Huayu Entertainment: The Birth of a Succubus Top Star

"Give Me Your Light" became a huge hit in China, and it's also making waves overseas.

The WeTV overseas comment section is buzzing with activity, with a massive amount of fan-made videos being produced in Thailand and Southeast Asia. Overseas viewers largely interpret Xu Yan as an independent woman who breaks free from the shackles of her birth, not dwelling on the right or wrong of the lies, but focusing more on the heroine's growth storyline of tearing off her mask and becoming independent in her career. She continues to dominate the charts in multiple countries.

For the next period of time, the group would gather in Gu Zhiyan's room almost every day to watch TV series together.

Midway through the drama's run, a real-life marital dispute with striking similarities to the plot emerged, unexpectedly leading to the hashtag "[Let Me Shine in Reality]" trending on social media.

By comparing real-life cases with the drama's plot, topics such as integrity in marriage and relationships and upward mobility have been extended beyond the drama itself, sparking numerous long posts on Weibo and Xiaohongshu to discuss these issues on a social level.

The outfits and accessories worn in the show also became popular. Many of the jewelry pieces worn by Xu Yan and her old-money style outfits were imitated. The luxury bags used as props in the show sold out immediately in stores, and tens of thousands of fan-made posts about the outfits went viral on Xiaohongshu.

As the series neared its end, controversy erupted over the finale.

The story defied expectations from the start, but the ending was a happy one, with the female lead letting go of her past regrets and achieving success in both her career and love life.

A large number of viewers flooded the trending topics and started arguing.

Some viewers feel that they want a happy ending to a drama and don't necessarily want a tragedy.

Another large number of viewers criticized the series for raising expectations in the early stages, but sacrificing character logic in order to achieve a happy ending, turning a sharp, realistic story into an ordinary idol drama.

"The sharp realism in the early episodes, changed to a happy ending, is unacceptable to many viewers," Nazha sighed softly as she looked at the short reviews on Douban.

Gu Zhiyan said calmly, "That's how film and television creation is. A strong start doesn't necessarily satisfy everyone. As actors, we are only responsible for portraying the characters well. As for interpretation, that's up to the audience. Popularity is temporary, but the characters will remain."

While watching the show, the group chatted casually about the current state of the industry and their upcoming filming plans.

Laughter and complaints filled the room, while outside the window lay the deep night of Qingdao, with scattered lights still twinkling in the distance at the film and television base.

The series is still airing, and the trending topics are constantly being refreshed. The popularity of "Give Me Your Light" continues to spread across the internet.

The following morning, at Qingdao Oriental Movie Metropolis, it was a cloudy day with a cool sea breeze.

Gu Zhiyan arrived at the studio early in the morning. The makeup team was already in place, and he was going to film the scene of young Liu Peiqiang's training in the space capsule.

The night before, I stayed up all night in the hotel room with Da Tian Tian, ​​Na Zha, Li Wan Da, Song Yi, and Zhao Jin Mai to watch "Give Me Your Light," and we also had an in-depth discussion about the plot.

Zhao Jinmai joined the crew a few days ago.

Having just finished her styling, Gu Zhiyan donned a lightweight aerospace-style protective suit and her makeup rendered to reflect the weariness of long-term space work. As she stepped out of the dressing room, she encountered a group of crew members and fellow actors.

This show is incredibly popular; almost everyone in the entire production team is watching it.

A stagehand passed by and couldn't help but laugh and joke, "Brother Yan, 'Give Me Your Dazzle' was trending again last night. I even saw your clip on short videos at 3 a.m.

The actors from the same group gathered around to chat, and one of them opened his phone and handed it to Gu Zhiyan, where the trending topics list was clearly visible.

At this point, the series was airing episodes 22 and 23. On the last update day, the platform's popularity was 32421, and the cloud-based effective playback market share was 37.8%.

Several keywords are prominently displayed: [Shen Haoming sees through Xu Yan's lies], [Controversy surrounding Xu Wo Yao Yan's values], [Jing Tian and Xu Yan's heartbreaking crying scene]...

Shen Teng joked: "The tension between you and Jing Tian is so strong that the whole crew is watching your famous confrontation scene on repeat during breaks."

Gu Zhiyan, dressed in a half-finished aerospace costume, laughed upon hearing this, saying, "The characters in the script are inherently full of contradictions, so controversy is to be expected."

Guo Fan, who was passing by with a storyboard in his hand, stopped and struck up a conversation: "I watched a few episodes when I had some free time. You two really captured that feeling of mutual probing and tug-of-war. But here we are on a sci-fi set, Yan-ge, you'd better put away all of Shen Haoming's elitist air. Today you are Liu Peiqiang, and what you care about is the Earth, not romance in a wealthy family."

His remark drew laughter from the surrounding staff.

We filmed the zero-gravity simulation cabin scene for four consecutive hours in the morning, repeatedly rising and falling while suspended by wires, which was extremely physically demanding.

During lunch break, the crew's large canteen was filled with staff members at long tables. Da Tian Tian, ​​whose visit to the set was not yet over, also came to the canteen, wearing a simple baseball cap and sitting discreetly at a table.

As soon as the group sat down, several actors gathered around to chat about their experiences watching the show the previous night.

Zhao Jinmai took a bite of his boxed lunch and said, "Last night when I saw the scene where Xu Yan's lie was exposed, I got goosebumps. There are all sorts of fan-made edits and parodies going around online."

Naza opened a short video and casually scrolled through clips from the drama: "The drama is also very popular overseas. It has been number one on WeTV Thailand's drama chart for seven consecutive days. Many foreign netizens fully empathize with Xu Yan's struggle to break free from her background and do not care whether her methods are legitimate or not. This is completely opposite to the views of domestic netizens."

Zhao Jinmai added: "The controversy is much bigger domestically, and there are quite a few negative comments."

Da Tiantian took a sip of warm water and said frankly, "I've seen a lot of negative comments, but also a lot of positive ones. Xu Yan isn't a traditional perfect female lead, so there are bound to be different opinions."

Gu Zhiyan held the lunchbox, her expression calm: "An actor can only be faithful to the motivations given to the character by the script. Xu Yan is bound by her family of origin, yearning to improve herself while constantly being devoured by lies. Human nature is complex, and it is normal for the audience to have their own value judgments."

Guo Fan joked, "Your show is so popular it's even invading our sci-fi crew's cafeteria. Our 'The Wandering Earth 3' is about protecting the Earth, while yours is about human love and hate. The contrast in themes is quite striking."

The lunch break was short; forty minutes later, the filming announcement came.

Everyone quickly cleared away their plates and returned to their posts.

Filming continued on set, inside the enclosed space capsule set, where the lights were cold and glaring.

Gu Zhiyan re-engages with the story of young Liu Peiqiang, completely putting aside the urban elite character of Shen Haoming, temporarily isolating herself from the overwhelming trending topics and discussions, and wholeheartedly embarking on the vast starry sea belonging to the Wandering Earth.

Meanwhile, online discussions about "Give Me Your Light" continue to grow, with short video parodies, fashion reviews on Xiaohongshu, and long reviews on Douban constantly emerging.