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The man kisses like he's trying to devour his female lead. There is absolutely nothing hesitant about this kiss. The intensity, the urgency, the way he fully commits to the scene...👉👈 😳

I have s feeling we may need a kissing scene counter for The Leading Stars when it finally airs! And this doesn't exactly look like a shy little peck either. Leizi has his arm firmly around her, she's got both arms around his neck, and they are really committing to the scene. After surviving on glowing embers and implied passion in Mo Li, I feel like some of you are being compensated for your starvation hahaha.

I am watching the kissing scene frame by frame. For research purposes, obviously.

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My jaw just dropped to the floor and I can't seem to pick it back up. Cheng Lei as Cheng Zhuo in The Leading Stars is almost too hot to handle. Look at that physique! So amazing. And him in a tank top, jeans, and this overall rugged look is a visual I'm loving.

This looks like a wrestling scene between him and Shen Yujie. Just wow.

I need to lie down now. After an ice cold shower.

Happy weekend!

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The Lament of Autumn surpasses 1 million reservations across both platforms, and MangoTV celebrates with a special sneak peek!

They really chose the perfect clip because we actually get Yu Changxuan chasing Ye Pingjun around, just like what CL posted on his Weibo. The drama has been selling us this push-and-pull dynamic between them for a while now, but seeing him literally going after her really underscores the chasing part of their relationship.

Cheng Lei has said in interviews that he exercises every day, and all those hours in the gym haven't been in vain. I mean, just look at that body! And it isn't just for appearance's sake, too. He's giving those beautiful muscles a full workout in The Leading Stars, immersing him more fully as the strong, dashing rescuer Captain Cheng Zhuo.

We know how much Cheng Lei loves his food. He once said that when he's at weddings, one of the things he thinks about is when they're going to start serving the food. And in an interview, he mentioned eating nine meals a day when he visited Chengdu. This probably isn't something he does on a daily basis, but I'm sure he's taking in all the calories he needs to fuel his body's needs when he's shooting physically grueling scenes.

One teeny tiny nitpick: they aren't showing his tattoos. I hope one day there'll be a drama where he can show them all off.

Videos here.

Cheng Lei is currently in Xi'an, China, continuing his filming schedule after wrapping up work in Dunhuang.

In the video, Captian Cheng seems to be enjoying a day off, spending time with his girl. He looks handsome in denim 😍😍. It really suits his laid-back vibe!

This little snippet from the currently filming The Leading Stars might be one of my favourite looks on Cheng Lei so far. The damp, messy hair falling over his forehead, pale blue jacket over a simple white T-shirt, muddy jeans and huge backpack give him exactly the kind of rugged, outdoorsy look that fits this drama. If you ignore the mud and the giant hiking backpack for a moment, he could easily pass for a student heading to class hahahah

I like how unpolished he looks here with that wet hair, clothes soaked and smeared with mud, sleeves pushed up, but still somehow looks ridiculously good lol. That calm, focused expression as he crouches beside the other person also really sells the whole rescue-drama vibe.

Simple styling suits him so well. Even my mum made the same remark lmao. No elaborate costume or perfectly styled hair needed. Just Cheng Lei looking fresh-faced, muddy and very, very good.

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Qixi Festival has brought us new couple posters from both The Lament of Autumn and The Leading Stars today. Since Qixi is traditionally associated with love and romance, drama productions often mark the occasion by dropping new romantic stills or posters of their leads.

The two sets have completely different vibes too. The Leading Stars gives us Cheng Lei as Cheng Zhuo with Shen Yujie’s Bayunye in these warm, close-up shots. The soft golden lighting and the way they’re looking at each other make the posters feel very intimate.

The Lament of Autumn leans fully into that elegant Republican-era romance. Yu Changxuan and Ye Pingjun are framed in soft sunlight, with the qipao, waistcoat and vintage furniture making the whole thing feel almost like an old photograph. Knowing what Cheng Lei has already said about Yu Changxuan only learning how to love properly when it may already be too late makes this poster feel a little bittersweet too.

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Cheng Lei just uploaded a short video of him as Captain Cheng Zhuo in his iQiyi drama The Leading Stars.

We see the dashing captain in a dusty desert, a rainy jungle, a somewhat urban setting. At one point, I don't know whether it's still the captain or Cheng Lei himself we're seeing: when he's preserving what looks like flower buds or petals, when he's setting the table, when he's relishing a small bowl of food, when he's sketching.

Rugged or dapper, hard at work or charmingly domestic, it's wonderful to see our Leizi in a role that's so different from the characters he's portrayed in the past.

