The next day, Jing Yu and Liu Neng resumed the casting process.
First, they notified all the actors from yesterday's auditions to return in the morning to sign their contracts.
That part went smoothly. About half of the finalized cast were agency-recommended actors, while the other half were selected from various universities.
Although 'Your Lie in April' had a total investment exceeding ten million yuan, a significant portion of the budget was allocated to production — unlike Tomorrow, which mostly involved lighthearted scenes and required minimal expenses. With 'Your Lie in April's heavy focus on music, they'd have to bring in professional musicians for soundtrack recording and to perform during several concert scenes.
So while the budget could sustain solid production quality, there was no way they could afford A-list celebrities. That's why Jing Yu and Liu Neng had looked toward students — they were good and cheap.
Today's casting focus shifted to the childhood versions of the main characters.
Roles like young You Gongsheng, young Miyazono Kaori, young Jin Hui, and young Xiang Wu — all had minor flashback scenes in the series.
Naturally, these child actors had to visually resemble the adult actors chosen the day before.
Truth be told, Jing Yu wasn't thrilled with the options.
He flipped through the casting profiles. Most of these so-called child stars… were just "okay" at best.
"Just make do," Liu Neng said, seeing the disappointment on Jing Yu's face. "Kid actors are expensive, after all."
"In the domestic market, any child with even a shred of recognition is already being scooped up for brand endorsements. Take this kid, Liu Haochen. Sure, he probably won't grow up to be as good-looking as you, but for an eleven-year-old? He's one of the cutest I've seen. Plus, five years of piano training already — that's rare."
"And this girl, Yuan Sisi — a bit baby-faced, yeah, but she's got the same cool and confident aura as Xia Yining."
Children who could act, cry, and smile on cue were often rigorously trained by their parents from a young age. Even the lesser-known child actors charged high appearance fees.
"Guess we'll have to go with what we've got," Jing Yu sighed.
Shooting started tomorrow — he didn't have the luxury of being picky anymore.
Thankfully, he was still quite satisfied with the adult cast of the four leads.
You Gongsheng, Du Liang, Ze Chun, and Miyazono Kaori — all four were solid. Well… Ze Chun's actress, Liu Yushi, was a bit lacking in looks. But Chen Zhongyi, a famously handsome senior from Lan Province University's acting department, stood tall beside Jing Yu and Yu Youqing without looking out of place at all.
If they released the promotional stills now, they'd be eye-catching enough to pull in fans immediately.
This was the benefit of Da Zhou's screenwriter-centric production model: fewer "parachuted" actors forced in by investors or sponsors.
In Jing Yu's past life, way too many dramas had miscast actors that didn't fit the characters at all. Was it because the directors and writers had poor taste?
Not at all. Most of them were just powerless. If a major investor wanted to shove someone into a lead role, what could they do?
In comparison, Jing Yu now had more creative control — his casting process was based purely on looks and talent. Much simpler.
As the day's work moved along in an orderly fashion, Gao Wencang arrived at Jing Yu's office in the evening, arms full of thick folders.
"How'd the signing go?" Jing Yu and Liu Neng asked immediately.
"All done. A few people got delayed in traffic, but we handled it. Everyone signed," Gao Wencang said, clearly exhausted.
While Jing Yu and Liu Neng handled the remaining auditions, Gao Wencang had been managing all the contracts.
In Da Zhou, there's a relatively standardized breakdown for how a drama's budget gets distributed among the core production team — director, writer, producers, and lead actors.
Writers' team: ~5%
Director & producer: ~5%
Lead actors (excluding extras): ~20%
Ideally, total pre-production costs should be under one-third of the entire budget to maintain production quality.
For 'Your Lie in April', both Jing Yu and Yu Youqing's acting fees came in around 3–4% each.
Jing Yu also insisted on writing the script solo, without assistants — so his combined fee as actor + screenwriter accounted for 9.4% of the entire budget.
On an 11 million yuan production, that netted him 1.03 million yuan.
"If the original owner of this body didn't have a gambling-addicted dad, he'd have had tens of millions by now with his senior position at the station. I wouldn't have to be here struggling from scratch," Jing Yu muttered.
"Anyway… are we all set now?" he asked Liu Neng and Gao Wencang.
"All good."
"All departments have been notified. Studio rental paperwork will be finalized by tonight. I'll sign it at 11 p.m. Everything will be ready," Liu Neng nodded.
Jing Yu exhaled. "No need for a fancy opening ceremony. I'm practical — better to spend the money where it counts. But since we're officially starting, we should still set a target for this drama."
Liu Neng and Gao Wencang exchanged glances. "Agreed. A clear goal keeps the team focused."
Liu Neng continued, "Our timeslot is Friday at 8 p.m. Over the past two years, dramas airing in that slot have averaged:
0.68% national viewership
11.3% in Lan Province alone
And for that slot, the average station investment is 13.56 million yuan."
Due to Jing Yu's inexperience, even though Director Shi Teng pulled strings to get 'Your Lie in April' greenlit, Xu You had blocked the original funding request, claiming Jing Yu lacked experience and that it was too risky.
