Wang Chu Ran Getting Major Glow Up Thanks to Stealing Female Lead’s Visual Thunder in The Longest Promise Just in Time for Her Own Starring Role in Soon-to-air Drama Fireworks of My Heart with Top Star Yang Yang

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• Well Ren Min does look better from
  Ep 6 onwards. Yes Wang Chu Ran looks good. I watched the entire 8 episodes and I don’t see any issues with acting and special effects.
  Overall, I like the show compared to the novel. Anyone read full novel? Could you please share the plot differences so far? Thanks

  • A lot of differences. I just listed main differences for the plot development as of eps released so far, not to spoil upcoming storyline:

    1. Age difference in the novel is wider, 9-10 years vs. perhaps 4-5 (?) years in the drama. This is a huge difference since Zhu Yan was only 10 yrs old in the book when she became the disciple of Shuyin. I don't recall any romantic relationship between the two during those years.

    2. How Shu-yin ended up being brought up in Mountain Jouyi is different between the drama and the novel. The arc of the OTP meeting first time in the palace was made up in the drama, not in the novel. In the novel, the hero was brought to Mountain Jouyi right after birth.

    3. The script writer appeared to vilify the principal priest, Shu-yin's teacher.

    There're more differences in the details.

    I actually think the script writer has done a great job adapting the novel for better that is more romantic. The Longest Promise is more interesting than the book in my opinion. The book tells the story from Zhu Yan's perspectives. But the drama has balanced views from both OTP.

    • Thank you @Somebody who’s identity got hack by a psychopath

      Really appreciate your reply. I agree with you and I like this drama version too
      1. To be frank, I think the book makes me confused with the elaborated “special effects”. The drama provides that, visually without taxing my eyes and brain.
      2. I also like the slow burn romance in the drama, taking a longer route to explore their growth in life as well.
      3. I can understand why they making RM “cute” or “childish” appearance in the early part of this drama. Perhaps as they grow, her make up will change. I notice Ren Min looks prettier when she is acting serious.
      4. As for the second lead WCR, I think they made her role much more prominently shady to render more sympathy to the main characters.

• Damn, putting them side by side like that is brutal 😭
  Reminds me of Jessica Alexander getting more hype for her looks than Halle Bailey in the recent Little Mermaid movie. Except Halle is actually quite pretty, just that Jessica is more drop-dead gorgeous. This one tho, Wang Chu Ran is clearly miles more beautiful 😭

  • Koala picked uglier pics of Ren Min (perhaps deliberately photoshopped to magnify her weakness LOL) vs prettier photos of WCR. Ren Min looked pretty in many scenes although she's also got awkward looks from just a few angles in the camera. Everyone has different aesthetic preference. I personally don't like WCR's looks and physique (looking oversized lol). I watched a few dramas of her as supporting roles and also trailers of her new drama as the main FL as well as some of her photos on red carpets. I just don't get her beauty ! Ren Min isn't the type of Crystal Liu who's regarded as the fairy of the fairies. But Ren Min's acting is pretty convincing, exactly as what I expect based upon the book I read. Besides, she looks gorgeous most of the time in the drama.

    • This isn't Koala's fault. If you compared them side by side, Ren Mi is merely pretty and Wang Chu Rang is gorgeous (aesthetically and commercially a beauty) and has been gorgeous in all the dramas I've seen her in. Nothing against Ren Mi as everyone has their good points, talents and admirers. But no matter how they are styled it's an unfair comparasion to place them side by side.

      I noticed when Ren Mi was styled as the grandmother, her looks were much more striking and her appearance improved. So it must mean that this 'baby' type of hair styles and facial expressions don't suit her.

    • @XoXo, NOPE! That's your opinion. I've never been appealed to WCR's visuals in any drama she's cast. She looks plastic! She is just not up my alley. Nonetheless, I found Ren Min attractive in some ways in her prior dramas. Besides, RM's acting exudes the aura of Zhu Yan described in the book I read. Her acting is on point as Xiao Zhan commended. We just have different preference of visuals.

      Anyway, online attacks on the FL's visuals do not affect the rating and popularity of TLP. TLP continues to beat up all other web dramas and XZ's popularity took over top 1 spot right away in many charts. Antis just get ready to be disappointed. LOL

    • I don't like ≠ Ugly, bad.

      Wang Churan is conventionally attractive, whether we like her or not lol. Ren Min is average, even I look better than her lol.

• I don't see Ren Min's visuals being much of a problem in TLP as her role isn't some top beauty. Her looks belong to the cute category so I didn't find her dubbed voice out of place either.

  And sorry to pour cold water but I don't think you will be able to see any fierce competition. Modern romance drama can't compete against xianxia dramas in terms of popularity, plus Yang Yang does not have as much liuliang as Xiao Zhan has now. Don't get me wrong though, I do find both actors handsome.

• I hope you're re getting paid for lying because damn, why lose credibility over nothing? Wang Churan isn't being talked about at all, except her plastic surgery and it can be clearly seen on Datawin that Ren Min as Zhu Yan is second highest contributor to the drama popularity. All the talk about this drama is Shi Ying and then Zhu Yan.

