Within just a few days, word had spread throughout Sakura TV that the 'An Ancient Love Song' production team was ambitiously aiming for Top 10 viewership rankings in the fall season.
Even staff from Hudu TV and Zhongxia TV had caught wind of it—and couldn't help but chuckle.
A drama airing in the Sunday midnight slot, aiming for the Top 10?
That was dreaming a bit too boldly.
But on second thought, it was understandable.
Who didn't have youthful ambition at one point?
He was a young screenwriter, after all.
After the success of his previous online drama, he likely felt confident—maybe even a little proud—thinking he could pull off another hit even in a "trash" timeslot.
Once the season began and reality kicked in, that passion would naturally cool down.
Meanwhile, in the 'Night Sakura' production team, Kiyota Sanji had heard these rumors too—but didn't take them seriously.
Sure, he hated Su Yan.
But he didn't believe Su Yan was any real threat this season.
Why waste energy worrying about 'An Ancient Love Song' pulling off a miracle in the Sunday midnight slot,
When was there a much more realistic risk that 'Night Sakura' could flop in the prime-time Saturday 10 PM slot?
Akasaka Yoshitoki's concerns that 'Night Sakura' could lose to 'An Ancient Love Song' had nothing to do with 'An Ancient Love Song' exploding with 3% or 4% viewership.
It was about the possibility of 'Night Sakura' collapsing due to internal production issues or scandals—like a lead actor getting caught in a crime—causing ratings to tank to 1% or lower.
If you worried about everything, you wouldn't get anything done. Might as well become a full-time doomsayer.
In the last few days of September—
'Pure Breeze' concluded its run with an average of 3.07 million paid views per episode and a 4.7 rating.
Despite the terrible reputation, it ranked second among online dramas this season by numbers alone.
Meanwhile, 'Rurouni Kenshin' ended with an average of 5.37 million views per episode and a stellar 9.6 rating, securing its place as the #1 online drama of the season.
Putting aside post-season growth or potential revivals in the future when the cast and crew gain more fame...
Just based on current results, Su Yan, as the writer, was confirmed to receive a pre-tax profit share of 470,000 yuan, excluding production costs.
After taxes, the payment would be in his account within two days.
Of course, the same applied to director Shi Peihua, producer Shinozaki Ikumi, and others—each received a significant cut of the profit.
With money in his pocket, Su Yan's mood naturally improved.
After all, the original host of this body had been poor all his life.
On the other hand, the three major TV stations were going all out in promoting their fall season lineup:
Trailers for 'Lone Doctor', 'The Painted One', and 'The Gilded Ones' ran constantly, day and night.
Even shows like 'Night Sakura' and 'Midnight Gourmet' had strong ad backing and left an impression on viewers.
As for 'An Ancient Love Song'—
Despite having an intriguing trailer, most regular TV viewers simply weren't interested in tuning in at midnight on a Sunday.
Few were willing to lose sleep for a show.
September 30th. Sunday.
The premiere dates for the three major TV stations' flagship shows were set for October 5th, 6th, and 7th.
So, even though the next day was Monday, most of Xia Nation's drama fans weren't particularly excited.
But 'Rurouni Kenshin' fans were.
At 9 PM, they were already flooding 'An Ancient Love Song's official page on SakuraNet with comments:
"Once it hits midnight, I get to see Kenshin and Tomoe again. LET'S GOOO!"
"Please give us a ton of sweetness in Episode 1. Make up for the heartbreak in 'Rurouni Kenshin'."
"I heard Su Yan's character this time isn't a fighter?"
"Yup. The official site says Shen Buyan is just an ordinary man who time-traveled from the modern world. But the good news is, Lu Yuan can fight! We might get to see Gu Qingyuan wielding a sword to protect Su Yan!"
"Role reversal? Are we getting Gu Qingyuan in full-on 'alpha' mode this time?"
"The title 'An Ancient Love Song'—does this mean the story heavily involves music?"
