Evening of April 4th.
At a well-known hotel in Modo City.
Cheng Lie had long prepared for the celebration party of '5 Centimeters per Second', so after casually mentioning it to Jing Yu, the event smoothly kicked off the next day.
At the celebration banquet for '5 Centimeters per Second', every single member of the crew—big or small—was present, nearly a hundred people.
As the company boss, Jing Yu was anticipating at least a fourfold return on this project's guaranteed release. Naturally, he wasn't stingy—bonuses, red envelopes, everything would be fulfilled at the banquet.
Several supporting actors from the film took turns trying to curry favor with Jing Yu. When they had first heard the film would only be streamed exclusively on Qingyun Video, they were disheartened. But now their attitudes had completely changed.
"Mr. Jing Yu, this is a specialty from my hometown. I don't know when we'll see each other again after tonight, so I hope you won't forget me."
"Mr. Jing Yu, come, let's have a drink!"
"Mr. Jing Yu, I'm free for the whole next year. If your next drama needs someone…"
Jing Yu became the center of attention at the banquet. However, the other person who should've shared the spotlight—Yu Youqing—merely glanced at the crowd surrounding Jing Yu, which included various department heads and actors.
She kept her focus on her phone and tablet, continuing to search for relevant information.
'5 Centimeters per Second' might be over, but some of its mysteries weren't—especially the Easter egg Jing Yu had mentioned.
So far, no one on the internet has found the answer.
Yu Youqing had to figure it out before Jing Yu revealed it himself—only then would the deal they made hold.
And based on the timeline, she didn't have many days left.
Despite that, Jing Yu was heavily toasted by the crew during the celebration. Though he drank within his limits and didn't black out, by the end of the night, he was definitely light-headed and dizzy.
"You two live in the same complex. Yu Youqing, can I trouble you to take Jing Yu home?" Cheng Lie said when things wrapped up.
"No problem. Leave it to me," Yu Youqing smiled.
On the drive back, she glanced at Jing Yu in the passenger seat—eyes open but clearly out of it—and a thought flickered through her mind.
The atmosphere inside the car was slightly strange. Taking a deep breath, she carefully probed him.
"Hey, Jing Yu."
"Hmm? What?"
Seeing that he wasn't completely passed out, Yu Youqing felt relieved.
She had searched for nearly a month and still hadn't found the Easter egg. She was starting to realize that her chances of solving it in the next few days were low.
Most of her focus was on driving, but part of her mind remained on the question she was about to ask Jing Yu.
"About the Easter egg in '5 Centimeters per Second'… Can you give me a hint?"
As soon as she asked, her heart tensed. Would he think she was cheating?
But she had heard that drunk people often have fuzzy memories the next day. As long as Jing Yu didn't remember this, it wouldn't count as cheating. Besides, she wasn't asking for the answer, just a clue. If Jing Yu said too much, she could always play dumb.
Jing Yu, dazed, looked at her as she drove.
Her fair face was tinged with a rosy flush, and she'd put on light makeup for the party, making her look even more beautiful than usual.
He stared for a few more seconds, his mind vaguely reminding him he shouldn't say too much. But in his drunken state, he couldn't recall the bet he made with Yu Youqing.
"Oh that… Honestly, I'm really surprised that, even now, no one in the entire Great Zhou has figured it out."
"With over ten million fans of '5 Centimeters per Second', there's not a single person good at math and geography?" Jing Yu's voice was sluggish.
Math and geography?
Yu Youqing's heart skipped a beat.
"Then… can you give another hint?" Her tone softened as she slowed the car slightly.
"Another hint?" Jing Yu pondered for a long time.
"The movie title… The movie title! Such an obvious clue… what more do you need?"
The movie title.
The movie title?
5 Centimeters per Second.
Yu Youqing felt as if she'd been struck by lightning.
An Easter egg about time and distance.
Geography and math.
The title and the time.
Suddenly, everything clicked.
Focused on driving, she let Jing Yu rest. He eventually nodded off in the bumpy car ride.
Half-asleep, he felt himself leaning against something soft, catching a whiff of pleasant perfume… and then woke up in his own familiar bed.
Despite her gentle appearance, Yu Youqing had kept up with her workouts. Still, it took effort to half-carry him to his apartment. When she returned to her own place across the hall, it was already 1 AM.
