]
[Finally, something to watch next season. Those so-called flagship dramas from the Big Three—like 'Lone Doctor' and 'The Gilded Ones'—are just the same recycled formulas. Don't they get tired of making them?]
[What can we do? Nepotism rules. Untalented hacks like Kiyota Sanji get prime Saturday 10 PM slots, and Su Yan gets shoved into a midnight graveyard slot?]
[Talent conquers all. I promise—if 'An Ancient Love Song' has even half the quality of 'Rurouni Kenshin', it'll blow up even in a midnight slot.]
[Honestly, I don't care about whether it becomes a hit. I just want Lu Yuan and Shen Buyan to have a happy ending—to make up for what happened with Tomoe and Kenshin.]
[If Su Yan gives us some sweetness this time, I'll worship him for life.]
[Same! I already set a reminder on my phone to wake up at midnight on October 1st and watch it live.]
[Wait—who's Su Yan? Who's Gu Qingyuan? And who are Kenshin and Tomoe? I only saw the commercial during a Sakura TV ad break. Is Su Yan really that good?]
[New fan alert?!]
[He's amazing! Su Yan wrote 'Rurouni Kenshin', an incredibly sweet romance. It aired online last season. You have to watch it—it'll make you cry with how good it is!]
[Can confirm. 'Rurouni Kenshin' is unbelievably sweet.]
[Sweetest show in the universe. If you watch and don't think so—I'll refund you myself!]
[Same! It's literally the sweetest drama ever.]
[For real? I love sweet dramas. Thanks for the recommendation!]
That afternoon, Kiyota Sanji checked the 'An Ancient Love Song' trailer views on SakuraNet and smiled faintly.
Compared to his 'Night Sakura'—which had prime-time ads on TV and a homepage banner on SakuraNet—
'An Ancient Love Song''s trailer views were clearly lower.
So what if Su Yan had fans from 'Rurouni Kenshin'?
At most, a few hundred thousand would stay up late to watch.
And even that was optimistic—how many could stick it out for weeks on end?
Besides, in the grand scheme of the Xia Nation's TV audience, 'Rurouni Kenshin' fans were a tiny minority.
Even with a bump from fan support, how much would that actually move the ratings needle?
A show's broadcast time slot was a major factor in its success.
Unless it was a breakout hit with insane word-of-mouth, most dramas lived or died by their airtime.
With such weak promotion, could 'An Ancient Love Song' really succeed airing at midnight?
To be fair, the trailer for 'An Ancient Love Song' performed decently.
The 'Rurouni Kenshin' fanbase responded with excitement.
But among all the upcoming dramas of the fall season, it wasn't generating the same buzz.
There's a massive difference in audience size between a good timeslot and a bad one.
A Sunday midnight slot just isn't attractive—most people are getting ready for work or school.
Unless the drama becomes a viral hit, only the truly dedicated will tune in.
That's the reality.
And Su Yan knew that, too.
In his previous life, 'An Ancient Love Song' had aired under similarly poor conditions—and had clawed its way to success with nothing but its quality.
So he wasn't too stressed about pre-release hype.
What mattered was whether the show, once it aired, could repeat its past-life miracle and explode from word-of-mouth.
But Shinozaki Ikumi had more on her mind.
Over the past two years, Sakura TV's Sunday midnight dramas had averaged just a 1.02% viewership rating.
If 'An Ancient Love Song' could break that number, it would already be considered a success.
Still, she knew—Akasaka Yoshitoki was just waiting for an excuse to criticize her and Su Yan.
Just hitting the average wasn't enough. That would be like barely passing an exam.
This fall season, over 30 A, B, and C-tier dramas would air across the three major networks, spanning every day of the week.
Plus, networks frequently re-aired past hits, giving them another shot at good ratings.
And beyond the Big Three, there were still several mid-tier networks across the Xia Nation.
While they couldn't match the top-tier dramas in raw budget, they still produced competitive shows that could go toe-to-toe with B-tier offerings from the Big Three.
Altogether, over 100 dramas would be competing for viewers this quarter.
Still, thanks to 'Rurouni Kenshin''s loyal fans and their grassroots promotion,
Shinozaki Ikumi had a bit of confidence in the show.
So she set a target:
Viewership rating of at least 1.4%.
And ranking in the top 30 of all fall season premieres.
When she shared that goal with the team, even Director Shi Peihua felt the pressure.
Because that was not an easy target.
But to Su Yan, after thinking it over, he asked curiously:
"That's it?
Isn't that a little low?
Come on—' An Ancient Love Song' can't possibly do worse than 'Night Sakura', right?"