Very soon, the auditions for 'Kimi ni Todoke' would begin.
The hundreds of young actors who had rushed in from all corners of Great Zhou were growing even more anxious as they waited outside the venue for their turn.
They had come all this way not to audition for nameless background roles.
At the very least, they wanted a supporting role—with lines and screen time.
According to the released information about 'Kimi ni Todoke', there were ten such roles available—or more precisely, nine people and one dog!
That last one had been suggested by Cheng Lie. With Great Zhou's internet ecosystem now developing at a brisk pace, influencer culture—especially pet influencers—has become a real thing. And popularity is popularity, no matter where it comes from. So if they could boost popularity a little more, why not?
Once the news got out, many pet influencer owners in Great Zhou brought their beloved dogs to the audition as well, turning the venue into quite a chaotic scene.
Still, out of nearly two hundred auditioners—already filtered through a preliminary round—only those with real acting chops could make it into the hall.
With only nine roles available, the acceptance rate was roughly one in twenty.
As a result, tension and competitiveness in the atmosphere continued to climb.
Of course, the most fiercely contested role was undoubtedly the current biggest antagonist in the drama—and also the second female lead: Su Mei (Kurumizawa Ume).
Even though she was the villain, she was the antagonist of a Jing Yu drama. That almost guaranteed popularity.
Actually, forget popularity—just getting cast in the show basically meant guaranteed stardom!
Many confident young actresses were already giving it their all. They kept glancing around at their rivals, rereading their audition scripts, and touching up their makeup over and over.
One by one, the candidates were called into the audition room and walked out again.
Soon, people outside began whispering to each other.
"Hey, was it scary? Jing Yu-sensei's audition?"
"Nah, he just had me perform the scene from the script they gave."
"So did you pass?"
"Not sure yet. But Jing Yu-sensei is really nice. And really handsome. He even poured me a glass of water when he saw I was nervous. If only I could land the role of Lin Qianhe (Yoshida Chizuru)!"
"Sigh, I got the script for Zhao Lingyin (Yano Ayane). A mature, scheming type? Totally my forte. I'm just playing myself."
"I'm auditioning for Xu Long (Sanada Ryu). That role needs someone mature and good-looking. I'm usually confident in my looks, but after standing next to Jing Yu-sensei… man, I felt totally overshadowed."
"A classic case of someone who could rely on their looks but chooses to rely on talent. That's him."
"See those twenty-something girls over there? All are waiting to audition for Su Mei (Kurumizawa Ume). They're seriously all gorgeous! Like a row of porcelain dolls."
"But compared to Tang Zao (Kuronuma Sawako), their looks still don't quite measure up. Even though, sure, the character setup is one thing, Great Zhou dramas always do this—where the female lead is actually more beautiful than the second lead, but within the story, random people insist the FL is average-looking while the SL is stunning. Still, even with that ridiculous trope, there's a limit. Only a few of them are even close. Most can't hold a candle to Sawako in terms of visuals."
"Shame my photo wasn't selected for the Kurumizawa role audition. I really wanted to try out for her! Sigh…"
Inside the audition room:
"Happy? Why should I be happy just because I told Sawako?"
"Didn't I say it already? I can't stand you. I hate how easily you get to stay by Shouta's side. But if you're the rival… then I can win."
"Because I like Shouta even more—way more—than you do. That's the truth."
For the Su Mei (Kurumizawa Ume) audition, they went straight to her only crying scene in the entire show—the one where she breaks down emotionally.
Because Song Feng (Kazehaya Shouta) had eyes only for Tang Zao (Kuronuma Sawako), Kurumizawa Ume, who had tried every manipulative trick in the book, finally dropped her facade. For the first time, she showed her true self to Sawako.
"Alright… that's enough."
Jing Yu cut off the audition, speaking in his steady voice.
"Please wait to be notified. You'll receive the results within two days."
"Thank you, Jing Yu-sensei. Thank you, Producer Cheng. Thank you, Director Lü."
The actress took a deep breath, forced a smile through her tear-streaked face, and left.
