As 2044 draws to a close, if there’s one movie audiences have anticipated the most this year, it’s undoubtedly Zhuang Hua Luo, directed by the veteran Liu Lao and starring Qin Cheng and Huang Lei.

Back at the start of the year, when Liu Lao revealed that he had been preparing for a new film for half a year, movie fans went into a frenzy.

Since then, the Zhuang Hua Luo production team remained shrouded in mystery. They never revealed the main cast, not even the film’s title. So when the first wave of promotion dropped, it caused a massive stir. Just a single concept poster had fans ecstatic — and now, with the release of the first teaser, netizens have gone wild.

In just five minutes, the video had over six million views, and within ten minutes, it surpassed twenty million!

As a die-hard fan of Qin Cheng, Ren Jiayue had seen every single one of her idol’s works. Whether he played the lead or a supporting role (only in Black Clouds did he play a supporting character), or appeared in variety shows — she missed none of them.

Just two months ago, Qin fans had finished watching Stormbringer, and now Zhuang Hua Luo was already on the way. The fans were beyond thrilled — the excitement couldn’t be put into words, only into action:
[Once Zhuang Hua Luo is out, I’m definitely watching it twice! Absolutely twice!]
[Count me in, I’m watching it three times, AAAAAHHH!]

Now, Ren Jiayue immediately opened the official Weibo of the Zhuang Hua Luo team and tapped on the teaser video.

After switching to fullscreen, the screen went dark. A low, mournful sound of horse hooves echoed from afar. Suddenly, a streak of golden light shot from the left side of the screen to the right, painting brilliant golden fireworks across the black background.

A sharp gusting wind followed, slicing through the hoofbeats. A piercing clash of metal rang out. Then, a slender, razor-sharp Xiuchun Dao knife sliced through the right side of the screen, striking into solid stone, shattering everything in its path and leaving behind three gilded characters:

Zhuang Hua Luo.

This opening alone left viewers utterly stunned.

Among Chinese cinema-goers, there’s a shared belief: Liu Lao doesn’t release often, but when he does, it’s always a masterpiece. His last film was a literary romance that came out two years ago. Looking back now — it really has been a while.

Although Zhuang Hua Luo only began filming this April, Liu Lao had already been working extensively on visual effects beforehand. The sheer impact of the opening scene was enough to showcase his remarkable skills.

What came next made Ren Jiayue’s eyes widen in awe — she was utterly captivated.

A powerful and composed Jinyiwei Commander, a lonely and vulnerable courtesan, a sinister and ruthless Eastern Depot Governor, a gentle and noble young crown prince.

As the intense music rose, as the drums beat faster and faster, scenes flashed rapidly before the audience’s eyes.

The pacing was exhilarating. When Qin Cheng wielded the Xiuchun Dao and swept through enemy lines with overwhelming force, the sharp blade seemed to slice right out of the screen and into the viewers, sending shivers down their spines. It took them a while to recover before they could dive back into the whirlwind of the trailer.

The teaser was only 40 seconds long, and from beginning to end, not a single line of dialogue — just visuals.

And yet, Qin Cheng’s fierce and agile action scenes, paired with Huang Lei’s sorrowful, delicate singing voice, were enough to immerse the audience in a dark, suspenseful world.

Liu Lao never played favorites in his teasers. Qin Cheng’s screen time was about the same as the fourth and fifth male leads. Each character was shown with equal brilliance — every one of them had a story to tell.

When the video ended, Ren Jiayue took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. Then, excitedly, she hit “replay” and watched it again. After her fifth viewing, she rushed to the comment section — sure enough, it was flooded with ecstatic fans.

[God Qin is so handsome! So damn handsome! When he swung that blade, I almost passed out — that stare was terrifying, my heart nearly jumped out of my chest!]
[Huang Lei really suits the pale-face makeup look. She’s got such a presence as a courtesan.]
[Aaaahhhh Rong Rong’s entrance scene was gorgeous! White-robed youth arriving by moonlight, with a gentle smile, raising a cup to drink — I saw his character’s name is Zhu Molang? Molang… Mo-colored jade — what a beautiful name!]
[This background music is so intense, I’ve got goosebumps everywhere, my whole body’s tingling.]

This first teaser of Zhuang Hua Luo didn’t actually reveal the story. With just 40 seconds — minus the intro and outro — there were only 30 seconds of content. And in that short time, they introduced six characters, meaning each had about five seconds.

