Modo City Film Base.
Since they had already parted ways with Yunteng TV, all the equipment, personnel, gear, and partners had to be arranged by Jing Yu's own team.
Fortunately, with Jing Yu's name now carrying considerable weight and Cheng Lie's twenty years of connections in Modo City, everything progressed smoothly.
Of course, in addition to the formation of the 'Kimi ni Todoke' crew, the prep for '5 Centimeters Per Second' was also moving forward in parallel.
But since '5 Centimeters Per Second' required fewer actors and didn't have the kind of broadcasting schedule that 'Kimi ni Todoke' did, Jing Yu and Cheng Lie were taking their time with that one.
After all, it was already mid-September.
The good thing about shooting a school romance drama was that it didn't require visual effects. That meant the schedule wasn't overly tight—but that didn't mean they had time to burn either.
After the customary opening ceremony, the cast and crew mingled a bit at the launch banquet.
Two days later, filming for 'Kimi ni Todoke' officially began.
As the show's screenwriter, male lead, and investor, Jing Yu's presence on set naturally needed no introduction.
Whether they were new faces or rising stars from Great Zhou's TV industry, no one dared to pull any stunts in front of him.
Still, that didn't mean the shoot was trouble-free.
'Kimi ni Todoke' was, without a doubt, a female-centric drama. Jing Yu's role as the male lead, Kazehaya Shouta, was kind of like the emperor in 'Empresses in the Palace'—yes, his presence was essential for the plot, but the story itself was never really about him.
The first episode focused entirely on building up the eerie atmosphere around Kuronuma Sawako, played by Xia Yining.
This gave the makeup artist a headache. They couldn't just make her look hideous, but they also had to create a gloomy, creepy aura.
So in the end, they gave her a ghostly-white complexion and messy hair.
But Xia Yining's looks were just too stunning.
If a girl with a 5/10 face went pale and bloodless, she might drop to a 3/10 in people's perception.
But a girl who was over 9/10 in beauty?
"How do I look?"
Xia Yining approached Jing Yu after finishing her makeup.
She wore a snow-white blouse, a light blue pleated skirt falling below the knees, and her long hair draped down, covering her face.
Jing Yu glanced at her, then looked at the cameraman beside him.
"Pretty good. She gives off a fragile vibe—makes you want to protect her," the cameraman nodded.
Of course.
Jing Yu sighed inwardly.
Sure, if they really wanted to go for a "hideous" look, that could be done. But think about how those old films and shows handled it?
In 'Ugly Wu di' (Chou Nu Wu Di), the female lead had her hair turned into a tangled mess, and they slapped on fake buck teeth and braces.
In 'The God of Cookery', Karen Mok had literal buck teeth attached.
In Shaolin Soccer, Zhao Wei had a face full of acne and wore outrageous outfits.
If Jing Yu had agreed to such treatments, the makeup team could easily make Xia Yining look like a trainwreck.
But 'Kimi ni Todoke' wasn't that kind of drama.
In anime, you could easily convey different vibes just through the art style—sharp lines and fierce expressions for creepiness, chibi designs for innocence, and soft, classic shoujo aesthetics for beauty. Seamless transitions, no visual dissonance.
But live-action drama didn't have that luxury.
"It's fine. She's camera-ready," Jing Yu said.
He walked over to Xia Yining, paused for a beat…
And patted her on the shoulder.
Her skin was soft to the touch, but immediately after, her shoulder and neck stiffened.
"Ah…" Xia Yining gasped quietly.
Jing Yu never initiated physical contact.
Unless it was necessary during filming, he always kept at least two meters of distance from her in daily life.
"Get to your mark. Everyone's waiting," Jing Yu said calmly.
That snapped Xia Yining back to her senses.
She stepped into position.
And perhaps it was just imagination, but…
At that moment, Xia Yining seemed to radiate a dark and eerie aura. The closer she got to her mark, the more intense it became.
Only when she stepped through the door and entered the set did that feeling vanish.
Scene: girls' bathroom
A few girls were gossiping near the sink.
"This is bad… I heard if you lock eyes with her for more than three seconds…"
"I know! Something terrible will happen within seven days!"
"So scary… I heard Yuka caught a cold after she looked into her eyes!"
The three background girls were wearing identical school uniforms to Xia Yining and stood near the exit, chatting while preparing to leave.
The crew at various camera positions readied themselves.
Then—
A stall door creaked open.
A girl with messy hair stepped out from inside.
She bent down and picked up a pen, calling out to the others.
There were only four people in the shot, but off-camera stood dozens of crew members.
Yet in that instant, when everyone saw the girl with her hair hanging down…
A chill ran down their spines.
In broad daylight, it suddenly felt a few degrees colder.
"Umm… did one of you drop this pen?"
Xia Yining said the line, trying her best to sound eerie.
But she knew full well—her looks were just too much. Even trying to act creepy, she probably just came across as a pale, delicate beauty with a bit of messy hair on camera.
Mwah!
But as she peeked through the strands of hair, glancing at the three extras across from her—and saw the cameras, the lighting crew, and the whole production team…
A strange feeling crept up inside her.
"Whoa… those extras are good. Their horrified expressions don't look like acting at all."
"And it's not just the extras—the cameraman? The stage crew? Why do they all look terrified, too?"
Xia Yining was completely confused, but continued acting as normal.
Then the three extras bolted out of frame—and ran right out of the studio.
"Huh?"
Xia Yining stood there with a big question mark over her head.
"Cut!"
"Perfect."
The cameraman exhaled heavily, trying to calm the eerie sensation inside him.
Then he looked up and met Xia Yining's eyes.
They were deep. And unnerving.
She even took two steps toward him.
Don't come any closer! DON'T COME ANY CLOSER!
At that moment, more than ten crew members all had the same internal reaction—a silent scream of panic.
The cameraman's hands trembled, and for a moment, he felt like chucking the camera at Xia Yining.
"End."
Jing Yu silently ended the fan value sacrifice.
In that instant, the creepy aura surrounding Xia Yining vanished.
And once again, the adorable beauty with messy hair stood before them.
"What was that just now?"
"That was terrifying…"
"Why did I feel so spooked?"
"I nearly peed myself."
The crew whispered among themselves.
Xia Yining looked utterly bewildered.
Only Jing Yu knew what had actually happened.
The [Filter] item was useful—very useful—but it only worked if you physically touched the person you wanted to apply it to.
That pat on Xia Yining's shoulder?
That was the trigger.