LayarHijau.com — The hit drama The Prisoner of Beauty, starring Liu Yuning and Song Zu’er, has recently soared in popularity, breaking the 30,000 heat index mark on Tencent Video. Prior to its success, LayarHijau had reported Liu Yuning’s comments about why certain intimate scenes from the original novel were omitted in the drama adaptation.
More Read
Interestingly, during a livestream in 2024 — when The Legend of Shen Li was dominating discussions online — Liu Yuning shared a lighthearted behind-the-scenes story. At the time, The Legend of Shen Li, starring Zhao Liying and Lin Gengxin, was a massive hit with over 2.3 billion views and several buzzworthy kiss scenes. Amid this wave of popularity, Liu Yuning revealed that one of those scenes served as inspiration for his own drama.
Before filming the romantic scenes in The Prisoner of Beauty, Liu and his co-star Song Zu’er were shown a kiss scene from The Legend of Shen Li as a reference. Both dramas shared the same director, Deng Ke, and co-director, Wang Yiding. According to Liu, Wang Yiding gave him an unreleased video clip featuring Zhao Liying and Lin Gengxin’s kiss scene and said, “Watch this scene, it’s excellent!” — as quoted by upmedia.mg.
Liu Yuning recalled his reaction after watching it: “Wow, it’s really good, really passionate!” The actor’s honest and humorous reaction made livestream viewers laugh. He later realized that the clip featured one of the drama’s most iconic moments — a snowy kiss scene between Shen Li and Xing Zhi, where Shen Li subtly reveals her pregnancy. That particular scene wasn’t even in the original script, but an on-the-spot improvisation by Zhao Liying, with Lin Gengxin’s natural response elevating it further.
Although the kiss scenes in The Legend of Shen Li appear intense, they are actually portrayed with a sweet, innocent tone, reflecting the characters’ inexperience in love and the sincerity of their relationship. This emotional nuance clearly left a lasting impression — enough to become a learning reference for another romantic drama.
Liu Yuning’s revelation offers fans a charming glimpse into the creative exchange behind the scenes and how impactful performances can influence other productions.
