First of all, Jing Yu was never stingy when spending—so long as the quoted price was market-standard, he would never nitpick just to drive it down during final settlement.
At the same time, the fact that Jing Yu—aside from being an outstanding screenwriter, musician, actor, and Go player—also had an exceptional understanding and skill in visual effects had started to spread within the VFX industry.
In particular, over the past few days, many people in the VFX field were shocked by the quality of Jing Yu's character concept art.
This guy is great at drawing, too?
Jing Yu didn't just walk into meetings with the VFX companies in the capital and other major cities empty-handed—he brought with him hand-drawn 3D concept designs of EVA Unit-01, EVA Unit-02, and others from 'Neon Genesis Evangelion', which he had painstakingly worked on through late nights.
To VFX studios, clients like him—who are crystal clear about what kind of visual effects they want and speak the same technical language—are a blessing.
Some clients just say: "Make this scene cool. Make it epic."
But what exactly is "cool" or "epic"? Everyone has different standards.
Because both parties were professionally knowledgeable, these meetings wasted very little time. What Jing Yu had expected to be a tiring business trip ended up feeling more like a vacation.
In fact, since arriving in this world, Jing Yu had either been filming or en route to filming—he hadn't really had the chance to see the scenery of Great Zhou's vast lands.
So this week also served as a nice break.
During this time, episode 2 of 'Natsume's Book of Friends' and episode 3 of 'Legal High' aired in succession.
'Legal High's episode 3 saw a slight slowdown in ratings growth, settling around 8.2%.
This performance was essentially the result of Jing Yu's personal popularity combined with the show's quality—but this was likely close to its ceiling.
Legal dramas have a limited target audience. Some appreciate the deep themes and social commentary in 'Legal High', but many viewers prefer story-driven shows like 'Initial D' or romance series like 'Kimi ni Todoke'.
That's where genre plays a major role in determining a show's reach.
Overall, both shows were steadily growing in popularity. But notably, 'Natsume's Book of Friends' was catching up fast.
Its average paid viewership per episode had surpassed eight million, and its popularity now rivaled that of 'Legal High'.
This series also shook the industry to its core.
Can TV dramas be made like this?
Before 'Natsume's Book of Friends', the concept of a "healing" show didn't truly exist.
People might've used the term to describe moments within certain episodes of other dramas—but a series built entirely around that feeling? Unheard of.
The tone of 'Natsume's Book of Friends' was entirely different from other dramas:
No complex, intertwined plotlines.
No visually intense fight scenes.
No flashy melodrama.
All it had were sympathetic yokai (spirits), and a kind-hearted protagonist determined to return their names.
After each episode, viewers were left with a quiet sense of emotion—not overpowering, but deeply moving.
And this simple, episodic, 20-minute-per-episode show still managed to become one of the most praised dramas of the summer. On Yindou Net, tens of thousands of fans gave it a score above 9.6.
This left Jing Yu's peers stunned.
A show like this… can become a hit?
And not just any hit—a massive one.
It wasn't just online chatter either; schools and workplaces buzzed with real-life conversations about the series.
While the overall heat of 'Natsume's Book of Friends' hadn't quite surpassed 'Legal High', when it came to the actors' popularity, 'Natsume' had the edge.
In recent days, the national popularity rankings for male celebrities in Great Zhou have been listed:
Jing Yu (holding the #1 spot for nearly half a year)
Wu He (who played Natsume Takashi in 'Natsume's Book of Friends')
The actor portraying Komikado in 'Legal High'
Aside from Jing Yu, the other two were considered second- or third-tier actors before the shows aired.
Yet once again, this was a season where no one else had a shot.
The summer season wasn't even over yet, but many of Jing Yu's industry peers already felt it was over.
"Another boring season. We're once again watching Jing Yu beat the six major networks into the ground."
"Every season, the networks talk big about being #1 in ratings. But since two years ago, they only manage that when Jing Yu doesn't release anything."
"Feels like the Big Six have given up. Last year, they'd at least argue that their shows pick up steam later. Now? They're all like 'whatever, just let Jing Yu and Yunteng TV put on a show.'"
"How much creativity does that guy have left in his head? I thought he was just a romance drama genius until 'Legal High' dropped. Then I realized he's amazing at workplace dramas too. And now, after 'Natsume's Book of Friends', it's clear—what looks plain at first becomes touching on a second watch. It's just raw talent."
"With him, even the simplest genres turn into hits. Like 'Hikaru no Go', 'Initial D'—did the genre make those hits? No, it's all about his skill."
"And now, it feels like his only focus is on the Fate series and that new project. With Jing Yu, you can always tell which show he cares about—he'll act in it himself, whether lead or supporting. If he doesn't care, he's pretty casual about it. But that's what makes him terrifying."
"Terrifying? How so?"
"Think about it—he used to have to go all-in to beat the Big Six. Now? He's casually tossing out mid-budget shows and still crushing them. In terms of resources, the Big Six are ten times stronger. But in the eyes of audiences? They've already fallen far behind. I wouldn't be surprised if, in a few years, Jing Yu has completely overtaken them across the board."
By late April, Jing Yu returned to the company in Modo City.
He wasn't one to procrastinate, so during this time, he finalized his partnerships for 'Neon Genesis Evangelion's production.
Back in Modo City, he was simultaneously coordinating with the partner companies and…
Starting to build the production crew and casting for 'Neon Genesis Evangelion'.