iQiyi’s Chinese Original romantic comedy Moonlight aims to serve doses of heart-fluttering moments!
Adapted from the Chinese online novel Chu Li is Here, the series stars popular actor Ding Yu Xi (also known as Ryan Ding), who rose to fame after his involvement in the drama The Romance of Tiger and Rose, and actress Yu Shu Xin (also known as Esther Yu), who regained her popularity after joining Chinese girl group THE9 in the hit variety program Youth With You 2.
Depicting the story of a budding novelist Zhou Chuan (Ryan Ding) who meets Chu Li (Esther Yu), a passionate rookie editor (played by Esther Yu), they develop a fiery love-hate relationship online and offline while they work together to publish a book.
They first met as strangers in a bookstore when they both wanted to purchase the same Natsume Soseki novel. Little did they know that they have long been chat buddies on the internet. Their relationship took a sweet twist when they were suddenly forced to live together.
In the first episode, Ding pulled off a natural performance as the male lead that presented an arrogant but sweetly funny personality. On the other hand, Yu’s character is adorable and down-to-earth, just as cute and kittenish as she was when she appeared in Youth With You 2. Good reviews kept coming in for both of them and viewers just couldn’t get enough of them.
In the drama, Ding plays a mysterious but low-profile writer. Although his book fans call him a calm gentleman, Yu believes him to be hypocritical. Ding, who already has feelings for Yu, teases her continuously, such as pushing her against the wall in different scenes. One of the scenes that drove viewers crazy took place in the sauna room where Yu couldn’t stop fantasizing about them kissing.
However, Ding misunderstood that she was fantasizing about other men. Ding then pushed her against the wall and looked her in the eye for 30 seconds to see if she was lying. This intimate interaction between them had been voted by fans as the best scene in the drama.
An Adorable Teasing Exchange
In the behind-the-scenes video of Moonlight, although both actors were shy to take a sauna bath together, they couldn’t help but burst out laughing when they looked each other in the eyes. Be it off or on-screen, their interaction gave out a romantic and lovey-dovey vibe.
The video also revealed that during one of the takes for a kissing scene, Yu suddenly “spoiled the mood” when she suddenly directed Ding: “Don’t stick too close to me. The cameras can’t capture our lips if we stick too close.”
However, she quickly broke the awkwardness by adding: “Relax. Come on, I thought you’re a professional in kissing scenes.” Poor Ding was taken aback by her words. Just like the character “Chu Li” she plays in the drama, Yu is also a perfectionist who nags a lot in real life. This trait of hers is what Yu’s fans are drawn to, as they claim that she is as adorable as she was in the variety show Youth With You 2.
A Classic Confession Line By Natsume Soseki Gets A Thumbs Up From Late-Night Bingers
A scene of note in Moonlight is Ding’s confession to Yu. One night after Ding and Yu’s character start living together, Ding became sentimental about having Yu’s company and not being lonely anymore. Walking home from their grocery run, Ding looked up at the bright moon and uttered, “The moon is beautiful tonight.”
As soon as he said that, both of them started to panic. Familiar with fans of Natsume Soseki, they both knew the hidden meaning behind “The moon is beautiful tonight.” When Natsume Soseki was an English teacher, he once asked his students the translation of “I love you” in Japanese. He then explained that Japanese men should confess their love by saying “(When you are around me) The moon is beautiful tonight.”
Both phrases are similar phonetically in Japanese and is a phrase reserved by the Japanese to express their love. This little plot of adapting Natsume Soseki’s way of confessing love had definitely added a refreshingly artistic overcoat to the story and kept the viewers entertained.
Two episodes of iQiyi International’s exclusive romance comedy-drama Moonlight will be released every Thursday to Sunday at 8 PM SGT, while VIP members can enjoy exclusive early access to six episodes.
PR Source: iQiyi
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