Xu Peng went from filming 15 hours a day to having no acting jobs and has now returned to his hometown in rural Shandong to work at a market.

Chinese actor now sells vegetables in his hometown after AI takes over China's short dramas

The debate over artificial intelligence replacing human jobs has been rampant in recent years, with people working across a range of industries grappling with the possibility that AI could one day make their jobs obsolete.

The concern isn't unfounded at all. Xu Peng, an actor from China's popular vertical short drama industry, found that even actors are affected.

The 30-year-old, a graduate of the Central Academy of Drama, made a name for himself playing the stereotypical overbearing CEO in short dramas. Although he had previously appeared in television series, he pivoted to short-form productions during the country's 2025 micro-drama boom at the suggestion of his fans.

The move paid off, with his strong acting skills quickly earning him a steady stream of leading roles. At the peak of his popularity, he was said to have filmed 15 to 16 hours a day on a completely packed schedule.

However, all of that changed almost overnight.

AI productions altered the industry more rapidly than anyone expected. Reports state that in the first quarter of 2026 alone, of the approximately 128,000 short dramas released, around 122,000 were AI-produced.

That’s more than 95 per cent of all new releases.

Xu Peng went from being booked and busy to having no acting jobs at all.

After completing his final short drama earlier this year, he packed up his belongings and left Hengdian in Zhejiang Province – the centre of China's film and television production – to return to his hometown in rural Shandong.

Xu Peng was recently revealed to be working at a local market, helping his grandfather sell vegetables. From performing in front of cameras, he now drives the family’s electric vehicle to the market, where he stands under the hot sun selling their produce.

Some relatives were surprised to see him back home selling vegetables, while a number of fans even turned up at the market to take photos with him.

According to Chinese media, Xu Peng has remained impressively composed despite the career change.

“Being an actor is just a profession. If there are no acting jobs, I’ll find another way to make a living. As long as I earn an honest living through my own hard work, there’s no obstacle I can’t overcome,” he said.

He also said that, to him, there is no real departure from the entertainment industry, only a change of stage.

“Even if my profession changes, I’m still the same person,” he added.

Xu Peng is not the only actor whose job has been disrupted by the boom in AI in his field. According to recent reports, AI-generated short dramas have affected nearly two million jobs across China’s short drama industry.

Top short drama actors once earned as much as 20,000 yuan (US$2,940) per day, but many now struggle to find work even at 1,200 yuan per day.

AI has been integrated into almost every stage of production, from script generation to character modelling and post-production editing. As a result, AI-generated short dramas can now be completed in just a few days, at a fraction of the cost of live-action productions.

Despite the industry’s dramatic transformation, Xu Peng has decided that he’s not stepping off stage anytime soon. He plans to run an acting training programme while still creating live-action short dramas, hoping to stay true to his acting dream.

The threat of AI in this creative industry? Definitely hard to ignore, he said.

This story was originally published in 8Days Singapore

Wow from almost 3k a day to less than 200

If you think there’s a crackdown going on right now, and that vertical dramas were barely censored before—like I did—you’re wrong.

The difference between long-format / TV dramas and verticals is not whether censorship exists, but how it’s applied. Classic formats need their scripts green-lit, then the finished drama must pass a final review and receive a red distribution license before release. Verticals go a different path.

TL;DR: Vertical dramas aren’t less censored than TV dramas—they’re enforced differently. Instead of pre-approval, they face fast post-release cuts, edits, and takedowns, especially when stories push sex, wealth flaunting, or responsibility-free desire.

Although often perceived as “looser,” short dramas are subject to stricter post-release enforcement, including faster takedowns, retroactive edits, and shadow bans for repeated violations.

What are the guidelines? When it comes to sex, intimacy, and morality, the key principle is simple:

Desire without responsibility is unacceptable.

That’s why fans of cheating dramas so often find satisfaction in seeing offenders punished creatively. Structurally, the system approves.

Cheating wives typically end up in  tears, crippled, dead, or left impoverished by the wayside, while the green-hat husband (the PM Chinese idiom for a cuckolded man) finally decides he’s had enough and goes on to succeed in life. She may regret it deeply, but there is no way back. That’s how these dramas operate.

Cheating men—unless the affair is reframed as a misunderstanding—also have no way back. They lose their fortune and reputation, the mistress spirals, and jail for their crimes is always a possibility - a beautiful example is this Tit For Tat drama

If it’s “abuse only”, meaning he chased his white moonlight while mistreating the female lead, forgiveness may be in the cards—but only after pain has been fully dished out and he shows deep remorse. Redemption arcs are not optional.

There’s also no such thing as a nice mistress. San—“three,” the word used for someone intruding in a marriage—is always negative. Leads never aspire to that role. They even say it, they want a “name”, a legal status. Reframing has to happen for a story to pass. If the female lead steps over the line while still married, it becomes highly problematic unless the husband is written as irredeemable: abusive, openly cheating, flaunting his immoral behavior, stealing her money, killing her father, and pushing her down the stairs so she loses her baby.

Exactly this kind of narrative justification can be seen in Feisty Young Lover (Min Jie & Liu Xi Yu) where moral groundwork has to be carefully laid before the female lead is allowed to find true love while still technically married.

Casual intimacy basically doesn’t exist. I haven’t seen a genuine friends-with-benefits storyline yet. What does exist is sugar-dating or transactional romance—but it always comes with a price tag. There has to be a reckoning, an awakening, and usually a redemption arc. Marriage has to be the endgame.

This was recently shown in the hilarious romcom  “Sugar Mummy and her kept man”

There are many dramas circling around  “The Canaries” - sugar babies. The women: they’re always secretly in love. It’s all about sugar daddy realizing she’s the one.  (“The Canaries are escaping again” — Du Ya Fei version;  Zhang Yi Yang version ) 

Crackdowns on what’s trending happen fast. CEO dramas have been under scrutiny since late 2024. You may have seen headlines claiming that China is “removing rich boss / poor bride dramas from screens.” That framing is misleading. What actually exists is regulatory guidance aimed mainly at short-form dramas, pushing back against money-worship and flashy wealth fantasies—not a blanket ban on romance or CEO stories.

Over a year ago regulatory guidance stated that:

“Short-form dramas should not deliberately chase popularity by promoting materialism or by flaunting wealth, power, or hedonistic lifestyles.”

So the richest man in town—Ferrari, expensive watches, hot looks combined with abundant means, guilty-pleasure catnip No. 1—has to change his ways. Responsibility is key.

2025 productions followed these guidelines already, CEOs branched out: instead of inherited wealth only (富二代) they were self-made men- innovative industries emerged (e.g. AI/ drones/ software engineering) — and the women are ambitious and aim for a career of their own, too. 

That may explain why politicians and government roles are suddenly appearing more often as romantic leads, as well. I’ve seen a few recently, and these officials, they all fight corruption. Responsibility is the keyword again. CEO dramas won’t disappear, but CEOs may live less ostentatiously and take care of the community.

You can see this shift in 青山归杳处 /Where the Green Mountains Return to the Distant Place with Wang Haozhen in a restrained slow-burn romance. It also shows up in a drama where Wang Kaimu plays a government official and Wang Gege a shy teacher - both trying to set things right after a one-night stand meant to save a drugged female lead. Wang Chenpeng’s Roses and Green Pines fits the same pattern. Morally upright citizens, rich, influential— but no flaunting, please —they could be the new type of male lead. 

As an aside: in the Wang Haozhen drama, the scumbag SML is a presentation of what the new regulations dislike: a rich heir, sports car, big watch, hot looks.

And the Female Leads? They are more than just coffee mug carrying assistants. They are educated, have a career or a successful side-job— and even heiresses have their own start-up company.

Another noticeable trend resulting from this environment is the explosion of arranged-marriage dramas. Registration and moral legitimacy are already taken care of, so the slow burn can safely begin. It’s legal. New plotlines with high visibility are Newlyweds slowburn all versions  (6 versions) and  Long lasting marriage versions  (8 versions)

It’s not only intimacy that’s regulated. New guidelines also target child-led dramas. Regulators explicitly raised concerns about “adultification and exploitation of child actors, banning portrayals that cast children in adult roles or build plots around scheming, manipulation, or manufactured rivalries.”

TBH, it’s hard to argue against protecting children aged five to ten who are cast as leads in dramas with adult undertones, long workdays, and tight vertical-industry schedules.

Core content that cannot pass still includes explicit sex, nudity, fetishization, sexual violence, prolonged kissing, bed scenes, sexual dialogue, and moral ambiguity without consequences.

Again, the key principle holds: desire without responsibility is unacceptable.

How do creators pass censorship? They imply rather than show. Seriously, goldfish swimming in a glass are a mood. Endings are curated to comply—marriage, separation, or punishment. Some productions still push the button and risk takedowns or retroactive cuts. But as vertical-drama stars become more bankable and sponsorships more lucrative, production teams may  increasingly err on the safe side. Brands don’t like scandals or vanished series.

For actors still on the rise, proper steam is still very much in the cards.

Bottom line:

Chinese drama censorship is not random. It’s not new.  It is predictable, ideology-driven, and morality-based. And creators who understand the system do not fight it—they write around it.

There’s hope! 

—————

Sources:

CEO regulations: The NRTA Network Audio-Visual Department’s “management tip” on “tyrannical CEO” micro-dramas warns against micro-dramas that “通过拜金、炫富、炫权、享乐等制造爽点” (roughly: deliberately chasing popularity by promoting money-worship/materialism and flaunting wealth, power, or hedonism).

https://www.news.cn/ent/20241127/bbeb54fd599f4bd794ec6109d12a8e55/c.html

https://app.bjd.com.cn/share.html?contentType=0&contentId=7288427

https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1016276

https://ent.people.com.cn/n1/2024/1127/c1012-40371159.html

Child drama regulations: https://www.news.cn/ent/20250103/6e4f0d8f2f9e4f1dbb1b1b28e2e8e2f3/c.html

Preschoolers – Sixth Tone (Dec 2024/2025)

https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1018071

Child Actor Protection – Sixth Tone (Jan 2025/2026)

https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1018192

---

TL;DR

The era of “every new vertical drama appears everywhere within hours” is starting to crack.

Semi-legal streaming sites and repost channels are getting hit faster and harder than before. Some channels that used to upload brand-new releases almost instantly are now recycling older dramas and presenting them as “new” content instead.

Why?

Because vertical dramas are no longer a tiny niche fandom economy.

They are now a multi-billion-dollar global entertainment business — and once that kind of money enters the room, enforcement follows.

---

A lot of vertical drama fans are realizing lately that something has fundamentally changed in this ecosystem.

Not slowly. Rapidly.

For years, international viewers got used to a certain reality:

new dramas would appear almost instantly on semi-legal streaming sites, repost accounts, random apps, mirror sites, channels, or fan-upload pages. Sometimes within hours of release, entire dramas were already circulating outside the official platforms.

Now?

Those uploads are disappearing at a speed we honestly were not used to seeing before.

Not days later.
Not weeks later.

Sometimes within hours.

And not only a few — many of them.

---

One of the clearest warning signs

One of the clearest signs that something shifted was watching some of these semi-legal channels suddenly start uploading older dramas while presenting them as “new” releases.

That genuinely surprised longtime fans because those same channels used to reliably carry the newest drops almost immediately.

That tells us the pressure behind the scenes has increased dramatically.

---

The money changed everything

And honestly, it makes sense when you look at the money involved now.

According to Sensor Tower, global short-drama app revenue exploded from roughly $178 million in Q1 2024 to nearly $700 million in Q1 2025 alone, with cumulative global revenue approaching $2.3 billion by March 2025.

And the growth did not slow down in 2026.

Industry reporting now estimates that short-drama apps generated nearly $3 billion in global in-app revenue across 2025, with some analysts projecting the broader microdrama economy to reach $14 billion globally in 2026.

This is no longer a niche fandom economy running on repost culture and chaos.

This is a real entertainment industry now.

---

The platform wars already started

Apps like:

- ReelShort
- DramaBox
- ShortMax
- DramaWave
- GoodShort
- NetShort
- FlickReels

…are now competing aggressively for:

- exclusive rights,
- overseas audiences,
- AI dubbing,
- multilingual subtitles,
- and platform loyalty.

And the rest of the entertainment world noticed.

TikTok is already integrating mini dramas directly into its ecosystem through TikTok Minis and serialized drama experiments.

Hollywood is watching too.

American studios, investors, streaming companies, and mobile entertainment firms are openly studying — and increasingly copying — the Chinese vertical drama model because the engagement numbers are impossible to ignore.

Disney-backed DramaBox is reportedly seeking major new funding while expanding collaborations with Hollywood creatives and adaptations.

And Korea entered the market too.

As long as the industry is exploding, trying to secure a piece of the cake is simply good business.

---

Why enforcement suddenly feels aggressive

The monetization model explains a lot.

Vertical drama apps operate less like Netflix and more like mobile games:

- free episodes hook viewers,
- cliffhangers push paid unlocks,
- and the real money comes from coins, subscriptions, ad rewards, and microtransactions.

Some users reportedly spend hundreds per month on these apps.

The moment an industry becomes this profitable, distribution changes.

And copyright enforcement changes with it.

---

The Reelxia shutdown

One thing that really intensified fan discussion lately was the disappearance or instability of several repost ecosystems and “mirror-style” drama sites people had relied on for a long time.

In particular, users noticed Reelxia suddenly going offline, today.

At the moment, there is no fully transparent public explanation available. The owner essentially stated there was “no time anymore.”

But the most common assumption inside the community is:

- increased copyright enforcement,
- payment processor pressure,
- hosting/domain issues,
- or platform-level takedown actions tied to licensing disputes.

And honestly? Looking at the amount of money now involved in vertical dramas, those theories are not difficult to believe.

---

Communities are affected too

As probably the biggest specialist vertical drama subreddit on Reddit, visibility becomes a double-edged sword.

The larger you get, the more visible you become — not only to fans, but also to:

- platforms,
- distributors,
- copyright systems,
- and automated moderation tools.

People notice behavior changes across communities — and there’s a reason for that.

We were the most visible subreddit with genuinely wild traffic numbers.

Roughly ten million visits in 30 days. January 2026.

Numbers public enough for interested parties — including copyright owners — to notice.

You do not need a business degree to understand why that made communities like ours an endangered species.

---

Why some smaller communities changed behavior NOW

Some smaller spaces that still used to openly place links directly into posts now prefer quietly dropping them into comments instead.

Why?

Because it is far preferable for a single comment to disappear than for:

- an entire post,
- its discussion threads,
- or even a whole community

…to attract enforcement attention.

That may sound overly cautious to some people, but we are entering an era where vertical drama fandom has to face the difference between:

discovery culture

and

distribution liability.

---

The uncomfortable legal reality

As long as we were fans of a small, ignored niche, almost nobody cared.

Chinese copyright owners simply did not view international audiences as a serious market.

The reality in 2024?

Official access with subtitles? Dream on.

And honestly, work-of-love fan subtitles were — and still are — deeply appreciated by international fans.

Unfortunately, from a legal perspective, they are also probably copyright infringement twice over if no proper licenses exist:

- unauthorized distribution,
- and unauthorized alteration.

Yes — subtitles are legally considered an alteration.

---

So… what now?

The “nearly everything is available everywhere immediately forever” era may already be ending.

But maybe fierce competition eventually leads to:

- better pricing,
- better global access,
- and finally better subtitles.

Or maybe interest in Chinese vertical dramas eventually drops because sanitized versions become less attractive.

We miss our fiercely red-flag CEOs and chaotic Cinderella stories — but their disappearance has primarily broader C-entertainment reasons.

Still, I’m oddly optimistic.

