Jing Yu walked onto the set and began going through today's schedule.
His scenes for 'Kimi ni Todoke' had already wrapped up long ago, with only the final episode awaiting broadcast.
Right now, Jing Yu was essentially taking it easy amidst his busy schedule, with only the filming of '5 Centimeters per Second' left on his plate.
After several months of shooting, they were finally at the last segment of '5 Centimeters per Second', the chapter actually titled "5 Centimeters per Second."
This portion of the story mostly revolved around him and Yu Youqing, filled with various interwoven memories — ultimately culminating in a signature "train moment."
The filming itself wasn't particularly challenging.
At this point, Qingyun had even sent a dedicated team to coordinate promotional matters for '5 Centimeters per Second' with Cheng Lie.
Since they had decided to release it online, there was no need to approach a distributor. As a result, almost the entirety of the promotional efforts for '5 Centimeters per Second' was being handled by Qingyun.
Otherwise, how could they justify claiming 30% of the film's profits? That wasn't something they could just walk away with for free.
In a typical film production, the production company handled the making of the movie, the distributor managed promotion and operations, and cinemas were responsible for the screening costs and providing venues — a clearly defined division of labor.
But with films released online, video platforms essentially took over the distributor's role. As for the viewing equipment? That came down to the audience's own phones or computers.
In terms of viewing cost, online releases were undoubtedly much cheaper — and naturally, ticket prices were also far lower.
"You're here." Yu Youqing smiled as she saw Jing Yu arrive.
She was dressed in a pale pink long dress for the scene, with a more mature look — after all, she was playing a woman about to get married.
"Thanks for your hard work," Jing Yu replied politely.
"It's not too bad. Only one or two weeks left — this project should wrap up soon."
Much of the earlier filming had involved younger actors playing teenagers, so progress had been slow. But once they reached the third arc, where she and Jing Yu were the leads, the pace had picked up significantly. Both of them had been acting for years now — a drama of this level was no challenge.
"Yeah, post-production is already in full swing. Since there's no need for a theatrical release, we can skip a lot of the tedious steps. If things go quickly, it should be ready to stream exclusively on Qingyun in the spring," Jing Yu said.
"Streaming online, huh."
Yu Youqing looked intrigued as she stood next to him.
"Until now, I've never had any of my work released on a streaming platform. Times have really changed. So many of my friends have started watching dramas on their phones lately. Like that drama we did before — 'My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday' — it's available online now too. The views have passed ten million already."
"Is that so?" Jing Yu hadn't really been paying attention.
"Of course! Though the price per episode is pretty low — only 2 Yuan each." Noticing his slight interest, Yu Youqing continued.
"Then there's 'Your Lie in April' and 'White Album 2' — those are on different platforms. One's streaming on Qiezi, the other on Jixun. Both have been up for about a month, and each has already earned over 100 million in sales."
"That much?" Jing Yu was genuinely surprised.
"Well, yeah! You're not just anyone now — you're Great Zhou's most popular actor and screenwriter. A lot of fans are interested in your older works now. Some of them thought buying DVDs was too expensive or too much hassle, so they never got around to it. But now that they're available online — and you can watch a whole drama for just twenty-something Yuan — of course, people are willing to support it. But honestly, only your dramas get that kind of traction. Many old classics from other TV networks did poorly when they were uploaded — because their actors and writers aren't popular anymore," Yu Youqing said, her hands clasped behind her back.
The crew was still prepping the set, so the two of them had time for a relaxed conversation.
But seeing Jing Yu's less-than-pleased expression, she leaned down slightly and asked:
"What's wrong? You don't seem happy about your work doing well?"
"…I just feel like I really lost out. Back when I was with Yunteng TV, the copyright share was only around 4%. Even if those works are selling well now, the most I'd get is a couple of million. It's all going into Jinhui TV's pocket," Jing Yu said, a bit frustrated.
"Eh? I thought with your status now, you wouldn't care about that kind of small change anymore," Yu Youqing laughed.