"Not sure. But the official stills show Su Yan playing the flute and Gu Qingyuan playing the konghou. Honestly, the styling looks even better than 'Rurouni Kenshin'."
"Of course it does! 'Rurouni Kenshin's costumes looked cheap. This drama clearly has a higher budget—each outfit probably costs five figures."
"Anyway, let's all promote the show after watching Episode 1. Let's help it break 2%!"
"Be realistic. For a Sunday midnight show, even hitting 1% for the premiere is already great. Only two shows have ever hit 3% in this timeslot in the past 10 years."
"The game's not over yet! How do you know 'An Ancient Love Song' isn't the darkest of dark horses?"
"Exactly. If it's anywhere near 'Rurouni Kenshin''s level, I'll believe a 4% rating is possible."
"It's not that simple. Most writers only produce one great show before flopping. Su Yan is still young—his writing might not be consistent. I just hope fans don't instantly turn on him if this show doesn't meet expectations."
"As long as he doesn't serve us something as bad as 'Pure Breeze', I'll never badmouth him."
Only 'Rurouni Kenshin's most loyal fans could get this hyped about a midnight premiere.
Among them was Nishimura Rie, who had moved from Sakura Island to the Imperial Capital.
After a long weekend of intense fun, she was already feeling drained.
"Ten minutes left…"
It was September 30th, 11:51 PM.
On any other day, she'd be preparing for bed.
But how could she miss this? Who knew when Kenshin and Tomoe would be on screen together again?
She scrolled mindlessly through forums while watching 'Night Sakura's promo ad play on TV.
"Ugh, you again? 'Pure Breeze's writer made this sequel?
'Night Sakura'? Not even a dog would watch it."
Her eyes filled with disdain.
Time ticked away.
Across the Xia Nation, most were already asleep.
Few people sat glued to their TVs this late.
And finally—
The last second of September passed.
October arrived.
At exactly 00:00 AM, 'An Ancient Love Song' officially aired.
The first image: a handsome face.
Nishimura Rie's first instinct was Himura Kenshin—but as the camera zoomed out and showed modern clothes, she let out a sigh.
If only Su Yan would write a true sequel to 'Rurouni Kenshin'…
Then the camera cut again—
A roaring execution ground.
A woman in royal finery stood at the center. The crowd screamed for her death, their faces twisted with frenzy.
Though her full face wasn't shown, Nishimura Rie recognized her instantly—
Gu Qingyuan.
This time, aged up slightly with makeup—but still absolutely breathtaking.
Shen Buyan, dressed in modern attire, stood among the crowd.
No one noticed the strangely dressed man.
All eyes were on the woman condemned to death: the demon empress Lu Yuan.
The narration appeared, providing backstory—
An emperor too young to rule.
A power-hungry empress dowager.
And now, the grown emperor's revenge.
History had many such tales.
Nishimura Rie accepted it quickly.
Though that was just the surface of Lu Yuan's character…
"This unfamiliar woman...
Somehow, it feels like we're connected by invisible threads."
Shen Buyan took a few steps forward, his gaze curious and dazed as he stared at Lu Yuan.
His inner monologue continued.
Then, just before her death, Lu Yuan glanced at the crowd—
her eyes calm and resigned…
until they rippled with emotion.
Because she saw him.
The man with the unfamiliar gaze—Shen Buyan.
She clutched a piece of jade in her hand.
Shen Buyan noticed its exact shape.
"Her gaze… felt like it pierced right through me."
The music began.
The atmosphere turned somber.
Lu Yuan, only her mouth partially visible, smiled faintly.
A single tear slid down.
Execution.
Death.
The jade shattered—into five pieces.
The OP began.
A melancholic melody, no lyrics—just flute and ink-painting visuals revealing the cast and crew.
Finally, the title appeared:
'An Ancient Love Song'
Then one final line emerged:
"Episode 14: This is the First Episode!"
"Pfft—" Nishimura Rie sprayed her tea.
What was this??
Why was Episode 1 labeled Episode 14?