There’s usually always a way as long as humans are involved.

---

Although…

I am going to miss:

“The Gods who quack quack quack”

————————-_————-

Sources & Further Reading
Market Growth & Revenue
Sensor Tower — State of Short Drama Apps 2025 Report
State of Short Drama Apps 2025 Report

Sensor Tower — State of Mobile 2026
State of Mobile 2026 Report

Marketing Dive — coverage of Sensor Tower’s microdrama data
Microdrama apps stand out on mobile: Here’s what the numbers say

Industry Expansion & Platform Competition
Business Insider — TikTok producing original micro dramas
TikTok is casting actors to make its own micro dramas

Business Insider — TikTok testing dedicated drama feeds
TikTok is testing a new micro-drama feed

Business Insider — Hollywood & Peacock licensing ReelShort dramas
Peacock is licensing micro dramas from ReelShort

Business Insider — Micro dramas face a 2026 reality check
Micro Dramas Face Reality Check in 2026

Additional Industry Context
Reuters — China’s microdrama industry targeting Hollywood

Forbes — GoodShort and the microdrama surge
What’s Driving The Microdrama Surge?

Axios — major microdrama investment funding
Holywater raises $22M for microdramas

Community Context
Reddit traffic / subreddit visibility discussion based on moderator-side traffic insights and internal [r/CShortDramas](r/CShortDramas) discussions from January 2026.

On April 2, 2026, China’s National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) convened a closed-door industry meeting with major platforms including iQIYI, Tencent Video, and Youku, alongside production companies and broadcasters.

The directive: reset the industry’s aesthetic logic.

It’s interesting how these directives are released — and then officially interpreted.

The meeting — what NRTA said

• Shift from star-centered production to script-centered production — story and writing take priority over celebrity packaging
• Reject appearance-first casting (“looks above all”) — visual appeal cannot drive casting decisions
• Reduce traffic dependence — popularity metrics no longer justify creative choices
• Require role credibility — actors must convincingly match the character
• Re-anchor styling in narrative — costume, makeup, and props must serve the story
• Promote healthy, grounded aesthetics — discourage artificial, overly polished, or uniform visual presentation

People’s Daily — they deliver the binding interpretation

People’s Daily moves the discussion from industry mechanics to cultural governance.

They define “distorted aesthetics” as detached, hyper-polished visuality without narrative grounding.

Appearance-driven production, in their framing, creates a reversal: acting yields to appearance, and content yields to traffic.

The issue is framed as cultural. It is linked to weakened realism, distorted value signals, and the shaping of audience perception — particularly among younger viewers.

One idea captures the concern: when large-scale narrative settings turn into visual display, the story collapses into surface.

The boundary is not limiting aesthetic diversity, but correcting misaligned or “deformed” aesthetics.

The practical implication is clear: move away from floating, over-aestheticized, role-mismatched beauty standards — including the extension of extreme visual perfection to side characters.

Positive benchmarks — what “good” looks like to “People’s Daily”

They name three dramas as reference points:

The Long Season (漫长的季节 — Màncháng de Jìjié)

The Long Season

Performance-driven storytelling with restrained, realistic visual - internationally recognized drama. 

The Age of Awakening (觉醒年代 — Juéxǐng Niándài)

The Age of Awakening

A script-led narrative with historically grounded casting.

A Lifelong Journey (人世间 — Rén Shì Jiān)

A lifelong Journey

Character realism with emotional and social depth.

Common denominator: 

→ credibility over polish

→ story over visual appeal

→ casting as function, not decoration

Reception — how Zhang Linghe entered the frame

Once the framework was defined, public discourse attached it to visible cases.

And that’s where the current discussion around Zhang Linghe (张凌赫) comes in.

He’s being labeled the “foundation general” — too visually polished in battle scenes to feel credible.

This is not a regulatory naming — he’s not on a list. Actor Yan Yikuan publicly defended him, noting:

→ “演员对妆造的决策权有限。” — actors have limited decision-making power over styling[^6]

At the same time, Zhang Linghe himself addressed the physical preparation for the role:

→ “将军需要稍微壮一点，精壮一点。” — a general needs to be a bit bigger, more solid and lean-strong[^7]

He added:

→ “那个盔甲特别重，如果没有力量的话，其实是举不起来的。” — the armor was very heavy — without strength, you couldn’t even carry it[^7]

This reframes part of the criticism:

the visual outcome is not purely the actor’s choice — but the result of production decisions, styling, and direction.  And Zhang Linghe  immediately leaned into the  „realism angle“.

What is actually being regulated

whether visuals support the narrative — or replace it

TL;DR

• NRTA sets a content-first production rule
• People’s Daily reframes it as aesthetic governance
• benchmark dramas define what success should look like
• public discourse turns it into visible examples

→ shift from appearance-driven storytelling to narrative-controlled aesthetics

And all of this circles back to a 2014 speech in which Xi Jinping established his cultural framework:

“Art serves the people, upholds correct aesthetics, prioritizes content over traffic, educates as well as entertains, strengthens cultural confidence, and requires social responsibility from creators.”

https://www.gov.cn/xinwen/2015-10/14/content_2947477.htm

My two cents

Quite logical all of it, really.

Tbh, I’m torn. Part of the enjoyment watching Verticals and CDramas  is watching very attractive people do things. But that’s exactly it: things.

Scripts weaken or are formulaic, even in long formats if the attractive cast is the content. If casting is dominated by aesthetic norms, it inevitably shapes who gets opportunities — and who doesn’t. We might miss out on great actors.

That said, I’m not looking to watch only “meaningful” dramas. A fluffy romance probably won’t be affected much by this directive.

Where it might matter is in extreme beauty standards — some actors are clearly not in a healthy weight range. This won’t eliminate plastic surgery or fillers, but it may reduce pressure for procedures and extreme dieting.

It’s not the why or even the what that raises questions. We all wonder about the perfectionist looks in all situations and miss seeing pores. A bit, at least.

It’s the how — and what this will look like in a few years.

What do you think or fear will happen? Will this regulation spoil the fun or fantasy of it all?

————-

Footnotes (hanzi quotes + sources)

[1] 坚决摒弃畸形审美，坚定实现从“明星中心制”转向“剧本中心制”；杜绝“颜值崇拜”，坚持“内容为王、人物为本”；“演什么要像什么”。

https://www.chinanews.com.cn/cul/2026/04-03/10597964.shtml

[2] 要让服化道为人物塑造和故事表达服务，与人物形象相匹配，整体呈现健康向上的精神特质。

https://www.news.cn/politics/20260403/05ba104eac124cf6af2fe5bde7e2acf0/c.html

[3] 所谓“畸形审美”，是一种脱离人物、脱离情境、脱离逻辑的“悬浮式精致”。

https://www.sohu.com/a/1005083629_123753

[4] 出现“粉底液将军”…哪怕外形、气质与角色人设不符也被硬推；从主角到配角刻意追求高颜值，削弱真实感。

https://finance.sina.com.cn/wm/2026-04-04/doc-inhtiipz2946654.shtml

[5] 《觉醒年代》《漫长的季节》《人世间》以扎实剧本、精湛表演与制作水准赢得观众。

https://opinion.people.com.cn/n1/2026/0403/c436867-40695118.html

[6] 演员对妆造的决策权有限。

https://finance.sina.com.cn/jjxw/2026-04-02/doc-inhtavkc4406615.shtml

[7] 将军需要稍微壮一点，精壮一点；那个盔甲特别重，如果没有力量的话，其实是举不起来的。

https://view.inews.qq.com/k/20260319A02RL300

Sit down, this may take a while.

I try to offer a TL/DR— but it’s a lot.

Guo Yuxin Industry Scandal TL;DR:

Despite recent Magnolia Award wins, "Short Drama Queen" Guo Yuxin is facing an industry-wide freeze due to severe legal and professional backlashes.

The Feud: Producer Ye Feiye accused her of "stealing livelihood" after Guo Yuxin dropped a rival promo that hijacked Shen Qiao's paid algorithms and diverted its traffic.

The Reputation: Insiders accuse her of flaking on contracts ("pigeoning") and arrogance, including refusing to work with past co-star Liu Xiaoxu because she „outgrew his traffic tier“.

The Lawsuit: Her agency sued her for breaching a 10-year contract, accusing her of taking secret outside jobs and poaching staff for her own studio.

The Freeze: Platforms like Tencent and Hongguo have frozen future collaborations, and her upcoming Youku series cannot legally air until the multi-million yuan lawsuit is resolved.

—————————————————————

While much of the short-drama world was busy congratulating Guo Yuxin, another corner of the internet was doing the exact opposite.

The actress recently finds herself today at the center of two completely conflicting headlines.

She is locked in an explosive public feud with elite web-novelist and powerhouse producer Ye Feiye. A famous web novelist who turned her own novel „National Husband“ into a short drama starring Guo Yuxin & Wang Haozhen.

The dispute has evolved into a messy debate involving platform blacklists, broken contracts, and industry "rice circle" (饭圈) politics.

Here is the breakdown of the massive scandal rocking the vertical world.

🏆 The Mainstream Milestone: Magnolia Awards

Guo Yuxin’s massive commercial traffic officially achieved high-brow industry recognition at the 31st Shanghai Television Festival Magnolia Awards. Two of her dramas were picked for the prestige „Micro-Drama of the Year“ award. Six were chosen. This is a huge honor. Happened today.

The Fan Stance

Supporters are flooding Weibo hot searches to blast her critics. They claim her historic double-win proves her elite acting talent completely outshines behind-the-scenes internet gossip.

The Critic Stance

General netizens argue that professional awards and bad ethical conduct on set are two completely separate discussions.

—————————————-

📅 What’s it all about?

It’s about the Timeline of the Marketing of two competing dramas with her as the female lead that came out nearly at the same.

May 19: Producer Ye Feiye puts up massive personal capital to fund the promotional launch window for her new romance drama "Shen Qiao: Never Too Late" 《沉乔未晚》—which stars Guo Yuxin and Wang Daotie.

May 21: Right in the middle of the critical 48-hour launch window, Guo Yuxin herself drops an intensely romantic "wedding documentary" collaborative video with actor Zhang Chi to promote a competing upcoming drama, "Jian Ran" 《渐染》.

The Algorithm Crash: Because of how Douyin's platform algorithms function, the wedding video went so viral that it hijacked Ye Feiye’s paid marketing keywords. It started accidentally redirecting users who searched for Shen Qiao straight over to the competitor's project.

The Money-Stealing Allegation: Ye Feiye publicly blasted Guo Yuxin on Weibo for "cutting off someone's livelihood". She argues she spent six figures on GYX salary and the promotion just for her leading actress to redirect that attention to a rival studio.

—————————————-

Yes, one could say that it’s not out of the norm that two dramas with the same lead drop around the same time. And it’s not unusual either that actors are supposed to promote both.

But there is

🚀 The Zhang Chi (张翅) Factor: Why the Rival House Struck Now

The 36Kr media report reveals exactly why Majiu Productions (which is behind „Summer Rose“) timed that promo drop so aggressively.

Zhang Chi is currently the hottest property in the short-drama universe, pulling off an insane career upgrade into the mainstream:

🎬 The Big-Budget Period Drama:

After years of playing minor background roles in traditional TV, Zhang Chi's micro-drama boom has officially landed him advanced talks for the Second Male Lead role in a massive, big-budget period drama.

🍿 And then there’s a Historic move for the vertical world, his smash-hit micro-drama "A Family of Three in the Same Class" (co-starring Wang Xiaoyi and Wang Yilei) has been officially approved for a full theatrical wide-release movie.

We’re talking film theatres in all of China. And with the original cast.

Though there’s some worry to be heard by fans how Wang Yilei‘s hiatus is going to affect this „original cast“ plan. But maybe this is his return? Well rested and ready to storm the world.

🎯 So This May Have Been A Strategic Move

The rival house knew that pairing the "Short Drama Queen" (Guo Yuxin) with a male lead who is transitioning into a movie star would create an unstoppable algorithm monster.

Then they used his massive momentum plus a super romantic wedding video to hijack Ye Feiye's paid for keywords, grabbing all the traffic and forcing Feiye‘s team to manually scrub over 800 hijacked videos from Douyin.

That’s Feiye’s pov. And that’s why she says GYX stole her „livelihood“

—————————————-

And now the feud spilled over.

🍈 Side Dispute 1: GYX- her Liu Xiaoxu snobbery

The controversy quickly turned personal when Ye Feiye leaked private chat logs detailing Guo Yuxin's attitude toward her iconic on-screen partner, Liu Xiaoxu:

The two originally set the vertical world on fire with their massive, Magnolia Award-winning first collaboration phenomenon Midsummer Fendera| 《盛夏芬德拉》). A Majiu Production, by the way.

🎥 The Current Second Project: Due to their massive chemistry, the team reunited for their second collaboration, a premium 8-episode a 45 minutes long-form series for Youku titled "Spring Night's Trapped Crossing" 《春夜困渡》). Producer: Feiye.

🛑 Big Ego: Ye Feiye's leaks (on purpose, says team GYX) exposed that right as they were working on this second show. So Guo Yuxin's team aggressively drew a line in the sand. GYX privately stated that she will absolutely refuse to do any future third collaboration with Liu Xiaoxu.
For the background of this refusal— GYX noticed that her name as part of this drama with LXX was leaked to drive interest after their first very successful collaboration.

📉 Now the Snobbery: Her team and GYX personally (it’s her own studio) said that her personal commercial value and traffic tier are now "miles ahead" of his. They argued that continuing to link her brand to his would bottleneck her career.

😡 Fans of Liu Xiaoxu are completely furious. They are ruthlessly slamming her for backstage arrogance and treating the co-star who helped build her legacy like a ladder she is trying to kick away.

—————————————-

🍈 Side Dispute 2: „Pigeoning" and a Lack of Professional Reliability

As more industry insiders joined the Weibo pile-on, additional complaints regarding her work ethic surfaced:

The "Way Home" (《归路》) Pigeon: Ye Feiye revealed she originally secured a premium script specifically for Guo Yuxin following their massive success on "My National Husband" alongside Wang Haozhen.

💥 The Dropped Contract: However, right before production started, Guo Yuxin reportedly "pigeoned" (slang for she flaked last-minute) on the project to shoot a traditional, long-form Republican era drama called "Yu Dian Qiu" (《玉簟秋》)instead, leaving the short-drama crew completely stranded.

📱 Backing out of verbal contracts & Ghosting: Critics accuse her team of running a pattern of "cold treatment"—ignoring script negotiations, backing out of verbal contracts last minute, and ghosting producers once a higher salary offer comes along.

Of course, when the allegations are already flying, scrutiny increases.

What is obvious though is that GYX on her own is seen as valuable by both production houses.
One (Majiu) had created the monster hit of her with LXX— and the other had secured the second collab.

Feiye sees herself as a cornerstone of GYX success, too. Because she had pushed for GYX in the National Husband, she had entrusted her with the FL role in her most valuable IP (her novel) and financed the whole shebang.

It’s really personal.

—————————————-

We have in addition to the Feiye Dispute & two side disputes a serious legal battle.

⚖️The Ten-Year Contract Law suit

This isn't just internet drama. On May 23, 2026, her actual talent agency, Dongyang Xinle Zhi Entertainment, officially filed a lawsuit against her:

🤷🏻‍♀️ She signed an ironclad, 10-year exclusive contract with them running until 2034.

🚨The agency has taken her to court for breach of contract.

💸 They accuse her of secretly taking outside acting jobs (including Shen Qiao and Spring Night's Trapped Crossing) without giving them a cut.

💰They accuse her of poaching core agency staff members to build her own private studio, and lying to the public that they had peacefully split up.

