Xiang83

Ai Mi is such a misfit that Hou Minghao chose to publicly declare himself as "completely infected" when acting opposite her, such words being the strongest compliments possible in his choice of description pertaining to how he saw himself sharing a few scenes with her during the filming for "Fangs of Fortune" (when she was Qing Geng and he was Zhao Yuanzhou). He said a lot more than that, to the point that my ears went red to hear him speak about Ai Mi.

“You want me to praise her? Where do I start? I won’t be able to finish praising her.” – Hou Minghao to hostess in group interview room

IQiyi World Conference on 20 April in Beijing, when Hou Minghao and Ai Mi were present for their segments onstage and in the group interview room, is very engaging. The hostess exclaimed that she wished KTTPH could air tomorrow! After watching them interact- The chemistry matches the BTS. Go check all that online on weibo, instead of remaining ignorant about Hou Minghao's frank opinions of Ai Mi!

If you want more info about the story, production details, and leads, consider reading this forum thread started 25 July 2025, which I have recently updated:

https://kisskh.at/790870-que-gu/discussions/143502-more-details-about-key-to-the-phoenix-heart-pertaining-to-the-leads-and-mohist-mechanism

Enjoy watching!

PSA: Mephisto is an unhappy racist anti-Chinese account that goes to every Trending MDL article related to chinese dramas posting insults of every artist they can hit. They have attacked MDL pages of actresses such as Cheng Xiao. They are full of hot air but wail if you render them speechless, then they block because they are very lame in comebacks.

If you feed this troll, best of luck.

Ai Mi has a supporting role in "Kung Fu Soccer", the hugely-anticipated sister movie to the 20001 global smash hit "Shaolin Soccer". She auditioned, qualified and filmed for this movie, before auditioning for KTTPH happened due to the emergency situation created by an earring scandal involving the original FL. IQiyi abruptly moved up KTTPH airing date to match "Kung Fu Soccer", after the definite airing date of 11 July for "Kung Fu Soccer" was announced on 6 July. Dengta and Maoyan Entertainment are predicting grossing 170 million RMB and 200 million RMB respectively for the first day of that movie.

Given how hilariously ignorant you are, I don't expect anyone with intelligence to listen to you. Anyone who takes you seriously will be immediately laughed out of C-Ent 😆😆😆

"Key To The Phoenix Heart" is Ai Mi's third project as a female lead, and her first project as female lead in an idol drama. Cao Dun is the Chief Director of her first drama i.e her second project as FL, which hasn't aired yet. Her first female lead role is in a war movie that aired in November 2024. In 2025, Ai Mi was praised for being a very touching younger version of the FL as a bullied teenager, holding her own amongst a veteran cast of very-strong actors and actresses in the criminal suspense drama directed by Mao Kunyu. That drama is led by Luo Jin, a National Second-Class Actor and one of China's golden TV princes who has been in demand with Directors ever since his student days in Beijing Film Academy, which Ai Mi is entering after scoring third overall nationwide and being the top female scorer in the BFA entrance exams this years.

Luo Jin is an alumni of BFA. Zhang Xiaofei who is one of the female leads of the "Kung Fu Soccer" movie is also an alumni of BFA. Ai Mi having worked with BFAers is great, since she has also achieved her lifelong dream of entering BFA!

Netizens on social media are aware of her BFA results and gossipmongers trashing her (until said gossipmongers looked like idiots for assuming she wasn't interested in university and not realising she had scored so highly for the BFA). A hooligan attempting to bully Ai Mi online was massively shamed into deleting their rubbish about Ai Mi refusing to sign autographs and taking photos at the gaokao in June last month.

Thanks for the laughs. BTW, why don't you check with Hesong as to the script-filtering process for Hou Minghao? They won't answer you.

When Hesong and Hou Minghao's studio never issued a denial about the online rumours about Hou Minghao being the ML for the S+ drama already secured by Esther Yu as IQiyi's International Ambassador as of 30 May, those of us who perhaps understand C-Ent became certain Hou Minghao had already signed onto the project or was already locked in and about to sign on the line. But I'm sure many of his fans wouldn't see it this way.

