whoissilmoy

he was early 20's then so he was not the CEO yet; I guess 2024 is right year to play a CEO since he's late 20's. The drama focused on the gamers living together, training, competitions, balancing personal struggles with being a world class gamer. From what I read, FIYS is still popular overseas.

In 2024, Xu Kai took on his first CEO role after seven years in the industry. By chance, he landed back-to-back CEO roles in the same year, though it seems he doesn’t plan on pursuing another CEO role anytime soon. To me, Xu Kai's portrayal of a CEO stands out from the crowd. Each role he has undertaken in his career is unique, and even his two consecutive CEO roles in 2024, where he transitioned from one set (ABAY) to another (BCE) within a week of wrapping up, are remarkably distinct, showcasing vastly different personality traits and background story. He did first ever in-studio dubbing for ABAY four months later, after he wrapped BCE. The common thread is that he plays good characters, but in his latest project that he just wrapped up, I think he plays a character with morally ambiguous or villainous traits. They make his face dark, and he mostly wears plain attire, but he still will be handsome on-screen.

Source: X
"The role of Yao Zhiming in Best Choice Ever won the honor of the most popular male character of the year! #AsBeautifulAsYou WON the TV Series of the Year award (Hunan Satellite). Hunan Satellite TV annual crown with highest ratings 0.633% and average rating per episode 0.534%"

"Cool Cloud Digital Entertainment Annual Influence Ceremony
Congratulations to #AsBeautifulAsYou for winning the award for Most Popular TV Series of the Year (Satellite TV Group)"

"3 Xu Kai dramas on Tencent N brush list. Long tail effect
#AncientLovePoetry
#AsBeautifulAsYou
#WonderlandOfLove

In MM, he was resurrected in an instant, while in ALP, it took hundreds of years to come back. The MM ending is still waiting for others to return, while the ALP ending is conclusive. Not everyone dies in ALP. In ALP, the viewer has no idea how it will end until the very end of the drama, and they agonize along with Shanggu. But you just knew he wouldn't be Bai Jue if he couldn't find a way because that was how powerful, smart, determined, persevering, enduring, and resourceful he was throughout the story. The same can be said of Shanggu which is why they were able to overcome the insurmountable even though they were True Gods. I recall when Bai Jue had been nurturing Shanggu's essence for tens of thousands of years and when he finally used the reincarnation spell and Gu Jun said this is it, if it doesn't work the spell will expired and all your efforts wasted, but Bai Jue said, if she can't make it, she wouldn't be Shanggu and in the last second before the spell expired, the baby was born - but it would still be another 100 yrs before Shanggu fully awakens. So, the ending is like that too, the long struggles, overcoming the impossible, uncertainty and reward, like the saying if there is a will, there is a way and love can overcome everything. Even Jing Jian, they said it was impossible for him to reincarnate, achieved the impossible by reincarnating and it is implied will ultimately reunite his love story with Feng Ran.
However, the tragedy of Tian Qi and Yue Mi was left as a tragedy indefinitely. ALP was both happy and bittersweet. Qing Mu and Hoichi situation is different. they simply cannot continue to exist otherwise Bai Jue and Shanggu could not return; but they never really disappear, their essence is merged back with Bai Jue and Shanggu so they are complete.

they should remove it in my opinion

This drama marks the debut of Vanda Margraf, a young actress and dancer who is half German and grew up carefree in the rain forests of China.

I read the girl starts out bad then turns good.

I'd have to go back to look for Marcus Here! episode where he mentioned Xu Kai said in an interview his character is really tragic and pitiful, but I don't get that from these trailers. It even says it's a happy ending in the special. Why did the give that away already! Well, everyone always wants that anyway. I like heavy themes. That's why one has to just wait to watch the drama. I was really hoping for a bad villain from Xu Kai, but then I recall Xu Kai says he wants to play a different kind of villain that you can hate and still appreciate the character - something like that, I'd have to go dig up that interview for refresh, not sure if this character fits that.