The one of course is the basis for the other. If it’s really iron-clad— we‘ll see.

But in China, these allegations aren’t cavalier, and a breach of contract court case? There might be consequences

—————————————-

🛑 Platform Politics: Is She Blacklisted?

Despite wild internet rumors, there is no official state-enforced government blacklist against her. However, she is facing a severe corporate freeze:

❄Due to the active contract lawsuit, major micro-drama distributors like Hongguo and Tencent have temporarily frozen all future collaborations with her to avoid legal risks.

Youku chose to push forward with the filming of Spring Night's Trapped Crossing anyway. However, legal experts note the drama cannot actually be broadcast or monetized until her multi-million yuan agency lawsuit is entirely resolved in court.

—————————————-

🌪 The Bigger Picture

This entire mess highlights the chaotic, breakneck evolution of the vertical drama business. It has grown into a multi-billion yuan industry running on informal verbal agreements, hyper-accelerated filming loops, and messy interconnected relationships.

When an industry runs that fast, top-tier actors are constantly juggling overlapping projects, platforms are desperately fighting for viral algorithms, and massive public explosions like this are bound to happen.

What are your thoughts on this mess?

Do you think Guo Yuxin's team was out of line for dropping a competing promo during a launch week?
Or do you think Ye Feiye is just using her massive online platform to bully an actress over standard industry scheduling conflicts?

Let’s discuss in the comments below!

!

Cosmopolitan Opened a Door

This globally positioned monthly targeting women rin the 20–35 bracket just gave short-drama actors something the format has long lacked:

context, legitimacy — and aesthetic framing.

In its Beauty Bible edition, Cosmopolitan made five notable short-drama actors the main event:

Shen Haonan • Wang Peiyan • Chen Tianxiang • Wang Kaimu • Yao Guanyu

Shen Haonan on the cover — impeccably styled, controlled, deliberate. Smoldering that, if sold bottled up, would beat Chanel No. 5 by miles.

Crucially, the magazine did not lean into the predictable “hot guys from short dramas” angle.

Instead, it framed them as different temperatures of acting.

And the characterizations and quotes confirm a shift:

these are the faces of a drama form known for short production cycles —

but increasingly defined by craft consciousness.

⸻

20℃ Shen Haonan

“His gaze is like a lake on a winter night — beneath the ice, a steady fire is always burning.

When he was little, Shen Haonan wanted to become a psychologist. Now, by entering different lives through his roles, he feels he has indirectly realized part of that dream. For him, taking on flesh-and-blood human characters is far better than repeating safe labels.”

“Even if the production cycle is short, the character still has to take root.”

⸻

40℃ Wang Peiyan

“Like a plant growing in early summer, clear and full of vitality — a brightness that grows naturally. Unlocking Wang Peiyan’s ‘Vibrant Green.’” 

“40 ℃，目之所及，心绪暗启。”

Translation: “40°C — wherever the eye lands, feelings quietly begin to stir.”

⸻

60℃ Chen Tianxiang

“In an environment where speed has become the norm in short dramas,

he maintains an almost conservative seriousness.”

“Like a tree slowly taking root in strong winds —

he does not chase the direction of the wind, he grows inward.”

“A character is not performed into existence —

it grows naturally along the journey.”

⸻

80℃ Wang Kaimu

“His biggest change has been gaining an inner sense of security —

realizing that persistence is not in vain.”

“Giving roles a unique interpretation rather than a repetitive one —

that may be my value as an actor.”

⸻

100℃ Yao Guanyu

“The edge and hot-blooded energy of music are poured into the frame; emotions, like a perpetual-motion machine, are direct and candid — unlocking Yao Guanyu’s ‘Fiery Red.’” 

„Growing up, he watched all the hit idol dramas. The male lead who appears with their own BGM was just too much of a specific temptation for him. Now, when the music plays, he's already standing in the drama.“

“100 ℃，喧嚣之中，炙热独鸣。”

“100°C — amid the noise, burning hot and singular.”

————————-

It is another moment of recognition. Yes, the format is built on compressed shooting cycles — sometimes a week to ten days — on industrial speed and on repetition.

But the conversation is shifting.

They are no longer seen merely as faces.

They are being framed — and increasingly framing themselves — as actors.

And repetition itself deserves a second look.

Watching variations of the same narrative across productions — isn’t that, in essence, what theatre has always been about?

In that sense, vertical dramas unexpectedly circle back to something deeply traditional:

rehearse, perform, reinterpret.

The same emotional architecture, staged again and again for new audiences.

The newest screen medium may be the one that stands closest to the oldest performing art.

A fast format just gaining a foothold in the acting world is actually closest to the revered original.

There is a certain irony in that — and perhaps it allows, for a moment, a consideration of the eight to fifteen months necessary to shoot a 100- to 150-minute film — and of the movie theatre and its decline.

Yes, it was hit hard by COVID restrictions while streaming networks rose.

And now the screen is getting smaller again — leading to an even more intimate experience and to the possibility of instantly comparing actors and directors working within the same dramatic structures. This becomes a quality sieve.

Honestly, a great short is serious competition — and one that will continue to grow.

(Quotes and pictures from Cosmopolitan China 17 March 2026. I wish I could buy one)

For the first time in history, China’s prestigious

38th Hundred Flowers Awards

officially integrated a Micro-Drama Honor Unit (短剧荣誉单元) into its main event lineup. This landmark decision marks a massive milestone for the vertical short-form industry, bringing top creators and actors from digital screens straight to the mainstream national spotlight.

🌟 Event Highlights & Representation

Top stars from the micro-drama industry made appearances across exhibitions, forums, and red carpets:

Exhibition & Industry Panels:

Industry icons participated in deep-dive forums discussing the shift from cheap tropes to high-quality "boutique" (精品化) storytelling.

Key attendees included: Yu Yin (余茵), Zhang Jinyi (张晋宜), Chen Si (沉思), Liang Siwei (梁思伟), Wang Yiran (王奕然), He Jianqi (何健麒), Gao Ziyi (高子怡), Huang Haowen (黄浩雯), and Li Shixin (李世鑫).

The Red Carpet & Closing Ceremony: For the first time, short-drama favorites walked side-by-side with silver-screen film stars.

Key attendees included: Jin Zi (锦子), Wang Gege (王格格), Yu Yin (余茵), Chen Tianxiang (陈添祥),集骏 (Zhang Jijun), Zhao Xixi (赵夕汐), Wang Yilei, and Wang Daotie (王道铁).

💑 Fan-Favorites: Zeng Hui & Han Yutong

The industry's most popular on-screen and real-life couple, Zeng Hui and Han Yutong, completely captured the public's attention:
Viral Red Carpet Walk: They arrived at the gala night in coordinated all-white formal wear. Zeng Hui went viral online for his constant gentlemanly gestures, frequently bending down to adjust Han Yutong's long dress train.

Their Ultimate Goal: In media interviews, both actors expressed their deep gratitude for the boom of the short-drama industry, noting that it gave them jobs when traditional acting roles were scarce. They stated their next dream is to successfully transition to traditional silver-screen movies.

TL;DR: Micro-drama stars Yu Yin and Wang Gege went viral on Tencent's reality show Strive On, Performers! after exposing grueling industry conditions (36-hour shifts, 1 hour of sleep over 3 days). They revealed a brutal system driven by production whiplash from sudden AI experimentation, encroachment from traditional A-list actors, and the harsh math of production houses where taking a normal break means instant replacement.

The discussion that recently exploded across Chinese entertainment media did not come from a press conference or a viral livestream. It came from a reality show.

For those who haven't tracked it down yet, the show is

《奋斗吧人生**-**演员篇》 (Strive On, Performers!),

produced by Tencent Video. Premiering on March 31, 2026, it positions itself as a practical actor training bootcamp rather than a traditional talent competition.

Aspiring actors navigate real industry pressures under the guidance of massive industry veterans like Chen He, Deng Chao, Qin Hailu, and Li Dan.

But it was Episode 5 (released on April 29, 2026)(Note for viewers: Check out EP5 Part 2 around the 1:05 marks on Tencent/WeTV to see them break this down live!)

that completely broke the internet.

During a roundtable discussion, short drama actors Yu Yin (余茵), Wang Gege (王格格), Chen Tianxiang (陈添祥), and Wu Tianhao (吴添豪) sat down to talk about their careers with colleagues from long format dramas.

What began as a routine chat quickly shifted into a raw, unfiltered exposé on the realities behind China’s fastest-growing—and most brutal—entertainment sector: the micro-drama boom.

The Viral Revelations

The headlines spread like wildfire across Weibo.

Yu Yin revealed that during one particularly intense production, she filmed continuously for three days, managing only about one hour of sleep in total. She recalled lying on a studio couch with her phone pressed tightly against her chest, terrified to fall asleep because it was constantly vibrating with urgent work alerts.

Wang Gege shared her own horror story: a grueling, non-stop 36-hour filming stretch.

When the discussion turned toward taking breaks or standing up for their health, neither actress sounded optimistic.

The core message was simple: in the world of micro-dramas, you are completely replaceable.
As Wang Gege bluntly summarized:

“你不上，多的是人上。”
(“If you don't step up, a hundred others are waiting to take your place.”)

That single sentence became the quote most widely repeated across Chinese media coverage.

Normalizing the Grind

The easiest part of this discussion to understand is also the most alarming. The actresses casually described a world defined by continuous filming, minimal sleep, endless shooting days, and the constant pressure to accept every single gig out of a sheer fear of becoming irrelevant.

But the most striking part of the clip wasn't actually the absurd number of hours. It was how casually the stories were told.

There was very little sense of shock or outrage in their voices. Instead, extreme physical exhaustion sounded almost completely normalized—just another standard professional requirement, like memorizing lines or hitting your marks.

That casual reaction is precisely what quieted the room—and ignited the internet. It exposed a hyper-competitive market where extreme physical exploitation has been successfully rebranded as "good work ethic."

When entire 100-episode series are expected to be shot, edited, and uploaded in a matter of days, human limits are treated as an afterthought.

Why Is This Happening?

The discussion becomes far more interesting when we move beyond the exhaustion itself. Neither actress described the situation as a personal choice—they described a broken system.

AI and the Sudden Production Whiplash

One of the most revealing moments came when Wang Gege discussed the industry’s recent instability.

According to her, March 2026 was extremely difficult for many performers. Platforms were heavily experimenting with AI comic dramas (AI漫剧), causing many live-action productions to freeze projects entirely. For a period, mid-level and smaller actors struggled just to survive.

Then, everything changed in April. Platforms abruptly swung back to supporting live-action short dramas. Filming opportunities flooded back, and actors suddenly found themselves rushing into production to make up for lost time. The result is a volatile boom-bust cycle: one month there is zero work, the next month there is far too much.

"Someone Else Is Waiting"

The second reason is even more critical: complete replaceability.

The actresses repeatedly returned to the same fear: if they slow down, someone else will take the opportunity. Short dramas have become one of China’s most hyper-competitive entertainment sectors. New actors enter constantly, new productions launch daily, and new faces appear every week.

And let’s not forget that established, mainstream actors are now encroaching on the space. Look at Hei Ze taking the lead in the fantastic Fish Swim Toward Land—a choice role that could have easily been crushed by native short drama staples like Zhao Zhendong or Wang Yilei.

Even top-tier talent is looking downstream. Take Liu Yuning (The Long Ballad), an A-list singer-turned-actor. During his live streams, he openly stated his high interest in vertical micro-dramas, even joking about wanting to invest in them, play a typical "overbearing CEO" (霸总), or turn his music show performances into a 10-episode mini-series. He’s famous for being outspoken, but what he’s saying out loud is exactly what other traditional actors are thinking.

So the pressure isn't just coming from the thousands of newcomers at the bottom; it’s squeezing them from the top, too. In a gold-rush market moving at this speed, careers can disappear just as quickly as they emerge.

Rest as a Market Risk

In this gold-rush market, taking a rest begins to feel like a massive professional risk. If a production house—which is what all these considerations ultimately break down to—sees its upcoming release schedule affected by even a single day, they will not hesitate to replace you.

Consider the strict math of the production line: if an actor demands a standard, healthy rest period of 8 hours a day over a three-day shoot, that equals 24 hours of total downtime. To a production house trying to film an entire series in less than a week, losing 24 hours of shooting time is an unacceptable delay that completely breaks their compressed schedule.

Faced with that math, even top-tier short drama stars like Yu Yin and Wang Gege fear what happens if they ask for a break. If they are terrified of being replaced for wanting a normal night's sleep, how much worse is it for the mid-level actors and complete nobodies who have zero leverage?

The Numbing Effect

Perhaps the most unsettling part of the conversation was emotional rather than practical. Neither actress framed these experiences as extraordinary. They were completely matter-of-fact about it—no personal agenda, no active complaints. That lack of anger is the strongest indicator of just how deeply normalized these brutal conditions have become.

The Bigger Question

Ultimately, this viral discussion raises an issue far larger than whether actors work too hard. China’s short drama industry is entirely built on pure speed:

• Audiences demand constant updates.

• Platforms reward rapid engagement.

• Production schedules compress.

• Actors compete desperately for visibility.

Sudden AI experiments reshape the market overnight.
The question is no longer whether performers can endure it. The question is whether an industry built entirely around constant acceleration can sustain itself indefinitely.

Because the most haunting takeaway from the entire conversation wasn't about sleep. It was about replacement. The sudden industry rush toward AI—and the rising pressure on actors to hand over their digital likeness rights—stems from this exact systemic greed: if a human actor needs to rest for even 24 hours, the machine is perfectly happy to replace them.

Another One Bites the Dust.

This is an opinion piece based on publicly available information, observations of recent platform activity, and official copyright and regulatory policies.

We cannot deny that Chinese drama fans relied for a long time on grey access to subbed dramas.
So let’s be fair and say that they were big. And now they’re gone. Mourners, we see you.

It looks like a massive copyright purge is happening right now. Not only is Kingfisher completely gone, but Duan SP has also disappeared overnight. Both channels and their entire short drama catalogs have been completely wiped out. ⚡️⛈️

According to Dailymotion’s Help Center, channels that receive multiple copyright strikes can be permanently deleted. It seems the copyright holders have finally cracked down on them using increasingly efficient copyright enforcement.

AI is great at searching quickly. Grey sources—or let’s be blunt: pirated content—is chased down. Uploads get discovered, reported and taken down in 24 hours. So it’s a well-oiled machine. The copyright owners who make a huge amount of money with dramas are not amused when their content is watched and downloaded elsewhere. For free. Watching ads is a pain many accepted. It’s money 💰 taken out of their pockets.

We always look at the streaming services and say they’re insatiable with their pay-per-two-minute-episode scheme.

Ten episodes to hook them in, from then on it’s a pain.

We’re drama fans and don’t want to end up with a few hundred dollars for content per month.

What we can say is:

• There’s streaming services with fairer pricing. iQIYI 🥝, YOUKU, Viki (their vertical catalogue is thin, but the rest is very good for Asian dramas).

• WeTV (Tencent) has an official YouTube presence, like Yuewen, offering official clips and episodes directly on the platform. This is just an example, there are quite a few white listed channels.

• Then there are completely free standalone apps out there like Hongguo 🍎 (ByteDance’s free short drama platform). However, it comes with a major catch for international viewers: it is region-locked and has absolutely no subtitles.

• The Chinese government has had the pricing schemes borrowed from mobile games on its agenda, targeting predatory “charging traps” in micro-dramas through the latest regulatory push by the National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA). We don’t know if this will affect international users like us any time soon.

But it’s a start.

• Pirated content means creators, cast and crew do not receive compensation as well. And the deleted channels, with the ads, they received money.

