Chinese actor Ma Tianyu and actress-turned-producer Zhang Meng reunited on the Chinese variety show I Miss You (后会友期), a show about ex-friends meeting again. For the two, it’s the first time they are appearing together on screen in nearly a decade and their reunion revealed what led to their falling-out years ago.
Ma Tianyu and Zhang Meng became close friends in 2016 after working together on the C-drama Ice Fantasy. Zhang Meng regarded Ma Tianyu who’s five years her junior as a younger brother. After becoming a producer, she had invited him to star in a drama that’s said to be Princess Silver but he turned down the offer. At the time, his father was ill. He also felt that the script was not suitable for him. In the heat of the moment, Zhang said, “Then don’t ever appear in any of my dramas again.” He felt it was moral blackmail to pressure him into accepting the role just because they’re friends, which is why he cut her off, deleting her from WeChat, and apparently, having his family delete her too. The two remained out of contact for years, until their decision to appear on I Miss You in 2026.
Zhang Meng said she thought he was “childish” to delete her and she had felt betrayed. While he fired back, “Childish? Have you ever blocked anyone before?” Ma also opened up about how small his social circle is. After his father’s death, he revealed that he once locked himself away at home for months. Zhang Meng explained that during the seven or eight years they had not spoken, the only thing she wanted to know was whether he had been doing well over the years. A touching moment that also trended was when she brought out a collection of mugs she had bought for him whenever she travelled to different places during their years apart. “Every time I travelled, I thought of you,” she told him and was glad to know he still collects mugs to this day.
Many expressed that they didn’t expect a show about former friends would move them so much. With the two finally able to speak honestly about their feelings, they agreed to reconnect on social media and also became an amusing pair on the show as they listened to other “friends” sort out their issues. Despite their reconciliation, Ma admitted, “There is actually a crack in our relationship now.” Zhang, meanwhile, described Ma as the “only wrinkle” in her history of friendships.
Banu
Sad to waste so many years for something that could have been resolved sooner.
I think he deserved the time off in the wake of his father’s passing. Also she was to harsh on him like girl what did you expect.
Hopefully is this for them a closure.