The vague rumors circulating within BlueStar Media & Film stirred up unease throughout the television industry.
Time passed, and soon, October arrived.
With Jing Yu absent from the autumn season, the seven major TV networks were fighting tooth and nail for dominance — a return to the industry's old golden days before Jing Yu rose to power, when a hundred dramas vied for attention.
By October, there was still no sign of a new long-form series from Jing Yu. The networks' promotional battles had entered a white-hot phase, and several winter-season dramas were premiering one after another, performing quite well in ratings.
However, even as most drama viewers followed the new self-produced series from the Big Six and Yunteng TV, their attention gradually shifted toward another title:
'Voices of a Distant Star'.
In the past two years, Jing Yu had acted in fewer and fewer projects — especially as a lead actor.
But historically, every time Jing Yu starred in his own work, the quality was always top-tier among all his productions.
"Another boring winter season… Sigh, it's painful without something from the madman."
"Come on, Big Six — give the madman some pressure! You used to be able to challenge him thanks to the platform advantage. Back then, he was putting out three series in a single quarter. But now Yunteng TV's traffic has skyrocketed, and without the platform edge, the other networks have turned into salted fish. Maybe the madman's just bored, so he's making fewer shows."
"This kind of complacency won't do! He needs a sense of crisis. Who knows — maybe someday the Great Zhou will produce a second genius like him."
"I actually hope that happens! When titans clash, it's the audience that wins."
"But that's easier said than done! You think it's just his writing skills that make his work so good? Go look at the casting and soundtrack choices for his shows — that's where the real artistry is."
As October 6th approached, TV drama forums across the country grew increasingly restless.
Though 'Voices of a Distant Star' was just a short film, many fans were furiously complaining about its length even before it aired.
But there was no doubt: the most anticipated show of the winter season — even though it was rumored to last just over 20 minutes — was this one.
Long-form or not, in today's Great Zhou, any show with Jing Yu's name on it was bound to break 6% or 7% in ratings before it even premiered.
Sunday, October 6th.
Yunteng TV spent the whole day looping the trailer for 'Voices of a Distant Star'. Viewers had practically gone blind from watching it on repeat.
Even the airtime was absurd: 8:00 p.m. primetime.
Normally, the only major TV station airing something in that time slot was Xingtong TV, with its romance flagship 'Dream Fish!' this season.
All other networks had intentionally avoided the 8 p.m. slot — but not Yunteng TV. They had announced the timeslot well in advance, and if anyone was going to avoid a clash, it should've been Xingtong TV.
Xingtong, however, gritted their teeth and scheduled the first episode of 'Dream Fish!' at 8 p.m. sharp.
It wasn't that they were being reckless. But seriously, if even a 20-minute short film had to be avoided, that would be a total disgrace in the industry.
Worst case, they'd just lose 20 minutes of ratings to 'Voices of a Distant Star'. The 8-to-9 slot was an hour anyway.
Jing Yu was strong, sure — but it's a short this quarter. Why give way?
But reality turned out to be much more brutal than Xingtong TV had expected.
7:40 p.m.
Xingtong TV: 4.13% rating
Yunteng TV: 7.10% rating
The gap was huge.
And as the clock struck 8:00, Xingtong TV's ratings began to fall even further, while Yunteng TV's slowly climbed. It was obvious — some of Xingtong TV's viewers had switched channels.
True warriors!
Industry insiders tracking that night's ratings were stunned.
At this point, the only ones with the guts to schedule against a Jing Yu project were Xingtong TV.
Among the fan community, which was always lively, things were especially heated that day.
Zhong Qianle was one of them — she had been posting in the group chat all day long.
As a five-year diehard fan of Jing Yu, she never missed a live premiere of his work.
But lately, the projects he'd produced just didn't hit her as hard as the old ones.
Looking back, she would've easily given a perfect 10 to his earlier romance dramas.
But for the recent 'Fate' series and 'Neon Genesis Evangelion', she could only give them a 9 — and that extra point was just for the visuals.
She didn't understand why Jing Yu's romance dramas didn't perform as well as the 'Fate' series. But it was what it was — the market had spoken.
So for her, a romance-leaning short film like 'Voices of a Distant Star' starring Jing Yu himself was far more exciting than the 'Fate' series.
At exactly 8:00 p.m., the screen on Yunteng TV flickered.
After a brief black screen, the next moment revealed a visually stunning sci-fi shot.
A towering staircase.
A girl standing at its edge.
Soft sunlight streaming down from the distant sky.
And in the golden light — the girl's beautiful, porcelain-white face.
The moment Yu Youqing, playing Mikako Nagamine, appeared on screen, 90% of viewers fell into silence.
If someone compared this scene with photos of Yu Youqing as Miyazono Kaori a few years ago, they'd be shocked — there was no difference at all. It was as if time had stopped.
"There is a word, 'world'."
A soft, calm female narration began.
Then came a close-up of the girl tapping away at her phone screen.
Jing Yu, unlike the original, wouldn't do something as absurd as giving a flip-phone to someone who could space-travel. So in this setting, the phone was advanced — it could play movies, watch videos, and run games — but…
The only way she could send messages to someone on Blue Star… was via SMS.
The reason would be explained later via on-screen text: due to signal and cost limitations, only text messages could be transmitted back to Blue Star.
At this point, Zhong Qianle was already a bit confused.
'Voices of a Distant Star' was shaping up to be an abstract, atmospheric short — just like the later episodes of 'Evangelion', filled with surrealism and ambiguity.
Still, it was easier to follow than 'Evangelion', since there were fewer characters and a simpler plot. Even if it was abstract, viewers could gradually piece it together.
"Until I was in middle school, I thought the word couldn't send or receive signals from outside Blue Star… But then, why can't my phone reach anyone?"
Mikako was lost in thought, dialing a number that couldn't connect.
"Hey… Where am I, really?"
The sci-fi illusion abruptly ended, and the camera pulled back.
"Ah, I see… I'm already not in that world anymore."
In the vast, dark void of space, the girl opened her eyes and awoke from her daydream. Before her was the cockpit of a futuristic mech, and outside, the massive robot floated in zero gravity.
The "world" she was no longer in was Blue Star.
She had been trying to send messages to someone on Blue Star — but with the interference of space communication signals, it was futile.
Honestly, even in Jing Yu's past life, cell phone signals could drop in remote mountain valleys. Expecting to contact someone from space was absurd.
Still, it's sci-fi — viewers could suspend disbelief.
And in under two minutes, the audience already pieced it together from the trailer and the opening scene:
Mikako had already left Earth.
The number she kept dialing that had no signal was almost certainly Terao Noboru's.
Her tired expression and those few visuals made it clear — she was weary of her current life, and she deeply cared about whoever was on the other end of that number.
The next scene was a flashback. A soft piano version of the iconic theme began to play.
'Voices of a Distant Star' had officially begun.