Although there were still two hours left until her 8 PM meeting with Jing Yu, Yu Youqing was already starting to feel nervous.
Since arriving in the Modo City, she had rented an apartment in a residential complex. The cost of living was indeed high, but with three lead roles under her belt over the past year—all under Jing Yu's direction—Yu Youqing had earned three to four million yuan in acting fees. On top of that, she still received monthly royalties from 'White Album 2' and 'Your Lie in April'. Though she held only about 1% of the copyrights, both shows had been such massive hits that even that small percentage had added up to over a million yuan.
By all accounts, she was doing well financially—a small-time rich girl, so to speak. That's why during her first month in the Modo City, she'd simply taken the time to explore and enjoy herself. It wasn't until this month that she began actively submitting resumes to various production crews.
After all, now was the peak period when all the major TV stations were recruiting actors for their summer dramas.
"Long hair or a single ponytail. Skirt color: black, light red, or white. And black stockings. Oh, and he likes lipstick in shade 705 and lavender-scented perfume."
Yu Youqing muttered these important details in front of the mirror while frantically changing outfits.
After nearly an hour wasted just on choosing clothes, she finally headed out, driving toward the meeting spot.
She was the punctual type, but out of a sense of feminine reserve, she deliberately stayed in her car for an extra two minutes, arriving exactly one minute late.
Only then did she walk into the café.
As soon as she stepped in, most of the men in the café instinctively glanced in her direction, completely ignoring the disapproving looks from their female companions.
"Long time no see, Teacher Jing Yu. Sorry, I think I'm a minute late," Yu Youqing quickly apologized.
"Oh, it's fine. I just got here too. What would you like to drink?"
"I'll have the same as you."
She spoke while taking her seat.
It had been months since they last saw each other, but Jing Yu was still the same—expressionless most of the time, and seemingly uninterested in anything outside of games and filmmaking.
Like now—she was sitting right across from him, yet his gaze wandered toward the pianist in the lounge area.
"Teacher Jing Yu, why aren't you saying anything?" Yu Youqing probed.
"Still waiting for someone. It's easier to talk once everyone's here," Jing Yu replied, finally looking at her.
He looked at her a little longer than usual.
Fair skin, delicate brows, clear eyes, and rosy lips—plus the faint floral scent wafting from her direction.
Back in Lan City, when they saw each other every day, he'd built up some resistance to her beauty. But after a few months apart, it seemed his immunity had worn off.
He also remembered the subtle signals she'd given when they parted ways in Lan City.
Better not stare too long—he didn't want to give her the wrong idea.
Still waiting for someone?
That one sentence gave Yu Youqing a bad feeling.
Two minutes later, that premonition came true.
"Long time no see, Teacher Jing Yu."
Wearing a baseball cap, a pale red dress, and black stockings, Xia Yining stepped in and walked directly toward their table.
Only after greeting Jing Yu did she notice Yu Youqing.
The two women locked eyes. A subtle, silent standoff.
"Alright, I'll get straight to the point. I've got a new drama I want you both to star in," Jing Yu said, handing each of them a document.
Just as Cheng Lie had hinted, Jing Yu had significant say in casting for the project. At first, he didn't want the hassle—being new to the Modo City, he figured Cheng Lie could handle casting, and he'd simply approve.
But on second thought, since both Yu Youqing and Xia Yining were here, why not allow people he already knew?
Both were skilled actresses, and the roles he had in mind were none other than the two female leads of 'Steins;Gate' —Makise Kurisu and Shiina Mayuri.
Of course, just because he wanted them didn't mean they would accept.
It was already March, and major networks were aggressively scouting top-tier talent for their summer programming. If either of them had already signed deals with stations like Aurora TV or Xingtong TV, Jing Yu would completely understand.
'Steins;Gate'?
So this really is about a drama offer!
Yu Youqing and Xia Yining both had the same realization, though neither said it aloud. They simply focused intently on the documents in front of them.
"Um, Teacher Jing Yu… isn't this a romance drama?" Xia Yining asked.
"Mm, there's a little romance," Jing Yu replied.
"So… there is romance involved?" Yu Youqing followed up.
"Yes."
"What about the male lead? Are you playing him again?" she asked.
"Correct."
"So later in the story… does the male lead fall for…" Yu Youqing hesitated.
"I don't mind the drama. But I want to play Makise," she finally said.
"Eh? You like Makise?" Xia Yining asked.
"Daru-daru is way cuter! I bet Teacher Jing Yu likes Mayuri more!"
"Honestly? If it's Steins;Gate, I like Ruka Urushibara more," Jing Yu said after a moment.
"Ruka? Isn't that guy… a guy?" Xia Yining blinked in surprise, flipping through the script again.
"But he looks like an adorable girl! And later in the story, his mother receives an email from the male lead—Okabe Rintarou—sent from the future, and starts eating tons of vegetables, which causes the child's gender to shift. To me, she's just a cute girl," Jing Yu said with a straight face.
"Teacher Jing Yu… this drama… is it normal? That kind of plot twist exists?" Xia Yining looked completely baffled.
"Don't worry—it'll make sense later. In fact, if everything goes well, the ratings might even surpass White Album 2 and Your Lie in April," Jing Yu said confidently.