Yet in those five seconds: Kong Zhao slaughtered enemies, his blade dripping blood; Sheng Xiangjun sang mournfully, sleepless with sorrow. And then there was the young prince walking in moonlight, holding a jade cup, his lips curved in a subtle smile — the moment he lifted his gaze and smiled, it felt like a thousand lights burst forth, driving fans absolutely wild.

At this point, the audience had no clue how the characters were connected — but it didn’t matter. They were completely absorbed by the teaser.

Within one hour, the hashtag #ZhangHuaLuo shot to the tenth spot on the trending list — right under the tag #Silent.

Countless netizens clicked into Zhuang Hua Luo’s Weibo, frantically reposting and commenting. Soon, numerous media and influencer accounts began sharing the video, pushing Zhuang Hua Luo’s buzz to new heights.

Just one hour later, the hashtag rose to fourth place on the day’s trending list — while #Silent dropped to eighth.

Upon seeing this, Director Xu was furious. He immediately called Liu Lao, opening with, “Old Liu, that was low. Be honest — are you trying to ride on our Silent‘s hype? Today’s our release day, and you drop a promo video? Don’t think I didn’t notice — you totally did it on purpose!”

Laughter rang out on the other end of the line. “Hahaha, Old Xu, why so worked up? I’m not even denying it. Rong Xu may be your lead actor, but he’s also my third male lead, isn’t he? Didn’t you ride on Yuan Ke’s Lost City‘s buzz before? I’m just doing the same to you — it’s no big deal.”

Director Xu snapped, “No big deal?! Lost City came out two months before Silent. There wasn’t much overlap between us. But you? Your film premieres in half a month! How’s that ‘no big deal’? We’re direct competitors!”

Liu Lao replied bluntly, “Didn’t you notice that when I first picked the release date — I did it just to mess with you a little?”

Director Xu was momentarily stunned.

On the phone, no one knew what Mr. Liu had said, but everyone saw Director Xu slowly turn his head and look at Rong Xu.

The old man gazed at the handsome young man with a strange, lingering look. It lasted so long—and his expression was so odd—that even someone as composed as Rong Xu couldn’t help but furrow his brows.

Just as Rong Xu was about to ask Director Xu what was going on, the director gave an awkward snort, hung up the phone, and said, “That old Liu is too cunning. He picked the release date on purpose from the very beginning. I can’t beat him at this game, but I’m still mad!”

Rong Xu: “……”

Everyone: “……”

As they mulled over Director Xu’s words and neared the hotel, Rong Xu suddenly stopped in his tracks, surprised. “Wait a minute. Zhuang Hua Luo is being released on my birthday?!”

At that, Qin Cheng looked at him in surprise and asked, “You just found out?”

Rong Xu: “…Was I supposed to know already?”

Those dark, deep eyes sparkled with surprise as he stared at the young man. After a long pause, Qin Cheng curved his lips into a faint smile and said in a low voice, “When Old Liu chose a release date, the 18th, 19th, and 20th of December were all options. But the 18th happens to be your birthday, so…”

Rong Xu: “……”

Qin Cheng didn’t need to say the rest—Rong Xu understood.

If a movie’s release date happens to fall on a significant day, it can naturally serve as a promotional boost. For example, a war movie released on the day the enemy surrendered would be perfect. And even if the film doesn’t have any particular meaning, choosing a symbolic date still helps.

If Zhuang Hua Luo could’ve been released in October, there’s no doubt Old Liu would have chosen October 27th—Qin Cheng’s birthday.

Choosing Rong Xu’s birthday was simply a way to increase the film’s exposure.

Many of Rong’s fans had already noticed that the movie’s release date coincided with his birthday. That meant Rong Xu himself would naturally trend across the internet that day, and Zhuang Hua Luo would ride that wave of attention.

When it came to marketing strategies, veteran directors were no less sharp than younger ones—they knew the game inside and out.

Rong Xu was honestly torn between laughter and tears. He hadn’t planned to throw a birthday party this year and just wanted to quietly spend the day at home. But with Zhuang Hua Luo releasing that day, he’d have to attend the premiere—and be swarmed by media and reporters.

After returning to the hotel, the Silent crew rested for a full night. The next day, everyone flew out of S City for a five-day break.