  Yang Yang is a top liuliang only in your imagination. He never was and he isn't now.

  • you're living in a denial and fantasy world for denying yangyang isn't a top liulang. while it's indeed true xiao zhan is the top 1 liulang right now, but lying without a blink by saying yangyang isn't a top liulang and never was just shows how ridiculous, ignorance you are. you're just clowning yourself. go touch some grass, yangyang hater. he is basically among the top 4 liulang since 2016, where wyf, lyf and luhan are no longer in the picture.

    • Online statistics indicate that YY is going downhills. YY used to be a hot commodity on the top in the C showbiz but no longer since he's getting old with very limited acting chops. I used to like some of his older dramas. I hope he finds a niche beside the genre of modern dramas adapted from JJWXC novels.

• She was in the palace drama with Xu Kai and Wu Jin Yan, and she was already giving lead actress vibes with her looks, elegance and acting. She is like the younger version of Liu Yi Fei.

• Wang Churan is pretty, but I've always found her big features and long face unsuitable for historical dramas. Kind of like Fan Bingbing. On the other hand, those with more exquisite and delicate facial features like Liu Yifei and Liu Shishi look like they came out of an ancient painting. Wang Churan's glamorous features are more suitable for modern dramas.

  • I agree. I've seen a handful of Wang Churan's modern/costume dramas and can't deny that she's one of the top beauties of her generation, however she simply doesn't fit ancient aesthetics. She has very big facial bones (cheekbones, jaw, chin, nose) on top of big eyes/eyelids and lips. Much like Dilraba, heavier makeup and bigger hairstyles seem to complement her visuals more. If anything, Wang Churan gives off more of that retro Hong Kong beauty vibe. Among the post-95 actresses, I'd say Song Zuer probably is the closest to a classical beauty just based on her face alone. She still has defined features like a tall nose bridge and big eyes, but her small face and mouth make her overall appearance more harmonious in period costume makeup and hairstyles.

• It was distracting, not gonna lie, to see a beauty like Wang Chu Ren next to merely cute Ren Min. The difference makes you question why the 2nd FL isn't the main female lead.

  However, the role calls for Ren Min to be this child-like, naive persona and WCR's visuals don't give cute (although I suppose with credible acting skills, that might not be an issue.)

  I'm fine with either ladies as FL; it's just unfair that someone so much prettier than FL is 2nd FL (as a comparison point.) Like why they gotta do that? Is 2nd FL supposed to be gorgeous in the novel? In Ancient Love Poetry, they found a pretty plain Jane as the daughter of the queen and at least her looks didn't make ZDY look plain in comparison.

  • In older Taiwanese dramas, the female leads are always the ordinary looking kind (like Ariel Lin) while the second female leads are the gorgeous type. People argue that it is easier for the average female audience to immerse themselves in the drama if the female lead looks plain enough. But seriously though, when I'm watching a drama I just want to stare at beautiful faces, not imagining myself as the female lead lmao.

    • I am reminded of this terrible comment that surfaced during Hu Yitian's scandal. He was telling the lady he was sleeping with that he was not into Shen Yue (his costar in his breakout hit, A Love So Beautiful) -how she's not his type because he's into beautiful girls and how really pretty girls don't get cast as the leads because you need a girl who feels relatable.

    • i agree tho, we are visual animals in the end. I gotta say at least make them have the same level of beauty rather than having this ordinary but charming cliche

    • Ohhh I could never get into Ariel Lin's dramas because her lips weird me out - too visually distracting for me to focus on the plot and acting. And I never knew that people deliberately hired plainer actresses to be FL because it's more relatable - wut! Mindblown.

    • @prettyautumn yea I remember reading the article about his comments. He did Shen Yue dirty. I always thought Shen Yue had her charm even if she wasn't Chinese textbook version beautiful. I still found her pretty. After that, I could never see him in the same light again. Plus, who's he to criticize her looks when the boy has horseteeth and needs braces.

  • That was a jerk move. Imo Shen Yue has a beautiful face. Her visuals are just overlooked cos she is on the shorter side. But anyways thats not true. Pretty girls are cast as female leads nowadays; I can name a few - Zhou Ye, Zhang Jingyu, Song Zuer, Wang Churan etc. Its just that the more popular ones right now are the more "relatable" type like Bai Lu, Esther Yu and Zhao Lusi.

    • Seriously though, those who see Bai Lu or Zhao Lu Si and think they look like them are in serious delusion!

    • Of course they look better than the average girl out there. They are just not top beauties. Although I would say both look significantly better than Esther to be grouped with her as 四晋

  • The reason is because Ren Min gained recognition and praise for her acting from her debut film, so her status and prestige is a bit higher. As opposed to Wang Churan, who hasn't had a true breakout leading role yet (not to say that she hasn't had a memorable performance). But she's steadily getting there and it's also not like she's stuck in second lead roles either. So while it may be a thing to cast average looking girls in leading roles, it's definitely much more common to see beautiful actresses as the female lead, often times even portraying an unattractive character.