But she wasn't sleepy at all.
She dove into her room and began her decoding journey.
There was a speed of 5 centimeters per second.
There was the time, the 13 years and 7 months shown twice in the trailer.
Though a performing arts major, this elementary-school-level math wasn't hard for her.
Soon, she arrived at a massive number in centimeters.
Then…
"Wait. A leap year adds an extra day every four years. So not every year is 365 days—I have to account for leap years."
She scrapped her previous calculations and grabbed a calendar.
Soon, she had new data.
She frowned, converted centimeters into meters, then into kilometers.
Next up—geography.
She looked at the figures—it wasn't a huge number.
Yu Youqing couldn't make sense of it yet, but she dove into geography anyway.
The internet had countless geography encyclopedia sites filled with standard data and knowledge. But it was a grind.
Half an hour.
One hour.
Two hours.
Finally, she came across a familiar number—and her eyes lit up.
Meanwhile, in his room, Jing Yu slept soundly, completely unaware.
In the room next door, Xia Yining was woken by Yu Youqing's sudden shout of excitement. She groaned and covered her head with a pillow.
"It's already 4 AM… Why is she still so excited? Geez, it's not like she's dating Jing Yu…"
She muttered and went back to sleep.
She wasn't part of the 5 Centimeters crew, so she hadn't attended the party—but that didn't mean her workload was light.
Even though Jing Yu and Yu Youqing had skipped work, she had been filming on set until 11 PM.
The Next Day
Jing Yu woke up.
His head hurt.
After a few minutes, the headache eased.
"Ugh…"
He had a vague feeling he did something dumb last night—but couldn't recall.
"Whatever… I only had a few drinks. What could I have done?"
After showering and dressing, he opened his door…
…And saw Xia Yining and Yu Youqing, also heading out.
"Yo, morning," Jing Yu greeted.
"Morning, Jing Yu," Xia Yining smiled sweetly.
"Morning," Yu Youqing said, her eyes shadowed by faint dark circles.
But her eyes were also glowing, which made Jing Yu feel oddly nervous.
Wait… did I do something to her last night?
No, no way. Even drunk, I wouldn't…
The three shared a ride to the set. Soon, the rest of the crew arrived and started makeup and shooting.
For Jing Yu, it was just another ordinary day. But for the entire Clannad crew, tension was sky-high.
'5 Centimeters per Second' was still trending, but both 'Clannad' and 'Kaiji' were being heavily promoted on Qingyun. Clannad would premiere in just two days.
The whole crew was on edge all day.
Still, the shoot wrapped successfully.
Normally, after a full day, Xia Yining and Yu Youqing would leave early. Jing Yu always had more to handle—music scoring, script writing, company paperwork, and now even VFX review for the Fate series.
They didn't want to bother him.
However…
That night, around 10 PM, Jing Yu wrapped up his work and walked out of the office…
…only to find Yu Youqing sitting on a bench under the moonlight.
Hearing the door, she looked up.
"Busy man, finally done? I've been waiting for you."
Yu Youqing wore a white dress. Her skin glowed under the moonlight, and her face held a playful smile.
"If you needed something, you could've just come in. No need to wait three hours out here."
"It's nothing. I had nothing to do at home anyway. Waiting here helped calm my nerves."
"Nervous? Come on. I get why the crew's nervous, but we've worked on so many dramas. Clannad shouldn't make you nervous."
"It's not about Clannad's release. It's something else." She took a deep breath, then smiled.
"The answer is… the distance between the North and South Poles, right?"
"Huh?" Jing Yu blinked, then immediately realized what she meant.
The air grew heavy.
Yu Youqing watched him, both anxious and excited.
She didn't know if he remembered her coaxing a clue from him last night—or whether the final interpretation of the Easter egg still lay in his hands.
If he wanted to deny it…
Jing Yu looked into her eyes—full of tension and hope.
He couldn't quite explain his feelings. Annoyed? No. In fact, he felt… relieved.
"You actually figured it out?" Jing Yu scratched his head and let out a long sigh, laughing.
"Impressive. I underestimated you."
