November 21st. Light rain.
Even though the network didn't hold high hopes for 'My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday', they still had to do basic promotion. Advertisers had paid real money for prime-time slots, and if ratings tanked, it'd be hard to explain things to the sponsors.
At this point, rumors of Tang Yidong—the female lead of White Lovers—being injured were still circulating within the station. But now it was time to make a public announcement.
As a result, the station even started advertising 'My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday'.
Jing Yu had only been filming for less than four days, and the footage was being shot and edited simultaneously. Given the rush, Liu Neng arranged for a few people to cut together a quick promo. They cobbled together a 15-second teaser trailer and inserted it into Jinhui TV's ad slots.
From tonight onward, all the way until November 28th, right before White Lovers' Episode 9 aired, the teaser would play repeatedly during the evening ad breaks.
After all, from Monday to Sunday, every network went all-in on drama and variety shows after 8 p.m.—the time slot with the largest viewership. Regular Jinhui TV viewers naturally started seeing the trailer.
Morning sunshine. A handsome young man and a beautiful girl walking side by side down the road, faces lit with joyful smiles. In the final second, the boy's expression turned to shock and disbelief.
"My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday!"
December 5th & December 12th – Sunday, 8 p.m., two-episode broadcast.
Just a brief 15-second teaser—yet it had viewers talking.
"White Lovers is stopping for two weeks? Replaced by this show?"
"What's going on? I still want to know if the teacher in White Lovers really framed his colleague!"
"Who wants to watch some random show? Jinhui TV already airs one episode a week—now they're squeezing in some filler?"
"Same old trick. It's like when they insert a recap episode around Ep 7 or 8 to milk it. You think I can't go back and rewatch it myself? They're just trying to drag things out and squeeze extra ad revenue."
"Heard it's 'cause the female lead got injured, so they're using this backup drama."
"Ugh, even worse. Everyone knows patch-in dramas are trash. Don't waste your time."
"But… the leads in that 'My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday' thing look pretty good. Kinda surprising."
"Long title = guaranteed trash. Always. It's just bait to get attention when the actual content sucks."
"Tang Yidong got hurt? Seriously? My goddess! Poor thing!"
In this world, dramas were still primarily broadcast through TV and cinema. Online video platforms were underdeveloped and heavily restricted by copyright enforcement. There weren't even decent pirated sources, so hardly anyone watched shows online.
Basically, the internet environment was like Jing Yu's past life's early 2000s—before piracy and streaming exploded.
However, online forums were thriving, and text-based drama discussions were widespread. Fans often organized spontaneously to hype up their favorite stars, and there were even drama-dedicated fan hubs. Among them, Tang Yidong's fanbase was a rising force in Lan Province's entertainment circle.
With her stunning visuals and roles as kind-hearted, naïve characters—the classic "saintly sweetheart" archetype—her popularity had soared in the past two years.
So naturally, they were very concerned about her injury. Dozens of threads popped up on forums, full of wailing fans mourning her setback like a national tragedy.
Meanwhile, Song Xin's fans were openly celebrating.
As the first and third female leads of White Lovers, one might think their fans wouldn't clash. But Song Xin's screen presence was too strong. Not only was she as beautiful as Tang Yidong, but her acting even outshone her at times. The second female lead, meanwhile, had barely left an impression.
With Tang Yidong out of commission, Song Xin's fans took the opportunity to cheer—publicly. Which naturally sparked an all-out fan war online.
Back in real life, the two actresses at the center of the chaos—Song Xin and Tang Yidong—were both lounging at home, enjoying the growing influence their fandoms were fighting for on their behalf.
But both had noticed the same name being mentioned more and more among fan discussions:
"My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday."
Song Xin knew exactly where this drama came from.
"The title's kind of clever, I'll give them that. But viewers don't fall for clickbait titles anymore. If the content doesn't deliver, they'll drop it in two minutes."
Lying back in her chair, she scrolled through forum threads discussing the teaser.
After all, she'd already burned her bridges with Jing Yu, her ex-boyfriend. There was no reconciling now. Naturally, she hoped his drama would crash and burn—maybe even tank his entire career.
Continuing to scroll.
"The leads look amazing."
"Such a dreamy aesthetic."
"The male lead is drop-dead gorgeous. The female lead's eyes… so clear, I felt that in my soul."
"She's prettier than every actress in White Lovers."
Those comments made her frown.
That can't be right.
She could understand people praising Jing Yu—she knew he was good-looking.
But the female lead?
He found a new actress who quickly rejected him.
She searched the forums and soon found the actress's name attached to stills from the teaser:
Yu Youqing.
Her pupils contracted slightly.
She stared at the photo for a full ten seconds.
Then silently closed the forum window and shut down her computer.
She didn't want to look anymore.
Her mindset was already shaken.
She'd deliberately sabotaged Jing Yu… only for him to bounce back with an actress this attractive?
She felt like a fool. He lost the west wing, only to gain the mulberry groves.
And she started to feel a twinge of unease. The entertainment industry was cutthroat. There were plenty of talented people out there—what they lacked wasn't skill, but exposure.
Still, she consoled herself:
Jing Yu's writing? Please. No way his script will be a hit.
Feeling reassured, she dismissed Yu Youqing as a non-threat.
Meanwhile, Tang Yidong, who had taken less than a week to recover from her injury, was still basking in the smug satisfaction of having brought an entire production to a halt.
She, too, saw the forum posts comparing 'My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday's lead actress to her.
"Prettier than Tang Yidong?"
She couldn't accept that.
Until she saw the image.
Her expression stiffened—then curved into a smile.
"Yu Youqing? She's the female lead of that emergency stand-in drama?"
That name, she would never forget.
Throughout college, Yu Youqing was the one person in the entire acting department who beat her in both grades and beauty.
They had shared a dorm for four years and barely exchanged a word per month. Their relationship was frosty, to say the least.
Yu Youqing had been scouted by multiple TV networks before she even graduated. Her future had looked radiant.
Until—
In her debut drama, she refused to flatter the producer at a wrap party. When he tried to touch her hand, she dumped a drink on him.
In her second drama, she slapped the director for reasons unknown—and was replaced just days into filming.
Opportunities don't come twice in this industry.
Tang Yidong hadn't heard her name in months—until now.
And now she's taking the lead in some desperate backup drama?
That stung. A little.
Especially the forum comments claiming she was prettier.
But soon, Tang Yidong's confidence returned.
Always so high and mighty. In the end, still had to cave. You passed up golden chances back then, and now you're crawling into some low-budget drama. Stupid.
She opened her college class group chat.
Of course, she couldn't act too obviously. So she contacted one of her loyal fangirl classmates—a lapdog, really—and gave her instructions:
Leak the news about Yu Youqing's new role. Act shocked. Casually drop hints that the only reason 'My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday' even got greenlit was because Tang Yidong's injury shut down the main drama.
Then, once the pot was stirred, Tang Yidong would come in with her "magnanimous" attitude and tell people not to misunderstand, defending Yu Youqing just enough to appear gracious.
As expected, the group chat exploded with activity.
Dozens of clout-chasing classmates—mostly people looking to latch onto the most successful alum in the class—immediately jumped into the discussion, parroting praise and pretending to care.