"It's a bit early to talk about ratings. But, um, eating vegetables doesn't affect a baby's gender… Once pregnant, the baby's gender is already determined by chromosomes," Yu Youqing pointed out.
Jing Yu, of course, knew about XY chromosomes—gender is determined at the moment of conception. But…
"Of course I know that. But this is fiction. If someone's looking for realism in sci-fi, then they're—" Jing Yu almost blurted out "reading the Bible," but held back.
Yu Youqing was clearly just pointing out the scientific flaws in earnest, and he respected that. After all, using a microwave to jump timelines in Steins;Gate was already stretching believability. A gender swap from eating vegetables? That was just another layer of absurdity.
Still, those flaws didn't lessen the show's appeal to him. In sci-fi, it wasn't about realism—it was about building a compelling story within the rules of the world.
"We'll tweak and explain it during filming," he reassured.
Yu Youqing and Xia Yining exchanged glances.
"So it looks like you've both decided," Jing Yu said. "Just as I expected—Xia Yining, you prefer Mayuri. Yu Youqing, you like Makise."
"In that case, it's settled. You're both officially joining Steins;Gate!"
"Mm."
"Yeah."
They didn't hesitate. They trusted Jing Yu—he wasn't someone who would lead them astray.
They didn't really see the unique charm of the script yet, but that didn't matter. Even if the ratings tanked, the experience of filming with Jing Yu again was the real reason they came tonight.
Still, they didn't expect he'd invite both of them together.
Jing Yu smiled and extended his hand.
Yu Youqing and Xia Yining both reached out and shook it.
"Yu Youqing—looking forward to our fourth collaboration!"
"Xia Yining—third time's the charm!"
Two days later, episode 10 of Hikaru no Go aired.
The episode pulled in an average rating of 5.98%—the same as 'Endblade'. Both shows were now tied for third place in that week's rankings.
The next day, critics and media outlets jumped at the chance to cover the news.
[Top Three Networks Play Dirty But Still Fail to Stop 'Hikaru no Go's Climb. They've Lost Face and Ground.]
[Despite Intense Competition in the Spring Season's Final Weeks, 'Hikaru no Go Catches Up to 'Endblade'. Huanshi TV Falls First—Which Station Will Be Next?]
[Spring Season Nears Its End. Hikaru no Go's Comeback Leaves 'Deadly Gambler' and 'Fireworks' in the Clear—for Now. Can the Big Three Hold Their Ground Against Season 2?]
['Hikaru no Go' Sparks a Nationwide Go Craze. Ratings Aren't Everything—Cultural Impact Speaks Volumes.]
The Big Three networks were taking a hit—not just in reputation, but also in stock prices. Huanshi TV dropped nearly 1% in market value that day, spurred on by a media frenzy portraying the Big Three's dominance as under siege.
Meanwhile, casting for 'Another' and 'Steins;Gate' kicked off. Jing Yu and Cheng Lie interviewed over a hundred candidates in just three days and finalized most of the casting.
By mid-March, filming for Season 2 of 'Hikaru no Go' was already underway. Despite having just wrapped episode 1, production pressed on. 'Another' and 'Steins;Gate' lagged just three days behind and were nearly ready to shoot.
Finally, YunTeng TV made an official announcement:
"YunTeng TV's golden scriptwriter Jing Yu is now filming two summer suspense dramas with the original 'Hikaru no Go' cast: 'Another' and 'Steins;Gate'."
It caused a massive stir.
Jing Yu's success with 'Hikaru no Go' had built a solid fan base. And now he was launching two new shows in the same season as Season 2?
Worse (or better), actors from 'Hikaru no Go' were joining the new dramas—Hikaru and Akira's actors in 'Another', and Jing Yu himself in 'Steins;Gate'.
Fans were buzzing.
"What kind of shows are these? Suspense dramas? Jing Yu's never done those before. Will they be any good?"
"He never did Go dramas either, and 'Hikaru no Go' turned out great!"
"But the air times are crazy—Another airs Fridays at 8 PM, 'Steins;Gate' Saturdays at 8 PM. Those are the same prime-time slots as the Big Three's summer flagship dramas!"
"You're not wrong. He's clearly out for revenge against those networks."
"Come on, these are low-budget productions. You think he's trying to challenge the Big Three with these toys?"
"Could just be a coincidence—prime time is prime time for a reason."
"But both are suspense dramas—and airing against two of the Big Three's suspense flagships? Doesn't feel like a coincidence anymore…"
"Honestly, if he really is challenging them on purpose, I bet these shows are gonna be fire."
"Maybe. But the budget is tiny—how good can they really be?"
"Weren't you the one hyping up 'My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday'? That was low-budget, too."
"Whatever, I'm watching all three! Friday, Saturday, Sunday—Jing Yu triple feature, let's go!"
Even the viewers could sense something was off.
So how could the Big Three not notice?
But when they saw the budget—'Another' at 9 million, 'Steins;Gate' at 21 million—they weren't worried at all.
If you had real quality, would YunTeng TV only invest that much?
No way.
To them, Jing Yu's so-called revenge plans were laughable. Let the little toy cars try to race—when they run into the real off-road beasts, they'll be flattened.