"60 Kissing Scenes in a 50-Episode Short-Form Drama" Male Actor Exposes the True Identity of the 'Female Lead'

Female Investor Finances Production and Takes Lead Role
More Kissing Scenes Than Episodes in the Series
Rookie Male Actor: "Power Imbalance Made Refusal Difficult"

A claim has emerged in China that a female investor covered the production costs of a short-form drama, appeared as the lead actress herself, and increased the number of kissing scenes with the male lead to around 60 times. The controversy has intensified as the male actor revealed that there was physical contact that went beyond the normal boundaries of acting. According to recent reports from local media outlets such as China’s Jinyun News and Singapore’s Lianhe Zaobao, Chinese short-form drama actor Zhong Yufei recently disclosed details about the filming process of a project he participated in in the past.

A claim has emerged that a female investor in China covered the production costs of a short-form drama, appeared as the lead actress herself, and increased the kissing scenes with the male lead to around 60 times. Screenshot from SNS

According to a report posted on Tencent’s news platform, the drama in question was a short-form series consisting of around 50 episodes that was filmed in Hengdian, Zhejiang Province, China, in October 2025. The production was handled by Dongyang Yimeng, and Zhong Yufei was also an actor under this company at the time. The woman at the center of the controversy was both the investor who financed the project and directly played the main female role. She chose Zhong Yufei as the male lead, with herself cast as the queen and Zhong Yufei playing a fallen prince. The director also stated that this project was a so-called “custom-made drama” created for the female investor.

The issue began when the number of kissing scenes increased drastically before shooting started. In an interview with Jinyun News on August 6, Zhong Yufei said that when he first reviewed the full script, there were only about 10 kissing scenes. However, once filming officially began, the script was revised, and the number of kissing scenes grew to approximately 30. Furthermore, according to Zhong Yufei, another 20 kissing scenes were added spontaneously on set during shooting.

As a result, the 50-episode series ended up including around 60 kissing scenes. Regarding these changes, Zhong Yufei stated, “Based on the situation on set and my personal experience, I believe these demands came from the investor's side.” It has been reported that the production staff also expressed concern about the excessive number of kissing scenes. In a video released after the incident became public, the director stated that he had advised the investor to reduce the number of intimate scenes, but the advice was not accepted. Chinese-language media described the situation at the time as “to the extent that every two steps led to a kiss.”

Chinese short-form drama actor Zhong Yufei (Yu). Screenshot from SNS

The controversy escalated further during the filming process. Zhong Yufei claimed that while the initial kissing scenes were not a significant issue, as filming progressed, actions took place that went beyond what he originally anticipated as acceptable within the scope of acting. In a separately released video, he stated that while he could cooperate with normal kissing and intimate scenes, he felt uncomfortable during shooting when the other party used her tongue or when saliva entered his mouth.

Some have analyzed that the reason Zhong Yufei could not more forcefully refuse to shoot these scenes at the time was due to a power imbalance between a rookie actor and the investor. As Zhong Yufei had only just begun his acting career, he found it difficult to openly clash with the other lead, who was not only the project’s investor but also the person who had selected him as the male lead.

Regarding the suggestion that all the kissing scenes could have been faked, Zhong Yufei explained, “When shooting scenes in close-up, using trick angles makes it very obvious, so for close-ups there is usually actual physical contact. On the other hand, in wide shots, the scenes can be filmed in a more indirect way.” Meanwhile, the drama was taken down just a few days after its release.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.