And why did the title itself clarify: This is the first episode!?
Neither Nishimura Rie nor any viewers could understand the implications of what they just saw.
Not yet.
They didn't know how devastating this scene would feel in hindsight—
Or why it was called Episode 14.
But that, too, was part of the puzzle.
After the OP, the story officially began.
We learned that Shen Buyan was a well-known author with a wide range of interests—military strategy, economics, politics, music, history, physics, cryptography...
A man of many talents, but not to the point of being unbelievable.
After the haunting dream of Lu Yuan's execution, Shen Buyan became obsessed with researching the ancient Sheng Kingdom.
He wanted to write a biography of the demon empress Lu Yuan.
At his book launch, he got angry when the host accidentally wrote "鸳" (mandarin duck) instead of "鸢" (kite) in her name.
Leaving the venue, he encountered an old woman selling antiques under a famous wishing tree.
There, he spotted a five-petal broken jade pendant—identical to the one in his dream.
Nishimura Rie perked up.
Was it really a dream?
Shen Buyan and the old woman argued about Lu Yuan's legacy.
He believed she was rightfully executed.
The old woman implied she'd been slandered by history.
Then, smiling like a riddle-speaker, she sold him the jade.
The pacing was slow, layered with foreshadowing.
But that was how 'An Ancient Love Song' worked.
Before answers came, you'd feel like you were walking through fog.
Still, even in this slow buildup, Nishimura Rie saw big differences from 'Rurouni Kenshin'.
That one began with war and violence.
This one was all set up.
Different tone. Different style.
It almost felt like a different writer.
Eventually, that night, Shen Buyan—still thinking about his novel—accidentally bled onto the broken jade.
Rain fell.
"Rain?" Nishimura Rie's eyes widened.
A second later, he was transported to a magnificent, intimidating palace.
Torrential rain.
Recognizing the ancient architectural style from his research, Shen Buyan realized—
"This is the Sheng Kingdom.
I've arrived in the past."
Nishimura Rie blinked.
She'd known this from the trailer—but seeing it still sent chills.
How did the time travel work?
Simple.
Blood on the jade.
No logic needed—it just felt right.
To avoid guards, Shen Buyan ran into the imperial archives—
and found historic records of Sheng.
"You're still worried about your novel??" Nishimura Rie nearly laughed.
Workaholic life. Forever.
In the archives, he met a sorrowful but elegant woman in white: Yihua.
"Don't be afraid, my lord. It's me—Yihua."
That line puzzled Nishimura Rie.
If this were their first meeting,
Why "it's me"?
Shouldn't she say, "I serve in the palace," or "We're meeting for the first time"?
"Miss said you'd come.
She told me to wait here."
Nishimura Rie's brain kicked into overdrive.
How did they know he would come?
Clearly, the time travel wasn't random.
There were secrets.
"Miss? Who's that?" Shen Buyan asked.
Yihua hesitated.
Her eyes filled with sadness.
"Let's go."
Her voice was tinged with sorrow.
On a first watch, these moments seemed cryptic.
But on a second viewing, everything would make sense.
As they walked, Shen Buyan noticed Yihua wore mourning clothes—signaling her lover had died.
Then came the moment that made Nishimura Rie's heart race—
They turned a corner, revealing a glorious palace.
Flowing silk curtains.
In the center: a woman in red, seated at a konghou.
She turned her head—
Pale, flawless skin.
Eyes filled with complicated emotion.
Yukishiro Tomoe.
No—
Lu Yuan.
Since the end of 'Rurouni Kenshin',
Nishimura Rie had waited over a month for this scene.
It wasn't a sequel.
But just seeing them together again on screen brought tears to her eyes.
The emotional aftermath of 'Rurouni Kenshin' would never vanish.
Only lie dormant.
But now—
"Forget 'Rurouni Kenshin' for a moment.
This is 'An Ancient Love Song'."
Nishimura Rie took a deep breath.
Up until now, the story hadn't fully pulled her in.
But now?
She was all in.