Lin Wen poured herself a cup of coffee, eyes fixed on her watch.
Finally, the moment the clock struck eight, the theme song of a brand-new drama with unfamiliar faces began to play.
[Screenwriter: Jing Yu] — these bold characters appeared first, followed by the names of the producer, director, and cast.
Lin Wen watched the opening sequence with interest. Though the visuals didn't yet make clear what plot points they corresponded to, she muttered:
"That guy is such a jerk. I just want to punch him."
"Just look at that face—he oozes sleaze."
"A legal drama, huh? I'm not sure what style Jing Yu-sensei will go for with this genre."
"What kind of style could it be? Aren't legal dramas all the same anyway? At least we'll learn some legal jargon."
"I heard this show takes place in the same universe as 'Fate/Zero', so the laws might be different from Great Zhou's."
"Right, this is entertainment. It's for fun, not a documentary. If you strictly followed legal procedures in every episode, the show would be boring."
"Exactly."
After a brief flurry of discussion in the fan group, viewers settled down as the iconic theme song faded, and the main plot began.
The opening scene showed a gas station clerk getting scolded by his boss. The next shot? The boss is lying dead, stabbed. The clerk was arrested as the prime suspect.
A no-nonsense police officer began interrogating him, many of his actions clearly violating protocol.
"No matter how many hours, no matter how many days... I can outlast you," the officer whispered in the man's ear.
In the next scene, the young man was sentenced to ten years in prison.
The intense gaze of the officer and the timid expression of the clerk were frozen in a stark, dramatic still.
At this point, nearly every viewer had the same thought:
That cop's bad news. Probably one of those who force confessions through abuse.
Sure, the clerk had mentally wished harm on his boss after being yelled at. But seriously—
Who hasn't wanted to curse out their boss before?
If fleeting resentment counted as a motive for murder, there wouldn't be a single innocent person left.
But Lin Wen stared at the screen, dazed.
This pacing… this fast?
In other dramas, this amount of plot would stretch across three episodes.
And that, right there, was the biggest difference between the dramas of Jing Yu's past-life China and those of Japan.
Japanese dramas tend to be one cour—about ten episodes—and yet they're tightly written, rarely bloated or sloppily edited. Good dramas will usually have a small arc per episode, and each episode advances a sub-goal of the protagonist. Naturally, cliffhangers are a must.
That's why great J-dramas are so addictive. Their pacing is tight and satisfying.
But China dramas are filmed entirely before airing, and they don't follow the once-a-week model. It's common to air several episodes per week, so there's less need to hook viewers constantly. The focus is more on an overall immersive vibe.
The problem is, many unscrupulous networks in China like to re-edit dramas—taking a 40-episode series and bloating it into 50 episodes of filler. When you add five minutes of flashbacks at the start, five minutes of fluff at the end, and mash up disconnected scenes in the middle, the viewing experience suffers greatly.
This was one of those differences.
Take Lin Wen's reaction, for example:
The forced confession, the timid young man, the sentencing—all crammed into thirty seconds.
Then, the female lead made her debut.
She had a pure, innocent face, large eyes, and a dignified presence.
Flash cut—
The female lead met the male lead, Komikado, on a train.
He refused to give his seat to an elderly person, drawing criticism from the heroine.
This scene was purely character setup: a thick-skinned, pragmatic male lead versus an idealistic, justice-driven female lead.
"Huh? Are you talking to me?"
Komikado asked, feigning innocence as he addressed Mayuzono Machiko in the Mandarin language.
"You speak Mandarin? Are you from China? In Japan, seniors come first," Mayuzono replied.
"Sorry, I'm Japanese," Komikado instantly switched to Japanese.
[T/N: That's confusing because they are supposed to speak in the Great Zhou language, which should be Chinese(Mandarin).]
The two quickly entered a debate on whether young people should give up their seats to the elderly.
"Should young people always give up their seats? For example, I'm thirty-eight. Have you considered I might have a serious heart condition?" Komikado asked rapidly, with total confidence.
"Do you?" Mayuzono asked.
"No, not at all," Komikado replied righteously, staring at her like she was an idiot.
"Huh?" Mayuzono's dumbfounded expression mirrored everyone watching at home.
Lin Wen burst out laughing.
He actually said it out loud!
Topics we've all thought about but never dared to say—he said it, in a drama!
"Damn, Komikado is a real man! Dared to question seat-giving in public?"
"So satisfying to watch."
"Exactly! Some people look weak on the bus but push like bulls during supermarket egg sales."
"It's not that we're against respecting the elderly. We all grow old, and today's youth are tomorrow's seniors. But we're sick of moral coercion."
"I'm in love with this male lead. He's perfect."
"Isn't it weird that the male lead of a legal drama is a shameless, fast-talking slickster?"
"But hey, being a lawyer is all about talking!"
That first encounter between Mayuzono and Komikado happened on a train.
She was utterly speechless, unable to argue against his cutting logic.
This scene laid the groundwork for their character dynamics.
There was no main plot development yet, but Lin Wen and many other viewers had already forgotten they were just watching a show. They were fully immersed.
The story that followed got even more interesting.
The heroine became the defense lawyer for the wrongly convicted young man sentenced to ten years.
At the detention center, she promised to clear his name.
"I guess I've always had bad luck. Nothing good has ever happened to me. I was born this way…" the young man sighed, despondent.
"Didn't you want to go to college? I won't give up. So you mustn't either," Mayuzono encouraged him.
By now, anyone watching could tell the guy had been framed. The police had no hard evidence. His confession was coerced.
The next part of the story was about how to defend him, clear his name, and find the real killer.
Anyone who's seen enough dramas could guess where the plot is going. But that's not the point—dramas are about the details. Knowing the outline doesn't ruin the journey.
Through a friend's introduction, Mayuzono set out to recruit a genius lawyer rumored to have never lost a case—Komikado Kensuke.
Of course, the audience already knew—
Yep, Komikado was the same man she scolded on the train for not giving up his seat.
Soon after, Komikado's eccentric housekeeper, Hattori, made his debut.
Komikado was playing the violin dramatically, trying to look cool for his guest.
He turned around—and both of them froze.
Turns out, Komikado had a date with another woman today. Hattori had mistaken Mayuzono, who arrived early, for the date.
"Hattori, tell the lady I'm not home and have her leave," Komikado said casually, right in front of Mayuzono.
"Miss Machiko, I'm sorry—Mr. Komikado isn't home today. Please come back another time," Hattori complied perfectly.
Pfft.
Lin Wen couldn't hold it in. She clutched her stomach, shoulders shaking with laughter.
"This is a legal drama? Not a comedy?"
Who is this actor playing Komikado? Why does every word he says make me laugh?
Has Jing Yu-sensei had his fill of romance and action fantasy dramas and is now trying his hand at comedy?