LayarHijau – The urban romance drama Love’s Ambition (许我耀眼), starring Zhao Lusi and William Chan, has topped Taiwan’s viewership charts since its Netflix release. One of the most talked-about scenes features Xu Yan (played by Zhao Lusi) taking off her makeup in front of the camera after her marriage with Shen Haoming (William Chan) falls apart.
In this raw and emotional scene, Xu Yan sits before a mirror, removes her contact lenses with her bare hands, and wipes off her mascara and foundation using a makeup remover pad. The camera captures her puffy eyes and red nose in full clarity, without any soft lighting or beauty filters. Many viewers were taken aback by the authenticity, with one viral comment on Weibo saying, “This is the first time I’ve seen a female lead remove her makeup so realistically.”
The scene goes beyond physical transformation—it symbolizes Xu Yan’s emotional collapse and rebirth. After being betrayed and abandoned by her husband, she strips away everything, including the façade she once wore to hide her pain. Fans praised Zhao Lusi’s acting as “reaching a new level,” with comments like “She looks even more beautiful without heavy makeup” and “It’s not just an emotional breakdown—it’s self-revelation.”
The hashtag “Xu Yan’s makeup removal looks so real” has garnered over 300 million views on Weibo, while related clips on Douyin have surpassed 200 million views, propelling Love’s Ambition to even greater popularity across platforms.
In the story, Xu Yan grows up without love and marries Shen Haoming, a successful young businessman. She fights to protect their marriage, only to discover that both of them are hiding secrets—and their relationship is merely a façade. When Shen Haoming coldly says, “Since I found out you lied to me, I can’t love you anymore,” Xu Yan’s world collapses completely.
Interestingly, during their cooling-off period before divorce, Shen Haoming pretends to travel abroad and uses illness as an excuse to delay the process. His behavior, both manipulative and conflicted, has amused fans. “He clearly doesn’t want to break up, yet he keeps pretending!” wrote one netizen as quoted by SETN.com.
Zhao Lusi’s makeup-free performance in Love’s Ambition proves once again that she’s not just a pretty face in romantic dramas—she’s a skilled actress capable of conveying raw, vulnerable emotion that resonates deeply with viewers.
