Michelle Topham

They're super cute together on this show as well :)

https://youtu.be/rSQh6hun_yc?si=o3zTOZZYGA8kxJVd

I'm currently watching Feng Shao Feng in Shining Just For You, and while that drama is a tragedy of epic proportions as it's been so horribly butchered in the editing (edited down from 36 episodes to 25 due to censors' requests), I'm still enjoying it, but especially for his performance. He's always wonderful.

I generally don't watch the opening credits more than a couple of times in a series unless they're very well done or the opening theme is beautiful, but I've watched those on every episode so far. Absolutely gorgeous and silky smooth animation.

It's a very high-quality production (cinematography, sets, costumes, color grading etc are gorgeous), and features some of China's top veteran actors. And they don't come cheap.

Very similar to Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty, and just as interesting and as well-acted in my opinion. Just shorter episodes.

You can also tell it's non-idol. Just look at the cast.

Expect to see many more dramas like this in the future, as Chinese audiences are turning away from long dramas in large numbers (only 20% of Chinese viewers ever finish a long drama nowadays, and that number is falling all the time), so production companies will be releasing more dramas that are in the 20-25 minutes per episode length and maxed out at around 20-25 episodes going forward.

I'm all for it. It's a superb alternative when you don't have the time to commit to something that's over 30 hours of viewing time. And this one is exceptionally good so far, btw.

Perfectly said. And what I also loved about his character was that, even in the most impossible situations, he tried to find a solution that would hurt the least number of people.
And, if it involved GJZ, even before she became his wife, he would move heaven and earth to make sure she was never harmed.

That to me was so telling about his feelings from her right from the first moments when he insisted her grandmother move her to the capital. He knew he could protect her there, whereas he couldn't protect her as easily if she stayed in her home town.

Interestingly, it took him a while to figure out his feelings for her but, to me, he was enamored the first minute that he saw her. As she was enamored of him. (How many times did she go running when he asked her to meet him? How many times did she help him in quite dangerous situations that didn't necessarily involve her or her family?)

Like he said later on, when he realized he had been in love with her right from the beginning "I wish I had figured out my feelings for you earlier" :)

Sadly, if he had figured his feelings out, things would not have ended as badly for many people in his life as they eventually did, as none of those people would have had a chance to get close to her.

But again, that was also due to the way he was brought up. Hiding his feelings away from everyone, including himself.

The marriage is amazing for both of them. And some of the best scenes between them come after the marriage :) And there's nothing wrong with her in-laws. Her mother-in-law can be a bit of a pain, but GJZ knows exactly how to handle her :) Watch it. It's not traumatic at all.

It's just so darned pretty :)

It's so great, isn't it? I must have watched it 100 times.

He's from a very poor rural family, and he and his sister basically brought themselves up in extreme poverty from being very young children (grandparents dead, parents working away in a city).

I read that he had been invited to audition for the show by the director who had heard him singing but, because his voice sounds like a woman's, he turned the director down as he thought people would laugh at him.

She persisted for two seasons before he finally agreed to be on Season 3 of The Voice of China, and that audition was his first performance.

Surprisingly, he was knocked out in Episode 7, but has now gone on to be one of THE most successful singers in China, with a huge international following as well.

It's now a battle between him and Liu Yu Ning who gets a drama's theme song it seems like :)

And it was many months before I realized EVERY theme song performed by a female singer that I loved was actually him :)

I only learned that a few days ago when I was looking for info on his acting training, found out he graduated from the Shanghai Theatre Academy, and then that popped up about his marriage to Zhao Li Ying. They were only married two years, though, so not a very long relationship but yep probably explains their chemistry in Minglan :)

Yep, he was a perfect example of book smart but foolish :)

Thanks for the info. And also just remembered the ML and FL were married at the time that drama came out, so their chemistry MUST be superb.

I did watch Ep 1 this afternoon, btw, and it's very interesting so far -- excellent writing and more realistic than the usual over-produced dramas we get. With it being a looooong drama, I may watch an episode a day over the next few months :)

I may be in the minority here, but I loved the OST for this.

Here are the links to the full album on YouTube Music and Spotify, if you're a fan and have missed it :)

https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kMQKMzg0CkKletzBc0cqjby2P539oH_gk&si=5qcrOGZ7rrBhzTYI

https://open.spotify.com/album/1VjO2OFTKrtIpb1Ct2mzYI?si=xzOcf5ezRdCZ0FDViXVcHw

That gorgeous ending theme song is performed by Zhou Shen, who is racking up as many drama theme songs as Liu Yu Ning :) (and if you haven't seen his audition video for The Voice of China before anyone had ever heard of him, it's a thing of beauty - especially when the judges realize he's not a woman :) (And, if you do watch it, the judge who hits the buzzer first, is the brother of the woman who made that song famous).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-x1l6mqTwU

The orchestra, btw, is the International Chief Philharmonic Orchestra of Beijing, who also performed the music for 'Lost You Forever', 'Story of Yanxi Palace', 'Eternal Love' etc.

Just don't read comments on this page :) I avoided it completely until I'd watched every ep. Just prepare yourself for Eps 38 and 39. :) Two of my favorite episodes, with PHENOMENAL performances by Ci Sha and Winwin.

Love, love, loved her in The Longest Promise and, as usual, her ML Xiao Zhan is amazing as well.

Keep watching. He turns out to be one of the best characters in the entire drama, and Winwin gives one of the best performances. He must be so proud of himself, as he's an actor with not that much experience yet he turned in THAT performance :)

Watch it. You're missing the 3 of the best episodes of the entire drama, and you'll regret it if you don't. And if you've had a bad day, watch it on a day when you haven't :), as God knows we've all had those kind of days. Hope you feel better :)

Been avoiding that one as it's 78 episodes, but may just have to bite the bullet :) as it's also Zhao Li Ying, and she's wonderful. Does the pairing work well in that, because it's an interesting one?

I swear, by Episode 19, she was saying 'Wang Ye' 3 times in 3 sentences. Wanted to physically jump thru the screen and throttle her :)

I'm such a glutton for punishment though, I'll probably come back and watch the other 21 episodes at some point -- hahahahaha -- as I do like Feng Shao Feng, just think he was miscast in this.

And yep, ASM is easily my #1 drama of 2026 so far. Loved it beyond anything!

I rewound this more than any other C-drama I've watched in ages as the subtitles just fly by :)

Best Chinese drama of 2026 for me so far :)