On May 7, Against the Current (兰香如故) officially kicked off filming in Hengdian with Seven Tan Songyun and Liu Xueyi as leads. Produced by Tencent and Star Lotus Pictures, it’s a historical romance adapted from the novel Lan Xiang Yuan (lit. The Fate of the Orchid’s Fragrance) by He Yan Shan (禾晏山), but with a twist: instead of following the original rebirth storyline where a noblewoman is reincarnated as a maid with her memories intact, the drama has her assume a maid’s identity instead.
Plot Overview
Set in the Ming Dynasty, Shen Jialan (played by Seven Tan) and Lin Jinqi (played by Liu Xueyi) are arranged to be married. After her family is framed and executed, the Lin family cancels the engagement and forms a new marriage alliance with the Zhao family. Shen Jialan then takes on the identity of a maid, Xu Lanxiang, and enters the Lin household as a servant to secretly investigate her family’s downfall.
Familiar Story, Fresh Pairing
Apparently, the original novel features the intense “forced romance” trope with the heroine wanting to leave the Lin family but unable to, but the drama adaptation is said to be downplaying these controversial elements. Instead, it seems to be shaping up more like a family court drama reflecting the struggles of women within the rigid social structures of the time. We’ve seen many successful dramas using this formula—The Story of Minglan being the gold standard. Having Lost You Forever’s Tong Hua as the main writer is also a major plus.
Against the Leads Cast
Against the Current gives off similar vibes to The Sword and the Brocade, which also starred Seven Tan. But I really like her new pairing with Liu Xueyi. Incidentally, they’re both the same age, turning 35 this year. Story-wise, I’m curious to see how—or if—they intend to change things from the source especially with the Lin family having a marriage alliance with the Zhao family. Li Meng is joining the cast as Zhao Xingtang, likely playing the villain again. It also stars Guo Keyu, Wu Tiantian, Julia Ye Qing, Pu Tao, Song Fangyuan, Wang Yizhe and Liu Jiaxi.
While the cast and crew seem solid, the first character posters—just blurry shots of each actor—leave much to be desired. Liu Xueyi, who plays a noble turned general, looks handsome, but fans are already voicing concerns over his wide headband and unkempt sideburns, asking for the styling to be improved.
Photos: Tan Song Yun Studio, Liu Xue Yi Studio
avarachika
Yes, what’s up with the blurry shots?
Liu Xueyi’s character is a general? I thought he was just another ordinary noble.
Vic
oops correction – noble turned general
Avarachika
wait… so he is a noble then turned general? 😂😂😂
XZF
I like both actors – can’t wait to watch it.
Kai
same old, same old.
Applefish
Already the photo shows their lack of chemistry 🙄 no offend but they need to not give him lead role, he’s much better as support. Just get good support roles, it’ll be miles better and more memorial than these boring ML roles
Raya
I like the two actors. I hope they both do well together. Seven Tan usually has good chemistry with actors who are good at portraying cold characters. Liu Xueyi tends to do the unemotional roles well. Yeah he is a little limited in acting but his visuals are great.
O_o
Whoa can’t believe some people are saying LXY is limited in acting? He was great as the villain in Destined. I actually felt bad for him despite all the bad things he did. Compared to a similar role in Princess Royal, I hated that character. He was also super charismatic as the monk in Blood of Youth. Those are very different characters that he played. ML roles tend to be boring, but no one in their right mind is going to turn down male lead roles for no reason
Applefish
If he can’t have fire crackers chemistry with his co-stars, if his acting feels the same for his ML roles in his idol dramas, then yes, in a sense, his acting is limited 🙄 “no one in their right mind is going to turn down ML roles for no reason” – That’s why we see the stagnant in his acting, and he turns to another boring ML actor that just going to be forgotten. So it becomes the question of money or your craft. Sure, no one should turn down the money, but if he’s going to choose the money, n give us these boring ML roles, we are going to complain 😑
O_o
chemistry isn’t always correlated to acting ability. there are tons of CPs that have chemistry but the people have limited acting skills, like all those actors/actresses from youth dramas. I thought his chemistry was good with that first actress in In Blossom before the face swap but then nothing with JJY. I haven’t watched anything else where he’s been male lead in.
I don’t disagree with you that actors should pick good roles, but what you’re saying is idealistic. too bad that’s not how chinese entertainment works. he has to stay relevant. and if you don’t work for too long then people make rumors about you.
Applefish
He can stay relevant by being a bad a$$ second lead/the antagonist. I’ve seen a few of his dramas, not a lot but some, and I feel the whole chemistry is really making it’s hard for him to be explosive. You can be good actor, but if you don’t create that chemistry with your FL, and other costars (that isn’t the leads), you will not leave any impression in the audiences. Anyway, needless to say, even if this drama has high rating (most seven tan’s dramas are), he’ll be forgotten like ZYC
O_o
funny you mention ZYC, because I really like him also. he’s had a string of “boring” dramas as well and can’t seem to break out.
Applefish
I like ZYC a lot better than LXY lol. And he does have chemistry with YBY, but I guess his acting isn’t that fluid? Or something about him just not making him explosive?! 🤷♀️
Cai
IMO LXY is a great actor with wide range, his emotional expressions are a lot more fluid and expressive than many other current Chinese idol actors. But I also agree he is lacking chemistry with his co-stars; not sure if it’s the roles, the storyline or the actresses themselves, just not feeling the love no matter how hard both portray their characters.