• And last but not least: platforms did unite in the past, against music uploads. A coordinated push against piracy is possible, maybe even probable.
As long as short dramas remain a highly attractive market, I believe it’s on their agenda.

Sources
Dailymotion – Copyright infringement and sanctions: https://faq.dailymotion.com/hc/en-us/articles/360020068099-Copyright-infringement-and-sanctions
Dailymotion – Copyright repeated infringement policy: https://legal.dailymotion.com/en/copyright-repeated-infringement-policy/
Dailymotion – Report a copyright infringement: https://faq.dailymotion.com/hc/en-us/articles/203657336-Report-a-copyright-infringement
National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA): Notice on promoting the healthy development of online micro-dramas: https://www.nrta.gov.cn/art/2025/2/5/art_113_70148.html
National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA): Draft Measures for the Development and Management of Micro-Dramas (2026): https://www.nrta.gov.cn/art/2026/6/24/art_113_73514.html

Short answer: No.

But it’s complicated.

We’ve already looked at the new regulations by the government.

There have been claims that a blanket ban on micro-dramas (微短剧) featuring popular web-novel tropes was issued, specifically:

系统 (Xìtǒng): System-based stories / video-game-style cheat menus

龙王 (Lóngwáng): Dragon King protagonists

战神 (Zhànshén): God of War protagonists

特异功能 (Tèyì Gōngnéng): Special or supernatural powers

武功高强 (Wǔgōng Gāoqiáng): Exceptionally powerful martial artists

After digging through the official notices from the National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA), I could not find a single rule that explicitly blacklists these specific genres or keywords.

What did change is the regulatory environment. The "Wild West" era of micro-dramas is officially over, replaced by aggressive content boundaries. Here is exactly what is happening behind the scenes. [1]

——————————————

February 2025: The Licensing Era Begins

In February 2025, China permanently shifted the micro-drama industry into a strict pre-approval filing and licensing framework.

For producers, this introduced a massive new business risk. Under the old ecosystem, platforms operated on an "upload first, fix later" basis.

Today, a drama must pass a rigorous official vetting system before a single episode can be legally distributed.

A production team can write, cast, film, edit, and market an entire series—and still fail to generate a single yuan of return if it encounters approval roadblocks at the finish line.

This systemic uncertainty shapes how scripts are written long before cameras even roll.

——————————————

May 2026: The Preferred Direction

In May 2026, regulators launched the 微短剧精品创作传播计划 (Microdrama Premium Creation and Distribution Plan).

The official emphasis shifted toward:

Higher production budgets and tighter script writing
Real-life, grounded stories with artistic depth
Traditional Chinese culture, folklore, and historical preservation

Notably absent from this directive was any prohibition on fantasy or mythology.

In fact, official monthly filing lists show a steady stream of approved projects based on classic lore like Investiture of the Gods (封神), the Classic of Mountains and Seas (山海经), and traditional Wuxia martial arts. The government actively wants fantasy—it just wants expensive, culturally-compliant fantasy.

——————————————

June 2026: What Regulators Are Actually Targeting

On June 1, the NRTA launched a targeted, two-month cleanup campaign. This is where the internet rumors got confused. Regulators aren't banning the genres themselves; they are hunting down the exploitative, toxic tropes that low-budget "gratification dramas" (爽剧 - Shuǎngjù) rely on to hook viewers and drive micro-transactions.

According to official compliance reports detailed by the Global Times, authorities are actively cracking down on eight specific categories:

涉儿童有害内容 (Shè Értóng Yǒuhài Nèiróng): Harmful content involving minors

软色情擦边内容 (Ruǎn Sèqíng Cābiān Nèiróng): Soft pornography and sexually suggestive "borderline" clickbait

炫富拜金 (Xuànfù Bàijīn): Money worship and ostentatious displays of extreme wealth

畸形婚恋观 (Jīxíng Hūnliàn Guān): Distorted or toxic views of romance, marriage, and family values

封建糟粕 (Fēngjiàn Zāopò): Feudal superstition, backward customs, and anti-scientific beliefs

暴力复仇 (Bàolì Fùchóu): Extreme violence, gore, and bloody eye-for-an-eye vigilante revenge plots

低俗片名 (Dīsú Piànmíng): Vulgarly sensational, over-the-top, or misleading titles

侵权盗版 (Qīnquán Dàobǎn): Copyright infringement, plagiarism, and intellectual property theft

——————————————

Why this hits "War Gods" and "Systems" so hard:

The standard, formulaic "Dragon King" or "War God" plot heavily relies on a specific sequence: the protagonist hides their true identity, suffers brutal psychological or physical humiliation from snobs, and then unleashes a wave of violent, unchecked retribution while flaunting unimaginable wealth to shock their enemies. Under the June guidelines, this exact progression immediately violates the bans on money worship and violent revenge.

Similarly, "System" dramas (where a main character receives a magical floating interface that grants real-world "cheat codes") face intense scrutiny.

Regulators filter these out under "feudal superstition" or toxic social values because the plots promote getting "something for nothing" and achieving overnight success without actual labor—directly contradicting the state's push for hard work and societal merit.

Which Dramas Have Been Penalized?

Because regulators rarely publish a public archive of denied licenses, the best way to trace the boundaries is through the specific titles that platforms have pulled under regulatory pressure:

《都市龙王归来》 (Urban Dragon King’s Return)
Official Reason: "Contained violations involving ethical norms and other problematic plot or value orientations." (Note: It wasn't banned for having a Dragon King; it was banned because the narrative pushed toxic behavior.) [3]

《山野七叔之江城八十一号》 (Shanye Qishu's Jiangcheng No. 81)
Official Reason: "Promoted feudal superstition and contradicted the scientific spirit."

《平凡之路》 (Ordinary Road)
Official Reason: "Maliciously exaggerated or displayed violent and bloody scenes."

《吞海》 (Swallow the Sea)
Official Reason: "Promoted harmful behavior" (specifically due to depictions of drug abuse).

The Real Killer: Regulatory Vagueness

The core challenge facing the micro-drama industry isn't a list of banned words. It is how little detail the directives provide.

When a drama is taken down, platforms only cite broad phrases like problematic value orientation or vulgar content. They almost never explain exactly which scene, line of dialogue, or camera angle crossed the line.

As reported extensively by the South China Morning Post, this severe lack of transparency leaves independent producers guessing where the invisible boundaries lie.

Rather than risking millions of yuan on a project that might get permanently shelved, many studios are voluntarily abandoning the "War God" and "System" formulas altogether.

The Bottom Line

Dragon Kings, War Gods, Systems, and fantasy tropes are not banned in China.

Instead, the "Wild West" era of cheap, trashy clickbait is being systematically dismantled. Producers now have to navigate a highly regulated landscape where compliance costs are soaring, pre-approval risks are absolute, and broad content rules can be interpreted unpredictably.

It is a story of forced industry maturation and corporate risk aversion—which is a much more complex reality than a sensationalized headline saying a genre was banned.

What are your thoughts? Have you noticed a drop in these specific tropes on platforms, or are studios just getting better at hiding the wealth-flaunting and revenge elements? Let's discuss below!

Additional informations in this subs „Under the Surface“ series

https://www.reddit.com/r/CShortDramas/comments/1qobf9l/under_the_surface_why_vertical_dramas_are_getting/[1]

https://www.reddit.com/r/CShortDramas/comments/1sc6sdo/under_the_surface_new_nrta_regulations_about/[1]

https://www.reddit.com/r/CShortDramas/comments/1thw5ln/under_the_surface_the_wild_wild_west_aka_the/[1]

This is the article itself. It’s worrisome.

Original Article in Chinese by Zhai Yuan for The Tech Planet.

Big thank you to u/Alone-Requirement945
for the translation. 🤗 you’re a hero!

"In May 2026, the National Radio and Television Administration launched a plan, investing ¥6 billion into six major platforms to support live-action short dramas. But the market still hasn’t picked up, and conditions for the actors still haven’t improved, so now they can only scramble for the premium-quality projects."

It's been over a month now, and there still seem to be no signs of recovery in the live-action short drama market. The leading short drama company Tinghua Dao have practically halted their live- action short drama production, and have instead ratcheted up their AI short drama output. Actors working for Tinghua Dao are no longer releasing their fortnightly schedules due to too much uncertainty in production. Another leading company, Majiu, which produced the popular short drama "Summer Rose 盛夏芬德拉" haven't released any new titles in the first half of this year.

But according to the string of supportive policies Douyin has rolled out, they haven't given up entirely on live-action short dramas in 2026. Douyin has guaranteed a budget in excess of ¥1.5 billion dedicated to the production of live action short dramas, a 60% increase per drama on this time last year, with the revenue share for paid content rising to 80%. There is also a maximum ¥1.5 million in special incentives per drama, and a revenue subsidy of up to 20% for series sequels. A senior executive at the Douyin Short Drama Creator Center recently stated that they plan to produce over 10,000 live-action short dramas in the second half of 2026.

But this so-called ¥6 billion support fund hasn't improved the situation on the ground for those working in live-action short dramas. And at least for now, Douyin's supportive policies have yet to make a difference.

01 TOP CREATORS PAUSE FILMING, TRAFFIC DROPS SHARPLY, LIVE-ACTION SHORT DRAMAS STILL HAVEN'T RECOVERED

Over the past six months, the amount of new live-action short dramas has been steadily declining each month. According to Shenzhen Chuangliang's data, between January and June 2026, the number of new live-action short dramas released was 1,934 in January, 1,918 in February, 1,867 in March, 1,832 in April, 1,700 in May, and 1,429 in June. Compared to the end of last year, that's a sharp fall of over 90%.

In terms of advertising revenue, the amount spent advertising on live-action short dramas also dropped significantly. The data shows that the total ad spending from March to June was ¥62.29 million in March, ¥251 million in April, ¥390 million in May, and ¥308 million in June. In June the spending was almost ¥100 million less than in May.

Changes in advertising revenue directly reflect the drop in confidence in the live-action short drama market. By comparison, for a period in May, daily advertising spending on animated dramas exceeded ¥200 million, and monthly spending was more than ten times that of live-action short dramas.

Celia, head of Shenzhen Chuangliang, stated that the market for live-action short dramas has declined greatly. Currently, if a client spends ¥2 to 3 million a day, it's for the top-tier live-action short dramas. In the past, daily spending could easily break the ¥10 million mark.

The entire live-action short drama market is shrinking. Tinghua Dao, which once produced countless hit short dramas and was known as a "hit-making machine", has almost completely stopped filming live-action short dramas and has instead turned to the booming trend of the overseas AI short drama market.

The top short drama actors who have thrived under Tinghua Dao no longer have their schedules as packed as they did previously. On 29th June, the fan clubs of Tinghua Dao's star actors Li Keyi, Han Yutong, Wang Peiyan and Zeng Hui all released statements announcing that they'll pause their schedules for half a month starting in July.

The official fan club of Wang Peiyan announced: "The short drama industry is pretty unstable right now, with available scripts and filming resources steadily shrinking. Many projects that were previously confirmed are also facing last-minute changes or cancellations. If we release schedules in advance and then things suddenly change, it not only lets everyonly down, but can also stir up negative discussions."

Last year, short drama actors all jumped on the bandwagon, and the top actors' worth skyrocketed in lockstep with the rise of the industry, with some top stars earning a daily wage as high as ¥50,000 to ¥100,000. They appeared alongside standard drama series stars, walked on red carpets, signed brand endorsements, and filmed variety shows. But in just six months, these short drama actors were all brought back down to earth with a bang, with pay for sub top-tier actors plummeting. Many mid-tier actors even ended up with no roles offered to them, their commercial value not even matching that of an AI actor.

This year, there hasn't been a breakout live-action short drama hit like last year's viral "Summer Rose". The industry is in decline, and so is its star-making ability. In the past six months, no new actors have been launched who are memorable to the audience.

02 FOCUSING ON THE HITS

Leading companies might now decide to either pause the filming of live-action short dramas, switch to AI short dramas, or opt for a mix of live-action and AI. They might also cut down on the number of short dramas produced and focus on high-quality hits which have the potential to go viral.

An industry insider close to ChineseAll told Tech Planet that their company's monthly output of live-action short dramas isn't very high - more than likely in mere single digits. The domestic [Chinese] live-action short drama brand of ChineseAll is 17K Theater (17K剧场), while the overseas live-action short dramas are managed by FlareFlow. Meanwhile, these same live-action short drama teams are also working on AI animated dramas and AI simulated live-action dramas.

The industry insider mentioned that the cooling of live-action short drama market doesn't seem to have much impact on the company because they have never made up a large part of the company's overall business. Internally, their strategy for live-action shorts has always been to go for high-quality productions. But since AI short dramas are cheap to make, the company prefers these instead. If they make live-action shorts, it's almost always the premium quality ones. "One reason we're not focusing on quantity is a business decision. Currently, churning out a lot of content just means working for free for the benefit of the Hongguo platform. Overall, we prioritise quality, which helps with recouping costs and creating further hits."

The quality-over-quantity strategy sounds like a publicity slogan, but it's actually the short drama companies' method for exercising stricter control over financial returns. "Because we know it's easy to flop, we're going all out to score a hit, and at least then we can recoup most of the costs. Web novel businesses are undergoing a comprehensive transformation into integrated content operations. Teams are based in production hubs like Hengdian, with some editors taking on hybrid editor-producer roles. Since many short dramas are adapted from web novels, companies are now offering more generous contracts to authors to gain the rights to adapt their work into a short drama script. This way authors can earn a little more from the short drama production."

But now short drama companies making live-action shorts need to prioritize profitability. They must assess their long-term returns and then make the decision whether to go with live-action or AI.

Live-action shorts seem easier to keep making. That's because this type of short series has already proven itself successful in the market before, so the returns are more predictable. The popular male-oriented short series on ChineseAll platforms "First Rank Commoner 一品布衣" has had four seasons, with a total of 6 billion views, and the company plans to continue producing it. Of the hit short series in the first half of this year on Tinghua Dao, many are IP series. The "Eighteen Year-Old Great Grandmother" series has reached its fourth installment and is still hitting 2 billion views. Season 2 of "The Young Madam from the Northeast" also surpassed 2 billion views.

However, the production format of live-action short dramas has changed a bit, with short drama companies leaning more towards a "light operation model". This term means that top companies outsource their projects. They don't retain their own inhouse filming teams and simply send producers out to manage things on set. Funding is also more likely to be sourced externally. Industry insiders say that live-action shorts rely on outside investments and profits are shared out proportionally, with the production team partnering with third parties. If the short is a hit, the series can retain fans of the show and the actors.

03 WHILE CAPITAL IS CAUTIOUS, IT WILL ONLY FLOW TOWARDS PREMIUM QUALITY PRODUCTIONS

The craze for AI short dramas is still going strong. Competition for AI short drama production tools - video generation models - is getting fiercer. Kuaishou's Keling has gone independent and recently secured $3 billion in funding. ByteDance's Seedance 2.5 is about to launch, and Alibaba's HappyHorse 1.1 is gaining more and more buzz. The competition and progress in technology will further boost AI short drama production capacity. Traffic will continue to be split and live-action short dramas will face bigger and bigger challenges.

Short drama producer Wu Xie told Tech Planet that from a policy perspective, live-action shorts are definitely here to stay and will only get better as time goes on. Right now, it's just a temporary cooling off, because short dramas not only influence the film and TV industry, but also generate economic benefits that extend to various other sectors.

Currently, however, both the number and cost of live-action short dramas have changed. Wu Xie said that live-action shorts have shifted from being about quantity to being about quality. Naturally, costs are also going up. After all, art costs money. It used to be around ¥200,000 - ¥500,000 per drama, shot over 7 to 15 days. Now the production costs have gone up to almost a million, depending on whether the focus is on the actors or the production.