Here's a forum thread with updates about the production, story and leads.

https://kisskh.at/790870-que-gu/discussions/143502-more-details-about-key-to-the-phoenix-heart-pertaining-to-the-leads-and-mohist-mechanism?page=1

Riley as Li Mao is going to be awesome here! Ai Mi is his childhood sweetheart Xie Jiayu, but Hou Minghao as Xiao Wuyi comes between them because of the arranged marriage. Riley will be showing off shades of kindness, jealousy, obsession, being a great older brother to Ma Qiuyuan's character Li Le Jun- I am looking forward to the tension and emotions he will be exhibiting!

Genuinely curious, no sarcasm: What do you assume is the problem of:
"the actress is not yet 18 years old playing this "true bond between husband and wife." ?

If I can understand what you are referring to in terms of "intimacy", perhaps I can address your concerns.

I disagree with people, but I'm not implying they are not using their brains. You insulted everybody who doesn't share your view right off the bat. How do you expect people to answer you without feeling offended?

Here is the sum of your mud-slinging stance laced with cattiness under a glaze of polite language: "If people disagree with me, they are hyping up and skimming over issues".

There's a forum thread started July 2025, but some people just can't be bothered to read.

[ I am glad this director is in charge because he gives me the best hopes for a historical C-drama that I am used to: Conveying the impact of strong bonds in different types of relationships, without kissing, skinship or groping. This also means tradition plus inventiveness is required, to portray two individuals holding zero trust into becoming a strong true bond between husband and wife. ]

https://kisskh.at/790870-que-gu/discussions/143502-more-details-about-key-to-the-phoenix-heart-pertaining-to-the-leads-and-mohist-mechanism

Several older viewers lost our patience on the "Dream of Golden Years" page, because of comment flouncers who know nuts about C-Ent and can't seem to live without PDA while assuming "romance" means PDA and sexualised visuals you are after. On top of that, "A Splendid Match" saw viewers criticising the leads for oh noes! Age gap! ML age too old! FL young age!

A Ming Dynasty drama where the fictional ages of the FL and ML were 15 and 30+ respectively (despite the close ages of the leads) also copped crap about ickiness, just because people refused to accept they are on an MDL drama page watching a historical drama where everyone is acting. Then they blame the production. Please look in the mirror.

If someone cannot accept that people are ACTING in a historical drama, please don't watch.

You sound like you don't like the flavours of the coffee you are imagining, when this drama is similar to a shop selling tea. Since you want a reply from me from lower down the page, here you go.

Thanks for stopping by.

I appreciate your reply. There have been MDL users who have been incredibly rude about Ai Mi, and I'm glad you chose to voice your discomfort. If my reply sounded exasperated in any way, I apologise.

My forum thread contains information only a mandarin-speaker would know, especially when I linked examples of Gao Yijun's dramas (all of which have no subs). He is known for dramas such as "The Prince Of The Han Dynasty" and "The Empress of China" which was a hit in multiple countries in East Asia and Southeast Asia, but that's common knowledge only to an older audience in many different countries.

Whether you choose to watch or not, do so only if comfortable.

Have a good day :)

Thank you for respectfully voicing your discomfort. If you want to find out about the production, you are welcome to read this forum post started on 25 July 2025 almost one year ago, which I have recently posted updates to, including Ai Mi's extensive filmography:

https://kisskh.at/790870-que-gu/discussions/143502-more-details-about-key-to-the-phoenix-heart-pertaining-to-the-leads-and-mohist-mechanism

Ai Mi is an oldhand in the industry, and if someone wants to accuse her or her agency of anything, they should at least try to understand her non-idol projects in her filmography plus the industry protection standards. I have included information which MDL users would not know (unless you know where to check and you speak Mandarin). Ai Mi is in a movie airing on 11 July, whereby KTTPH airing date was altered to match that date. "Kung Fu Soccer" is the highly-anticipated sister movie to Stephen Chow's 2001 global smash hit "Shaolin Soccer", with details here:

https://kisskh.at/790870-que-gu#comment-26727644

I'm happy for the domestic public to check out "Kung Fu Soccer", which can also impact KTTPH viewership, since Hou Minghao and Ai Mi and everyone else worked so hard.

