theotherayn

yes, Yu Zheng system seems similar in that he puts his talents in supporting roles in his own dramas first and then upgrades them once they make enough of a splash (see Zhao Qing who's finally going to be an FL in a Huanyu drama soon.) WXY's career path just seems weird since his ML roles under YZ are more like supporting characters than actual leads. hopefully with Calming Waves and Love in Red Dust he'll get his chance to hone his consistency more.

LOL yes that was ridiculous. I believe it started when a WXY fan posted a snarky comment about 30 year old actors who are still 2nd billing in dramas and for some reason LYR fans took it personally even though no names were dropped (although c-ent fancircles really need to stop putting so much importance on billing. I'd rather WXY get good roles than lead roles.)

probably both, I remember someone posting on xhs recently that YZ was holding auditions to join the company. Xingyue also auditioned that way, he was recommended by a teacher in the Central Academy of Drama. Wu Jiayi and Chang Long also graduated from there so they might've been similarly introduced. I think Xu Kai was a model while Bai Lu was an internet celebrity doing short films and Wu Jinyan and Liang Yongqi already had a couple of supporting roles on TV when they signed. those are all the industry adjacent ones I can think of. the new kids he's been signing right now seem to be plucked from social media.

yeah YZ is turning out to be his biggest frenemy but oh well, nothing we can do but watch and wait. as long as he keeps building connections with good producers/directors/writers he'll be fine because honestly, it's easier for male actors to maintain a long career.

i don't know if Huanyu has a website but every january 1st they release company posters like this: http://xhslink.com/m/5ZYRyRKehIi

yes, kinda wish he'd gotten more time as a supporting actor since cdrama male leads (in idol dramas at least) are usually limited in scope lol. maybe Yu Zheng will give him time off to do more theater but YZ is also known to block good projects for his actors if it doesn't profit Huanyu (it's the reason why Chen Xiao left) so I'm trying to manage my expectations.

whispers say the next one is a modern (I don't know if they're still talking about Gao Bai/Confession though.)

yes, one of my Hollywood faves took 20 years from being just a pretty face in teen shows to becoming Oscar nominated so it's not like I'm in a hurry for WXY (not everyone can be Jackson Yee lol.) I'm just hoping for him to take on a couple of quality works in between the blander idol dramas. (though he has a pair of lover's eyes, so again, not in a hurry if it takes a few years. goodness knows all of my older faves are doing pew pew dramas now and rare are the ones who are still switching between romance and action/suspense genres.)

I don't know if I'm actually more worried that if CD doesn't do well (initial melon reviews are mixed) the 🥝 audience will not want to click on another similar drama so soon. though CW becoming a hit is a big ask in this c-ent economy lol, I'll settle for it having good word of mouth/reputation.

yes, i'm looking forward to it too because I love folk horror-inspired shows. I think after STOTD became a hit, c-ent is trying to start a trend lol.

Still kinda iffy on whether it's a good thing if they air it back to back though. CW is already at a disadvantage because the budget is smaller and iQiyi is not marketing it (it wasn't even in the recent investment conference) so it might get compared too much. I'm just hoping that the script is as well written as the melons say so it has a chance to stand out.

"Xing" means star, "Yue" means jump or leap. "Yue" can also mean moon depending on the character used so when the translation says "stars and moon" in a related post, they're referring to him.

WXY was just announced as Giorgio Armani's brand friend, congratulations!!! (GA titles are hard to get, the only Chinese male actor with an ambassador title is Hu Ge.)

UPDATE: (possibly wearing GA,) WXY will be on the cover of ElleMen China's August issue, teaser will be released on July 18 and the cover revealed on July 24.

🍉Project Updates:

Calming Waves - Xiang Hanzhi is recording hi6 with WXY today so it might be dropping sooner after all. there are 2 rumors now: one is it'll drop directly after Coroner's Diary to take advantage of the audience plate of a similar theme; the other is that they want a fight between it and Youku's When Destiny Brings the Demon so they're waiting for the latter to set a schedule.

Xing Zhi Wan - there are rumors that Tencent actually cancelled the project during that mess a few weeks ago and YZ just said it's postponed to save face. it's weird that they still announced it though so I'm leaning towards believing YZ for now. WXY's fandom is already celebrating lol. (UPDATE: 🍉 are now saying it's postponed to Q1 2026. a couple of supporting actors have been cast apparently but still no word on the FL.)

