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Chapter 82 - Chapter 82 – Premiere

Tonight's variety show interview brought some relief to many fans who had once felt burned by Jing Yu's previous works like 'My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday' and 'Your Lie in April'. His candid words reassured them.

"Looks like it's safe this time."

"Hah, saying fan support will determine the final female lead? How could Xia Yining possibly beat Yu Youqing in popularity? If that's how it works, doesn't that already make Yu Youqing the real female lead?"

"Just for that one line from the screenwriter, I'm sticking with this drama till the last episode."

"A heartwarming healing drama, huh?"

"Saying fans will find it unforgettable if they follow it till the end… Is that confidence or just narcissism from Jing Yu?"

"Honestly, I only tuned in to see Yu Youqing, but now I'm getting hyped because of what Jing Yu said."

"I'm satisfied with tonight's episode. All doubts cleared. See you all in the fan group on July 3rd at 8 PM!"

"Alright, let's disperse, everyone."

As July arrived, all the autumn-season dramas began to air across various TV stations.

Entertainment media and news outlets quickly released reports on how these new series were performing:

[Squirrel TV's historical drama Executioner of the Great Wei premiered with an average rating of only 2.03%, falling short of expectations.]

[Yunteng TV's flagship medical drama The Great Doctor avoided competing directly with the big six networks by airing on Saturday at 7 PM, but still only managed a 2.12% rating. Since the mass departure of its writing team five years ago, the station's popularity has been on a constant decline.]

[StarEye TV's fall lineup...]

Many drama fans paid close attention to critical reviews and media coverage of these new shows.

With so many stations and so many dramas, who has the time to "test the poison" for each one? Most viewers relied on recommendation lists from major critics and platforms—popularity rankings, cast rankings, and plot reviews—all of which served as barometers for a show's potential.

Among them, Jinhui TV's 'White Album 2' was heavily discussed.

A new screenwriter—handsome, talented, with a strong musical background—writing, acting, and composing for his own drama. His previous spring drama even cracked the season's top 20 in ratings.

To many, 'White Album 2' was one of the most promising tier-two contenders in the autumn lineup.

['Your Lie in April' screenwriter returns: 'White Album 2' to premiere July 3rd at 8 PM.]

[Jing Yu makes bold claim: New drama to match or exceed 'Your Lie in April's success—is this confidence or arrogance? If he pulls it off, he'll become the first non-major-network screenwriter in Dazhou to have two consecutive top-ten dramas.]

['White Album 2'—but there's no part one? What kind of show is this? 'Your Lie in April' left us breathless and emotional; can this fall drama deliver the same?]

[Another flashy gimmick? From the name alone, 'White Album 2' reeks of pretentiousness. "White," "Album," and "2"? You think viewers are still falling for clickbait titles in 2025?]

['Your Lie in April' only succeeded because of its stellar soundtrack. Now that 'White Album 2' is ditching music for a school romance setting, it's destined to flop.]

Some critics praised it, others dismissed it—but either way, every article was giving 'White Album 2' attention.

The real failure was to debut and end your drama in total obscurity, unnoticed and uncriticized.

That's what most of Jinhui TV's past shows had been like—small local popularity, but zero national buzz.

On Sunday, July 3rd, many shows aired throughout the evening.

From 7 PM to 11 PM was prime time for TV dramas. The major networks staggered their flagship programs to avoid direct competition and mutual losses.

But Jinhui TV didn't have that luxury. No matter what time they aired, they were guaranteed to clash with the big six networks' blockbusters.

Even so, as 8 PM approached, Jinhui TV's viewer count kept steadily rising.

Fans of 'Your Lie in April' and 'My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday' were slowly gathering.

Yes, other networks had shows with bigger budgets, A-list actors, and the backing of renowned reviewers.

But these fans didn't care.

They just wanted to see Jing Yu and Yu Youqing—a duo working together for the third time—in their brand new show airing tonight.

Qin Yin turned on her TV, a platter of skewers already on the table. The faint glow of the screen illuminated the walls of her room, which were covered with posters.