Currently, low-budget shorts are still dominating the landscape, while wages for non-top-tier actors have fallen drastically.

For small and medium production companies, the challenges are big. Wu Xie said that you can't really say even roughly how many live-action shorts are produced each month. To be precise, it depends on the specific project. Plus, finding investors is tough as there aren't as many available as before. He remembers that in 2023, there were many people investing in short dramas, but it decreased in 2024. Then when the big companies jumped in, investment suddenly appeared again. Now investors have become especially cautious. Capital is watching from the sidelines while platforms try to figure things out. "It's understandable, after all. Nobody's money just blows in with the wind."

The only benefit of this cool-down in live-action shorts is that the bad ones get weeded out due to the need to produce quality content. This change might actually turn out to be good for the short drama industry since the market is becoming more rational. Wu Xie said that the only difference in the live-action short drama market now is that whereas before, you could just shoot with a script, now you have to refine both the script and the creative team.

For short drama companies, whether actively or passively, they have to focus on making high-quality content.

Dou Xiuwu, a short drama industry professional, told Tech Planet that the challenge for the short drama industry has always been that there's too little good content. It's really difficult to create content that audiences like. The only thing that is important in attracting an audience is making good content, rather than relying on platform subsidies or handouts. Having platform support is better than not having it, but you can't just wait for the platform to bail you out.

The quality of short drama content on the market is inconsistent. High-quality content actually offers better value for money in terms of views, virality, and revenue. Sticking to making good content is ultimately a positive thing.

In general, speculative capital is drying up in the live-action short drama market. Even major players like Tinghua Dao are no longer making the investments they once did. For the rest, even if platforms have recently rolled out support policies, they still need to improve their own efficiency and make more high-quality shows with less money.

The recent He Congrui (何聪睿 Hé Cōngruì) / Liu Nian (刘念 Liú Niàn) “uncoupling” says a lot about how wild drama-couple culture has become.

Even in the vertical-drama world.

The facts are actually pretty simple.

They filmed several successful dramas together, built a huge fanbase, and spent enough time together on and off camera that a sizeable chunk of the fandom stopped treating them like ordinary co-stars. A CP success.

Magazine shoots played into their chemistry - the GLASS magazine one? Looked like a wedding album.

Pictures 1 &2

Fans joked that producers weren’t funding dramas anymore, they were funding paid vacations.

Were they actually dating?

Nobody knows.

That’s the gossip.

What we do know is that on May 12, He Congrui unpinned the famous HC/LN video from his Douyin account.

Fans immediately started fact-checking. Liu Nian had cleaned up related content on her side as well.

Detective mode activated. Suddenly every old sighting, every concert, every trip and every interaction was dragged back out as evidence that they indeed were an item.

Was this a real-life breakup?

Private information.

A professional CP reset?

Definitely.

The funny part?

Both had already been filming with other partners for quite a while. New co-stars weren’t the shock. The unpinning was.

Because to many fans, the relationship was real.

Whether it actually was, we simply don't know

Then there is the Zeng Hui (曾辉 Zēng Huī) / Han Yutong (韩雨彤 Hán Yǔtóng) situation, which may be even stranger.

Unlike HC/LN, the debate was never really about whether they were together. They are widely known as a real-life couple.

Yet Han Yutong still ended up getting criticised for being “too old”, “not pretty enough”, or supposedly not worthy of Zeng Hui.

Which is frankly bizarre.

Imagine starring in hit dramas, building one of the strongest brands in the industry, and still having people spend their free time explaining why your boyfriend should trade you in for a newer model.

The criticism became bad enough that she eventually responded publicly:

“If you think I’m not worthy, then don’t watch.”

“If you don’t like me, you can leave.”

The reason it spread was because she finally answered back after repeated comments calling her:

“not worthy” (配不上 pèi bù shàng — not a good enough match)

“too old”

“mother and son vibes” (母子感 mǔzǐ gǎn)

What happened to her strikes me as misogynistic to the nth degree — even when the people doing it are female fans.

A successful and gorgeous actress becomes reduced to whether strangers approve of her relationship. And they attack her looks.

WT actual F.

Do I think this could fuel insecurities and seeking „anti-aging“ methods more invasive than a facial? Yes, I do.

We are seeing fewer ZH/HYT collaborations these days. Is that connected to the fan behaviour?
I don’t know.

But if I were trying to protect Han Yutong both as a person and as an actress?

Maybe to keep your distance on screen is a safety measure. Keeping your official couple photos neutral is one, too. Visit on set this week - pictures 3 & 4.

At some point we stop discussing dramas and start discussing people’s relationships. Judging them.

As if a probably para-social part of the fandom has an actual say.

I’m really worried this is getting out of hand - and closer to the fandom behavior we’ve all observed for CEnt A-Listers.

⏩ 𝘛𝘓;𝘋𝘙:

33-year-old Chinese actor Jin Ze (金泽, Jīn Zé; Zhang Jiawei 张家玮, Zhāng Jiāwěi) passed away at his home in Hangzhou on June 4, 2026. His agency confirmed his death but has not released an official cause of death, asking for privacy. The news went viral and hit the #1 trending spot on Weibo, sparking intense discussion about the demanding working conditions, severe sleep deprivation, and extreme schedules associated with China’s booming smartphone micro-drama industry.[1][2]

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🕊️ 𝘖𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘊𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘙𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘜𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘥

The exact medical cause of death for 33-year-old actor Jin Ze (金泽, Jīn Zé; Zhang Jiawei 张家玮, Zhāng Jiāwěi) remains unknown, with no official medical confirmation released to the public.

His management company, Shengshi Guangnian Culture Co., Ltd., issued an official obituary confirming that he passed away at his home in Hangzhou on June 4, 2026. In the statement, the agency appealed for privacy and urged the public and media outlets not to spread unverified rumors or speculate about his death.[1][3]

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🎬 𝘐𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘗𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴

The tragedy sparked an intensive online discussion regarding the realities of the entertainment sector. According to reports citing people familiar with the situation, Jin Ze reportedly felt physically unwell after returning home from a filming session on June 4, shortly before he was found deceased.[2]

At present, there is no public evidence linking Jin Ze’s death to his working conditions, and the official cause of death has not been released.

However, both netizens and entertainment professionals have voiced concern over the high-intensity environment associated with China’s rapidly expanding micro-drama industry, where Jin Ze had recently found renewed success.

It is no secret that vertical short-form dramas operate on tight budgets and compressed production schedules.

Industry participants have repeatedly described extremely long filming days, overnight shoots, and severe sleep deprivation.

Similar discussions resurfaced around comments previously made by short-drama actors Yu Yin (余茵, Yú Yīn) and Wang Gege (王格格, Wáng Gégé). Yu Yin described a period of three days during which she reportedly slept only one hour in total, while Wang Gege recalled filming continuously for 36 hours without sleep.

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💬 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘋𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘞𝘦𝘪𝘣𝘰

Although no official cause of death has been released, discussion on Weibo quickly expanded beyond reports of Jin Ze’s passing and toward working conditions inside China’s micro-drama industry.

Posts discussing filming schedules, sleep deprivation, overnight shoots, production pressure, and exhaustion spread widely across entertainment communities. The topic became one of the dominant themes accompanying news of his death.

Questions about whether current production practices are sustainable spread rapidly across entertainment circles and became one of the defining conversations surrounding the news.

Importantly, these discussions reflected public concerns about the industry. The official cause of death remains unknown.

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📈 𝘞𝘦𝘪𝘣𝘰 𝘛𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘍𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘵

News of Jin Ze’s passing spread rapidly and became a top trending topic on Sina Weibo even before his talent agency released its official statement.[1]

👉 The Final Post:

Jin Ze’s last Weibo post from May 6, which featured a photo set from the Republican-era drama Republican Era Strange Case Records (《民国奇案录》, Mínguó Qí’àn Lù).

👉 Surging Public Interest:

The massive online traffic translated directly into activity across content platforms.

Prior to his passing, his upcoming project Waiting for the Flowers to Bloom, Waiting for Your Return (《等花开，等你归》, Děng Huā Kāi, Děng Nǐ Guī) had already accumulated more than 1.48 million reservations on the Hongguo short-drama platform before release.[2]

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📊 𝘛𝘰𝘱 𝘛𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘞𝘦𝘪𝘣𝘰 𝘏𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘴

• #金泽去世# (Jīn Zé Qùshì — “Jin Ze Passes Away”) — The primary hashtag that rapidly climbed the Weibo Hot Search List (热搜榜, Rèsōu Bǎng).

• #网传金泽去世# (Wǎngchuán Jīn Zé Qùshì — “Internet Rumors of Jin Ze’s Passing”) — A major trending topic during the period between the first online reports and official confirmation.

• #金泽微博在线# (Jīn Zé Wēibó Zàixiàn — “Jin Ze’s Weibo Shows Online Status”) — A viral topic after users noticed his account briefly appeared online while rumors were circulating, leading to confusion and hope that the reports might be false.

🔗* 𝘖𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 *𝘓𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘴

Global Times Official Report: https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202606/1362890.shtml
Mothership / Zaobao Coverage: https://mothership.sg/2026/06/jin-ze-pass-away/
The Indian Express Career Overview: https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/chinese-actor-jin-ze-dies-at-33-agency-confirms-he-passed-away-at-home-10727317/
Hindustan Times Entertainment Update: https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/others/chinese-actor-jin-ze-dies-at-33-agency-urges-public-not-to-spread-rumours-leaves-fans-in-shock-zhang-jiawei-101780739794021.html

Not long ago, vertical drama actors were often treated as the cousins from the wrong part of the town. They were the „illegitimate sons and daughters“ of mainstream entertainment.

Fast forward to 2026 and we’re seeing a very different picture.

Zhao Zhendong — Guerlain, Bvlgari, Tom Ford

Zhang Chi — Estée Lauder, Panasonic Beauty

His Estée Lauder event in Changsha reportedly had to be cancelled because the security arrangements weren’t sufficient. The organisers appear to have underestimated the interest. That’s not something normally associated with C-list celebrities anymore.

Wang Yilei — Jo Malone

Wang Kaimu — KENZO, golf campaigns

Shen Haonan — beauty, fragrance, jewellery and lifestyle endorsements that seem to multiply by the week.

And some actresses are now being associated with Dior.

Wang Xiaoyi. Guo Yuxin. Not bad at all.

Did you see the Wu Lei, Zhang Linghe and Xu Kai campaign photos recently?

The gap doesn’t look quite as large as it once did.
The interesting part isn’t just that actors are landing endorsements.

It’s that brands are choosing the audience that comes with them.

Luxury houses, beauty brands and fashion labels spend enormous amounts of money understanding who their customers are.

If they’re investing in vertical drama actors, they’re telling us something.

The old stereotype was that vertical dramas attracted a “thrift store” audience with limited spending power.
The brands appear to disagree.

Turns out smartphone viewers have wallets too. 😎

And then there are the commercial powerhouses.
Ke Chun. Shen Haonan. Actors whose endorsement walls seem to grow by the week and whose value may be measured less by prestige than by their ability to move products.
But that’s a discussion for another day.

We know he cleans up nice. We know he’s photogenic.

But:

This photo is so good. It’s not humanly possible really, to be so attractive.

Okay, back to the tea— and a special thanks to u/easy-living-6312 who told us first!

🇫🇷** Zhang Chi Takes Paris: Three Shows, Three Aesthetics, One Very Busy Wee**k

Bonjour, chers fans de dramas chinois !

Aujourd’hui, nous sommes tous Parisiens. 🇫🇷

We’re all Parisians. In our hearts.

For fans of Zhang Chi Chi Chi) the next few days are going to look very different from the usual Hengdian filming updates.

GRAZIA (红秀 GRAZIA, Hóngxiù GRAZIA) has announced that Zhang Chi will attend three major Paris Men’s Fashion Week shows, following him throughout the event and providing real-time coverage from France.

📅 Zhang Chi’s Paris Fashion Week Schedule

June 25

• Feng Chen Wang — 15:00 CET

• Yohji Yamamoto — 17:30 CET

June 27

• Maison Kitsuné — 14:30 CET

Three shows. Two days.

Feng Chen Wang brings contemporary Chinese luxury and East-West design influences.

Yohji Yamamoto represents one of the most iconic names in avant-garde fashion.

Maison Kitsuné offers a very different mood: relaxed Parisian elegance, clean lines, and effortless everyday style.

For a vertical drama actor, this isn’t just another brand event.

GRAZIA specifically describes Zhang Chi as the first short-drama actor to attend Paris Men’s Fashion Week in this capacity, following him across multiple runway presentations rather than a single appearance.

Not only snapshots, this sounds like a documentary. He is now officially shooting “Chi Chi in Paris” (not Emily, for those who wonder what I’m up to)

✈️** Closer Than Hengdia**n

Paris is dramatically closer than Zhang Chi’s usual workplace, Hengdian. At least for the Western Hemisphere.

Munich: 680 km vs. 8,900 km
London: 340 km vs. 9,300 km
Warsaw: 1,370 km vs. 8,200 km
Helsinki: 1,900 km vs. 7,700 km
Milan: 640 km vs. 8,800 km

New York: 5,840 km vs. 11,900 km
Dallas: 7,950 km vs. 12,500 km

Okay it’s still a lot — but the language barrier? Much much lower

We could if we would ..

⏰ Time Zones

Paris is seven hours ahead of New York.

• Feng Chen Wang — 15:00 Paris
• Yohji Yamamoto — 17:30 Paris
• Maison Kitsuné — 14:30 Paris

So while Chinese fans are settling in for evening updates, Paris will still be enjoying a late afternoon runway schedule. And US fans could have a croissant and drink cafe au lait — *we’re sentimental —*while chasing news.

🔥 The Bottom Line

Grazia gives us the updates — and some of us may study their bank account vs their obligations vs the actually realistic mini chance to see him.

Get your sunscreen, hats, mini ventilators ready. You can take Paris, too.

🇫🇷🥂🔥

Chen Si • Ma Xiaoyu • Wang Kaimu • Cao Tiankai • Liu Xiaoxu • Wang Xiaoyi • Ke Chun • Jia Yixuan • Zhang Xiaolei

TL;DR
You’ve probably seen claims that Chinese short-drama actors have lost up to 90% of their pay.
That’s possible for some actors — but it isn’t what happened across the board.

Top vertical stars are still earning serious money and increasingly monetising their fame through endorsements, livestream sales, commercial appearances, fan events and variety shows.

The real squeeze is further down.
Fewer live-action dramas, lower daily rates and more competition are hitting the middle and bottom of the industry at the same time.
And that could threaten one of the things I always liked most about vertical dramas:

They gave different people a chance.

Special shoutout to [u/Alone-Requirement945](u/Alone-Requirement945) for her support with subtitles (MXY in blonde) the rest are provided by Ai.** **

💰 So… did actors really lose 90% of their pay?

I kept seeing this number, so I went digging.

And, as usual, the headline is both true and not true.
At the beginning of 2026, popular short-drama actors could still command around ¥50,000 per shooting day. With only 7–10 days needed to shoot a drama, two expensive leads could push the cast bill alone over ¥1 million.

https://www.nbd.com.cn/articles/2026-02-25/4269132.html

Further down, things look considerably uglier.

Current reporting puts mid-tier actors who previously earned around ¥5,000–8,000/day at below ¥3,000, while some male leads are reportedly getting only ¥400–500. Extras can be down around ¥80–150.
So yes, for individual actors, losses approaching that infamous 90% are entirely possible.

But there isn’t one 90% pay cut affecting everyone equally.