No hate to you, but you should have considered asking questions before jumping to conclusions based on your ideas of "romance".

This forum thread about "Key To The Phoenix Heart" was started in July 2025 by me pertaining to details of the drama and the leads, and I quote:

[ I am glad this director is in charge because he gives me the best hopes for a historical C-drama that I am used to: Conveying the impact of strong bonds in different types of relationships, without kissing, skinship or groping. This also means tradition plus inventiveness is required, to portray two individuals holding zero trust into becoming a strong true bond between husband and wife. ]

https://kisskh.at/790870-que-gu/discussions/143502-more-details-about-key-to-the-phoenix-heart-pertaining-to-the-leads-and-mohist-mechanism

“Key to The Phoenix Heart” is a story focused on political intrigue, the country, and character growth, where two bickering individuals conceal their deepest wishes but eventually transform a contract marriage into true emotional love and sacrifice.

Reservations have exceeded 780,000, as of yesterday evening. From the time of registering this drama, including filming wrapping up on 5 November 2025, then obtaining the airing license on 6 February this year- The entire process took approximately a year. This signifies strong institutional approval.

Over the past ten years, there has been more fan service for PDA in an increasing number of historical costume idol dramas, but this new trend cannot compensate for the fact that IQIYI burned through hundreds of billions in funds during these ten years. I am pleased that IQiyi has remembered older viewers are necessary, and this production team reflects that. Martial arts instructor Sun Mengfei is at the helm for action, and he is an action director known for his work with numerous Jin Yong classics. Gao Yijun is a Hong Kong Director who shares certain similarities with Yuen Woo-ping, but I don't expect many viewers on this page to know their work.

Ever since working together in “Fangs of Fortune”, Ai Mi and Hou Minghao have had very positive respectful impressions of each other as professionals. The script for “Key To The Phoenix Heart” prioritizes professionalism and emotional emoting, not sexualization issues imagined by some people due to a narrow modern definition of romance (whereby sexualization has become part of expectations from some viewers who clearly know nothing about C-Ent).

Tencent has pivoted very fast this year (as evinced in their 24 June conference of trailers plus sudden increase in donghua productions), to also go after older viewers and male viewers.

Thanks for stopping by. Don't force yourself to watch something that you can't be bothered to find out anything about.

I believe Neo Hou Minghao has been having on-off issues related to his vocals and health since filming FoF (that duration was definitely not a good experience for some of the cast, thanks to the director). Health issues also surfaced in "Glory", but he was very professional as usual, and finished it all despite minor stomach surgery at one point. I am concerned he is being over-worked. After filming "Inmortalis", he's been busy with concerts plus Singer 2026. In this case, I reckon recurring issues with the vocals plus his schedule affected this, because I believe he would have wanted to dub himself like he did for LITC. Right now, he has to go between Hengdian for his new drama with Esther Yu, plus all his singing commitments.

For more-specific details, his fans should know.

A standardised Mandarin pronunciation is necessary. Ai Mi has a lovely voice! Since she is still very young, I would like Ai Mi to work on that aspect so one day, she can also do ADR like Qin Lan, Hou Minghao, Tian Jiarui, and Zhang Yishan.

Dubbed. Her original voice can be heard here (example from the 11th Wenrong Awards on 1 November 2025):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wXuAv_kZWY

Please go support "Immortalis". You're completely wrong about everything about this production, and there's no point in you watching something you have already decided upon. It is akin to you walking into Whole Foods and declaring you won't buy from them and Whole Foods should fire a specific employee based on your beliefs, and to heck with Whole Foods following all the correct protocols and safeguards while you have zero idea of how Whole Foods functions as a whole.