Posters of Takatoshi Minamiyama and Emi Fukuju from 'My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday', Kousei Arima and Kaori Miyazono from 'Your Lie in April', and a few others from popular dramas.

But it was clear: lately, she was deeply into the Jing Yu × Yu Youqing pairing.

After sipping half a glass of sparkling water and grabbing a skewer of grilled chives, she dove into the fan group chat, fingers flying.

This was the joy of spamming in fan chats.

As 8 PM neared, Jinhui TV's ratings climbed to 1.56%.

Unheard of for the station pre-premiere.

In the network's ratings control room, the staff were giddy.

But that excitement was mixed with anxiety.

This high premiere rating was purely fueled by fans' trust in 'Your Lie in April'.

If episode one failed to hook them, then 'White Album 2' would see a sharp drop when episode two aired next week.

At exactly 8:00 PM, ratings hit 1.68%.

Qin Yin stopped typing in the group chat.

The opening scene:

A desolate airport.

A plane is slowly taking off.

A boy lifts his head, staring at the ascending aircraft.

Beside him, a girl stands quietly.

It was just their silhouettes, but Qin Yin instantly recognized them—Jing Yu and Yu Youqing.

Something about their figures, paired with the melancholy background music…

It felt heartbreakingly cold.

Before she could ponder too much, the screen shifted.

'White Album 2's opening theme began:

"The Love That Couldn't Be Reached"

A song driven by an electric guitar. Just the intro made Qin Yin's eyes light up.

Not bad at all.

Then the credits rolled:

Composer: Jing Yu

Lyricist: Jing Yu

Guitar: Jing Yu

Bass: Chen Tao

Vocals: Zhong Yu

The fan group chat exploded.

"What the hell? Is there anything this man can't do?"

"Writer, composer, lyricist, actor. In 'Your Lie in April', he played violin and piano. Now, an electric guitar? The guy's a walking perfection machine."

"Gotta admit though, this song slaps. Different from the typical drama theme songs these days, but definitely good."

"A bit sad though. Lyrics like 'A love that became a luxury—will it ever reflect in the mirror?' Doesn't really match the 'healing' vibe Jing Yu promised."

"You're overthinking it."

"It's just a song. Don't read too much into it."

As they listened and chatted, the one-minute-plus theme song ended.

Qin Yin turned her attention back to the screen.

The first scene post-opening:

Jing Yu's character, Haruki Kitahara, was alone in the school's light music club room, practicing guitar.

His playing was intentionally awkward—clearly a beginner.

From the adjacent room, a piano accompanied his guitar, matching the melody note for note.

Then the screen displayed the song info:

Track: 'White Album'

Composer: Jing Yu

Lyricist: Jing Yu

Qin Yin blinked, speechless.

She didn't even want to comment anymore.

Barely five minutes into the drama, and she already felt completely inadequate in life.

The story began with the school's light music club arguing over their lead female vocalist, Yanagiwara, quitting before the school festival.

The plot then shifted to the student council asking Haruki Kitahara to convince a popular girl on campus, Setsuna Ogiso, to take her place.

When Yu Youqing appeared in her school uniform onscreen, Kaori fans across Da zhou erupted.

Sure, her hair was dyed orange and her demeanor wasn't as bubbly—more like a refined ojou-sama than a genki girl.

But it was her.

She was the one they wanted to see!

A little narcissistic, but kind and sweet. Gentle and well-mannered.

And Haruki Kitahara—helpful, decisive, and unafraid to call out Setsuna Ogiso's narcissism when needed.

Within ten minutes, after seeing these two characters' personalities unfold, Qin Yin felt comfortable.

Finally, it wasn't just another cold-blooded school prince falling for a clueless, dumb girl story.

She'd had enough of those.

Jing Yu's scripts… never relied on that kind of cliché.

But wait—it's already over ten minutes in…

Wasn't this supposed to be a dual-female-lead story?

Where's the other girl?!

She hasn't even made an appearance yet!

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