From the special, I learn that Fang Yuan Ba Bai Mi is a story about a small-town mystery, the pandora's box is open when a dead body is discovered in a coal mine - that's what it looks like to me. The town is only 800-meter radius. The father is a policeman. It looks to be a very emotionally charged father son conflict, also involving a girl. Is the father protecting the son or the son protecting the father? I thought Chen Hui is an evil villain, but I don't get that from the special, since they said there are "no bad guy or bad things" or maybe translation is misleading. The special mentions things like, "plot is a roller coaster of extreme emotions," "all the characters are complex," "happy ending,", "staff members all put in 200% effort," "background of the script is particularly good," "not a typical suspense drama as it actually focuses more on the fate of the characters," and "hope it can gain recognition from broad audience," The female lead is like a "weed,", "tough girl," and "tenacious." It sounds like a suspense drama about people, conflicts, relationships, fate, and destiny all contained in this small community. The male lead and female lead appear to be a couple to me. There seems to be quite a lot of dramatic action scenes, fighting, stabbing, choking, yelling, motorcycle, etc. and even a person (stunt) actually on fire while Chen Hui tries to put fire out on his body. There are scenes of him riding motorcycle, shooting pool, ice skating, etc.

Here is the special on YT too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd1SrO3e7YA

I read on X someone said Xu Kai was very excited about this role.

To me, Xu Kai always portrays very layered characters and Mei Zhu Yu is extremely layered. This is why I look forward to his performances.

In the recent Spring Gala interview, I'm excited to hear Xu Kai said "I think everyone should like this drama." When asked, he did say, "yes, it's coming soon." He shared that the director told them not to widen their eyes when they are surprised or in shock because they have such big eyes, it would look weird on screen. When asked about the popular scene he carried her off the carriage, Xu Kai in his usual modest way gave Tian Xiwei credit, saying that it looked smooth because the way she put her hand around his neck and use her power, so all he had to do was hug her, it's like saying all the credit go to her.

he is only 22 so he's got age on his side

Someone who is an extra in the ice-skating scene wrote:
2025.01.11 #方圆八百米 filming Day 84 repo.

My last extra role experience! 📝

Last night was the final ice-skating scene, and I was lucky enough to be so close to Xu Kai while filming! The group of extras gathered at the filming location at 5:30 PM. Since it was the fifth scene change, the ten of us doing roller skating waited from 5:30 PM until after 9 PM, and only after the previous scene was finished did the crew's vehicles start to arrive one by one! Since most of the ice-skating extras knew each other, we chatted and had a fun time while waiting 😂. Around 9:30 pm, we prepared to start filming. They planned to use a stunt double, and the stand-in extras had already changed into their costumes, but in the end, it was still Kai and the female lead who did the skating themselves!

They started assigning positions, and I have to say, the crew really helped me fulfill my dream; otherwise, why would they always place me so close to Xu Kai? 🫢 My starting position just happened to be the same as Kai's, so every time I returned to my position, Xu Kai was right there beside me. The staff even told me not to keep staring at the actors— come on, how could I resist with Xu Kai standing right in front of me??? I wanted to chat with him so badly 🤦♀️!

At the beginning, Xu Kai had a lot of fun skating, gliding around smoothly and calling out to the female lead, "Good, good, you’re amazing!" One of the extras taught him the moonwalk, and as he learned it, he said, "This moonwalk is so funny!" 😂 I really did find it quite amusing watching him skate 🤭. Later, they mentioned teaching him more difficult moves, but Kai declined, saying it was risky and that it could lead to injuries. Haha, so cute!

Xu Kai was having fun while repeatedly filming the same simple scene for an hour. He started to get a bit anxious and began directing the staff, telling them where to place the equipment and where to have people turn. For such a simple scene, we filmed it over ten times… Well, it was the first time I saw Kai a bit impatient. In the end, under Xu Kai’s on-site direction, we managed to wrap it up after just two takes! Xu Kai, you’re amazing! 👍 But I wanted to continue filming; I wanted to watch him for a little longer 🥺.