Still fuming over Old Liu’s “clout-chasing,” Director Xu dragged Zhuang Hua Luo’s male lead and third male lead into a long chat, as if venting to them would somehow make things better. When he left Rong Xu’s room, he naturally took Qin Cheng with him.

To this, a certain man could only respond with: “……”

Ten minutes later, someone gently knocked on the door. Rong Xu got up to answer it and saw the very person who was supposed to be dragged off by Director Xu.

The young man curled his lips into a smile and asked, “Mr. Qin, did you forget something?”

Qin Cheng raised an eyebrow slightly and nodded calmly. “Mm, I did forget something.”

Now it was Rong Xu’s turn to be surprised. “What did you forget?”

Qin Cheng stepped inside without hesitation, closed the door behind him, and lowered his gaze to the elegant and youthful boy in front of him. With a serious, solemn expression, he said, “I left my lover behind.”

Sweet words, no matter when they’re spoken, are always hard to resist. Since the man had already entered the room, Rong Xu couldn’t exactly push him out.

Soon after, Rong Xu went to shower first, while Qin Cheng waited outside.

The sound of running water echoed through the spacious room. The stunningly handsome man sat casually on the bed, glancing down at his phone. First, he reposted the official Zhuang Hua Luo announcement, then liked a few posts from friends who had also shared it.

After finishing that, he replied to some WeChat messages. Finally, he pulled another phone from his pocket.

Three minutes later, three new posts appeared on the homepage of the account “LotusPasteOrangeFilling”—

【LotusPasteOrangeFilling: The most adorable Rong Rong in the world OVO // Rong Xu Global Fan Club: Today’s Rong Rong is a blue mood…】

【LotusPasteOrangeFilling: Highly recommend Rong Rong! So good-looking, I wanna kiss him~ // LoveRongForever: #RongXuEdits # ‘Vie for Supremacy,’ ‘Ambush,’ ‘Black Clouds,’ and ‘Lost City’ all in one video. I kissed my screen a hundred times while editing, LOL 】

【LotusPasteOrangeFilling: #ChengRong# Rong Rong is so cute, mwah =3= // Zhuang Hua Luo Production Team: Qingyue Moliang, the noble gentleman Sheng Zhuxiang…】

As soon as LotusPasteOrangeFilling posted, fans burst into laughter.

【Let’s be real, the moment I saw the Zhuang Hua Luo teaser today, I knew our orange queen would repost it.】

【Not only did I know she’d repost it, I knew for sure she’d use the #ChengRong# tag~】

【Hehehe, I’m a ChengRong shipper too. After the Black Clouds sugar-fest earlier this year, I never expected another dose from Zhuang Hua Luo! It’s delicious, it’s sweet—bless ChengRong shippers!】

【Pfft, there was barely any interaction between Rong Rong and Qin Cheng in the teaser. I don’t think there’s any sugar at all. If anything, it might be glass shards.】

Fans continued chatting under Lotus Seed Paste’s posts, unaware that the very person they were talking about was currently frowning at the phrase “glass shards.”

Glass shards… what?

After a long moment of pondering, Qin Cheng blankly opened his browser and searched for “glass shards.” It wasn’t until the third page that he stumbled across a peculiar post—

【WTF! This isn’t sugar, this is glass shards! I’m bleeding out over here! I can’t handle this love! Where’s my sweet fluff? Where’s my adorable couple content? The bottom died! This is trash! 1-star! I’m quitting this fandom!】

Qin Cheng: “……”

He knew full well how Zhu Moliang’s story ended in Zhuang Hua Luo. The public didn’t know yet, but he knew.

Kong Zhao stabbed Zhu Moliang straight through the heart—killing him instantly.

…And that’s supposed to be glass shards?

That’s basically a mouthful of blades!

Swallowing hard, Qin Cheng stared expressionlessly at the screen, then seriously made several more posts with the #ChengRong# tag. Under his posts, countless fans laughed and said:
【Orange Queen is hyped today! Looks like Zhuang Hua Luo has sweet sugar after all. I’m so excited for this movie—it’s gonna be another big serving of ChengRong CP food!】

The real identity behind LotusPasteOrangeFilling—Qin Cheng—thought to himself:
If this isn’t sugar but blades… will you still want to eat it?

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Author’s Note:
Qin Orange: …Actually, blades can taste really good too! Really! Super tasty!

ChengRong CP fans: 【emotionless.jpg】 I’m unfollowing! Unfollow, unfollow!