After she was gone—
"What do you think?" Cheng Lie asked.
"Not green tea enough. She didn't have that 'seductive vixen' aura. She looked too proper. Her crying scene came off like a naïve sweetheart," Jing Yu commented.
That was pretty much a death sentence for that actress.
Although after adapting 'Kimi ni Todoke', Jing Yu had exchanged for a [filter] item from the system's exchange space.
This item allowed him to sacrifice fan points to temporarily alter an actor's vibe—so, for instance, Kurumizawa's actress could be made to look more manipulative and two-faced in scenes. The more fan points he sacrificed, the more intense the transformation.
But the item had a hard cap on how far it could go. If it didn't, audiences—or even the cameraman—would be tempted to slap those characters across the face mid-scene.
The exchange space wouldn't allow Jing Yu to obtain anything that was broken.
So if someone fundamentally lacked the right traits, no amount of filtering—or even ten million yuan's worth of plastic surgery—would turn her into a perfect casting choice.
"Next," Jing Yu said to the staff member.
One by one, candidates came in…
And one by one, Jing Yu rejected them.
Until the 22nd actress auditioning for Kurumizawa Ume—
"Number 0168, Yin Xiao."
A sweet-faced girl stepped in.
Of course, anyone chosen to audition for Kurumizawa had to be at least "Grade A beautiful," so Jing Yu didn't think much of her and went straight to the standard routine.
She was the fourth-to-last Kurumizawa candidate. If no one in the final batch fit the part…
Jing Yu already had a backup list of popular "villainess-type" actresses from Great Zhou, though it would cost a bit more to cast them.
"Please begin your performance," Jing Yu said.
Yin Xiao started acting.
And from the moment she got into character, Cheng Lie, Jing Yu, and Director Lü Cang all narrowed their eyes.
There was something there.
In the first half, she nailed that smug, "green tea" manipulative vibe. Then came the emotional collapse—
"So what if you know I'm cute? What's the point?"
"If Shouta doesn't love me… what's the point?"
"I know he doesn't love me. So why… why am I crying like this in front of you?"
At first, she made you dislike her. Now, she just made you pity her—a girl desperately in love.
If the actress couldn't deliver that emotional shift, Jing Yu would've dropped her on the spot.
After all, 'Kimi ni Todoke''s Kurumizawa Ume might be the villain, but she was also the show's most tragic loser, and its most relatable character.
Many fans hated Kurumizawa Ume—but no one could deny she was the most fleshed-out, realistic character in the whole story.
It wasn't that Kuronuma Sawako or Kazehaya Shouta were written poorly. They were just too idealized.
A few minutes later, Yin Xiao walked out of the audition room.
"What do you think?" Cheng Lie asked.
"Compared to the image I have in my head for this character… 85. No, 87," Jing Yu replied after a pause.
"Eighty-seven, huh…" Cheng Lie nodded.
That was the second-highest score Jing Yu had given that day.
The highest was to a guy named Lin Mu, who auditioned for Huang Jing (Kazuichi Arai). His clownish energy was perfect—Jing Yu had given him a 93.
"So, are we locking her in?" Cheng Lie asked.
This audition was primarily for casting Kurumizawa Ume. The rest of the roles were largely side gigs.
"Didn't you say a few friends of yours are coming to negotiate tomorrow? Let's wait till everyone's done before we decide. But mark Yin Xiao down—reach out to her in advance."
Cheng Lie nodded.
By 11 PM, the all-day audition session was finally over.
Jing Yu, Cheng Lie, and Director Lü Cang then sat down to discuss the pros and cons of each auditionee.
They talked until 3 AM before finalizing the shortlist.
The next day, several actresses who had gone through Cheng Lie's personal connections came to audition for Kurumizawa Ume. And sure, they were good—brave enough to pull strings, and their performances all earned scores around 80.
But none of them could match Yin Xiao's presence.
Some things just come down to natural compatibility, not acting skills.
After another full day, the cast list was finalized, and everyone gathered to sign their contracts.
By September 8th, the 'Kimi ni Todoke' production team was officially assembled.