Michelle Chen’s first starring drama after becoming single again, “Sniper Butterfly,” premiered yesterday. In the series, she shares numerous kissing scenes with leading actor Zhou Keyu, who is 19 years younger than her. The streaming platform’s promotions are packed with clips of their kisses, including wardrobe kiss, sofa kiss, pajama kiss, elbow kiss, neck kiss, drunken kiss, and glass kiss—pushing the boundaries of on-screen intimacy. However, May-December romances still aren’t mainstream with viewers, and audiences haven’t been buying it; on the first day of broadcast, it failed to make it into the top 10 most-viewed list.
Michelle Chen is taking the show’s performance very seriously, with many celebrity friends promoting it for her on social media. The story is told along two timelines: in the present, the male lead returns from overseas as a tech tycoon and reunites with her at work, though he is aloof towards her. Flashbacks depict her past—enduring a miscarriage, a failing marriage with her husband, and supporting the impoverished male lead by living together and taking care of his studies and daily life. These events gradually unravel the mysteries behind their emotional entanglement.
Netizens praise 42-year-old Michelle Chen for maintaining herself exceptionally well, and her pairing with 23-year-old Zhou Keyu, who is being heavily promoted by the production team, doesn’t feel awkward. His acting is also decent, but they haven’t attracted enough viewers; it remains to be seen how future word of mouth may help. Meanwhile, her ex-husband Chen Xiao’s new drama “The Big Businessman” premiered at the end of last month and is currently trending with great word-of-mouth and viewing numbers. It’s outperforming Dilraba Dilmurat’s “Queen of the Land,” whose string of recent Chinese dramas have flopped; her results are now far behind Yang Zi, and she’s about to be edged out from the ranks of 'drama-leading flowers.'
Source: Apple Online News