Against the Current 兰香如故, starring Tan Songyun and Liu Xueyi, has crossed 30,000 heat index on Tencent. It achieved this just 5 days after its premiere, making it the fastest drama to hit the milestone this year. It’s also become the fourth drama in 2026 to join the 30,000 heat index club, following Shine on Me, Pursuit of Jade, and The Lead. While ratings on state-run CCTV and other sites are high, some have questioned whether the numbers on Tencent are inflated due to discrepancy with Yunhe numbers not being as high despite the show’s perceived popularity. Nevertheless, Yunhe market share has risen significantly from 4.9% to 21.2% with the drama now closing in on The Early Spring.
Adapted from the novel Lan Xiang Yuan by He Yanshan, Against the Current follows Shen Jialan whose noble family has fallen into ruin after being accused of treason. Her fiancé Lin Jinqi reneges on their arranged marriage, but circumstances reunite them as she becomes a maidservant in his household. It feels a lot like The Story of Minglan, what with an intelligent heroine defying the odds and many have also drawn comparisons to The Dream of the Red Chamber. The premiere sets quite a high bar, establishing the tone for the drama while the ensemble cast, from the child actors to the likes of award-winning actress Guo Keyu, has also drawn praise.
With still more than 30 episodes remaining, a lot of major scenes haven’t even taken place. The main couple has also yet to fall in love, leading to jokes that Liu Xueyi’s male lead literally has nobody pining for him so far. With future developments to look forward to, many expect that ratings could go even higher.
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