IQiyi abruptly moving up the airing date for KTTPH wonderfully coincides with "Kung Fu Soccer" airing date being definitively declared on 6 June. I'm not surprised, because of the exposure which "Kung Fu Soccer" will give to audiences about Ai Mi, and will also benefit everyone who worked on KTTPH. Hou Minghao worked so hard, he and Ai Mi get along very well on set, and he's been such a gallant champion especially during the IQiyi World Conference on 20 April almost three months ago with Ai Mi, when he invited everyone to watch "Key To The Phoenix Heart".

Those two segments (on-stage and the group interview room) were great! Generous and mature towards each other as co-stars, while effusively praising and interacting with each other. My ears went red more than two months ago, to see and hear everything XD

Domestic viewers who watch "Kung Fu Soccer" will have a likehood of tuning in to watch "Key To The Phoenix Heart" sometime during the airing period of "Key To The Phoenix Heart", depending on what they think of Ai Mi and the interest generated for KTTPH.

With an acting background of at least11 years, Ai Mi has a history of roles in movies successively getting massive nationwide exposure, and this movie is the highly-anticipated sister movie of the 2001 global smash hit by Stephen Chow. She finished filming this by May 2025, which is the month the Director and casting director would have seen this in her filmography comprising 5 most-recent projects within 16 months (includes 4 non-idol dramas and movies), where she already finished filming the female lead role in two of the five projects. KTTPH is her third project in a female lead role.

Director Stephen Chow will have roadshows nationwide during the rest of July, to promote "Kung Fu Soccer". Before 1 pm on 8 July yesterday, pre-sales for tickets surpassed 30 million RMB within 2 days, and reached 40 million RMB by 10.01 am today. Dengta and Maoyan have projected opening day takings to surpass 170 million RMB and 200 million RMB respectively. 70% of domestic cinemas have allocated screenings for this movie. With such a strong ensemble cast (Zhang Xiaofei, Dilraba, Lay Zhang etc), the roadshows will be hot! Ai Mi will have to balance promotions for two projects: "Key to The Phoenix Heart" and "Kung Fu Soccer".

I am definitely hoping for a segment of the audiences of "Kung Fu Soccer" to translate to "Key To The Phoenix Heart", because the very-seasoned production team whose previous works I enjoyed also deserve this. I hope you'll be happy for Hou Minghao getting maximum possible exposure during the drama airing period, even if you don't watch "Key to The Phoenix Heart".

Enjoy Immortalis~!

Ai Mi is the spirited passionate soccer player 初三 (described as 其中艾米饰演角色“初三”，是一位灵动热血的足球小将。in one article) and all her presents are going to land in time for her birthday this month. IQiyi chose to push up airing date for KTTPH only after "Kung Fu Soccer" was definitively declared on 6 July, and I'm not surprised with the exposure which "Kung Fu Soccer" will give to audiences about Ai Mi (which is much bigger than KTTPH due to reaching a wider audience, and will also benefit everyone who worked on KTTPH). Looking forward to KTTPH also benefitting from "Kung Fu Soccer"!

Stephen Chow will have roadshows nationwide during July, to promote "Kung Fu Soccer". Before 1 pm on 8 July yesterday, pre-reservations surpassed 30 million RMB within 2 days. Dengta and Maoyan have projected opening day takings to surpass 170 million RMB and 200 million RMB respectively. 70% of cinemas have allocated screenings for this movie. With such a strong ensemble cast (Zhang Xiaofei, Dilraba, Lay Zhang etc), the roadshows will be hot! Ai Mi will have to balance promotions for two projects.