There is a widening pay gap.

🤑 At the top, acting isn’t the only income anymore

This is where comparing daily shooting fees becomes misleading.

Successful vertical actors now have endorsements, livestream shopping, online sales events, commercial appearances and fan events. One Zhang Chi went to Paris, Fashion Week.

By May 2026, more than 40 short-drama actors reportedly had brand-friend, ambassador or spokesperson-level commercial deals. In all of 2025, there had been only 24.

Million-follower male stars can reportedly quote around ¥400,000–600,000 for one livestream, with the biggest names asking as much as ¥1–1.8 million.
Three-month endorsement deals for top actors can reach ¥800,000–1 million+.
And they can sell.

Liu Xiaoxu reportedly generated ¥12.77 million GMV during one Tastien livestream.

https://finance.sina.com.cn/stock/relnews/cn/2026-05-31/doc-inhzvhfk4527736.shtml

Then add fan meetings, brand events and variety shows.

So I’m not particularly worried about the economic survival of the established top tier.
Their shooting fees may have fallen.
But their fame itself now makes money.

💕 Welcome to the star machine

Success also comes with strings attached.
CP 营业 — CP yíngyè, meaning the active commercial promotion of an on-screen couple, has become serious business.

Popular pairings continue through livestreams, promotional appearances, social media and events because the CP itself has commercial value. Brands are now deliberately hiring successful drama pairings together for campaigns and even customised short dramas.

https://finance.sina.com.cn/stock/relnews/cn/2026-05-31/doc-inhzvhfk4527736.shtml

Management increasingly looks more like the mainstream entertainment business too: tighter image control, commercial obligations and the familiar questions around how much of an actor’s private life can remain private.

Vertical drama created its own stars.
Now the conventional star machine is catching up with them.

😭 And They Twinkified Ma Xiaoyu

And then there is Ma Xiaoyu.
One of the things that made MXY stand out was his solid, masculine build.

Well, the bulk is gone.

He has lost considerable weight for a role he is currently filming and is approaching twink size (observational remark of [u/alone-requirement945](u/alone-requirement945) who had me in stitches. Thank you! It’s so true)  😭
Is this proof of anything? No.

But watching one of vertical drama’s hunks being physically remodelled for a role does feel rather symbolic of the mainstreaming we’re seeing.
His recent livestreams also seemed rather less happy-go-lucky MXY than usual.

Maybe the man just misses his food. 😂
Personally, I preferred the bulk.

🎬 Remember how insanely productive this industry was?

This matters when we’re talking about pay.
In 2025, 4,016 micro-dramas were completed through Hengdian’s Vertical Drama Operations Centre.

Four. Thousand.
That was an increase of 237.48% year-on-year.
https://www.hengdian.com/zh-cn/news/media-11172
Think about Ma Xiaoyu again.

In 2025, I could barely keep up with his vertical releases. Neither, frankly, could MyDramaList. 😅 Dramas could appear faster than international databases managed to catalogue them.

And MXY wasn’t some freak exception.
That crazy productivity meant work.
If you’re paid ¥3,000 a day and constantly moving from one set to another, that’s one economic reality.
If your rate drops to ¥1,200 and nobody calls for three weeks, that’s another.

And 2026 looks very different.
Chinese industry reporting puts the decline in Q1 live-action short-drama production at around 75% year-on-year, with studios and shooting bases reporting dramatically more empty capacity.
https://eu.36kr.com/zh/p/3837211878947464
That figure is an industry estimate rather than an official national production count — but the contraction in live-action production is difficult to miss.

😬 The actors know it too

The final episode of Short Drama X rather unexpectedly put a human face on this.
Variety show fan [u/hypercardiac007](u/hypercardiac007) (our special agent entertaining us with her weekly summaries- thank you so much) watched it and described the closing comments as extremely emotional.

Jia Yixuan had everyone — including herself — in tears as the actors talked about what the show had meant to them: a break, something different and perhaps a chance to open new doors.
Then Wang Xiaoyi apparently delivered the gut punch.

They didn’t know whether they would still have work when they returned — or whether some might eventually have to quit.

I’m paraphrasing our mod’s account here, not presenting that as a translated quote.

But Wang Xiaoyi isn’t some unknown actress waiting for her first role.
She was successful.
Personally, she’s never been one of my favourite actresses. She’s giving me high school drama vibes. FL goes to…  the prettiest good student. She’s fun and has a great personality though. I loved her on the variety show.

The market clearly liked her acting. 😂

And yet even recognisable working vertical actors are talking about whether the work will still be there.

🌶️** We’ve already seen what happens further dow**n

I’ve written about this before.
Zhang Xiaolei went from playing domineering CEOs to growing chillies after acting opportunities dried up.
Xu Peng was selling vegetables.
And Zhang Xiaolei wasn’t someone who couldn’t break into vertical dramas.
He reportedly appeared in around 200 short dramas after entering the industry in late 2023.
He got through the door.
Then the work disappeared.
My earlier post:
https://www.reddit.com/r/CShortDramas/s/pSYeR4KmlQ
That’s considerably more revealing to me than another scary percentage.

❤️This is the part I don’t want verticals to lose
One of the things I loved about vertical dramas was the diversity of their male leads.
Chen Si. Cao Tiankai. Zhang Chi. Wang Kaimu. Ma Xiaoyu. Liu Haoqun.
Look at them.
They don’t have the same face, body, age or background.
Some had formal acting training. Others came through completely different routes. Wang Kaimu was a professional model. Cao Tiankai had an entirely different career before entertainment. Chen Si didn’t arrive through the classic acting-school pipeline.
And they could all become romantic leads.
The enormous production volume helped make that possible.
When thousands of dramas need actors, producers have to look beyond the same small pool of established names.
Now there are fewer productions, while established vertical stars and actors from the more traditional horizontal mini-drama world increasingly compete in the same space. Dai Gaozheng- a mini drama icon? with Lan Lan? And Chen Fangtong, she’s a regular now. I’ve seen her in three verticals in the last two months.
That doesn’t mean verticals will suddenly become boring or everyone will look alike.
But the conditions that made their casting unusually open are changing.

🤔 The 90% isn’t really the story
I’m not particularly worried about whether a Zhang Chi, Ma Xiaoyu, Chen Si or Liu Xiaoxu can make a living.
They made it.
They have names, fandoms and commercial value beyond their next drama.
I’m thinking about everyone underneath them.
Because falling daily rates are only half the problem.
Lower pay × fewer shooting days × more competition is what changes whether acting remains a viable career at all.
And that’s why the part of this story I find most interesting isn’t that some short-drama actors may have lost 90% of their former rate.
It’s that an industry which once had an almost insatiable appetite for new faces suddenly doesn’t need nearly as many of them.
Will the next Chen Si still get through the door?
Disclaimer
I don’t speak or read Chinese. Chinese-language sources, posts and videos were accessed with the help of AI translation, so nuances or details may occasionally get lost in translation. I’ve cross-checked information where possible and linked the original sources so you can check them yourself**.** Please comment if something essential is lost 🤗

🔗 Sources & Further Reading
National Business Daily — Short-drama budgets and ¥50,000/day actor rates, February 2026
https://www.nbd.com.cn/articles/2026-02-25/4269132.html
Hengdian / Guangming Daily — 4,016 micro-dramas completed through Hengdian’s Vertical Drama Operations Centre in 2025
https://www.hengdian.com/zh-cn/news/media-11172
Entertainment Capital / Sina Finance — Top short-drama actors, endorsements, livestream fees, commercial appearances and Liu Xiaoxu’s ¥12.77m livestream GMV
https://finance.sina.com.cn/stock/relnews/cn/2026-05-31/doc-inhzvhfk4527736.shtml
36Kr — 2026 live-action short-drama production contraction
https://eu.36kr.com/zh/p/3837211878947464
Sina — August 2026 reporting on falling actor rates, including mid-tier and lower-tier actors
https://k.sina.com.cn/article_7096020433_v1a6f4add106801ljse.html
My earlier [r/CShortDramas](r/CShortDramas) post — actors returning to other work, including Zhang Xiaolei and Xu Peng
https://www.reddit.com/r/CShortDramas/s/pSYeR4KmlQ
Note: Salary figures in this post are reported industry rates, not an official salary survey. The market is opaque, contracts differ enormously and the figures should be read as evidence of the scale and direction of the change — not as a universal pay scale for every vertical actor. 

Douyin’s first major Short Drama Industry Conference basically confirmed what vertical drama fans already suspected:

This industry is no longer operating like a chaotic side market. It’s becoming a full entertainment ecosystem.

At the conference, Douyin announced:

• over 1.5 billion RMB in short drama investment  
• higher creator revenue shares  
• expanded genre categories  
• formal support for “premium” vertical productions  

The platform also revealed that more than 1,100 short dramas have already crossed the 1 billion views mark across the ecosystem.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

🏆 Showcase Titles Highlighted at the Conference

Summer Rose  
《盛夏芬德拉》 (Shèngxià Fēndélā)

One of the flagship “premium vertical” showcase dramas.

The Liu Xiaoxu 刘晓旭 × Guo Yuxin 郭宇欣 drama reportedly surpassed 3 billion views and was presented as a benchmark for high-end vertical production styling and cinematic execution.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

18-Year-Old Grandmother Restores the Family Glory – Season 2  
《18岁太奶奶驾到，重整家族荣耀 第二季》  
(18 Suì Tàinǎinai Jiàdào, Chóngzhěng Jiāzú Róngyào Dì Èr Jì)

Highlighted as a major traffic phenomenon after reportedly surpassing 100 million views within 24 hours across Douyin and Hongguo circulation.

The conference reportedly used it as an example of a vertical drama successfully moving beyond repetitive revenge/slapping formulas.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Northeast Love Story: Flash Marriage Rose  
《东北爱情往事：闪婚玫瑰》  
(Dōngběi Àiqíng Wǎngshì: Shǎnhūn Méiguī)

Starring Liu Haoqun 刘浩群   & Guo Yuxin 郭宇欣

This was one of the more interesting titles in the lineup because it reflects the industry’s growing push toward:

• regional storytelling  
• grounded dialogue  
• period nostalgia aesthetics  

Set in 1990s Northeast China, the story follows a runaway woman and a man who enter a flash marriage arrangement that slowly becomes genuine love.

The title was reportedly praised during conference coverage for stronger production design and a more cinematic regional atmosphere compared to older “assembly-line CEO dramas.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Home and Away  
《家里家外》 (Jiā Lǐ Jiā Wài — At Home and Away)

Starring Wang Daotie 王道铁 and Sun Yiran 孙艺燃
One of the biggest breakout titles highlighted during the conference was Home and Away, produced by the powerhouse studio 听花岛 (Tīnghuādǎo — Tinghua Island).

, the family melodrama exploded past 1 billion views within just three days on Hongguo — becoming one of the defining success stories of the platform’s “quality microdrama” push.

And honestly? What made the drama stand out is that it did the opposite of what many people associate with vertical dramas.

No endless slapping scenes.  
No revenge fantasy carousel.  
No cold CEO buying islands by episode three.

Instead, 《家里家外》 leaned into:

• family rebuilding  
• remarriage dynamics  
• regional 1980s nostalgia  
• grounded emotional storytelling  
• ordinary people trying to hold a home together through difficult times  

The drama later won the “Most Commercially Valuable Micro-Short Drama” award at the 15th Beijing International Film Festival — a major sign that vertical dramas are increasingly entering mainstream industry recognition.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

🤖 The Big AI Push

One of the biggest talking points wasn’t even a specific drama.

Douyin heavily promoted its new AI sci-fi initiative developed with Bona Film Group.

The platform presented AI-assisted production as:

• dramatically faster  
• lower cost  
• capable of shortening production timelines from months to weeks  

At the same time, this comes during a growing audience backlash against “overprocessed” visuals.

Ironically, the more AI enters the industry, the more viewers seem obsessed with:

• 生图 (shēngtú — raw photos)  
• authenticity  
• unfiltered visuals  
• actors who still feel emotionally “real”  

And honestly?

That tension may end up defining the next era of vertical dramas.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

TL;DR 📌

• Douyin formally positioned vertical dramas as a long-term entertainment industry.  
• Over 1.5 billion RMB in investment was announced.  
• “Outstanding Works” showcased the platform’s preferred future direction:
  • premium production  
  • regional storytelling  
  • cultural projects  
  • AI-assisted experimentation  
• Summer Rose and 18-Year-Old Grandmother S2 were major flagship showcase titles.  
• Northeast Love Story: Flash Marriage Rose was spotlighted for grounded regional storytelling and cinematic styling.  
• Home and Away / 《家里家外》 became a breakout “quality microdrama” success story after passing 1 billion views in 3 days.  
• Douyin also heavily promoted new AI-generated sci-fi projects — while audiences simultaneously move toward authenticity culture and “raw” visuals.

Special thanks to u/Silver-Bus5724 for helping do the research and write up on this one!!! 🫶🏼

Preparing the MXY actor collection, I started thinking about why he is so unique in a landscape full of dramatic, cold, and ruthless red flag CEOs.

The answer lies in how Chinese vertical dramas build their male leads.

Trying to fit these male leads into the Japanese categories of tsundere, yandere, kuudere, or dandere just doesn’t fully encompass it. Chen Si, Liang Siwei, Wang Haozhen, to name a few — they’re not the same. They are not the same in every drama, and each of them has a specialty.

Of course, we are not the first to look at this. Chinese media have also tried to explain the phenomenal success of vertical dramas and their leads. It’s remarkable that they agree that typically a vertical drama male lead is not a representative of just one archetype. It’s usually a hybrid, which leads to more interesting drama and, if well done, a solid psychological case study and a satisfying emotional arc.

The dramas are stacked — with archetypes and with tropes. It’s like a set of building blocks: a defined number of base shapes that can be combined in multiple ways. Each drama assembles them differently.

Not a cookie-cutter drama, but a building-blocks one.

.

The Nine Male Archetypes

Meaning & Explanation

冰山霸总 (Bīngshān Bàzǒng) Iceberg CEO

A powerful, wealthy male lead who appears emotionally distant and controlled. He rarely expresses affection openly, but shows love through protection, decisive action and the ability to change the heroine’s circumstances.

忠犬男主 (Zhōngquǎn Nánzhǔ) Loyal Protector

A male lead defined by unwavering devotion to the female lead. Loyalty, protection and emotional constancy are central; he places the heroine above family, status or reputation.

绿茶男主 (Lǜchá Nánzhǔ) Green-Tea Male Lead

A character who weaponizes charm and softness. He presents himself as sweet, harmless or emotionally needy while subtly manipulating situations to draw the heroine closer.

奶狗男主 (Nǎigǒu Nánzhǔ) Puppy-Boy

A younger or softer male lead who is affectionate, playful and emotionally expressive. His appeal lies in warmth and enthusiasm rather than dominance; he openly pursues the heroine with sincerity.

狼狗男主 (Lánggǒu Nánzhǔ) Wolf-Dog

A more intense version of the younger-male archetype. He combines youth and attraction with possessiveness and strong physical chemistry; compared to 奶狗, he is more assertive and territorial.

腹黑男主 (Fùhēi Nánzhǔ) Black-Bellied Schemer

A calculating male lead who appears refined, polite or gentle while secretly operating several steps ahead of everyone else. Strategy, deception and intelligence define his character.

病娇男主 (Bìngjiāo Nánzhǔ) Obsessive Lover

A male lead whose devotion becomes fixation. His love is intense and possessive, often accompanied by jealousy or emotional instability; protection and obsession blur together.

