Over the next few days, Jing Yu's BlueStar media company was busy finalizing casting contracts for the roles already confirmed in 'Fate/Zero'.
At the same time, updates about the project were being released bit by bit like a slow-dripping faucet. In less than a week, 'Fate/Zero' had become the most anticipated upcoming series in Great Zhou's entertainment industry for the past six months.
And along with that, news that Jing Yu was having trouble casting the female lead had begun circulating within the film and television world.
Even Yu Youqing and Xia Yining from the 'Clannad' crew had heard about it.
Xia Yining didn't mind. Jing Yu didn't think she was a good fit for the role, and she wasn't going to take it personally or dwell on it.
But lately, she'd noticed something… off about her roommate Yu Youqing.
She used to come home right after filming, usually to practice acting or binge dramas. Now, she was barely home until 9 or 10 PM each night.
Since Jing Yu and Yu Youqing hadn't gone public with their relationship, they continued acting professionally on set.
But once off the clock...
They inevitably ended up shopping, strolling, and dating together across Modo City.
"Hey, since you're having so much trouble casting the female lead, why not try an online open call?" Yu Youqing asked, feeding Jing Yu a spoonful of cake.
"Online casting?" Jing Yu paused to think. "You mean?"
"For example, you don't need everyone to come to Modo City for auditions. You could send the Artoria script to film academies, theater troupes, and acting schools across Great Zhou. Those confident enough can just film their scenes and email them to you. It'll save a lot of time and effort."
"Forget it." Jing Yu shook his head. "There are too many people in Great Zhou. Digging through all that footage would seriously delay production."
"But… according to Cheng Lie, you weren't unhappy with their acting. It was the aura. And that's something you're more likely to find in an open call than a traditional audition." Yu Youqing lowered her voice.
"The second round hasn't even started yet, and I can already tell—with how picky you are, the odds of finding the right actress are low."
"Am I really that picky?" Jing Yu asked, slightly defensive.
"Of course you are. When Xiao Ning and I auditioned, the way you looked at us? That disappointed expression haunted us for two whole days!" Yu Youqing said, raising her voice slightly.
"But now that I've seen how much more annoyed you look with the recent batch of candidates… I feel a lot better." She giggled.
"Got it. I'll think about it," Jing Yu said, nodding after a moment.
He had never used online casting before and didn't want to cause too much of a commotion.
But…
Yu Youqing had a point. It was like the 'Dream of the Red Mansion' drama in his past life. The production started with over 200,000 applicants, narrowed it down to 10,000, ran intensive training, and only then finalized the cast.
Sometimes, finding the perfect person really is a numbers game.
Whether 'Fate/Zero' would become a hit or not depended heavily on the casting of Artoria.
After the dessert shop chat, the two walked out into the street.
Even with their masks on, their physical features and air of elegance made them stand out in the dimly lit night.
As they walked, Yu Youqing quietly reached out and took Jing Yu's hand—soft and slightly cool to the touch.
"Hey… be honest. Do you think dating me was a mistake?" Yu Youqing asked with a playful smile.
"A mistake?"
"Yeah. Like… don't you regret not dating me sooner? Isn't it a waste to only start now with such a sweet and gentle girlfriend?"
"Honestly? Not at all."
"Huh?"
"We've held hands, kissed, hugged—all kinds of things—while acting. Sure, it was 'just for work', but it still counts. So no, I don't feel like I wasted anything." Jing Yu replied.
"That's not the same! Acting is acting. Real life is real life!" Yu Youqing protested, flustered.
"True… They are different," Jing Yu looked at her and decided to stop teasing.
"Because the real you is way cuter than the you on screen."
Jing Yu pulled down both their masks. Her delicate, fair face appeared in the night light. He looked at her soft, rosy lips—and kissed her.
Yu Youqing stiffened at first, but soon her eyes softened.
Jing Yu knew to restrain himself. They were both busy, and since Yu Youqing didn't want to go public with their relationship yet, he had to be cautious about being recognized or secretly photographed on the street.
A few minutes later—
He patted her shoulder. She still had her eyes closed.
"Let's go. Time to head home."
The next day, Jing Yu returned to the studio and cut straight to business.
He and Cheng Lie decided to distribute the Artoria audition script to film academies across Great Zhou. Any student confident enough could record their own take and submit it via email.
Jing Yu had realized that continuing with limited in-person auditions was probably a dead end.
If finding the right actress was that easy, then legendary Artoria cosplayers would already be everywhere.
"We'll delay the shoot to late June at the latest. We have just over half a month left. After that, whether we find someone perfect or not, we start filming."
Jing Yu gave 'Fate/Zero' a one-week delay in its production schedule.
"Understood," Cheng Lie nodded.
But this meant they'd have to pull more staff from the company to sort through all the submissions.
In just a few days, the news had already spread from Modo City to acting students and aspiring performers in every major city in Great Zhou.
The most expensive drama of the year.
It's a female lead role…
Didn't require fame. Didn't need beauty queen status or social clout.
Everyone stood equal—truly, anyone could win the part, as long as their audition impressed Jing Yu.
Only his production crew would make this kind of offer.
Absolutely wild.
The news spread like wildfire among students at film schools.
Jing Yu's company inbox started overflowing with daily submissions.
As June arrived...
'Clannad' continued to progress slowly. As in Jing Yu's past life, Tomoyo—the second-most popular character after Nagisa Furukawa—saw her popularity soar after her episodes aired. She quickly became the top-ranked female character in the show so far.
Nagisa, on the other hand, hadn't reached her main arc yet (post-school chapter), so her popularity remained lukewarm for now.
Even so, the show's average episode viewership had broken 8 million, heading toward 9.
Meanwhile, 'Kaiji' moved from the High-Rise Beam Walk arc into the Emperor Card Battle against the second boss— Tonegawa (Li Geng).
While the stakes weren't quite as life-threatening as the beam walk, the premise of the bet—a power drill moving closer to Kaiji's eardrum with each loss—still kept viewers glued to their screens.
At this point, 'Kaiji' had almost hit 12 million average views per episode on Qingyun Video.
Both 'Kaiji' and 'Clannad' had exceeded Qingyun's expectations.
But by now, Jing Yu's attention had shifted—away from 'Kaiji' and toward 'Clannad' and 'Fate/Zero'.
While 'Kaiji' maintained high quality, it lacked the explosive long-term impact and fan culture potential of 'Clannad' Season 2 and 'Fate/Zero'.
After surpassing 10 million paid views per episode, 'Kaiji''s growth plateaued. Even with a second season planned, its popularity had likely hit its peak.
But 'Clannad' Season 2 and 'Fate/Zero'?
Their ceiling was on an entirely different level.
In Jing Yu's past life, these two were the very peak of two-dimensional IP culture.