Depending on the city and date(s) when considering booking ticket(s), you can see the names of some of the cast when booking: https://m.weibo.cn/status/5318363091047045

多谢了!看楊丞琳详细地解释她舅妈对熙熙是多么热情- 好感动啊! (但也笑到半死了 😂😂)

That's a great link, most of it with English subtitles from Zhejiang TV official channel covering the relevant backstage plus stage moments for Luo Yunxi and Huang Xiaoyun in episode 4 of "The Treasured Voice" Season 7!

You are welcome to read about Ai Mi's excellent filmography here, specifically the four non-idol dramas and movies that would have caught the attention of the KTTPH Director and casting director:

https://kisskh.at/790870-que-gu/discussions/143502-more-details-about-key-to-the-phoenix-heart-pertaining-to-the-leads-and-mohist-mechanism?pid=3537006&page=1#p3537006

China thankfully has much stronger regulations than other countries pertaining to minors, for the film industry. “Key To The Phoenix Heart” is Ai Mi’s third FL role in C-Ent, her second FL role in a drama, and her first FL role in an idol drama. She's been acting for more than 11 years and trained by the best Directors. Her non-idol projects in her filmography are excellent, for her age.

I am glad she is shooting KTTPH with this Director, because I am aware of his work and I am so glad there will not be unnecessary PDA. Please take note that this Director's ideas pertaining to romance is emotional connection, through acting portraying "romance" via emoting and lines, not kisses and steamy scenes that many actresses don't want to do if they have a choice. Romance isn't the be-all and end-all focus of the drama.

The entire forum thread of posts starting from July 2025 would be beneficial, if you want to understand certain details about the production and the Director's previous works I have linked (all with no subtitles). KTTPH started filming in July 2025. Meanwhile, one of the four non-idol projects that Ai Mi finished filming by May 2025 is about to air, in 4 days' time. Director Stephen Chow's "Kung Fu Soccer" is a sports comedy movie, where Ai Mi has a supporting role. It is the highly-anticipated sequel to his 2001 global smash hit "Shaolin Soccer".

Happy reading!

Jeremy Tsui in our DMbJ drama "Archives: The Nanyang Mystery" as Zhang Rui Pu had too short a role there. He's in this one too! Gui Mudan and Tang Lici are going to have a very different relationship with each other as different characters, in "Shadow Punisher".

Thank you for uploading these images!

Could you share at least one example? After singing so well in cantonese in June, he gave me goosebumps on 3 July in the duet with Huang Xiaoyun.

Oh yes, here's that June segment of episode 4 with everything including BTS;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SL6ulR9dX2A

It was also absolutely shocking, for Ai Mi's agency to allow her to answer a global casting call and audition for Director Stephen Chow's highly-anticipated sister movie to his 2001 global smash hit, where she is surrounded by women!

Zhang Xiaofei, Dilraba Dilmurat, China national soccer players such as Li Jiayue and Zhao Lina, and other stars such as Carina Lau will be in the movie. A sports comedy movie sounds great!

Filming wrapped in June 2025. The film is about to premiere domestically on 11 July in less than a week from today, followed by a global roll-out of later dates. Picking big projects or critically-acclaimed projects where romance is non-existent works, if you're qualified to act in it. Artists who qualify to constantly act in movies plus dramas are a rare minority, not a majority. Good thing Ai Mi's filmography for her age is outstanding to Directors, especially four non-idol dramas and movies she had filmed as of May 2025 more than a year ago, including this movie.

This helps Ai Mi avoid unnecessary PDA in dramas, where actresses in this sad recent trend have to kiss and do some steamy scenes with their male co-stars (which male and female artists usually don't want to do, if they had a choice). CCTV viewers for TV hits and viewers who decide blockbusters of the box office (Pegasus 3, Blades Of the Guardians, Dear You, Nezha 2, etc) are not interested in paying to watch unnecessary PDA. Plots + acting usually rules the box office.

You're more than welcome to educate your ignorance about her filmography below :)

https://kisskh.at/790870-que-gu/discussions/143502-more-details-about-key-to-the-phoenix-heart-pertaining-to-the-leads-and-mohist-mechanism?pid=3537006&page=1#p3537006