Serpentina

Since the web novel is female centric, that probably won't happen in this drama.

If you want more HMH screen presence I think the upcoming Key to the Phoenix Heart might be a better bet and also Immortalis (which doesn't have a release date yet).

I'm quite sure there will be no kissing for that very reason.

Fwiw I don't think that for actors it makes much of a difference if their co-star is the same age or older since they don't have actual romantic feelings for them anyway. So it's a bit weird to me that people are sometimes very okay with lots of kissing and even love scenes (in Western media) among actors when both are minors.

But yeah, there are strict regulations in China about portraying romance when the actors are minors, so there's no way this will get "steamy" in any other way than implied, at best.

I think visually they don't look that far apart, since she looks older in full costume/make-up and HMH always looked younger than he is. But even so I think the "unlikely pairing" is part of the plot - a battle-hardened, ruthless military general and a sheltered, spoiled young woman in an arranged marriage she (initially) doesn't want. I think if they'd look like the most natural pairing in the world, it wouldn't convey this point as much.

And for the actors it usually doesn't make much difference how old their co-stars are, because they aren't drawn to each other anyway, it's all make-believe. Tbh acting with a more experienced actor, who knows the correct etiquette of romantic scenes and isn't overly awkward about it, might even be easier - not that it matters much in this case, because there are no kissing or intimate scenes in this drama and Ai Mi has acted in romantic roles before, when she was even younger (which strangely nobody protested back then, I might add, only now).

I fully agree that this would be quite yucky in a real relationship! But thankfully it's not, the only thing that happened while filming this drama was acting and getting occasionally hugged in front of the assembled crew and staff.

She was 17 in all scenes (filming didn't even start before that), idk why people like to speculate such things?

If it makes you uncomfortable it's better not to watch. I imagine you also never watched something like Stranger Things then.

Do you really mean the quality of the outfits or their style? Because style is something people have different tastes in (although of course it's good if the style matches the characters, so e.g. a gritty demon hunter monk might have a different style than a celebrated warrior god). But quality is more objective and based on the fabrics that are used, how the clothes fit, if the sewing is well done, if the applications look professional and so on.

And from what I can tell from the Reuters images the quality is not bad at all. Nothing looks like cheap polyester fabric or with obvious plastic applications, the fits are fine, they have some embroidery, thick fabrics, they look like actually used clothes (wrinkle in the right places, sleeves rolled up in a casual way etc.) rather than looking too new and costume-y etc.

Thanks for the info! How do we know that the script was heavily rewritten and features new characters? Exciting!

Often less green screen gives a project a higher quality feel (even in xianxia). Of course it should be used when necessary and to create the beautiful fantasy world of the story, but often real sets, proper light and practical effects create a realism within the fantasy, that feels great.

I don't really think the lack of interaction is due to the fans. There were so many dramas in the past with fan wars due to casting and it never kept anyone from a booting ceremony together. There must be other reasons we just don't know yet (and might never know).

Personally I love the styling! I think the more mature styling with the deep red works so well for a storyline where the FL is out for blood and the ML is a demon hunter. I know He Pan is portrayed as carefree and cute in the novel, but considering that she want's to harvest Rong Chenzi's flesh there's a far less sweet undercurrent. So I think styling her less in sweet pastels than the very innocent Orchid in LBFAD makes sense.

And Hou Minghao always looks great in dark colours and deep reds.

In general I actually hope they go for more world-building and less pure romance and maybe there's also a darker twist. I think in the novel Rong Chenzi isn't an outright demon hunter? So maybe the script changed things up quite a bit from the novel. We'll have to wait and see.

From what I've gathered there's a love story reflecting the historical reality this is set in (arranged, strategic marriage between a young, sheltered daughter from a good family and a military general), but I doubt this would have passed censorship if there would be any kissing or love scenes. In the end only you can decide if it's something you wouldn't like seeing, but Ai Mi didn't have to do intimate scenes and she has played other romantic roles in the past (she has over a decade of experience as an actress!), so she knew what these roles entail. She also knew Hou Minghao from a previous project, who treats her like a little sister, so she probably felt better acting with him instead of a total stranger.

The novel is female-centric, but the way it's talked about (like a 1vs3 plot with the ML being not much more than a side character) is a misrepresentation of some fans of the FL's actress. While there are of course other male characters that play a role in the FL's journey, it still very much a romance between two important characters.

Having said that I expect the screenplay to be heavily re-written, both for censorship, but also to speed up the FL's development and focus the dynamic with the ML. Of course we don't know yet for sure who will play the ML, but all rumoured actors so far (even those that allegedly dropped out) are known for their leading man qualities. It wouldn't make sense for the production company to use a significant portion of the budget to pay top-tier actor fees, if they only use him as a FL character development tool. I imagine they have written a script that makes it worth it to cast a more famous actor - whoever he may be, eventually.