Just because I wrote "Zhu Xian," the school beauty sent me razor blades.

October.

Lin Yuan locked himself away in post-production.

It's a genuine seclusion. The phone is handed over to Fei Zhao, Weibo to the operations team, and Red Eggplant to the editor-in-chief.

He wrote two songs.

The first song is called "Drifting." It's 185 BPM East Coast hip-hop, with heavy bass and synthesizer bass simulating engine RPM. Brass alarms and tire noise and rain sounds are spread throughout the beat like a battlefield. Fast-paced rapping is layered with the chorus hook, singing about corners, drifting, drainage ditches, and five consecutive hairpin bends—completely and vividly depicting the entire process of racing on Mount Akina, a passionate and "tough" experience.

The second song is called "All the Way North." A slow, 70 BPM British ballad, with piano as its core and strings exploding in the chorus. The rearview mirror, steering wheel, and raindrops on the windshield—the imagery is vivid, suggesting a farewell. The phrase "All the Way North" has a double meaning: the physical act of driving north, and the emotional defeat that follows. The young man grips the steering wheel, heading towards the future, having completed his transformation, a touch of restrained "gentleness."

A combination of strength and gentleness, a closed-loop growth path for Takumi—first burning with youthful energy at speed, then completing the transformation through farewell.

The two theme songs were added to the movie's soundtrack.

Overseas distribution is also being carried out simultaneously.

Tianxing organized an internal film screening at the largest IMAX theater in a Beijing cinema, inviting only the purchasing managers from five overseas film companies. Confidentiality agreements were signed before entry, cell phones were confiscated, and two security guards stood at the entrance.

Lin Yuan didn't go. He was in the editing room next door overseeing color grading.

Two hours later, Fei Zhao pushed open the door and came in with an expression that said, "I'm about to start talking about money."

"Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, and Malaysia—five companies signed directly."

"Why did you sign it so quickly?" Lin Yuan asked.

"Because after watching the film, all three purchasing managers immediately asked, 'When will it be released?' and another asked, 'Can we do some collaborative merchandise in advance?'" Fei Zhao leaned against the doorframe. "They said there aren't any pure racing films like this in Chinese cinema. Yours is—"

"What is it?"

"It's the kind of movie that makes you want to drive around on a mountain road."

Lin Yuan nodded and continued watching the color curves on the monitor.

December. Shanghai.

A major press conference was held at the Mercedes-Benz Arena.

This wasn't your average movie premiere. The entire venue was transformed into a racetrack—the entrance was paved with asphalt, and four prop cars imported from Japan were parked on either side: an AE86, an RX-7 FC3S, a GT-R R32, and an EVO III. Each car was kept in the same condition as during filming, with tire tracks from Mount Haruna still visible on the tires.

Du Lei stood next to the AE86, looking at it like he was looking at his own child.

"This car hasn't been moved since filming in Japan," he told the host beside him. "We shipped it back entirely by ship."

What about shipping costs?

"More expensive than a car."

The climax of the press conference arrived—Japanese stunt driver Kenichiro Tanaka, wearing the team uniform from the filming, sat in an AE86 and performed a live drifting show in a closed area outside the venue.

White smoke billowed from the tires, the engine roared, and the 86 continuously slid along the drawn "five consecutive hairpin bends," the car almost skidding the ground as it passed the apex of each bend. Tens of thousands of spectators outside the stadium held up their phones to film, and the live stream switched to the homepages of various platforms.

Zhou Zixuan was watching a live stream in his dorm room with the volume on his phone at full blast when Qian Zhuangzhuang poked his head out from next door: "What are you doing? Was there an earthquake?"

"Yuan Ge's movie press conference!" Zhou Zixuan pointed at the screen, "Look! That's a real '86! Drifting!"

Qian Zhuangzhuang leaned closer: "...Why does this car look a little different from the one I drive in the game?"

"Because what you drive in the game is a model, but this is a real car."

"The real car looks way cooler than the one in the game."

"nonsense."

Chen Mo sat in his seat, wearing headphones, but not music—he was listening to the live audio of the press conference. Lin Yuan's voice came through the headphones, talking about the details of filming, the modifications to the AE86, and the night view of Mount Akina.

After listening, Chen Mo typed two words in his memo: "Want to see."

Then, after thinking for a moment, he added one more word: "Really want to."

The day after the press conference, the first official trailer was released online.

One minute and forty seconds. Pure racing version.

The screen goes black for the first two seconds, then a roar of an engine explodes, and the scene cuts to the moment when the AE86 drifts through a hairpin bend on Mount Akina—white smoke from the tires, the car tilting to the side, and rainwater on the windshield being flung into arcs. This is followed by a fast cut: a drainage ditch bend, the taillights of a GTR approaching, three cars side by side on a five-turn hairpin bend, and an EVO III losing control and crashing into the guardrail.

There are no lines of dialogue. There are only the sounds of engines, tires, and wind, and the faint piano prelude in the background—the first chord of "All the Way North".

In the final three seconds, the camera focuses on a close-up of Takumi gripping the steering wheel, his eyes vacant as if he's thinking nothing. Then the screen goes black, followed by white text—

Initial D

Spring Festival Film

"Engine is warm"

The trailer garnered over 50 million views within an hour of its release.

Three of the top ten trending topics are related to it.

#InitialD Trailer# Part 2.

#Lin Yuan disappeared for a year to film a racing movie# Fourth.

#IWantToSpeed# Seventh.

The comments section has a unified style—

[@Automotive blogger Dafei: One minute and forty seconds without a single line of dialogue, but my adrenaline surged after watching it. This isn't a trailer, it's an invitation.]

[@MovieFanAJie: Lin Yuan's leap from romance films to racing films is bigger than the bends on Mount Akina. But after watching the trailer, I believe it.]

[@Emperor Racing Team Captain Jingyi: I heard that Lin Yuan almost drove his car into a ditch when he was learning to drift in Japan.]

[@AkinaMountCarGod: I declare this is the only movie I want to see in theaters next Chinese New Year. Not for the racing, but for seeing how Lin Yuan drives his car into a ditch.]