"'Kimi ni Todoke'?"
Cheng Lie glanced at the script title, a question mark flashing across his face.
"Romance drama?"
"Why? Romance dramas not good enough for you?"
"Not exactly, but… the romance in your dramas tends to give viewers a heart attack," Cheng Lie fired back mercilessly.
Heart attack?
Jing Yu narrowed his eyes.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Think about it. In 'My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday', the leads live in intersecting timelines and never meet again. In 'Your Lie in April', the heroine dies. 'White Album 2'? A cheating scumbag love triangle full of emotional torment. 'Steins;Gate' ends with the heroine existing in a world line where the male lead doesn't even know her. In 'Initial D', Takumi gets cheated on—his girlfriend sleeps with a classmate's dad for money. 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal'? Heroine dies. 'Love Letter'? Male lead dies."
After that onslaught, Jing Yu was left speechless.
"You know what your fans say about you?"
"'Never become the love interest of a Jing Yu character.'"
"This one's different," Jing Yu said, pointing to the script.
"This is a pure love story. Real pure love!"
"Pure love, huh?" Cheng Lie gave him a skeptical grin.
"Come on, just spill it. Who dies this time, the guy or the girl?"
Seeing Jing Yu's expression darken, Cheng Lie quickly changed the subject.
"Alright, alright, let me read the script first."
He picked up the script, immediately switching into work mode.
The story featured Tang Zao (Kuronuma Sawako), a girl rumored to be able to see ghosts and bring misfortune to those around her, and Song Feng (Kazehaya Shouta), the warm and charming heartthrob of the school.
To be honest, the start of a romance drama rarely has much impact.
It's mostly just about introducing the main characters.
Cheng Lie breezed through that part, but soon… his reading pace slowed down.
Especially after the test of courage scene—when Sawako, afraid that her closeness with Shouta would lead to him being ostracized like her, voluntarily distances herself. Her inner monologue during that part—
You could already tell this was a great story, just from the script.
Sawako was the kind of character that, if handled poorly, could easily turn into a stereotypical saccharine "goody two-shoes."
Who in real life is that naive?
Most audiences would call her fake, or worse—label her a "white lotus" or "saintly Mary Sue."
But Jing Yu's version of Sawako wasn't like that at all. Her charm radiated straight from the page. Her thoughts and inner world made her genuinely lovable.
"Interesting. Are there no side plots in this one?" Cheng Lie asked.
Like the guitar subplot in 'White Album 2', or the piano competition in 'Your Lie in April'?
"None. Pure romance. Didn't I already say? Pure love," Jing Yu replied.
Cheng Lie considered that for a moment.
"What about the actress? Who do you think fits?"
He didn't even need to ask who Jing Yu wanted as the female lead.
As the saying goes—don't let good resources go to waste. Plenty of actresses could pull off a Jing Yu heroine, but he always gave priority to his two close friends: Yu Youqing and Xia Yining.
Bluntly put, he was grooming them for stardom.
And they were holding their own.
Xia Yining, after her role as Yukishiro in 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal', held the top spot on the July popularity charts for actresses.
Then Yu Youqing, with her dual performance as Watanabe Hiroko and female Fujii Itsuki in 'Love Letter', took over the number one position afterward.
Granted, these monthly rankings didn't automatically mean they were true heavyweights in Great Zhou's film industry. They'd need to stay on top for half a year at least for that. But it definitely proved their rising value.
If Jing Yu promoted them before, he had even more reason to now.
They were co-founders of his production company and signed artists under his banner. Naturally, any golden opportunity would go to them first.
"Let's go with Xia Yining. Sawako is supposed to be timid—and most importantly, flat-chested. Yu Youqing wouldn't fit."
"But… this character needs to seem spooky at first, right? With Xia Yining's looks, how are you gonna make people believe she's scary?" Cheng Lie groaned.
And this wasn't even an issue specific to Xia Yining. Swapping her out wouldn't help.
Sawako's core trait was that, despite being a beautiful and pure-hearted girl, she was ostracized for her creepy smile and ghostly vibe.
But that's a contradiction.
"A beautiful person—no matter how they dress or smile—won't come across as scary or off-putting," Cheng Lie said firmly.
"That's because you've never seen Hyogo Kita's smile," Jing Yu shot back.(Photo.jpg)
"Huh?" Cheng Lie blinked, confused.
"Anyway, don't worry about it. It's settled." Jing Yu waved his hand.
"We'll just explain it through story context. That's what the setting is for."
What he didn't explain was that after exchanging 'Kimi ni Todoke', the system hadn't given him any acting skills—but it did give him some new filming tools.
For example—
Filters.
By sacrificing fan value, Jing Yu could apply a visual aura filter to any person, altering how they appeared to others and on camera.
So if he gave Xia Yining a "spooky" filter, she'd appear naturally creepy and ghostly in both footage and to those around her.
To Jing Yu, this was practically a god-tier tool.
After all, even a great actor has to project the right presence. If you're playing an emperor, you need to feel ruthless and authoritative. Think of the Joker in The Dark Knight—what made him legendary was the actor's ability to embody madness.
Add a little "tragic" filter to a beggar, and suddenly the audience feels empathy with no extra effort.
"Alright, fair point. Xia Yining might not look scary, but really, no one could pull off this role perfectly," Cheng Lie conceded.
He picked up the character sheets, ready to begin open casting for supporting roles.
But halfway out the door, he paused.
"Hey, Jing Yu. If Xia Yining's locked in for a full season… what about Yu Youqing? You're not gonna balance things out?"
"Balance what?" Jing Yu asked, puzzled.
"Heh. You want the office turning into a jealousy factory?" Cheng Lie's smile turned sly.
"You and Xia Yining playing a couple every day on set while Yu Youqing sits in the office staring at the water cooler? You're not worried she'll get jealous?"
"Yu Youqing and I are just friends. It's not as complicated as you think," Jing Yu said.
"That's what you think," Cheng Lie shot back. Now that they were familiar, he didn't hold back.
"C'mon. You're 27 now. You're not a celebrity. You've got the looks. I can see how both of them feel about you. You really think you guys can just stay friends forever?"
"Let me ask you—do you even dislike them?"
Cheng Lie paused, looking at Jing Yu seriously.
Or… were you just afraid that choosing one would upset the balance between the three of you?
And that was fair. Given their personalities, if Jing Yu chose one to date, what would happen to the other?
Jing Yu was quiet for a moment, then gave a bitter smile.
"Alright, you've got a point. Yu Youqing is a top-tier actress. Making her sit in an office all day really doesn't fit."
"Originally, I was planning to wait for the box office returns from our two films before moving forward…"
"But maybe this is a good time. I'd already set aside a script for Yu Youqing anyway. Since 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal' has been out for nearly two months, the revenue should start coming in within a month or two. Even if I start a new movie production now, expenses for the first month shouldn't exceed ten million. With my current funds, I can just barely manage it."
"So yeah. Why not start both a new movie and drama at the same time?"
Cheng Lie looked at Jing Yu.
"New movie?"
"Yep. A new film."