March 3rd, on the set of 'Hikaru no Go'.
"So, that's the general situation," Cheng Lie said, sitting across from Jing Yu's desk.
"Even though quite a few people at the station are unhappy that you managed to get two more dramas approved for the summer season, YunTeng only values results. You're currently our most successful scriptwriter. Their opposition didn't carry much weight."
"As for 'Another', since it's just a six-episode mid-length series, as you stated in the project proposal, the station approved a budget of only 9 million yuan. For 'Steins;Gate', since you personally called Director Meng Yu and expressed your confidence in the project, they discussed it and finally approved 21 million. Of course, the compensation and profit terms are the same as in your previous contract. The only change is that the minimum viewership rating requirement has been adjusted — now it's just 1.6% or above."
"Got it. 1.6%, huh?" Jing Yu thought for a moment and said,
"Please thank Director Meng for me. There's no way either of these shows will perform that poorly."
Though Cheng Lie had explained it casually, Jing Yu didn't need much imagination to understand what was happening. Even a small company like JinHui TV had its share of political factions—so how could YunTeng TV not?
It was obvious that Cheng Lie and Meng Yu didn't want him getting entangled in internal station politics and were simply choosing not to tell him the full story.
'Hikaru no Go' Season 2 had already secured over 50 million yuan in investment, and now 'Another' and 'Steins;Gate' combined had brought him 30 million more.
Even though YunTeng TV wasn't a small TV network, for a writer who had only been with the company for three to four months, this level of trust was definitely out of the ordinary.
Had they given him any more funding, it would've meant over 100 million yuan riding on one writer in a single season — that would surely provoke other factions in the company. So Jing Yu didn't see the budget as low at all.
And really, these weren't massive productions anyway. Steins;Gate' had only a small cast of seven or eight key characters, with repeated sets and locations. Another took place mostly in a school, so location and setup costs were minimal.
"What about casting?" Cheng Lie asked. "Do you have anyone in mind?"
"Like I mentioned before, I'd like to use some of 'Hikaru no Go's popularity to help bring attention to these two new shows. I already asked Wu He and Li He — they're both willing to appear in 'Another' for a low fee. But to avoid affecting 'Hikaru no Go's filming schedule, I can only have them work on one side project each."
"As for the chuuni protagonist of 'Steins;Gate', I'll take the role myself," Jing Yu said. "The actor behind Sai can help pull viewers to 'Steins;Gate', and the actors for Akira and Hikaru can help bring traffic to 'Another'."
"But the rest of the roles will probably need to be cast via open audition."
Cheng Lie nodded, but gave a gentle reminder, just in case.
"Of course, if you have any casting suggestions for any roles, just let me know. As long as they have basic skills and no major scandals, I'll approve them without hesitation."
"If you don't find anyone suitable in the next few days—or if you'd rather not deal with the hassle—I can issue a casting call in Modo City and have agencies I'm familiar with send over actors for auditions."
"All the actors I know are back in Lan Province," Jing Yu admitted. "I'm basically a rookie here in Modo City."
He understood what Cheng Lie was getting at.
In drama productions, cast slots are highly sought-after.
Outside Modo City's film base, hundreds—if not thousands—of acting grads roam daily, hoping to be picked by a major writer or producer for a breakout role. It was practically identical to Hengdian in Jing Yu's past life.
In most productions, the scriptwriter has final say over casting. After all, if the show flops, the writer's the first one to take the fall—so they naturally hold significant decision-making power.
Cheng Lie's comments were just a reminder: this was Jing Yu's silent privilege. If he didn't want to use casting as a way to build his connections in Modo City's drama industry, Cheng Lie could handle it. Gaining the casting rights for 10+ main/supporting roles meant 10+ new personal connections.
As they were talking, something suddenly came to Jing Yu's mind.
Seeing him fall into thought, Cheng Lie didn't interrupt and quietly left the office.
Jing Yu sat there for a moment, then picked up his phone.
He dialed a number.
"Hello? Teacher Jing Yu?"
A pleasantly surprised voice came from the other end.
"You're calling me? I can't believe it!"
"Uh... where are you these days?" Jing Yu asked, a little awkwardly. It had been months since they last spoke.
"I'm in Modo City," she replied.
"You actually moved here?" Jing Yu said, realizing how weird his own question sounded.
They'd gotten along quite well back in Lan City, but since he left, he hadn't contacted her once in several months.
But that's just how Jing Yu was. He wasn't the type to call up friends for casual chit-chat, but in his heart, those he saw as true friends never changed—no matter how much time passed between conversations.
"Yeah, I'm a little heartbroken," Yu Youqing said with a light laugh.
"I've been in Modo City for two months now. I kept hoping one day you'd remember me and give me a call. Maybe invite me out for a meal or something. But not until today did that finally happen."
"Well... you could've called me too," Jing Yu muttered.
He was about to say he didn't know she had moved to Modo City—
But then remembered she had told him back in Lan City. Saying otherwise now would just make him look bad.
"You're the busy one," Youqing said with a gentle laugh.
"You're filming, attending Go events... I didn't want to call and bother you. Or have you misunderstood my intentions?"
"Misunderstand?"
Jing Yu paused. Then he understood.
Given his current reputation and position, Yu Youqing had probably been afraid of appearing to have ulterior motives — like trying to land another role in one of his scripts — and didn't want to be misunderstood.
"You're the total opposite of Xia Yining," Jing Yu sighed.
"Why mention her all of a sudden?" Youqing's voice instantly turned tense.
"She texted me the moment she arrived in Modo City," Jing Yu said. "Told me she had nowhere to stay and asked if she could crash at my place for a few months. Of course, I turned her down immediately."
He recalled the joking message Xia Yining had sent last month.
At the time, he was busy filming 'Hikaru no Go' and participating in the Go exchange, so he hadn't even responded with a joke of his own.
"She actually said that? Even as a joke, that's way too much... Besides, didn't she tell me she was heading to the Capital for work?" Youqing's tone grew flustered.
"She did? That's what she told you?" Jing Yu raised an eyebrow. "I thought you two were close. Why would she lie about coming to Modo City?"
Not that he cared to get involved in whatever drama lay between the two of them.
"Anyway, let's skip all that," Jing Yu said. "Tell me—have you found a new drama project since coming to Modo City?"
There was a pause.
On the other end, Yu Youqing sighed softly.
She wasn't sure whether to feel happy or disappointed about why Jing Yu had called.
But she quickly came to terms with it.
As an actress, being remembered by a top scriptwriter like Jing Yu was undoubtedly a good thing. It meant her performance and skill had been recognized, and that's why he was asking—right away—whether she had a new gig lined up.
But as a woman...
It kind of stung that he only ever thought of her when it came to casting.
"I haven't," she replied, quickly and clearly.
"Then do you have time to meet up for tea sometime?"
-------------
This project is a labor of love and is free to read. If you'd like to support me in any way:
ko-fi.com/doyenro
Only if you feel like it—I'm just glad you're here!