"So I was right, yeah? Takaki and Akari… They used that 13 years and 7 months timeframe, multiplied by 5 centimeters per second—their distance was like one in the South Pole, one in the North Pole. That's the Easter egg, right?" Yu Youqing stood beside him, gazing at the moon.
"Yeah, that's right." Jing Yu nodded.
"Then… what about our bet? You said if I solved it, you'd try dating me. Does that still count?" Her voice trembled.
Jing Yu went quiet for a few seconds.
Yu Youqing could hear her own heartbeat.
"You didn't… do anything to me while I was drunk last night, did you?"
She froze.
Jing Yu had started to ask, then stopped himself. Whatever might have happened—if even he couldn't remember—what was the point in asking?
Besides—
If he were really against dating her, he wouldn't have agreed to a silly Easter egg bet in the first place.
He had agreed because he didn't mind the idea at all. Same reason he'd once agreed with Xia Yining.
He definitely had feelings for Yu Youqing. Maybe not overwhelming ones—but enough.
Now, he couldn't dodge it anymore.
Jing Yu turned toward her.
"Yeah… it counts," he said.
"We've played a couple, how many times now? 'My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday', 'Your Lie in April', 'White Album 2', 'Steins;Gate', and now '5 Centimeters per Second'."
"This time… It's for real."
"Eh…" Yu Youqing stared, stunned.
She never imagined he'd agree so directly. If he had brushed her off, she wouldn't even be mad—she had cheated a little, after all.
"Then from this moment on—" Jing Yu began, but didn't finish.
He wasn't the type to say mushy lines out loud.
Instead, he gently took her hand—soft and smooth.
"Hmm, you hungry? There's a couple's café nearby. One of the art team members mentioned the cake's descent."
"C-couple's café? I-I've always wanted to try one…" Yu Youqing quickly composed herself.
She glanced at their clasped hands.
They'd done kissing scenes, hand-holding scenes more than ten times on set—but this one was real.
At 11:30 PM, they returned to their apartment complex after half an hour at the romantic café.
"What about Xia Yining?"
On the way from the parking lot to the elevator, Yu Youqing couldn't help but ask.
Yes, they were love rivals—but also friends. A new worry emerged.
"I don't know," Jing Yu stopped.
"I can't consider everyone's feelings."
"And right now, my girlfriend is you, not her."
Yu Youqing didn't know how to respond.
But she had won. No need to feel too guilty.
"Should we tell her?" she asked.
"If you think it's necessary, I can tell her right away," Jing Yu replied.
He knew how Xia Yining felt, too—but he didn't want to drag things out.
"No, don't. No need to upset her right now. She's a company shareholder and our friend. She needs time, or she'll just cut us off."
"Alright. I'll listen to you," Jing Yu sighed.
In the rising elevator, Yu Youqing looked at his thoughtful side profile. She made a decision and tugged his hand.
"Hmm?" Jing Yu turned.
She leaned forward and kissed him.
At first, it was all her—but then Jing Yu pulled her closer, deepening the kiss.
When the elevator reached their floor, they finally pulled apart.
"Kissing in real life… really is different from acting," Yu Youqing blushed.
"Definitely different. During filming, you never use your tongue. But… it was sweet," Jing Yu remarked.
"Eh?" Yu Youqing was dumbfounded. What kind of line was that?
"Just saying… we had cake. That's why—it was sweet."
"Ugh! Don't say stuff like that—it's embarrassing!" Her face turned even redder.
"You'll get used to it."
Jing Yu might've acted like a blockhead, but he wasn't clueless about romance.
At the door, he hesitated.
"Well… goodnight."
"Goodnight." Yu Youqing waved.
Each returned to their room.
Jing Yu touched his lips.
A girlfriend, huh.
Back in her room, Yu Youqing saw Xia Yining's door tightly shut—probably asleep already.
Sorry… I jumped the gun.
She whispered it silently, but didn't feel even a shred of regret. Even if this meant losing her friendship with Xia Yining, she wouldn't have chosen any differently.
Saturday, the Next Day
Jing Yu's fans had no idea their idol was now taken, but they were still overjoyed.
Despite '5 Centimeters per Second' still dominating the buzz, there were plenty of fans who had long been awaiting 'Kaiji'.
And today was its premiere day on Qingyun.