"You're bluffing."
Actually, Cheng Lie somewhat believed Jing Yu. Outsiders might see Jing Yu as just a genius, but after working with him for so long, Cheng Lie knew—he was a straight-up monster.
Go, lyric writing, composing, screenwriting, acting—he was at a professional level in all of them.
Emm...
Although he'd never seen Jing Yu drive a car, no one had ever seen him studying sheet music or playing Go against real opponents either. Yet he excelled in all those areas. So now that he claimed to be an expert driver too, Cheng Lie was already at least 30% convinced.
"Heh." Jing Yu chuckled but didn't elaborate.
Although he had just acquired the "Veteran Driver Experience Manual," he wasn't in a rush to prove himself. Once filming began, there would be plenty of chances to show off.
If it were any other kind of skill book, Jing Yu might not be this fired up—but racing...
Let's be honest—nine out of ten guys have fantasized about this kind of scenario.
"That expression of yours..."
Cheng Lie narrowed his eyes, suddenly realizing something.
"You're planning to star in this drama yourself?"
"Of course! For a show like 'Another', I could give the lead role to Wu He, but this one? No way. The Akina speed demon can only be one person—and that's me, Jing Yu."
Jing Yu's chuunibyou (middle-school syndrome) kicked in again, but Cheng Lie had long gotten used to it.
"Still… isn't that going to be a problem?" Cheng Lie looked Jing Yu up and down.
Handsome, charismatic, good-looking—Jing Yu definitely had what it took to not rely solely on talent.
"But you don't look anything like the protagonist you wrote in the script. I remember you described Takumi as an ordinary-looking guy. You think you're the right fit?"
"Producer Cheng, let's be real. If you really cast an actually ordinary-looking guy as the male lead, who's going to watch it?"
Anime and live-action dramas are not the same. In anime, making the main character unattractive might only scare off half the audience. But in a live-action drama? Cast a truly average-looking person, and you'll scare off 90% of the viewers.
Even in his previous life, take Louis Koo for example—clearly a handsome actor, but when he played a character described as plain-looking, he got roasted for decades.
This kind of thing is like how 'Steins;Gate' had Ruka Urushibara or how 'Baka and Test' had Hideyoshi—draw a girl and insist she's a guy, and it becomes a running joke.
Cheng Lie thought about it for a moment and ended up agreeing with Jing Yu's logic.
"So for the other main characters—like this Natsuki girl, she's the female lead, right? Are you thinking of casting either Yu Youqing or Xia Yining?"
After working with them on multiple dramas, everyone in Great Zhou knew that Yu Youqing and Xia Yining were Jing Yu's go-to actresses—just like the "Mou Girls" or "Sing Girls" from his past life. It was nothing unusual for Cheng Lie, so he asked directly.
"To be honest… for this role, I'm not casting either of them," Jing Yu replied.
"This character is just too controversial. Whoever plays her is going to get roasted. I don't want to drag them into it. They've worked so hard to build up their popularity."
Cheng Lie raised an eyebrow, intrigued.
"Too controversial? What, is she one of those green tea backstabbing types?"
"No… not exactly." Jing Yu hesitated, but then decided to give Cheng Lie an early look at Natsuki's later character development.
After all, casting would be handled by Cheng Lie. For minor roles, they could afford flexibility, but for key characters like this, he had to lay everything out clearly from the start—otherwise, casting mistakes were bound to happen.
"…She's involved in enjo kōsai(Sugar Dating)."
Cheng Lie went silent for a moment, digesting that piece of information.
"Jing Yu-sensei, you really are bold."
A storyline involving cuckoldry or paid companionship is a massive landmine in just about any genre. And yet, Jing Yu dared to tread into this territory.
Naturally, Cheng Lie immediately began discussing this plot point with him.
But within just a few exchanges, he found himself convinced.
Because what happened between Takumi and Natsuki in the original story had a major impact—it was pivotal to Takumi's emotional growth and maturity.
If it were something that could be changed, Jing Yu would've done it already. He didn't like that storyline either. But it couldn't be changed.
So after a while, Cheng Lie accepted the rationale behind it.
Jing Yu finally let out a breath of relief. Now that Cheng Lie had mostly accepted the core script, the rest would be easier to handle.
The two of them then moved on to casting discussions for the rest of the characters.
For example, the roles of Takahashi Ryosuke and Takahashi Keisuke. Since Jing Yu was playing Fujiwara Takumi, these two rich and charismatic characters had to match him in looks, if not surpass him.
Then there was Nakazato Takeshi, the so-called "King of Body Kits." In the early stages, he had a strong presence. But later on...
He became a meme among 'Initial D' fans from Jing Yu's past life—nicknamed the "Undefeated Legend" who never won a single race. By the end, he was just there to provide race commentary during Takumi's matches. The contrast was something the actor needed to nail with their performance.
Of course, not everything had to follow the manga exactly. Even the 'Initial D' movie adaptation had made several good changes. For instance, Takumi's best friend, Itsuki Takeuchi, was renamed Itsuki Tachibana in the movie and made the son of the gas station owner where Takumi worked.
"I wanna buy a GT-APEX!" "Who the hell throw up while sitting in a car?" — these movie changes had become iconic jokes among fans of 'Initial D'. Since they had already proven effective in his past life, Jing Yu naturally intended to adopt them.
The two of them spent three whole days at Yunteng TV, discussing every last detail.
During that time, Cheng Lie also worked out the projected budget and cast list based on Jing Yu's production needs.
Mid-July. Another Monday.
Cheng Lie brought the first two episodes of 'Initial D' to the weekly production meeting and formally submitted the funding request.
Given Jing Yu's current fame and status at Yunteng TV, the script itself passed with zero objections.
But as soon as Cheng Lie opened his mouth and requested over 90 million yuan in funding, he drew the ire of other producers.
Each quarter, the network's production budget had a cap. If Jing Yu's show took up such a huge slice of the pie, that meant other drama teams would have to take a hit.
And it's not like they'd get any bonuses just because Jing Yu's show made the network more money. Even if the station profited big time, none of it trickled down to them. Plus, with a 90 million investment right from the start, there was a high chance it would require even more funding later.
How were they supposed to survive the winter season?
Naturally, they were all unhappy.
But in the end, it was a win-win for everyone.
'Hikaru no Go' had already brought hundreds of millions in revenue to Yunteng TV. 'Steins;Gate' wasn't far behind. The network wasn't hurting for money this quarter. So 'Initial D's funding request passed without much resistance. And the budgets for the other shows weren't cut too harshly either.
Overall, everyone could accept the outcome.
And after that Monday's meeting, news spread quickly throughout the Great Zhou entertainment industry.
The first to catch wind were the Big Six TV networks, especially the top three—Xingtong TV, Imperial Capital TV, and Huanshi TV.
Yunteng TV's autumn season flop had made one thing clear: Jing Yu was their only real powerhouse.
His summer hit 'Hikaru no Go', topping the charts, had left the Big Three networks seething in frustration. Even now, media outlets all over Great Zhou were still mocking them for losing that ratings war.
Losing once was already humiliating.
Losing again?
Unacceptable.