LayarHijau – Nineteen-year-old actor Hu Lingchen (胡凌宸) recently became the center of attention on social media after “disappearing overnight” just two days into the filming of the short drama Love Brain (恋爱脑). Netizens joked, “The real-life version of Love Brain is more exciting than the drama itself—the lead character is himself!”
Hu Lingchen is known as a young actor in short dramas, notably starring in Hua You Chong Kai Zhi Ri (花有重开之日), which aired on iQIYI in 2025. His performance in that series caught the attention of young audiences.
The incident occurred in the early hours of late September 2025, around 3 a.m., when Hu Lingchen unilaterally announced that he would stop filming, leaving his assistant alone at the hotel and departing without notice. This action caused the entire production to come to a halt. Sources from the crew revealed that Hu Lingchen’s departure was directly related to an argument with his girlfriend, Qi Kexin, who had come to the set. As a result, that day’s filming schedule was canceled, resulting in losses exceeding 100,000 yuan, including location, equipment, and extra cast costs.
On October 1, Hu Lingchen posted an apology video, admitting that “leaving without permission was due to poor emotional management,” but emphasized that the main reason was his “inability to accept the drama’s bold kissing scenes.” He claimed he had raised his concerns prior to filming but received no response. He also firmly denied that his girlfriend was involved in the incident, urging netizens to “stay rational while watching the drama unfold.”
However, the production team quickly refuted his statement. Several crew members and lead actress Li Ziying revealed that before leaving the set, Hu Lingchen had requested that the female lead be replaced with his girlfriend, Qi Kexin. When this request was rejected, he lost control of his emotions. The production team stressed, “All script content, including the kissing scenes, was agreed upon when the contract was signed.” Ironically, on the same day, Hu Lingchen had responded defiantly to netizen comments on social media, saying, “Not filming just to please my girlfriend? Yeah, so what?” before quickly deleting the post and enabling ‘Do Not Disturb’ mode.
After the incident, the production urgently replaced the male lead. Actor Li Xinghan stayed up overnight to save the shoot, ultimately managing to re-film all 80 episodes within 5 days. The production company, Xi’an Qiuyuan, plans to sue Hu Lingchen for breach of contract, claiming damages of 428,000 yuan. The public criticized Hu Lingchen’s apology as insincere, arguing that it focused on defending his girlfriend, avoided taking responsibility for losses, and failed to apologize to the production team, instead blaming it on “emotional issues.”
Though this appears to be a case of a young actor’s “emotional outburst,” it also exposes deeper industry issues: from casting demands that mix personal relationships with professional decisions, to wavering professionalism when rejecting script content post-contract, and minimal crisis management. At 19, Hu Lingchen, through this “run for love” drama, has given himself and the industry a bitter lesson.
Perhaps in the future, production teams should ask actors before filming: Can you accept the script? Does your partner agree?
Source: Sohu