By the time we finished, it was already past 11 PM. Xu Kai must have been really exhausted after changing filming locations five times in one day! Watching him walk away, I truly felt reluctant to let him go!! The wrap party is coming soon! Once we leave Jiangxi, there won't be another opportunity like this again—so close, so immersive to watch him and work with him!!

Well, I’m going to cry for a bit~

There was plenty of purple, the color associated with the demons in ALP. Purple attire, purple flowers, a purple moon, etc. However, the aesthetics in ALP are subtle, blending into the background, creating a more nuanced and harmonious aesthetic rather than being dominant.

The business story of AI is very relevant today. I was just listening to a speech at the World AI summit this week in Paris about the need to take more risks to advance AI, and it made me think of Han Ting's ambition. Also, the corruption is so common.

she audition in Korea in 2012 so she probably does speak some Korean

I just saw someone posted on X wrapping up on 2/13/25. As I recall, filming actually started mid Nov 2024 but the official booting was 12/5/24. It's only 20 episodes so it's a good chunk of time 2 to 3 months depending on how you count it. This is excellent timing for Xu Kai to take time off for his 30th birthday! I hope it can air this year.

I feel like Tian Qi never stopped loving Shanggu even after Yue Mi died. To me, he loved Shanggu more. She was really special to him and that is the crux of the story, the love Tian Qi and Bai Jue both had for Shanggu and what they were willing to do to protect and save her. But Yue Mi was very special to him too. He always knew that Yue Mi loved him but he didn't want to let her know because he cherished their friendship very much. So even Yue Mi confessed to Tian Qi as she lay dying in his arms, Tian Qi has always known she loved him but never reciprocated the same kind of love she wanted. He did love her but his love for Shanggu always at the top. However, the way she died for him I think changed him too. But it was too late. She was gone. Yue Mi never gave up hope for Tian Qi and I believe he would have eventually realized he and Shanggu were not meant for that kind of love and when that happens which it would have eventually, you have to realized that Shanggu was only 10,000 years old, then he would have noticed Yue Mi more. I believe Tian Qi loved Yue Mi more than he realized, he was a playful character who was blinded by Shanggu.

Tian Qi was finally able to come to terms that Shanggu and Bai Jue were meant to be together, that Bai Jue's love for Shanggu was as great or greater than his love for her. He even told Bai Jue "I'll take the tribulation, you take care of Shanggu." Even Hoichi chose Qing Mu over Jian Yuan. Tian Qi went to the Abysmal Ridge and found Bai Jue had sealed it to buy time, and realized that Bai Jue was planning to take the tribulation for her after she is reborn just as he had tried to spare her 100,000 years ago (60,000 or 100,000? since Bai Jue nurtured her for 40,000 years so she could be reborn).. He realized Shanggu and Bai Jue loved each other, that Shanggu could never love him that way. He finally was able to let it go but he still vowed to never stop caring for Shanggu. Tian Qi tells Bai Jue that he is both Qing Mu and Boxuan and that Shanggu died not knowing. That tells me that he knows Bai Jue suffered greatly because he has all the memories of both Boxuan and Qing Mu. I believe Tian Qi would do everything Bai Jue did to save Shanggu but the fact is that Bai Jue did it, so he knows how great is his love. Bai Jue always kept everything a secret, so Tian Qi never realized it before, and he and Bai Jue had a working but also contentious relationship because the two personalities were so different, they never saw eye to eye.. Tian Qi was willing to take the tribulation for Bai Jue since he no longer had anyone to care for but Bai Jue told him he does not have the Power of Chaos so only Bai Jue can do it. Even though Shanggu was the Chief God but Bai Jue to me seemed like he was the most powerful. 500 years later (I think that is like 6 months in human time) he was even able to come back as himself because the God Realm have to replace him since there has to always be four true gods. Bai Jue was the God of Fire.

thanks