"What's the new film about?" Cheng Lie asked curiously.
"I've just finished writing the script for 'Kimi ni Todoke'. As for this film, I'll deal with the script in a couple of days. Right now, your priority is casting the main and supporting actors for 'Kimi ni Todoke' first," Jing Yu said.
"I'm just asking both at once to save time. We're doing open auditions anyway—some actors might not suit 'Kimi ni Todoke', but could be perfect for your film," Cheng Lie replied, looking at him.
"It just makes things smoother. And c'mon, the story's already in your head. We all know how fast you write."
"Alright, alright, I get it." Jing Yu waved him off.
The truth was, the film wasn't on a tight production schedule, so Jing Yu didn't feel any urgency. But it was clear that after the success of 'Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal' and 'Love Letter', Cheng Lie was now hungry for more.
When there's money to be made, of course, he'd be enthusiastic.
Start one more project, earn one more stream of income.
Jing Yu thought for a moment. He hadn't written the script yet, but he already knew which film he wanted to make.
"The movie I'm giving to Yu Youqing is called '5 Centimeters per Second'."
"Wait—five centimeters per second?" Cheng Lie was dumbfounded.
"What? That's the title?"
"Get your mind out of the gutter." Jing Yu shot him a glare.
"It's a line from the movie. 'The speed at which cherry blossoms fall—five centimeters per second.'"
"Ah… well, you should've led with that," Cheng Lie grumbled, conveniently playing the victim.
Jing Yu ignored him.
"The film only has a small cast and is split into three segments: Cherry Blossom Extract, Cosmonaut, and 5 Centimeters per Second. Each one corresponds to the protagonists' lives during middle school, high school, and post-university."
"Yu Youqing and I can handle the high school and adult segments ourselves. After all, the three actors our company currently has are hot properties in the market. No need to waste money casting outside."
"As for the middle school version of the leads—find actors who can believably match the high school versions played by me and Yu Youqing in terms of looks and vibe."
"There aren't many other roles, but appearance standards are going to be high."
Characters like Kanae Sumida and Akari Shinohara couldn't be sloppily cast.
'5 Centimeters per Second' was a film that relied heavily on its visuals and atmosphere. Strong acting was just a baseline—aesthetics were non-negotiable.
Cheng Lie quietly nodded in agreement.
Before long, he left Jing Yu's office, satisfied, with the 'Kimi ni Todoke' script in hand.
Meanwhile—
Jing Yu sat back, let out a sigh, packed away the video game disc, and picked up a pen.
'5 Centimeters per Second' might be a short film, but the exchange price had been anything but cheap. It didn't earn much commercially when it was first released…
But as Makoto Shinkai's breakout work, its reputation in Jing Yu's past life was just as big as 'Your Name'.
That said, the original anime only ran for just over 50 minutes—far too short for a proper feature film.
But that wasn't a problem.
While the animation was short, both Shinkai's original novel version and the official adaptation by Shinta Kano added many more details. Expanding those into screen time would be easy.
A clear example was how in the novel version of Cherry Blossom Extract, the female lead Akari's perspective is used to narrate her emotional journey—something missing from the anime.
Jing Yu could intercut that into the film.
Expanding the runtime from 50 minutes to 90 minutes or more? Not an issue.
Then came the music.
In Jing Yu's opinion, '5 Centimeters per Second' had everything going for it—except one thing.
That ending song, "One More Time, One More Chance."
To him, it felt too intense—emotionally overwhelming in a way that didn't match the film's quiet, melancholic tone. Maybe that was just his personal preference.
So, he planned to replace it with "The Wind Rises" (起风了).
It wasn't about what was "more fitting." Just what he liked better.
Still, comparing 'Kimi ni Todoke' and '5 Centimeters per Second'…
What a pair of extremes.
One was sickly sweet, the other achingly bitter.
Jing Yu ran through the anime and novel versions of '5 Centimeters per Second' in his mind once more.
Then he picked up his pen and script paper, eyes sharpening into focus.
Early September
The news that BlueStar Media & Film Company, Jing Yu's company, was holding nationwide open auditions quickly became the hottest topic in Great Zhou's television industry.
After all, Jing Yu was famous for casting newcomers. He didn't care for overhyped, overpriced traffic stars.
But his dramas had a very clear pattern—the female lead was always either Xia Yining or Yu Youqing.
That said, most actors in Great Zhou didn't expect to land the leads anyway.
"Hey, did you hear? Jing Yu, the big-name screenwriter in Modo, is casting for his new drama."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah, I heard the title is 'Kimi ni Todoke'."
"Damn. I want in—even if it's just a minor role! Look at actors like Nakazato from 'Initial D', or Ryosuke and Keisuke Takahashi… even secondary characters like Moeka from 'Steins;Gate', or Akira Toya and Hikaru Shindo from 'Hikaru no Go'. They're all getting popular now."
"Exactly! We'll never get leading roles at the Big Six stations anyway. But with Jing Yu's dramas, even supporting roles can catapult you into the spotlight."
"A romance drama, huh? Sounds like it."
"Have they released audition requirements yet? Share it in the group chat—I'm booking my ticket from the capital to Modo first thing tomorrow."
"Same. I'm gonna test my luck."
This time, Jing Yu and Cheng Lie hadn't named any specific supporting actors—since the main leads were already locked in.
Big-name actors usually didn't like playing supporting roles anyway, so there was no point wasting time.
Jing Yu prioritized cost-effectiveness, and now, actors from all over Great Zhou's mid-tier and rising talent pool were eager to join.
At the same time, Yunteng TV acted quickly, launching coordinated promotions with Jing Yu.
They used all their channels—TV spots, online banners, even prime-time announcements.
Before long, all of Jing Yu's fans knew:
That rumor from a few days ago—that Jing Yu had started a new TV project?
It was true.