Thank you for the response and insight @atmosphere
atmospheres:
I think that's just convenient smoke and mirrors to muddy up the waters that Deng Wei Studio (I will be referring to this as his team) has been very displeased with how Tencent has treated and promoted (or lack thereof) him, his character, and the official CP since the promo cycle for S1.
atmospheres:
and not only has not treated Deng Wei and his character as the romantic leading male character and part of the official CP but has treated him as though he is a 3rd class citizen or worse
So have I been unfair towards Tencent and the drama team this entire time when I complained that they pushed YaoJing and downplayed YaoLiu :-)? I'd imagined that they had to push 1:1 to get around some of the censorship, but they knew what the core of the story was and maybe once TJC's XL became such a hit they went with it and focused their promo around him. Nevertheless, if they had promised Deng Wei certain things and didn't deliver, it's understandable that he and his team would feel wronged.
atmospheres:
however IQIYI is trying to develop a 360 model with actors that Tencent and other production houses and online content distributors have not done or if so have not fully leaned into (Daylight for example) which is to not only invest in and distribute shows but invest in, create, and promote actors to make them traffic stars specifically for IQIYI productions.
Sounds like IQIYI is leaning into the studio system of Old Hollywood. There are benefits to being part of this sort of system, but if his fans are pulling he doesn't have much control over his career thing now, I'd imagined that he will be even more restricted if he goes all in with IQIYI. It makes sense that he would want to go with someone who offers him more benefits, however, I don't think it's a wise move to openly burn bridges with Tencent the way that he/his team are doing. The industry is a small one, you never know when you may need these relationships down the track. Not to mention IQIYI isn't a sure thing at the moment and they already have other male stars on their roster that they are attempting to turn into liu liang status. Chen Zhe Yuan is apparently the Crown Prince of IQIYI. Of course, CZY, Zhang Ling He and Deng Wei all won the same Weibo's award this year. They are all similar in age as well. He'll be competing with these actors for roles and opportunities.
atmospheres:
As for the Yang Zi issue, Deng Wei Studio has not been happy with Yang Zi and her team since the promo cycle for S1, they feel she has not promoted the official CP the way she should have
atmospheres:
saying XY didn't choose any of the men, TSJ was the only one who chose her, so basically his fandom took it as her saying XY just ended up with him by default.
This track with what I've seen from the Vietnamese DW's fans. They are up in arms because her interpretation of YaoJing's relationship and the novel are different from their own. Have they thought that in crafting the character, she would have consulted the director and the author of the novel? But of course, they are also attacking the author, accusing her of not understanding her own work. I understand that once the story is out there, readers will interpret it differently from the author's original intentions, but for goodness sake, people will have different opinions than you, deal with it like adults instead of throwing tantrums and insisting that your way is the only way.
atmospheres:
From Diamonds' POV, she has not been professional and fulfilled part of her job which is to promote the official CP and play up the couple vibes with Deng Wei during promotional events instead seemingly choosing to highlight her own individual accomplishments portraying Wen Xiaoliu and XY.
Are there expectations for couple fan-services in CDrama Land like there are in some other entertainment industries? I remembered there was some hoopla when Love and Redemption came out and fans were pissed at Cheng Yi for not giving them couple fan-services with Yan Bing Yuan. Or when Shawn Dou post birthday messages to his real-life girlfriend during the screening of his drama with Chen Duling. Fans complained that he wasn't being professional because he ruined the fantasy of his fictional romance with Chen Du Ling. It seems that these fans love to use the "professionalism" accusation to legitimize their unreasonable demands/expectations.
atmospheres:
I think probably this Diamonds vs. Zimis commotion is to create a mess to obscure the industry wranglings going on behind the fandom shenanigans between what Deng Wei contractually owes to Tencent
Doing this so openly and using his fans to do it, is really short-sighted, IMO. Fans will make excuses and bystanders may be fooled, but the industry insiders - the one who really called the shots and can impact his future opportunities and development will see it for what it is. Sometimes, it's better to handle difficult relationships as professionally as you can instead of going scorched earth like this.