LayarHijau— After being embroiled in a surrogacy and tax evasion scandal in 2021, Chinese actress Zheng Shuang was effectively blacklisted from the entertainment industry and faced massive debts. During her four-year absence from the public eye, she briefly appeared on Instagram, but her account soon disappeared again. Now, her studio has resurfaced on Douyin with a new account, bringing Zheng Shuang back through AI-generated short dramas.
Zheng Shuang’s studio launched a Douyin account called “Xiao Zhengzi Office” in February 2025, focusing on AI (artifical intelligence) short drama production. The studio claims that 90% of the storylines are adapted from Zheng Shuang’s personal experiences, positioning the project as a “semi-autobiographical comeback.” One of the dramas released in August, “Fighting for Custody in the U.S.”, depicts her battle for child custody between 2019 and 2021 after conflicts with her former boyfriend. Each episode is under three minutes long, features entirely AI-generated characters, and does not show Zheng Shuang herself.
The studio is also preparing a new project titled “Summer Breeze Over the Old Desk”, a school idol drama. While only a trailer is available, many speculate that this marks a “comeback test” for Zheng Shuang after years away from the spotlight.
However, despite claims that the AI short dramas are available on overseas platforms, searches by netizens have yielded almost no results, adding to the projects’ mysterious aura. In September, “Xiao Zhengzi Office” posted: “Where is Xiao Shuang? Xiao Shuang has always been here!” alongside a quote from Zheng Shuang: “My throat feels like it’s filled with blood, the same pain.” This suggests that over the past four years, Zheng Shuang has continued to fight for her rights.
