LayarHijau– The drama Fight For Love (山河枕), starring Ding Yuxi and Victoria Song, has once again become the center of discussion following its finale. Since its premiere, the drama has sparked mixed reactions from viewers—particularly toward Victoria Song’s acting, which many criticized as relying too heavily on “wide-eyed expressions” in nearly every emotional situation, from torture scenes to moments meant to be affectionate. In contrast, Ding Yuxi’s performance has been widely praised, with many noting his clear improvement since Love Game in Eastern Fantasy (永夜星河), showing much more refined expressions and layered emotional delivery.
However, this praise soon turned into frustration when viewers calculated the actual screen time of the lead actors. Excluding the opening and ending sequences, Fight For Love runs for a total of 27 hours and 24 minutes. Out of that, Ding Yuxi—as the male lead—appears for only 2 hours, 27 minutes, and 56 seconds, amounting to just 9 percent of the entire series. This revelation sparked heated debate, especially since the production had originally promoted the drama as featuring co-leads with equal standing.
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Pre-filming script data that circulated earlier had suggested only a minor difference between the roles of Wei Yun (played by Ding Yuxi) and Chu Yu (played by Victoria Song). Wei Yun had 264.5 pages of script and 461 scenes, while Chu Yu had 286.6 pages and 469 scenes. With such a narrow gap, viewers were shocked to discover that the final edited version leaned overwhelmingly toward Chu Yu’s storyline, making Ding Yuxi appear more like a secondary character.
Adding to the controversy, an old on-set injury of Ding Yuxi resurfaced in public discussion. The actor was accidentally struck in the palm by an arrow during a fight sequence. He never publicized the incident during filming and only mentioned it casually in a variety show. But when photos of his bloodied hand and stitched wound emerged, viewers realized the injury had been far from minor. Fans who revisited the prison scenes in the drama even noticed that the swelling and redness on Wei Yun’s hand looked too authentic to be special effects, suggesting the actual injury may have been captured on camera.
The adaptation has also been criticized for diverging from the original novel Changsao Wei Qi by Mo Shubai. Viewers who compared the two noted that several lines and key experiences originally belonging to Wei Yun were reassigned to Chu Yu or other characters, leading to disappointment among those who felt the male lead’s narrative depth had been unfairly reduced.
Ding Yuxi’s career has shown steady growth through previous works such as Love Game in Eastern Fantasy (永夜星河) with Esther Yu and Melody of Golden Age (长乐曲) with Deng Enxi. Fight For Love (山河枕) stands as his latest project, once again drawing attention for the continued maturation of his acting.
The actor is also preparing for two upcoming productions that have already generated strong anticipation: the adventure-themed drama Southern Anecdote (南部档案) alongside Zhang Xincheng, and the historical romance Escape to Your Heart (花开锦绣), which reunites him with Deng Enxi.
