Let's use February 1st as an example.
On this day, the male and female leads exist together. They can hold hands, go on dates, watch movies, and even sleep together. Their time follows the normal flow—from 00:01 at midnight to 23:59.
But what happens after midnight?
The male lead naturally moves on to February 2nd, the next day.
The female lead, however, jumps back to January 31st, at 00:01.
In other words, she goes into his yesterday.
She retains all her memories of being with him—of their love, of their time together—but she continues moving backward through time.
From the peak of their relationship, from the day they made love, she retraces every step:
Back to the day they first held hands.
Back to the day he confessed.
Back to the day they first met.
Loving someone the most, having spent the most time with them... only for them not to know you at all.
She carries all the memories, all the emotions, and yet when she reaches the day they first met—from her point of view—it's her final farewell.
She has to pretend it's her first time meeting him, and then... disappear from his life forever.
And from the male lead's point of view, it's no less tragic.
He falls deeper and deeper in love as he moves forward in time—while she grows more and more distant, retreating into his past.
Eventually, as each reaches 40 years old, their timelines reach a point where the other hasn't even been born.
From that moment on, they will never meet again.
At first, Gao Wencang thought the script was dull.
Love at first sight... on a train? Cliché. This guy's just a simp for her looks.
And the girl? Who in their right mind responds to some stranger confessing on a train with tears and a promise to meet again?
Too flighty!
He shot a glance at Jing Yu.
Bro, your writing is worse than your gambling-addict dad's. I might even be better than you.
This kind of love-at-first-sight story? Overused.
Even middle-aged aunties found it cheesy nowadays.
And then on day two, they go on a date?
Day three, she accepts his confession?
Wow. Truly next-level pacing...
Though Gao Wencang found the plot absurd, he still couldn't help but feel a little jealous.
If only girls like this existed in real life—gentle, cute, easy to win over.
Sure, she cried over every little thing—first time holding hands, first kiss, and so on.
But it was... kind of touching.
He still thought the story was odd and the pacing too fast, with not enough buildup for the relationship.
But the moment he accepted the premise—that they both fell for each other at first sight—it all clicked.
This is straight-up dog food!
("Dog food" = sweet, lovey-dovey content that makes single people jealous)
After their meeting, the entire plot became one extended slice-of-life love story: dating, spending time together, deepening feelings.
But then... There were strange hints:
The girl was crying inexplicably.
She has an uncanny ability to predict things.
How did she know what the male lead's unfinished drawing would look like and where it would be hung?
And then, midway through the script, the truth was revealed.
Gao frowned, his brain working to piece it together.
"So that's what it is..."
He wasn't dumb—it didn't take long to understand the setup.
"So when the female lead cries during their first confession, their first hand-holding, or their first kiss... It's not her first time."
"It's... her last time, right? She's holding back her grief."
"Exactly. I knew you'd get it," Jing Yu nodded.
Once the central concept was exposed, the story's emotional weight skyrocketed. The earlier "sugar" has now turned into a bittersweet tragedy.
The second half of the script became the male lead's journey of emotional healing—from confusion, to understanding, to acceptance.
In this world, their timelines align for only one month every five years.
When the male lead is 20, on the final day of that month, he meets the 20-year-old female lead—her first time back in his life after five years.
When he's 25, he meets her at 15.
At 30, he tells the 10-year-old about their future love story.
At 35, he rescues a five-year-old version of her from an explosion. That's her first time meeting him... but his last time seeing her.
Damn... this is hitting too hard.
Gao Wencang suddenly felt emotionally overwhelmed.
He'd always been the sensitive type.
Then, something clicked in his mind.
He flipped back to the start of the script—to the male and female leads' first meeting.
His imagination filled in the scene automatically.
"Will we meet again?" the male lead, Takayama, asked.
"Yes, we'll meet again," the female lead replied.
No wonder she cried before answering.
The male lead would go on to meet "yesterday's her"—to date her, love her.
But she, at the very moment he fell for her, was already leaving his life—heading toward a future where he would no longer recognize her.
At the end of the script, the final line was from the female lead's inner monologue, during their very first encounter on the train.
"I finally made it to his side."
Just one sentence—yet it brought the entire story full circle. A perfect, poignant ending.
Gao's heart trembled.
Fifteen years... carrying all those memories of loving him... acting like a stranger just to meet him again—to make him fall in love with her.
He stared at that one line for a good half-minute.
"Jing Yu..."
"Finished reading?" Jing Yu asked while scrolling through a list of actor profiles on his phone.
None of them impressed him. Worse, they were all expensive.
How the hell am I supposed to afford this on a 920,000 yuan budget?!
"Well?" Jing Yu looked over. "Do you think there's anything wrong with it?"
Though he felt the work might be too good to waste on a temporary prime-time fill-in, he was still a little concerned about whether this kind of narrative style would resonate with the local audience.
"There's nothing wrong at all. It's way better than that White Lovers script by Jiang Shiqing…"
Gao trailed off mid-sentence and glanced at Jing Yu awkwardly.
Jiang Shiqing was the station's rising star—and the guy Jing Yu's ex-girlfriend ran to right after Jing Yu's father died and the family was ruined.
This new script of Jing Yu's? It only existed because Jiang's drama had to go on hiatus. Jing Yu's show was the backup—a stand-in.
Gao was afraid he might've touched a nerve, but… Jing Yu didn't seem fazed.
Has he really moved on from the double blow of losing his father and being betrayed?
"It's short, yeah," Gao continued quickly, changing the subject. "But that works in our favor. Split it into two episodes, and it's the perfect runtime to cover the gap."
"I'm not sure how audiences will take to this style of romance... but I really liked it. I really liked the female lead."
This wasn't just empty praise—it was genuine admiration.
"There's just one thing," Gao added. "The rest of the cast shouldn't be hard to fill, but the female lead... who do you have in mind?"
"From your script, she needs to be that kind of pure, cute, intelligent beauty. I'm not saying such actresses don't exist, but with this tight schedule and limited budget…"
"Forget it," Jing Yu said, finally putting down his phone.
"The ones who fit the part are unaffordable. And the ones I can afford don't fit the role."
"And seriously—some of these male actors? Not even as good-looking as me, and they're asking for that much?"
He paused.
Suddenly, inspiration struck.
"You know what? For the male lead, Takayama—I'll play him myself. What do you think?"
Might as well double-dip: get paid for writing and acting. Why let someone else take the money?
Jing Yu had studied performance in college, too. Screenwriting, directing, acting—there was a lot of overlap. Even if his major was in writing, during his two years at the station, he had exposure to all areas of production.
Gao looked him up and down.
Not bad…
At the very least, Gao didn't think audiences would complain about Jing Yu's appearance.
"You've definitely got the looks for it. But the female lead… that's the real issue. The role is demanding. If she's not beautiful and doesn't have the right aura, the whole thing falls apart."
"Even if we have to stretch the budget, we've got to make room. Talk to the producer. Spend a bit more and bring in a well-known actress—someone pretty and pure-looking."