Jing Yu never expected that Cheng Lie would be the one to actively approach him about planning content for the second episode of the Driving Tutorial Mini-Episode.
"Producer Cheng, weren't you the one who said if you ever got in my car again, you wouldn't be human?"
Jing Yu didn't miss the chance to tease him.
"That was then, this is now!" Cheng said, totally shameless.
"If it's for ratings, so what if I stop being human? And besides, 'not human' isn't even an insult anymore! I'm doing this for the good of the station—sacrificing myself like a true top-tier producer. You could even say I'm divine."
He said it with a straight face, without the slightest hint of embarrassment.
"Hmm, well, you're not wrong," Jing Yu admitted.
"I've noticed that 'Initial D' fans are really responding well to the driving tutorial.
A lot of casual viewers online even said they'd start watching 'Initial D' just because of that short clip.
Honestly, I didn't expect that."
Jing Yu looked him over.
"But Producer Cheng, you screamed like a slaughtered pig last time.
Are you really sure you can mentally handle a second episode? I'm genuinely worried about your psyche."
Cheng hesitated.
"Well… the first time, I was scared. The second time, I'll be panicking. By the third… maybe I'll find inner peace."
The more he spoke, the more pumped he got.
"Don't underestimate me, Jing Yu-sensei."
"Besides, I think I've figured it out. Your driving may feel terrifying, but in your mind, you've got everything under control, right?
As long as we don't crash, it's technically safe… right?"
"There's no such thing as technically safe when you're drifting downhill at over 100 km/h," Jing Yu reminded him, dead serious.
"Filming also has its own risks," Cheng countered.
"People die from wire work, from being hit during stunts, from explosions, from malfunctioning props—it happens.
I just choose not to think about that stuff."
He wasn't going to back down just because of a few warnings.
"Besides," Cheng added with a strangely mystical tone,
"This might sound superstitious, but I really believe every generation has its 'main characters'—people who are just born with destiny.
In our industry? Jing Yu, you're one of them.
Or at least, a strong contender.
No way something like that's gonna happen to you."
Jing Yu stared at Cheng for a moment, studying his face.
Sure enough—there was that same intense determination in his eyes.
"Alright then.
Just make sure to rest up for two days.
This time… I'm gonna give the audience a real thrill."
"...What?!"
Cheng's eyes went wide with dread.
Later that night, on set at the 'Initial D' production studio.
They were currently filming the "death tape race" between Takumi and the Night Kids' second-in-command, Shingo Shoji.
Even though Jing Yu had boldly said he could film the scene with his hands literally taped to the wheel,
The crew had refused to let him do it.
"We're making a drama, not risking lives!"
"We know you're a fantastic driver, but even great swimmers drown sometimes. There's no need for such dangerous stunts."
"We'll just film it normally and cut it to look like your hands are tied.
Plus, there's that chase scene where Takumi crashes into the guardrail to accelerate. That's already dangerous enough.
If you tie your hands for that and something goes wrong…"
Jing Yu couldn't argue with them.
He canceled the idea.
He knew that with the driving skills he acquired through the exchange panel,
He could easily pull off the death tape race exactly like in 'Initial D'.
But…
"Forget it. It's not worth scaring everyone in the crew just to prove a point."
Instead, he turned to four stunt drivers who were working under him.
"So? How's the special training coming?"
"Jing Yu-sensei, it's going well!
The only issue is the big U-turn section—we're still struggling a bit with the angle."
"Yeah, but after two weeks of practice, we're getting a 30–40% success rate for entering and exiting the drift cleanly."
"It's just like you said. I can't find the optimal line into the turn."
"But we've still got two or three weeks before that scene.
We'll keep grinding and make sure we're ready to shoot in one take, no delays."
Their faces were full of determination.
After spending nearly two months on the 'Initial D' set,
They'd come to truly respect what it meant to be a mountain racer of the highest caliber.
When they first joined the crew, they knew Jing Yu was good.
Better than them. Sure.
But they didn't realize how wide the gap was.
For example, Jing Yu asked them to train on a specific U-turn corner using drift dragging.
Out of ten attempts, they'd maybe succeed three or four times—
And even then, the line wasn't clean, the exit speed suffered, and the car decelerated noticeably.
But Jing Yu…
He demonstrated twenty consecutive drifts in a single day.
And when they checked the tire marks left on the ground—
Every line was the same.
Perfectly identical.
Only if you got down on the ground and looked closely could you see a 0.5cm variation on some marks.
But the four drivers all agreed that it had nothing to do with Jing Yu.
The tires had worn out.
Even if the driver's precision was flawless, the car itself would always vary slightly.
The more time they spent with Jing Yu,
The more they realized:
This man's driving isn't just good—
It's inhuman.
So now, they didn't even call him "Director Jing."
They called him "The God."
Of course, this special training was for an upcoming scene:
Takumi's race against the Usui Pass duo—Sato Mako and Sayuki.
The highlight of that race was the drift-drag at the C121 corner—
nearly a sideways entry, sideways exit,
with Takumi finding a better line than Sato Mako—even on his first run.
And not just that—
He also dodges Sato Mako's car when she loses control later in the race.
These moments all required extensive preparation.
Jing Yu didn't need to practice anymore—
But his stunt drivers absolutely did.
He watched their recorded footage of their drifting attempts and sighed.
"Damn… even after filming all day, I still have to give these guys drift coaching at night."
He was literally paying them to train—
And somehow, he was the one doing all the work.
Jing Yu couldn't help but think—
"Reincarnating into this world…
This might just be the worst deal I've ever made."