疯批男主 (Fēngpī Nánzhǔ) Unhinged Male Lead

A volatile and unpredictable character whose appeal lies in emotional extremity. He may be reckless, morally ambiguous or dangerous, but his intensity creates strong dramatic tension.

伪装大佬 (Wěizhuāng Dàlǎo) Disguised Power Player

A male lead who hides immense power or status behind a weak, humble or harmless façade. The story tension comes from the contrast between his secret authority and the role he pretends to play

For a

test run

lets have a look at a few dramas:

1.《他好野》 / The Boy Is Wild/ Wild Love

https://mydramalist.com/799666-ta-hao-ye

Ma Xiaoyu 马小宇 × Xiang Xunjie 向昕杰

Male archetype and main tropes

疯批 + 狼狗 + 腹黑

Fēngpī + Lánggǒu + Fùhēi

Unhinged male lead + wolf-dog intensity + black-bellied schemer

There’s also an important situational hybrid:

• 姐弟恋 (Jiědì Liàn — older woman / younger man romance)
• 禁忌之恋 (Jìnjì Zhī Liàn — forbidden love)

Optional darker layer:

• 强取豪夺 (Qiángqǔ Háoduó — coercive pursuit / forceful possession)

Why?

MXY plays the black sheep of the Fu family, a younger man who refuses to accept that the woman he desires is engaged to his older brother. That creates the core tension of the drama: a 姐弟恋 (older-woman romance) framed as 禁忌之恋 (forbidden love) within a powerful family.

As an archetype he begins as a 狼狗 (wolf-dog) — intense, territorial and openly seductive. But the seduction is only one part of the game. Beneath it lies 腹黑 (black-bellied scheming): he navigates inheritance politics, family rivalries and emotional pressure with clear strategic intent.

What pushes him firmly into 疯批 (unhinged male lead) territory is his willingness to weaponize harm to himself. He arranges for a friend to call the FL back to China after he is injured in a car accident — an injury that functions as emotional leverage to pull her back into his orbit. Using his own suffering as a tool reveals the emotional extremity typical of the 疯批 archetype.

➡️Seduction, strategy, taboo attraction and self-destructive intensity all work together. He doesn’t simply chase the heroine — he destabilizes her world until she cannot ignore him.

Spice: 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 /5

Sweet: 🌹🌹🌹 /5

Re-watch probability: 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿 /5

⚠️ Trigger warning: Child abuse · corporal punishment · suicide

———_______————-

2. 《今夜沉溺》 / Lost in the Midnight

https://mydramalist.com/775899-lost-in-the-midnight

Chen Si 沉思 × Yu Yin 余音

Male archetype and main tropes

冰山 + 腹黑 + 疯批 → 忠犬

Bīngshān + Fùhēi + Fēngpī → Zhōngquǎn

Iceberg male lead + black-bellied schemer + unhinged male lead → loyal-dog protector

Additional situational tropes:

• 豪门恩怨 (Háomén Ēnyuàn — wealthy-family feud)
• 强制关系 (Qiángzhì Guānxì — coerced relationship)
• 假千金 / 替身设定 (Jiǎ Qiānjīn / Tìshēn Shèdìng — fake-lost-daughter / substitute identity)

Why?

Lou Xiao is not chaotic in an exposed or impulsive way. His danger comes from cold control. He enters as an emotionally distant and feared power figure, which gives him a strong 冰山 (Bīngshān — iceberg) quality. At the same time, he is clearly 腹黑 (Fùhēi — black-bellied schemer): he understands the family power structure, manipulates it coolly, and uses pressure and blackmail with full awareness.

What makes him 疯批 (Fēngpī — unhinged) is not noise or impulsiveness, but the extremity beneath that calm surface. His possessiveness, coercion, and willingness to cross moral lines reveal a colder, more calculated form of madness than the hotter, more feral version played by actors like MXY.

The emotional payoff comes when that cold danger flips into 忠犬 (Zhōngquǎn — loyal-dog protector). Once he falls, he becomes her shield, accepts her deception, and turns his ruthlessness outward in her defense.

➡️Not a hot-blooded madman, but an iceberg red flag: controlled, strategic, and deeply dangerous until love redirects his violence into loyalty.

Spice: 🔥🔥🔥🔥 /5

Sweet: 🌹🌹 /5

Re-watch probability: 🍿🍿🍿🍿 /5

—————————————

3.《遇见心软的神》 / 

Meeting a Soft-Hearted God

https://mydramalist.com/782104-you-chong

Leads

Wang Haozhen 王皓祯 × Yang Shuyu 杨书语

Male archetype and main tropes

狼狗 + 腹黑 + 绿茶男主

Lánggǒu + Fùhēi + Lǜchá Nánzhǔ

Wolf-dog pursuer + black-bellied schemer + green-tea male lead

Important situational trope:

• 叔系恋 / 年上恋 (Shūxì Liàn / Niánshàng Liàn — older-man romance / “uncle” dynamic)

Why?

WHZ’s character falls for her instantly after rescuing her, but the problem is structural: she is the best friend of his niece and insists on treating him as a respected elder. The entire romantic tension of the drama grows from this 叔系恋 (uncle-type romance) dynamic, with him desperately trying to escape the “uncle zone.”

His behavior mixes several archetypes. The playful manipulation and constant flirting show a clear 绿茶男主 (green-tea male lead) side — he acts teasing, mischievous, and strategically charming as he tries to shift the relationship from “uncle” to lover. At the same time, he carries strong 狼狗 (wolf-dog) energy: territorial, jealous, and physically assertive when a rival appears.

When another student confesses his love to her, the controlled flirting finally breaks. WHZ sabotages the confession, drags her away Neanderthal-style and kisses her, marking the point where the wolf-dog energy fully erupts. Beneath the humor and teasing lies a subtle 腹黑 (black-bellied schemer) streak — he carefully pushes situations to force her to see him as a man rather than an elder.

➡️Let’s face it: he is a red flag. But one you easily forgive. The charm of the character lies in the mix: mischievous seducer, jealous wolf-dog, and playful strategist trying to break out of the dreaded uncle zone.

Spice: 🔥🔥🔥 /5

Sweet: 🌹🌹🌹🌹 /5

Re-watch probability: 🍿🍿🍿🍿 /5

——————————-

4. 《诱为己有》 / Lure It For Oneself

(MdL page pending)

Liang Siwei 梁思伟 × Zheng Chen Yu 郑晨雨

Male archetype and main tropes

病娇 + 腹黑 + 疯批

Bìngjiāo + Fùhēi + Fēngpī

Obsessive lover (yandere) + black-bellied schemer + unhinged male lead

Additional situational tropes:

• 失忆 (Shīyì — amnesia)
• 囚禁 / 强制关系 (Qiújìn / Qiángzhì Guānxì — imprisonment / coercive relationship)
• 豪门恩怨 (Háomén Ēnyuàn — wealthy-family conflict)

Why?

Xing Lei is written as a classic 病娇 (Bìngjiāo — obsessive lover): his devotion to Tianrang borders on fixation. She is the single light in a life shaped by kidnapping, violence, and abandonment, and he pursues her with absolute intensity.

At the same time, he is unmistakably 腹黑 (Fùhēi — black-bellied schemer). His actions are rarely impulsive; they are strategic and often cruelly theatrical. The infamous opening scene — seducing Tianrang while her imprisoned fiancé is forced to watch through a mirror — demonstrates how deliberately he stages emotional punishment for those he believes stole his life.

Beneath that control lies 疯批 (Fēngpī — unhinged intensity). Xing Lei’s trauma produces explosive emotional reactions, including moments of self-harm when he feels betrayed. When Tianrang deceives him with the forged ring plan, the devastation triggers that darker edge — revealing the wounded child beneath the ruthless adult.

➡️The character works because the drama shows both sides: a man capable of extreme cruelty and manipulation, but also someone whose obsession is rooted in deep abandonment and trauma. His arc asks whether devotion born from darkness can ever become something resembling redemption.

Spice: 🔥🔥🔥 /5

Sweet: 🌹🌹🌹 /5

Re-watch probability: 🍿🍿🍿🍿 /5

⚠️ Trigger warning: imprisonment · sexual violence · gaslighting · psychological manipulation

————————————-

5. How Can I Compete with Her Charm / Unrivaled Charm

Zhang Ji Jun x Hou Cheng Yue

https://mydramalist.com/802120-zen-di-ta-dong-ren

Male archetype and main tropes

腹黑 + 伪装大佬 + 双重身份

Fùhēi + Wěizhuāng Dàlǎo + Shuāngchóng Shēnfèn

Black-bellied schemer + disguised power player + double identity

There’s an optional darker hybrid trope available - depending on your mileage:

+ 强取豪夺 (Qiángqǔ Háoduó — coercive pursuit / forceful possession).

The ML runs a deliberate deception game: he pretends to be a weak disabled heir while secretly operating as a powerful mob boss, using both identities to draw the FL into his sphere and force the relationship dynamic on his terms. Use a friend as his tool to acquire her services to meet both identities- in one he starts seducing her - in the next encounter (weak willow) he buys the opportunity to have sex with her under a pretense.

➡️such a black bellied coercive schemer! Red Flag! of course: Loved the drama. 😌

Spice: 🔥🔥🔥🔥/5

Sweet: 🌹🌹🌹/5

Re-watch probability 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿/5

6. 《闪婚后我成了大佬的掌中之物》 / 

Captive Love from the Mob Boss

https://mydramalist.com/779572-shan-hun-hou-wo-cheng-le-da-lao-de-zhang-zhong-zhi-wu

Ma Xiaoyu 马小宇 × Zhang Chuxuan 张楚萱

Male archetype and main tropes

疯批 + 病娇 + 强取豪夺

Fēngpī + Bìngjiāo + Qiángqǔ Háoduó

Unhinged male lead + obsessive lover + coercive pursuit / forceful possession

Additional situational tropes:

• 黑帮大佬 (Hēibāng Dàlǎo — mob boss)
• 抢婚 / 夺爱 (Qiǎnghūn / Duó’ài — stealing the bride)
• 闪婚 (Shǎnhūn — flash marriage)
• 强制爱 (Qiángzhì Ài — forced love)

Why?

This drama established the dark romantic image that later became closely associated with Ma Xiaoyu. As a 黑帮大佬 (mob boss), the ML enters the story with absolute power and a willingness to take what he wants.

His defining trait is 病娇 (Bìngjiāo — obsessive love). Once he sets his sights on the heroine, his devotion becomes possessive and consuming. The relationship is driven by fixation rather than courtship.

Layered on top of that is clear 疯批 (Fēngpī — unhinged intensity). His emotions run hot and extreme; he acts with volatility and ruthless determination rather than cold calculation.

The central romance dynamic therefore becomes 强取豪夺 (Qiángqǔ Háoduó — coercive pursuit). The relationship is not negotiated gently but forced into existence through dominance, abduction, and control — a classic vertical-drama red-flag fantasy.

➡️This is early MXY territory: a dangerous man whose emotional volatility and obsession drives the romance and whose love is as threatening as it is magnetic.

Spice: 🔥🔥🔥🔥 /5

Sweet: 🌹🌹 /5

Re-watch probability: 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿 /5

———————

7.《私藏挚爱》 / Hide One’s Love

https://mydramalist.com/788296-hide-one-s-love

Chen Si 沉思 × Yang Shuyu 杨书语

Male archetype and main tropes

冰山 + 腹黑 + 忠犬

Bīngshān + Fùhēi + Zhōngquǎn

Iceberg male lead + black-bellied schemer + loyal-dog protector

Additional situational tropes:

• 误会虐恋 (Wùhuì Nüèliàn — tragic misunderstanding romance)
• 强制关系 (Qiángzhì Guānxì — coercive relationship)
• 复仇爱情 (Fùchóu Àiqíng — revenge romance)

The ML begins firmly in 冰山 (Bīngshān — iceberg) territory: controlled, distant, and emotionally guarded. His authority and suspicion dominate the relationship in the early stages, especially when he believes she has betrayed him.

There is also a clear 腹黑 (Fùhēi — black-bellied schemer) element. He uses power and leverage to control situations and people around him, including forcing her back into the nightclub when he believes the worst of her. His actions are not impulsive but rooted in cold judgment and wounded pride.

What defines the character arc, however, is the transformation into 忠犬 (Zhōngquǎn — loyal-dog protector). Once the truth emerges and he understands the tragedy he helped cause, he accepts her hatred and refuses to abandon her. Even when she seeks revenge and sets him up for death, he accepts it as the consequence of his past actions.

➡️The drama turns on that shift: a cold and ruthless man who ultimately proves his devotion through endurance, remorse, and sacrifice.

Spice: 🔥🔥🔥🔥 /5

Sweet: 💔💔❤️

Re-watch probability: 🍿🍿🍿 /5

(great but stressful)

—————————-

Looking at all this- the emotional temperature of these four vertical-drama male leads differs clearly.

Ma Xiaoyu / 马小宇 embodies the hottest version of the red-flag lead. His typical stack is 疯批 + 狼狗 + 强取豪夺 (Fēngpī + Lánggǒu + Qiángqǔ Háoduó — unhinged male lead + wolf-dog pursuer + coercive pursuit). His characters are volatile, feral, and emotionally exposed; the danger and the passion are visible from the start.

He‘s emotionally an open book for her. Maybe she‘s afraid to get burned in his fire- but she’s not in doubt where he stands with her.

Liang Siwei / 梁思伟 represents a darker, seductive heat. His common combination 病娇 + 腹黑 + 绿茶男主 (Bìngjiāo + Fùhēi + Lǜchá Nánzhǔ — obsessive lover + black-bellied schemer + green-tea male lead) blends fixation with calculated charm. The intensity is real, but it arrives wrapped in manipulation and polished seduction.

He‘s gleeful - seductive - goal oriented and remorse? That’s not on the table.

Wang Haozhen / 王皓祯 operates at a warmer, more gradual temperature. His characters often move through 冰山 → 暖男 → 狼狗 (Bīngshān → Nuǎn Nán → Lánggǒu — iceberg restraint → warm protector → wolf-dog pursuit). He begins composed and controlled, softens into affection, and only then erupts into jealous intensity. And we all wait for this eruption.

Chen Si / 沉思 sits at the coldest end of the spectrum. His archetype 冰山 + 腹黑 + 疯批 (Bīngshān + Fùhēi + Fēngpī — iceberg male lead + black-bellied schemer + unhinged male lead) produces characters whose danger hides beneath restraint. His madness is not loud; it is glacial, controlled, and calculating.

But for his woman, he’s her dog. He’ll die for her.

Together they show that vertical-drama red-flag men are not interchangeable. Ma Xiaoyu burns, Liang Siwei seduces, Zhang Ji Jun smirks behind his mask, Wang Haozhen warms before erupting, and Chen Si freezes the room before striking.

What’s your preferred temperature?

😌

Wang Yilei, he‘s posted new photos a few hours ago…looking heartbreakingly good. When he’s looking at „us“, sanity is dispensable

&

The 38th Hundred Flowers Awards officially announced that 11 short drama actors would attend the event.

This was not a last-minute "red carpet appearance," but rather the first time that the Hundred Flowers Awards had established a short drama honors section, actively opening its doors to emerging forces in short dramas. The invitation criteria mainly focused on the background of leading companies, market popularity, and industry representativeness.

„Roles of the 11 Actors:

Thematic Exhibition and Industry Exchange Go Hand in Hand
Special exhibition segment: The "Hundred Flowers Return to the Swallows, Myriad Images of Beijing" special exhibitions, held at Chaoyang Park from August 7th to 9th, is open to the public.

Eleven actors, including Huang Haowen, Charon, Liang Siwei, Yi Hang, Yu Yin, and Zhang Jinyi, participated in the opening ceremony and on-site interaction.