  • In the original novel, Zhu Yan was only 8-9 yrs old when she met Shy-yin the first time and only 10 yrs old when starting her discipleship with Shu-yin, Xiao Zhan's character. The heroine has to look like a teenager with childlike aura. Shu-yin teased Zhu Yan all the time in the novel. The heroine had very rash, childish, but innocent acts in the novel. Do you see the 2nd FL with such a huge physique and mature looks really fit Zhu Yan? LOL. I pretty sure the casting director knew the novel better than you do.

    BTW, I'm pretty Xiao Zhan participated in the process of picking his final female lead. He gave his own account of why Ren Min was picked as the FL out of all the candidates: Ren Min's acting is ON POINT. That's his response to all the naysayers.

    On top of that, not all the viewers including me think the FL is ugly. I personally prefer Ren Min's looks to WCR's looks.

    • Ren Min is not attractive, period. You are being biased lol, as always in this site.

• Also this drama is a flop already - I can already hear others commenting WhY ArE YoU WaTcHiNg theN?

  Because there's a drought of good dramas in general and I need some brainless fillers and pretty visuals.

  The whole doomed destiny is played out ad nauseam with these teacher-disciple relationships. Wish they'd stop with these cliche tropes.

  And I know, I know, the old "if u got nothing better to say, don't say it at all." But here you are, still reading. Just don't read/comment on me - move along.

  • Actually I have been putting of watching this since a lot of good dramas have been putting out lately. Destined, hidden love, when I fly towards you, I still haven’t finished watching them all. And some are still ongoing.

    How is the plot of the longest promise? Is there any unique point in the plot? I wanna know what I’m in for and decide whether to watch the longest promise or fireworks on earth after I finish watching destined and hidden love.

    • The Longest Promise is sizzling hot on the online streaming sites and all the C social media! TLP also tops streaming sites in several foreign countries including Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and Malaysia. Several drama rating measures including well-known VLinkage already shown TLP beating all the web dramas (old and new) in just a few eps since premiere. XZ expectedly tops all the popularity charts. Yang Yang is no rival to him. Yang Yang's new drama is no competition with TLP at all. So Koala worried for nothing. LOL

    • TLP is really good so far imo. The quality of the special effects are great for a xianxia drama and it has a good balance of funny, heart-fluttering, and tears-inducing moments. I'm tired of xianxia drama plots whereby the male & female leads are gods yet apparently their love matters more than the humans' lives which they, as gods, are supposed to protect.

      TLP is different in the sense that the leads are just human beings and the male lead is a responsible person that prioritises protecting his people. His mindset is more "god-like" than the gods in most other xianxia dramas.

      By the way, The Longest Promise will be available on Netflix starting this Friday July 7th.

    • I watched both TLP and Fireworks and imo, both are dramas with alot of cliches and overdone tropes. It really depends on 1) whether you are in the mood for costume or modern dramas and 2) how much you like the actors. TLP might have more room for "unique plots" because its a xianxia and we all know there's more room for imagination in fantasy. But idk, I think you can wait for better dramas because Legend of Anle and Mysterious Lotus Casebook are rumored to premiere very soon. Both dramas seem way more interesting, esp MLC as its a wuxia.

    • I like Hidden Love NOW, but only after suffering the first 8 episodes. If they took the first 8 episodes out, I would not be upset about it.

      Destined - the FL's action so far has made me question her intelligence. I'm at the cusp of the episode where ML's family is going to all perish, don't have the patience to weed thru that pain just yet.

      I know nothing about Fly Towards You.

      Longest Promise right now is what I mentioned - a time filler. The plot is typical, ML is suffering hero with a heart of gold who loves his childhood FL (who will become his disciples) who is also destined to be the one who kills him in the future (although me thinks his master who prophecies this, is mighty suspicious.) This plot harkens back to Journey of Flower.

    • TLP is way different than the old tropes including Journey of Flower. The original book has A LOT of twists and turns, giving readers unexpected surprises. But I agree we watch dramas because

      1. we like the cast, specifically the main lead; or
      2. we like the storylines; or
      3. we like the directing.

      For me I like TLP thanks to all the 3 reasons above. As to other xianxia dramas, I've given many shots to all the most-talked about dramas since The Untamed but NONE of them was interesting enough for me to sit through last ep without falling sleep. LOL. In particular, there're some actors whose works I'll shun definitely, Cheng Yi and Luo Yunxi in particular, to just name two. I'll check out Legend of Anle although the main leads' previous dramas failed me big time too.

• Wang Chu Ran is stunning. Her looks are more of a throwback to the older generation of actresses - grand, classic beauties instead of the 傻白甜 type. She's well suited for ancient dramas and imperial consort roles.

  I first saw her in 清平乐 and she fit the 贵妃 role to a T despite being so young. She outshone Jiang Shu Ying / the Empress even in that show.

• WCR is gorg. She has the looks and the talents. She was in Serenade of Peaceful Joy together with RM. She filmed the drama when she was around 19-20 but she did it wonderfully despite quite a complex character.