On June 16, the final episode of 'Dragon Zakura' aired without a hitch.
After ten weeks of steadily building popularity — and now with the student audience officially on summer break — the finale's viewership unsurprisingly soared to its peak.
In the story, three of Sakuragi Kenji's students made it into Imperial Capital University. At the same time, the other three chose to repeat the year and try again.
You could say 'Dragon Zakura' fully embodied the sentiment:
"Youth is not about perfection."
If all six had made it into Imperial Capital University, the whole thing would've felt fake. Sure, having a main character shouting something like "Only idiots go to Imperial Capital University!" might sound cool in context…
But honestly?
Believing in slogans like that is what makes someone an idiot.
Granted, the idea that six underperforming students could cram for a year and still get three into the country's top university is still pretty unrealistic — but hey, it's TV. When you're swept up in the emotions, you don't question logic.
In the end, the 'Dragon Zakura' finale landed a 7.29% viewership rating, becoming the highest-rated episode on any TV station that week in Great Zhou.
Even though it only topped the charts for a single episode, this was a huge win for Yunteng TV, especially considering their spring programming had only hovered around 4%. They were more than satisfied.
Inside Yunteng TV, champagne bottles were already popping in executive offices. Celebration parties were being planned.
Meanwhile, fans who had been following the show for almost three months were both excited and a little heartbroken to see it come to an end.
"Curtain call — thank you, 'Dragon Zakura'!"
"Ugh, I wish they all got accepted."
"That would've been too idealistic. This show isn't saying hard work guarantees success — it's saying hard work might bring success. Six students, three made it. That's 50%. Put in the effort, and there's a chance. Don't try, and you've got zero."
"👏👏👏 That was deep."
"Praying I get 500+ on my results in July."
"I'll be happy with 400!"
"Manifesting!"
In the fan group chats, everyone chatted happily and freely.
The ending theme of 'Dragon Zakura' was still playing. Most viewers stayed glued to their screens — after all, many shows drop post-credit scenes.
But instead of an after-credits scene…
They got a trailer for 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal'.
This was the payoff for all the heavy promotion Jing Yu had done for Yunteng by supporting 'Dragon Zakura' throughout the season.
In the fan group chats, everyone suddenly fell silent.
Just moments ago, the screen had shown a modern urban setting.
Now?
It shifted to a classical, historical aesthetic.
A young man appeared: long black hair tied in a traditional topknot, handsome features, standing tall in black robes with a sword in hand.
"The sword... is a weapon."
"Swordsmanship... is the art of killing."
A haunting narration echoed — a line that ran throughout the 'Rurouni Kenshin' series.
Soft music swelled.
The young man, sword in hand, stared into the shadows of a narrow alley. He slowly walked forward into the rain. The tension was palpable.
Then came a scene shift — a white-robed girl under a paper umbrella walked into the same rain, expression cool and distant.
Hidden in the shadows, a masked man watched with murderous eyes.
Another scene — white plum blossoms falling like snow from the trees.
Inside a small house, snowflakes whispered against the windows. The previously cold girl looked at the boy by the fire, deep in thought — a small, almost invisible smile flickered across her face.
Then came a montage of characters.
"The one I love is still waiting for me. I can't die."
"Cherry blossoms at night in spring, stars overhead in summer, full moon in autumn, first snow in winter…"
"Will you keep killing, even in the future?"
"Do you remember the man who gave you that scar?"
"Born of the sword, die by the sword — that's our fate."
The one-minute trailer didn't reveal much about the plot of 'Trust & Betrayal', but it clearly set the era and emotional tone.
And everyone watching instantly understood what this film wanted to explore.
"Okay… I'm kinda hooked."
"Wait — is Jing Yu playing an assassin in this?"
"Xia Yining looks stunning. This cold and quiet type suits her way better. That peppy role she had in 'Initial D' as Sayuki? Didn't really work."
"I got chills — did you see those moves Jing Yu pulled off? Damn!"
"No joke, his sword work looked better than a lot of martial arts stars. That wasn't even edited! A full ten-second one-shot fight scene — no cuts! That's crazy!"
"And with that background music… something about it just felt so melancholic."
"Wait, is this really Jing Yu's first movie?"
The trailer ended with a scene:
The girl stood by the window, watching the boy sleep. She quietly picked up a blanket to cover him.
Her movements were gentle and cautious, her eyes filled with mixed emotions.
But the very next moment —
A flash of cold steel.
A sword blade rested against her throat.
"Where blood once rained, now silence reigns."
"No scent of white plum lingers in this world."
"The beloved drifts away like snow."
"And those who live bear the cross-shaped scar."
The final poem faded away with the subtitles.
Then the logo appeared:
'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal'
One minute. That's all it took.
Jing Yu's fans were breathless for a moment — then, their hearts began to race.
"That was insane!"
"That trailer was amazing!"
"Wait... please don't tell me all the best shots were just in the trailer!"
"I thought this was just a lame wuxia murder mystery — but that trailer? Holy hell."
"July 7th. I'm going."
"I never cared for martial arts films before, but this one... yeah, I'm curious now. The lead's named Kenshin, right? And the female lead, played by Xia Yining — she's called Yukishiro, right? Are they a couple in this movie?"
"Sounds like it. But who holds a sword to their wife's throat just for trying to tuck them in?"
"Jing Yu really doesn't follow the rules."
With the finale of 'Dragon Zakura', the trailer for 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal' instantly stirred up a storm across Great Zhou that very night.
The six major TV networks couldn't help but grumble at Yunteng TV.
"You're seriously airing a movie trailer during prime time? Even if Jing Yu is your golden goose, isn't that a bit too generous?"
If one of their writers left to make movies, they'd blacklist them completely.
Meanwhile, the next day, Cheng Lie began full-scale coordination with the film's distributors and marketing agencies.
Since the cast mostly consisted of just Jing Yu and Xia Yining, and the rest were relatively unknown, all promotional materials focused heavily on the two leads.
Across Great Zhou's major cities — online, in theaters, bookstores, subway stations, buses — posters for 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal' were everywhere.