Recently, the costume drama Zhaoyang Princess, starring Kong Xue’er of Zhu Yu fame, has been vigorously promoting itself. However, what was supposed to be a joyous, chemistry-filled meet-and-greet with the lead actors unexpectedly stirred up a storm online. The keyword “Kong Xue’er working hard all alone, so pitiful” quickly shot up on Weibo’s trending list. The reason: male lead Li Hongyi maintained a blank expression and a scowl throughout the entire event, in stark contrast to Kong Xue’er, who was enthusiastically livening up the atmosphere beside him. Many fans and netizens commented that they couldn’t bear to watch.
During the event, Kong Xue’er displayed a highly professional attitude, keeping a sweet smile the entire time. She not only performed the popular dance “GG EZ” but also worked hard to keep the energy high. In contrast, Li Hongyi kept an expressionless face and seemed absent-minded the whole time. In one scene, Kong Xue’er taught him to do a cat paw gesture; although he copied her, his facial expression looked bewildered, which contrasted sharply with Kong Xue’er’s bright smile.
After footage of the event surfaced, it sparked outrage among netizens, with many expressing sympathy for the female lead and criticizing the male lead for his attitude. However, the event host later took to Weibo to smooth things over, saying that winners of the games weren’t required to dance, but Li Hongyi still tried his best to meet the audience’s expectations, and called for people to allow artists to have different expressions.