The result? A 1.4 million yuan proposal got slashed down to 1.1 million — shaving about 300,000 yuan directly off what Jing Yu could've earned.
Hearing those numbers now made Jing Yu's face darken. He hadn't taken Xu You and Jiang Shiqing's prior schemes too personally — but this?
This, he couldn't let go.
He liked money. A lot.
"Even if our budget's lower, our ratings can't be," Liu Neng said seriously. "The station doesn't need another team that just performs at the average line."
"After Tomorrow, a lot of people here are watching you. That drama pulled in over 1.0 on average across two episodes."
"'Your Lie in April' is a full seasonal drama. Even if we set modest expectations, if we can average 0.9%, the station will take your potential seriously. But if it's lower… we cannot drop below 0.7%."
Liu Neng was being cautious — accounting for all kinds of factors, including Jing Yu's lack of experience.
0.7% wasn't bad, especially for a time slot averaging 0.68%. It would still count as above average.
But Jing Yu had made enemies. Xu You, the head of the production department, already had it out for him. If Jing Yu only delivered "average" results, he might never get another shot.
Which meant…
"This drama can't be mediocre."
"Too low," Jing Yu said.
"The goal's way too low. Come on, at least have some faith in me."
This was a manga adaptation. And from what Jing Yu had seen of this world, Da Zhou audiences loved these kinds of emotional, character-driven stories.
Tomorrow had already proved that.
If a two-episode side project on a mid-tier station could hit 1.0+, 'Your Lie in April' would not be lower.
"You're right…" Gao Wencang piped up, frustrated. "Forget 0.68, 0.7, 0.9 — Liu Neng, you're too cautious."
"I say, let's aim for 1.0 average viewership!"
"In fact, why not shoot for the station's record? Wasn't the highest national average something like 1.89%?"
Liu Neng blinked.
"That show peaked at 1.89, but its average was under 1.7. And it aired on a Sunday, not Friday."
"So what?" Gao Wencang shrugged. "Then let's go big:
Average viewership target — 1.9%. Peak — break 2.0%."
Jing Yu thought for a second, then nodded. "Let's say that."
Honestly, compared to some of the 3.0+ or even 5.0+ rating dramas he'd seen in this world… they didn't seem all that impressive. But those shows had better platforms.
Considering Jin Hui TV's reach, Jing Yu figured his 1.9/2.0 goal was already conservative.
"You… you really think so?" Liu Neng hesitated. He wanted to say, "Don't get cocky, kid," but he didn't want to sound like a hater.
In the end, he just blinked and said, "Sure, why not?"
Goals were just slogans. If Jing Yu wanted to aim for the stars, who was Liu Neng to stop him?
It's not like ratings would magically rise or fall based on what they said today.
Gao Wencang, meanwhile, puffed out his cheeks. At first, he thought Jing Yu's confidence was ridiculous. But then his EQ caught up.
"You're right, Jing Yu. What's a man without dreams?"
"If we don't dare aim for 2% today, how are we ever gonna shoot for 10% someday?"
Liu Neng nearly choked. Break 10%? Seriously, this damn little fatty dares to dream.
Jing Yu looked at the two of them.
You really think I'm joking, huh?
Fine. Let the results speak for themselves.
That night, none of them could sleep.
Jing Yu. Gao Wencang. Yu Youqing. Liu Neng.
They were too wired.
December 18, 6:50 a.m.
It was still dark outside, but the entire crew was already gathered at the studio.
Even staff who didn't have scenes to film today were required to attend. It was the first day, time to build chemistry and formally introduce each department and crew leader.
After some brief speeches, Jing Yu looked at the sea of people — over a hundred crew members.
He felt a flicker of accomplishment in his chest.
As the center of this production, it was up to him to make a statement.
He stepped forward. Liu Neng and Gao Wencang flanked him — a silent indicator of the production hierarchy.
"Today, 'Your Lie in April' officially begins filming," Jing Yu said. "Many in Lancheng's film and TV industry — even from other networks — are expecting us to fail."
"They think Tomorrow was just a fluke. That Jinhui TV made a mistake in trusting me."
Most of the crew didn't feel much from those words — they'd only just joined the project.
But Yu Youqing and several crew members from Tomorrow felt the emotion behind them.
Xia Yining watched Jing Yu from the crowd, unimpressed.
He talks like the principal giving a speech at the school's opening ceremony. Hope he doesn't go on for hours…
But Jing Yu also hated long-winded speeches.
He didn't intend to waste anyone's time.
"You chose to join 'Your Lie in April', and I promise you — if you plan to pursue a future in this industry, this will be the best decision you've ever made."
He swept his gaze over the lead actors — Yu Youqing, Xia Yining, Chen Zhongyi, Liu Yushi.
Then he took a deep breath.
"This drama begins filming today. And before we start, I want to declare our goal loud and clear."
"I will make 'Your Lie in April' the highest-rated drama Jinhui TV has aired in the past ten years."
"That's all. Speech over."
"Huh?!"
Gasps of disbelief rippled through the entire set. Everyone turned toward him with expressions of shock and awe.