"How could I not care?" Jing Yu turned to look at her.
"I'm still the same. Even if I'm shopping and there's only twenty cents in change, I'll insist on getting it back. It's a principle — even if the time it takes for the cashier to give me the change is worth more than the money itself."
"Still the same as always, huh?" Yu Youqing smiled.
"Still using blind dates as an excuse to score free meals?"
"…Let's not bring that up." Jing Yu coughed.
"But in all these years I've known you, there's one thing about you that really hasn't changed," Yu Youqing said, turning to look at him.
"You're still completely focused on making dramas. You've written so many romance series — but have you ever thought about what your own real-life romance would be like?"
Jing Yu didn't respond.
"Romance in dramas is just fantasy, you know? So… would you be interested in maybe trying out something a little real? Like, with someone around you?" Yu Youqing's cheeks flushed slightly, but she looked at him seriously.
Jing Yu's heart skipped a beat.
He took a deep breath and started to respond.
"I—"
"At the very least, I would like to try dating someone I like," Yu Youqing said, cutting him off, her gaze shifting to the set crew at work.
"Jing Yu… Before you left Lan Province, you said you didn't dislike me, right?"
"Uh, yeah."
"So after spending so much time together here in Modo, have you ever… felt that shift from 'not dislike' to something more like 'like'?" she asked gently.
Jing Yu didn't answer.
"You have, haven't you?" she smiled, reading his uncomfortable expression.
"And… you feel the same about Xia Yining, right?"
Yu Youqing let out a soft sigh. She had picked up on this long ago — the way Jing Yu always wrote two heroines taking turns in his stories made it obvious.
"But you can't stay in this state forever," she continued.
"Just like in your dramas — even if Sawako and Shouta like each other from episode one, they can't go 100 episodes without confessing. No matter how obsessed you are with work, you won't avoid relationships forever."
Jing Yu's face stiffened — she had hit the nail on the head.
"I get it. It's my fault," he said after a long breath.
"I admit I do have feelings for you. And… I have feelings for Xia Yining, too. I just… haven't been able to choose."
As expected.
Everyone kind of knew. It's not like Jing Yu had any family in the industry — why else would he bring both her and Xia Yining up in the world of TV dramas? It's not because their acting was irreplaceable. It was simply because Jing Yu had feelings for them. So, of course, he'd keep the good roles "in the family."
Still, hearing him admit it out loud was rare.
"So why not give it a try?" Yu Youqing asked, smiling with narrowed eyes.
"Give what a try?" Jing Yu was caught off guard.
"Dating me, of course."
Her words nearly made Jing Yu choke.
"If during our relationship, you can't forget Xiaoning — or do forget her — doesn't that mean I helped you make a choice?" Yu Youqing smiled playfully.
"You… You're not mad?" Jing Yu asked, confused.
"Mad about what?"
"About what I just said."
"Do you really need to say it? I figured that out back in Lan Province. If I got upset over it, I wouldn't have followed you to Modo," she replied.
"…?" Jing Yu was stunned. He hadn't expected her to say that.
"Da–dating… Let's talk about that later. This is all a bit sudden. I only came to talk about the past. How did we end up here?"
"So how long are you going to keep running?" Yu Youqing asked.
"It's been over two years since Lan Province. Are you going to keep this up for several more?"
Running away.
Jing Yu opened his mouth to argue, but just then he saw Cheng Lie walk in with a group behind him — and he exhaled in relief.
Saved by the third wheel.
Yu Youqing let out a sigh too, but didn't push the topic further.
"Jing Yu… I'm serious. Think about it," she said softly, her beautiful face calm, her eyes locking with his for a few seconds — then she turned and walked away.
"What were you two talking about? Looked serious," Cheng Lie asked curiously as he glanced at Yu Youqing walking toward the set, but didn't pry.
Instead, he turned to introduce the people behind him.
"Jing Yu, these are the people you asked me to find — top professionals from some of Great Zhou's biggest special effects companies. They're here to discuss a potential collaboration."