The Epic of Tang Dynasty - the producer was spotted visiting Love in Red Dust's set a couple of weeks ago (and treated the crew to milk tea) so it looks like this is still on. the script is reportedly 2 parts: teenaged version and emperor version of the ML, with Ren Jialun rumored to lead the 2nd part. no reliable news yet on WXY's supporting role but production is supposedly starting in the second half of next year.

any S rated drama. this one is just A. 🍉the schedule in iQiyi's ppt last year had this one in early Q3 while Coroner's Diary was in early Q4 but the latter was reportedly bumped ahead because the investment was bigger and needed more marketing. Cheng Yi's Journey of Legend is also a priority drama and might air first if they're given permission (there seems to be a scandal involved.)

but the latest rumor is they're choosing between this, Shadow Love, or Fated Hearts to air after Coroner's Diary at the end of July. Xiang Hanzhi is recording hi6 with WXY, Song Yi and Cheng Lei today which gives it a little weight. Another rumor is that they're waiting for Youku's When Destiny Brings the Demon to drop too so that they can market it as a fight between the new generation 00s actors.

that's what Yu Zheng says, but no melon owners have come out to say who it is.

a new 🍉 says he's in contact with iQIYI's Allow Me to Love You which seems to be modern. but yes, historicals take too long to shoot and YZ might want his schedule free for XZW so it'll most probably be a modern one or just variety shows.

no specific date was given, Yu Zheng just said end of the year. WXY had a weibo livestream today and he said he's reading scripts so he might shoot something else in between.

July Schedule:

July 8 - variety show recording (hi6)
(new) July 11 - Giorgio Armani event in Beijing
(new) July 17 - Tiffany&Co event in Shenzhen
(new) July 17 - iQIYI's 717 event (online)
(new) July 29 - business live broadcast

the rest of the month will be spent filming Love in Red Dust.

🍉Project Updates:

The Wanted Detective/Calming Waves (has the English title changed back? lol) - tentatively scheduled for August. I've commented this on the drama page but it still might get pushed back to September if 🥝 wants to prioritize a bigger drama. If it does drop in September then it'll mean minimal promo/marketing because c-ent will be focusing on tribute dramas/memorials of the 80th anniversary of war/resistance against Japan. some melon owners have said that the drama is good though and has the potential to be another dark horse hit for WXY (but 🥝 has a low tolerance for idol dramas so here's hoping it can grab their suspense-loving audience.)

Xing Zhi Wan - looks like Yu Zheng got his way in the end because he said in his recent livestream that they've found a big star* for the FL but will have to wait for her schedule to clear so shooting is postponed till the end of the year. WXY has been rumored for some variety shows so maybe he'll go and shoot some. needless to say, his fandom is still unhappy and would rather he quit the project altogether.

*YZ's idea of big star might differ from others. let's just wait and see lol.

maybe August (but melons say that since platforms can't do much marketing for idol dramas in Sep-Oct, they're trying to schedule the bigger dramas as soon as possible, and since this one isn't a priority it might get delayed to September. )

yes, the fancircle mocking won't matter much, well, except to his mental health, but he seems happy in all the reuters for LIRD now (compared to when the cyberbullying happened last year where you could see he was visibly shaken) so it seems like he's developed a coping method at least.

it's more than the looks, it's his voice. CCTV/mainstream media are still snobby about actors who can't use their original voice and WXY has been praised a lot for his line delivery so that's why they're singling him out. all he really needs now is better/more serious work. that's why it's frustrating to watch yu zheng pissing off other producers/executives. the options are already limited because big production companies like Xinli won't work with him, it'll be worse if Tencent starts blacklisting YZ too as Tencent and Mango are the only financially stable platforms at the moment.

xingyue means stars and moon so they chose an emoji with stars and a moon to represent him. if someone on weibo/douban comments with this icon, they're talking about wxy.

on weibo/douban, you know who's a fan and who's a hater depending on the emoji they use. WXY's usual emoji is ☪️. if you see the other, you can just block them haha.

WXY gets bashed a lot for his nose too, c-netz idea of beauty is just too boring. there's a trend on xhs where foreigners are asked to rate (usually 4) cdrama actors and WXY ends up on top most of the time. meanwhile, when you go to douban he's consistently called ugly lol

yes, but he seems rather okay with ruining their fantasies, in the sense that he's always caught by paparazzi or fans in random places doing mundane things. the drama school he graduated from also emphasizes that actors must live life so he seems to be trying to do that, never mind that his haters call him down to earth for it. traffic/fans are fleeting anyway.

just want to say, Yu Zheng lies a lot. his famous quote is "If I lie to you, I lie to you." which is why I try to put disclaimers in whatever he says.

The Wanted Detective and Love in Red Dust are not Yu Zheng dramas so they're relatively peaceful (I have seen a few spats but nothing serious.) but anything YZ decides to get involved with turns into a minefield since he likes to stir up drama~ for publicity.