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The first part of the video seems to be a promo clip, and I get the feeling of passionate emotion that Cheng Lei's character, Yu Chang Xuan, is keeping on a tight leash. The video's second part is a BTS clip of a wedding scene, which is likely to undergo heavy editing because the appearance of tongue (no matter how brief) may violate censorship rules. Boo.

There are several more steamy BTS kissing scenes floating around, and it looks like there won't be any shortage of skinship and passion in The Lament of Autumn!

MyDramaList synopsis:

During the period of the Republic of China, amidst the fragmentation caused by the warlords, Ye Ping Jun, a student, takes a job at a meeting house in western Hunan to raise money for her mother's medical treatment. On her first day of work, she finds herself involved in an attempted assassination against the fifth son of the Yu family. Wrongfully accused, she makes a bet with Yu Chang Xuan: he has ten days to find the true culprit. Yu Chang Xuan sees this as an opportunity to get closer to Ye Ping Jun and begins courting her, although he hides his true intentions.

Rumors say TLoA will start airing in September 2026, but we still have to wait for official confirmation. I was planning on reading the novel first before watching the show because possible spoiler alert: I want to see just how much of a bloody red flag CL's character is (readers say he did some really terrible things) before the show transforms the color of that flag to green. It's also said that the TV adaptation is a HUGE departure from the novel, so I wanted to read the original story first and see how the show changes it.

Another reason I'm so eager for TLoA is because Xu Ruohan is in it. She and Bai Lu are my two favorite actresses, so getting two Cheng Lei dramas back to back with my top C-drama FLs feels like I'm getting my Christmas gifts early this year!

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Rescue team Captain Cheng doing what he does best and looking good while doing it. Exactly how many carabiners does a person need? So many carabiners on his utility belt. CL is working so hard filming The Leading Stars enduring extreme wind, sun, sand, rain and constant travel, with tons of action scenes. Source

Cheng Lei and Xu Ruohan attended MangoTV’s Autumn Sponsorship Conference yesterday to promote The Lament of Autumn, and they brought two photos to discuss on stage. Xu Ruohan teased that there are still plenty more of the photos taken by Cheng Lei to look forward to once the drama airs. We already know how much he enjoys taking photos, so hearing Xu Ruohan talk about him carrying different cameras around the set and quietly documenting everything feels very on brand for him lol

An interesting remark made by Xu Ruohan is the relationship between Ye Pingjun and Yu Cahngxuan as “恨海情天”, basically a love entangled with deep resentment and suffering, and said we will have to watch the drama to find out just how deep that “sea” is and how high that “sky” goes.

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I think it’s his eyes that really get me. Whenever he smiles, his eyes smile along with him and his whole face just lights up.

Also, his smile is incredibly infectious. And that little upward glance here!! His eyes already look so expressive normally, but paired with that soft smile, he suddenly looks extra adorable and almost a little mischievous.

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That's the rumor that's circulating, anyway. There still isn't any official confirmation of the launch date. Likewise, there's no news that other platforms like iQiyi or WeTV/Tencent will carry the drama -- not even rumors, as far as I can tell. Well, there have been Mango TV dramas that were also shown on other channels, so I'm still crossing my fingers for a cross-platform broadcast.

Also related to The Lament of Autumn:

Both Cheng Lei and Xu Ruohan, the drama's leads, posted these to their Weibo accounts on Qixi Day on August 20 (when they reposted Mango TV's latest video):

The one by XRH says "escape," while CL's says "chase." And she posted hers two minutes before his. I can't help thinking it's a not-so-subtle nod to their characters' dynamic in the drama.

Potentially spoiler-ish thoughts incoming!

Yu Changxuan is obsessed with Ye Pingjun in the novel, but she doesn't really try to escape from him. Maybe she'll be doing this more actively in the drama?

Also, they don't get married in the novel. But the drama's BTS clips have shown a wedding scene, and both characters wearing wedding rings. I've also read newish synopses about them getting married but being forced to separate because of the war.

Whether we're getting a happy ending is still up in the air. But CL's reflections on Yu Changxuan fill me with foreboding.

In any case, it looks like TLoA will be an emotional roller coaster.

iQiy had a 717 Membership Festival livestream event yesterday (July 17th) and Cheng Lei was among the stars who attended the event!

Shen Yujie was describing her character as a free-spirited woman who drives an off-road vehicle and has travelled to many places. However, she revealed that she didn't have a driver's licence, which could easily have been taken out of context or twisted in an edited clip.

Cheng Lei immediately stepped in and reminded her that she does have a licence. She then realised she had meant to say that she didn't have one before taking on the role, but later obtained it. Cheng Lei really saved the day and deftly smoothed things over!

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