Fan Shiqi Appears in Zhao Lusi's New Drama; Yu Menglong Fans Refuse to Watch

Chinese actress Zhao Lusi, after falling out publicly with her agency “Galaxy Cool Entertainment”, has been livestreaming and sharing her daily life with fans every day. Her anticipated comeback drama, Shine For Me (许我耀眼), recently premiered. However, a blow to Zhao Lusi’s comeback has come from an unexpected source— the appearance of Fan Shiqi, who is currently embroiled in the “Yu Menglong’s death” controversy, in the very same drama. Netizens have launched a boycott, shouting, “Don’t give him any traffic.”

Shine For Me officially debuted on Tencent Video, starring Zhao Lusi alongside William Chan. Within only 4 episodes, the drama's popularity skyrocketed, with a strong debut, positioning it as Zhao Lusi’s comeback work. However, the presence of Fan Shiqi in the drama immediately infuriated Yu Menglong’s fans, who called for a boycott, launching a “refuse to watch” campaign, dragging Zhao Lusi’s return into the Yu Menglong case controversy.
The cause of Yu Menglong’s death remains mysterious and unsolved. Fan Shiqi, who debuted from Happy Boys 2013 just like Yu Menglong, is widely rumored to have been present at the scene, triggering heated discussion. Despite Fan Shiqi’s public denial, his release of an alibi and involvement of the police, netizens pointed out that Fan Shiqi was allegedly on the list of attendees at the party before Yu Menglong died, leading to rumors that he was an alleged accomplice in Yu Menglong’s suspicious death. Furthermore, netizens discovered that, at a music concert two days after Yu Menglong’s death, Fan Shiqi, after finishing his song, suddenly made a “rubbing the stomach” gesture, which overlapped with rumors about the “USB hidden in stomach and being cut open” in the case details. This one gesture left netizens shivering, saying, “I felt chills down my spine just watching.”
Fan Shiqi is currently mired in controversy and yet appeared in Shine For Me, provoking more netizens to vow to boycott and refuse to watch, saying, “The case is not closed yet, he absolutely must not get any popularity.” Meanwhile, Zhao Lusi’s fans feel for her, saying, “Lusi is innocent yet gets dragged down.”

Song Yiren Rumored to Be Replaced

Song Yiren, another celebrity named in the case, is also closely watched. It is rumored that she was replaced in a major S+ production and had two contracts terminated with no renewals. The drama in which she was rumored to be replaced is Never Meet Yunshang, Never Meet You (不遇云裳不遇你), a web drama in which she starred as the female lead, opposite male lead Ren Hao, who is also from a talent show background. Both are not A-list, but netizens found out that this drama finished filming in August 2023 and obtained its distribution license in early September this year, meaning it can be broadcast at any time. However, the main actress’s scandals broke out at just the wrong time, and as of now the production company has not scheduled a release date—likely to wait and see how things develop.