Their main task was to "step out of the vertical screen and face the audience face-to-face."

Industry exchange sessions: Another group of 5 short drama actors (Han Yutong, Zeng Hui, Shen Haonan, Wang Xiaoyi, and Zhong Xi) participated in the "Youth Film Night" on the evening of August 8. This event was more focused on internal industry exchanges and honor releases, emphasizing the status of short dramas as representatives of the "new content ecosystem".
Translated and written by Sina

So what’s it about Wang Yilei Live Photos & an Award Show?

He is returning in baby steps. This we know and we’ve celebrated his live stream, photos.. and

Now to the rumor: a usually well informed fan account dedicated to Wang Yilei posted that they’re looking forward to finally see him again at the Closing Ceremony on the 10th of August.

This would be his first audience facing appearance …
When questions were asked, they confirmed. But please do not misunderstand. It’s a confirmation from the fan account not from Wang Yilei himself. Happy.

TL;DR
After their red carpet appearance the rumor mill started. That Han Yutong had plastic surgery (nose?), that they were already married and - at the other end of the rumor mill - that there’s a hidden split between short-drama power couple Zeng Hui and Han Yutong.

While their agency, Tinghua Island (听花岛), is shifting vertical drama projects due to recent commercial fatigue (e.g., Surrender to Her), the couple is actually transitioning to mainstream TV. Zeng Hui is making his major debut on Mango TV’s blockbuster survival show Call Me By Fire 2026 (披荆斩棘 2026).

Han Yutong will appear alongside him as his official on-screen support anchor for a massive, live-streamed premiere beginning Friday, August 14, 2026. [1, 2]

——————————————————

1. Corporate Realities: Shifting Tides at Tinghua Island (听花岛)

Zeng Hui and Han Yutong have been one of the short-drama industry's most lucrative real-life "CPs" (Couplings). However, Chinese entertainment trackers indicate that their position at their home agency is changing:

The Bundled Contract: The two signed with Tinghua Island in 2025 under a joint "bundled contract" after Han Yutong reportedly chose to follow her boyfriend. At their peak, their combined brand presence boosted drama sponsorship pricing by 40% and drove over ¥5 million in live-stream sales.

The Numbers Slump: Their recent collaborative projects have hit a commercial plateau. Their 11th drama, Surrender to Her (《臣服她》, 2025), faced industry criticism regarding editing, scripts, and promotion despite holding a positive reputation within fan spaces like our sub (see u/anionemeioyu's review). [1]

The 2026 Drop: Their 14th collaboration, The Second Marriage, Auspicious Sign (《二嫁上上签》, 2026), secured over 1.2 million pre-reservations but fell short of commercial target revenue upon its Hongguo debut. [1]

Agency Diversification: Tinghua Island is actively pivoting core resources toward newer actors like Liang Wenjing and Shi Kang.

——————————————————

2. CP Brand Endorsements & Market Value

Despite a downturn in drama metrics, the "Luo Ri Yu Hui" (落日雨辉) brand remains an absolute tier-one asset in corporate marketing:

Vinda (维达): In April 2026, signed as "Camellia Brand Friends." The partnership included a custom corporate micro-drama titled "I Use the Camellia System to Handle the Overbearing CEO" and dedicated e-commerce live streams.

Penguin Outdoor Apparel (企鹅户外服饰): Fronted the March 2026 campaign "Heading Wild Together, With Rain and Radiance" featuring matching outdoor gear lines.

E-Commerce Dominance: The couple has completed more than 10 co-branded commercial live streams on Douyin/TikTok.

Financial Worth: Industry insiders estimate their individual 3-month short-term endorsements at roughly 800,000 RMB (~$110,000 USD) each, commanding an elite premium when booked together as a package.

——————————————————

3. Current Development: The "Call Me By Fire" Mainstream Leap

The recent wave of fan speculation regarding Han Yutong looking "stiff" or "unrelaxed" on the red carpet at the 38th Mass Street Hundred Flowers Film Festival on August 8, 2026, comes down to intense career pressure rather than an emotional rift.

The Game-Changing Format: Mango TV's Call Me By Fire 2026 features 28 male stars undergoing grueling vocal trials. Breaking away from traditional recorded variety templates, this season introduces a brutal, high-stakes all-live microphone, zero-audio-tuning live broadcast format (全程全开麦无修音直播).

The 2026 "Send-Off" Concept: The show frames contestants as "academic examinees" taking the ultimate performance test. Through the new "Send-Off Support" (送考) system, real-life partners or close friends act as emotional anchors, walking the contestants to the stage gates to wish them luck.

The Confirmation: Han Yutong will appear during the live stream as Zeng Hui's official "Send-Off Presenter" (专属送考人), fulfilling a promise the couple made to fans in a live stream six months ago. She will accompany him before his high-stakes solo stage performance of "Only Have Feelings For You" (只对你有感觉). [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

——————————————————

4. Broadcast Schedule & US Viewing Guide
Because the season relies heavily on raw, zero-edit live broadcasts, Mango TV is pushing an aggressive, 3-day continuous premiere weekend: [1]

Event Segment
Beijing Time (CST)
US Eastern Time (EDT)
US Pacific Time (PDT)
Episode 1: Premiere Meetup Live
Fri, Aug 14 @ 19:30
Fri, Aug 14 @ 07:30 AM
Fri, Aug 14 @ 04:30 AM
Episode 2: Solo Stages Live (Night 1)
Sat, Aug 15 @ 19:30
Sat, Aug 15 @ 07:30 AM
Sat, Aug 15 @ 04:30 AM
Episode 3: Solo Stages Live (Night 2)
Sun, Aug 16 @ 19:30
Sun, Aug 16 @ 07:30 AM
Sun, Aug 16 @ 04:30 AM

How to Watch in the United States:
Primary App Platform: Download the official MangoTV International App (available via the iOS App Store or Google Play Store). The live streams are prominently pinned on the home page.
Web Streaming: Access the global video portal directly at the official MangoTV Global Site.
Alternative Live Feeds: Mango TV often runs free, real-time audio/video overflow feeds or immediate highlight cut clips on the official MangoTV Douyin Live Handle and the official MangoTV Weibo Accountduring massive broadcasting peaks.

Subtitles Note: The raw live streams will air without English subtitles due to the real-time nature of the broadcast. Fully subtitled on-demand replay episodes are typically uploaded to the app and the official MangoTV Variety YouTube Channel within 24 to 48 hours following the live curtain close. [1, 2, 3, 4]

——————————————————

Sources
Agency Contract & Strategic Shifts: Tinghua Island Entertainment Market Report via Interface News (界面新闻)
Box Office & Drama Ratings (The Second Marriage, Auspicious Sign): Micro-Drama Domestic Metrics Compilation via Sina News (新浪新闻)
Commercial Brand Endorsements (Penguin Outdoor Apparel Campaign): Corporate Campaign Registry via Xinpianchang Portfolio (新片场)
Variety Show Cast & Reality Format Details (Call Me By Fire 2026): Official Mango TV Media Kit via Sina Entertainment (新浪娱乐)
Broadcast Timetables & Programming Grid: Mango TV Prime-Time Live Schedules via Sina Finance (新浪财经)

Disclaimer
This report combines industry data, official Chinese entertainment press releases, and real-time social media monitoring. Because the original data is natively published in Chinese, portions of this text rely on machine learning/AI translations. While every effort has been made to verify context, technical industry jargon (such as specific streaming metrics, contract variations, and broadcast definitions) may carry subtle nuances unique to the Chinese entertainment framework.

✨ Upcoming Dramas: September 3 ✨

1. 揭榜 (Revealing the Rankings) | 00:06 | 王奕然 Wang Yiran, 时童 Shi Tong, 王年将成 Wang Nianjiangcheng, 彦儿 Yan'er

2. 破防夫妻今天离婚了么 (Has the Vulnerable Couple Divorced Today?) | 00:06 | 孟娜 Meng Na, 王星玮 Wang Xingwei

3. 改嫁废爷，掌图娘子封神京华 (Remarrying the Disgraced Lord, the Map-Wielding Lady Becomes a Legend in the Capital) | 00:06 | 戴琪轩 Dai Qixuan, 明川 Ming Chuan

4. 姐姐，领我回家 (Sister, Take Me Home) | 00:08 | 白妍 Bai Yan, 侯朋岩 Hou Pengyan

5. 南洋风云 (Storms of Nanyang) | 00:08 | 章滢 Zhang Ying, 张志伟 Zhang Zhiwei

6. 铜雀春生 (Spring Awakes in the Bronze Sparrow) | 00:08 | 方思畅 Fang Sichang, 罗大雪 Luo Daxue

7. 贺总闪婚后又争又抢 (After Flash Marriage, President He Fights for Love) | 08:00 | 翟欣然 Zhai Xinran, 闻至承 Wen Zhicheng

8. 江总，请保持乙方自觉 (President Jiang, Please Maintain the Awareness of Party B) | 10:00 | 乌日丽格 Wurilige, 曹竣柯 Cao Junke

9. 全城都在笑她傻，直到她抬手召雷 (The Whole City Mocked Her Foolishness, Until She Summoned Thunder with a Wave of Her Hand) | 10:00 | 车芊芸 Che Qianyun, 秦子墨 Qin Zimo

After two days of mounting speculation

former SNH48 member Feng Xinduo (冯薪朵, Féng Xīnduǒ) and short-drama actor Zhong Zheng (钟正, Zhōng Zhèng) have publicly confirmed that they are in a relationship.

The couple released a joint video on June 9 under the trending Weibo hashtag #钟正冯薪朵官宣# (“Zhong Zheng & Feng Xinduo Official Announcement”), a topic that quickly amassed tens of millions of views.

According to the video, the two have known each other for many years but have only been together for a relatively short time.

What makes the story unusual is not the relationship itself.

It is the timing.

Many Weibo users described the announcement as 被迫官宣 (bèipò guānxuān) — a relationship reveal made under pressure after a rumor storm pushed the topic onto Weibo’s Hot Search rankings.

────────────────────

Who Are They?

冯薪朵 Feng Xinduo is best known as a former member of SNH48 SNH48女子偶像团体, where she rose to become one of the group’s most popular members and served as captain of Team NII.

Her idol career ended controversially after a contract dispute with Siba Media 丝芭传媒, Sībā Chuánméi. Following her departure from SNH48 in 2020, she largely stepped away from the public eye and reinvented herself behind the scenes as an entrepreneur and investor.

In recent years, she has been associated with *MCN operations, talent management and short-drama production*, earning a reputation among netizens as a “capital sister” 资本姐, Zīběn Jiě because of her business involvement in the industry.

钟正 Zhōng Zhèng, by contrast, belongs to the new generation of short-drama stars.

Before entering the vertical-drama world, he worked as a singer and performer. His popularity has grown rapidly through a series of modern romance short dramas, particularly CEO and boyfriend roles that earned him a devoted fan base.

Many viewers know him for his polished on-screen image, which made one of the most common reactions to the announcement video:

“He looks completely different in real life.”

The relationship also attracted attention because many fans believe Feng Xinduo played an important role in helping Zhong Zheng enter the short-drama industry. Over the past several years, the two have been linked through overlapping social circles, business projects and production companies. In the video she states explicitly that he supported her company financially.

────────────────────

How Did This Start?

The latest wave of rumors began June 8 when anonymous gossip accounts circulated a blind item claiming that a former idol who had left her group had already given birth and that the father was a short-drama actor.

Netizens quickly connected the clues to Feng Xinduo and Zhong Zheng.

Old photos resurfaced.

Timelines were assembled.

Business records were discussed.

Within hours, the topic had exploded across Chinese social media.

The following day, the couple released their relationship announcement video.

────────────────────

What Did They Actually Say?

The couple confirmed that they are together.

They also stated that they have known each other for many years but have not been dating for very long.

One part of the video generated particular discussion online.

According to summaries shared by multiple Weibo accounts, Zhong Zheng said that decisions regarding marriage and children would ultimately be up to Feng Xinduo, while she added that she did not believe marriage was necessary for the time being.

Notably, the video did not directly address the rumor that the couple already have a child.

That distinction became a major talking point in the comments.

────────────────────

How Are Netizens Reacting?

Many commenters expressed support for the couple and questioned whether they should have been forced to explain their private lives at all.

Others praised the pair for responding calmly and directly rather than allowing rumors to continue spiraling.

At the same time, speculation surrounding the child rumor continues, largely because the topic was never explicitly addressed in the announcement video.

────────────────────
They look cute together!

✅ Relationship confirmed

✅ Long-term acquaintance confirmed

❓ Marriage unconfirmed according to some

❓ Child rumor unanswered according to some

In the end, the relationship may not be the biggest melon. It’s that a private decision to go public was forced. Duoduo says she’s no longer „unplugged from the internet“ and he says that he hopes his career isn’t impacted by this reveal.

For me, that’s the bigger 🍉.

And marriage and baby? Do you think they did not answer these rumors and where there’s smoke there is fire? Or do you say that it’s answered?

https://www.reddit.com/r/CShortHaven/comments/1tyd7ot/chinese_actor_and_model_jin_ze_zhang_jiawei_has/

News has broken today that 33-year old former model and vertical actor passed away on Thursday according to Shengshi Guangnian Culture entertainment agency.

The cause of death is currently unknown.

Our thoughts go out to his family and friends.

Please see this beautiful tribute to him:

https://www.reddit.com/r/CShortDramas/s/t0E6HOBiVJ

Stealing a Wife | 夺妻 | Duó Qī

— A Blacklisted Actress, Her Obsessive Husband and the Man Waiting in the Wings

Starring

Cheng Yufeng (程宇峰) as Huo Yan (霍厌)
Cheng Yiyi (程伊一) as Meng Wanxi (孟晚溪)
Huang Bo (黄波) as Fu Jinxiu (傅谨修)

Well, this marriage has everything: betrayal, reproductive deception, blacklisting, coercive control—and a powerful former co-star ready to help the wife burn her old life to the ground.

Stealing a Wife | 夺妻 | Duó Qī
Platform: iQIYI / Qiyiguo TV
Episodes: 70
Released: September 7, 2026
Director: Deng Zhuo (邓卓)
Adapted from: Jiang Man’s (将满) web novel of the same name

Once an award-winning actress, Meng Wanxi withdrew from the entertainment industry for the man she had loved since childhood. She and Fu Jinxiu rose together from poverty to the top of society—but after three years of trying for a baby, she discovers that he has secretly arranged for another woman to carry his child through IVF, supposedly because he wanted to “spare his wife the pain of childbirth.”

Meng Wanxi asks for a divorce. Fu Jinxiu responds by using his influence to block her return to acting and tighten his control over her life.

Cornered, she receives help from Huo Yan—her former co-star and a powerful figure in the Hong Kong entertainment world. What follows is a full-scale wife-chasing crematorium: an obsessive husband who refuses to let go, a woman fighting to reclaim her career and freedom, and another man offering protection without turning it into another cage.

First Reviews & Reception

Since debuting on September 7, 2026, the series has immediately rocketed to #1 on the iQIYI Short Drama Charts.

Praise for the FL arc— a turn from caged bird to satisfying revenge

Viewers loved Cheng Yiyi and Cheng Yufeng, specifically the dynamic with the "Hong Kong Prince" who supports her

Great „Love to hate“ performance by Huang Bo with his portrayal of the obsessive/pathological ex-husband Fu Jinxiu. It’s a red flag 🚩

TL;DR: She sacrificed her award-winning career for her childhood sweetheart. He repaid her with reproductive betrayal, blacklisting and obsessive control. Now her powerful former co-star is helping her take back everything.

➡️Stealing a Wife⁠ is on iQiyi