As December entered its final stretch, the entire Great Zhou drama industry was ablaze with excitement.
The six major TV stations had all, without coordination, thrown in the towel — opting to phone it in for the upcoming spring season completely. The dramas scheduled for that season were, in terms of budget and cast, utterly mediocre and devoid of highlights.
Fans promoted like crazy. Across all major drama forums, whenever the spring season was mentioned, only one title came up:
'Neon Genesis Evangelion'!
There was no doubt — this was the single most anticipated drama across all of Great Zhou, and in fact, the only one the public cared about for the spring season.
In the final two weeks before airing, BlueStar Media & Film Company launched its full-scale marketing assault. Every department in the company went into overdrive.
In fact, filming for 'Neon Genesis Evangelion' had wrapped long ago. The delay in broadcast was purely due to post-production on the visual effects. Still, even the staff who had finished work months earlier regrouped — flying out to various cities for in-person promotion events.
Including Jing Yu.
Starting December 25th, he left Modo, toured all of Great Zhou's first-tier cities, and didn't return until December 31st. Though visibly tired upon arrival, he was inwardly relieved.
"It's over. Once it airs in a week, we're finally free," said Cheng Lie.
Once the show began broadcasting, it would be the operations team's time to get busy. With no new production lined up for now, Jing Yu could finally enjoy some much-deserved time off.
"How long are you planning to rest this time?" Cheng Lie asked.
"Not too long. A week or two at most," Jing Yu replied with a smile.
"...You're not planning to go full salted fish mode this time?"
"I'm almost thirty. The window to freely play student roles is closing. Right now, playing a high schooler still looks natural. In a few years? Not so much," Jing Yu explained.
"Better to film more while I still can. Otherwise, I'll regret it later."
"Regret what?" Cheng Lie asked.
"Regret not doing justice to some brilliant scripts — stories I could've starred in when I was younger, but missed the chance."
"Come on, is that really a problem for you? You're a screenwriter. Just write protagonists who match your age. Isn't that easy for you?"
"Sure, but… I'm not interested in leads over thirty," Jing Yu said with a chuckle.
The key was: the stories Jing Yu had access to — the ones he could adapt — nearly all featured protagonists in their teens or twenties. If he didn't seize the moment now, in five to eight years, he'd be forced behind the scenes, watching others play the roles he once could've.
"Anyway, you being motivated is a good thing. Didn't you say that if you take on a new project, you'd be more interested in a film?"
"Yeah," Jing Yu nodded.
"For my next project, I'm thinking film. I've done so many dramas already — it's exhausting."
"A movie, huh..." Cheng Lie fell into thought.
Jing Yu's last film was '5 Centimeters per Second'. In fact, in all the years since his debut, he had only made three films: 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal', 'Love Letter', and '5 Centimeters per Second'.
Cheng Lie had never doubted Jing Yu's creativity when it came to films — the only difference was that he had previously seemed more invested in TV dramas. But now...
Having already reached the peak of the TV industry, it seemed he was ready to extend his influence into other fields.
"Got it. I'll start looking into the schedules of some film actors."
After all, the stars in TV dramas and movies were often two separate pools. If Jing Yu wanted to do a film, then many of the company's current collaborators wouldn't be suitable.
The way Jing Yu and Cheng Lie worked together was very straightforward. Jing Yu set the overall direction, and Cheng Lie handled all the implementation.
Otherwise, if Jing Yu had to manage every company task himself — acting, writing scripts, promoting projects, producing music — he'd work himself into the grave.
The Next Day
January 1st
As the new year arrived, the entire drama industry's mood shifted.
'Neon Genesis Evangelion' was scheduled to premiere at 8 PM on January 7th — sharp.
This slot had been locked in over a month in advance. The effect?
From 7 to 9 PM that Sunday — especially the 8 PM prime time when 'Neon Genesis Evangelion' would air — not a single TV station, including the Big Six, dared to schedule a new drama.
Nobody wanted to become cannon fodder.
And it wasn't just the six major stations. Even small-to-medium local stations across Great Zhou opted out of releasing new original content during that prime-time slot.
In many regions, local stations actually had a very loyal viewer base. Plenty of audiences preferred watching their regional channels over the Big Six. This was why, back when Jing Yu was still at Jinhui TV, they had never worried about competing with the majors — their audiences didn't overlap much.
But this season?
Even the smaller local channels chickened out — all of them, just like the Big Six, switched to reruns from 7 to 9 PM to avoid being crushed by 'Neon Genesis Evangelion'.
And Jing Yu? He didn't go around making bold declarations, like how high he expected the ratings to be. If he really cared about viewership that much, he wouldn't have arranged for the drama to air on four different platforms simultaneously.
Everyone else was just scared. That's all.
A rather hilarious situation had formed: on the coveted 8 PM Sunday prime time slot, across all of Great Zhou, almost no station dared to broadcast anything they felt confident about.
Drama industry insiders couldn't help feeling conflicted.
Sure, none of them would openly admit they were intimidated by Jing Yu — pride wouldn't allow that. But the behavior of every TV station spoke louder than words.
Starting January 1st, the Great Zhou entered a three-day national holiday.
And during that time, Jing Yu quietly took Yu Youqing on a trip to one of the country's top tourist destinations.
On the 4th and 5th, his fan communities began to stir again. After a brief lull, excitement for 'Neon Genesis Evangelion' once more reached fever pitch.
January 6th
As the producer of 'Neon Genesis Evangelion', Cheng Lie personally visited Yunteng TV to give one last round of promotional interviews ahead of the show's launch.
January 7th
From the moment the day began, you could hear people everywhere — grade schoolers, working adults, even professionals in offices — talking about the show.
They were planning to watch it together that night.
This was the level of influence Jing Yu now wielded in the industry.
As daylight faded into evening, Yunteng TV's ratings began climbing sharply — starting as early as 6 PM.