Elise:
I looked her up just now and apparently people didn't like her character in Fireworks of My Heart. They thought her character was annoying. SMH, people couldn't differentiate between the actress and the character she was playing. She got cyberbullied for it.
My understanding of the whole hoopla with Fireworks of My Heart is that viewers didn't like the lead couple, but took a liking to the second male lead. When the drama team and original author attempted to shut this down by various underhanded tactics, this pissed the netizens off, which then snowballed into targetting the drama and the leads in whichever ways they can. Every little thing is placed under scrutiny and made fun off/criticized. Do the criticisms about portraying the National Fire Services and medical professionals in a bad light have merits, perhaps, but they were definitely used as the pretext for personal attacks. If you placed any of these idols' dramas under scrutiny, you'd find similar issues and yet, this one was the one that got targeted? It's not a coincidence.
Yang Yang's character was called "oily/greasy" and his acting was raked over the coals. Wang Chu Ran's character was accused of being a "love brain" idiot. There is some cultural context here too, as her character lived in the lap of luxury provided by her adopted family, and yet, she chapped under their expectations and control. Critics think that she's ungrateful. A lot of young Chinese struggled economically so having a family that supported them financially like hers in the drama is seen as a positive thing.
Wang Chu Ran didn't kowtow and defended her character's imperfections as refreshing. I don't know if she defended the characters' behaviours that were seen as disrespectful to the medical professions etc. According to atmosphere, she did. But the fact that she didn't back down and humbly agreed with their criticisms of her character pretty much put a target on her head. So they will dig and find anything and everything to show/prove that she's an awful person. She may very well be an awful person, but let us not pretend that this was the number one concern for these netizens. It's their way to exercise control and punish her for not bowing down to them.
Yang Yang also got the blowback, but he has a strong fandom to protect him. Wang Chu Ran doesn't. Is she brave or stupid for not playing the netizens' game? You decide.