Tencent C-drama The First Jasmine with Bai Lu and Cheng Lei Wraps Run with 6.3 Douban Ratings and Middle of the Road Reviews
As I said before, June 2026 was a relatively uneventful month in C-drama land. There were plenty of premieres but nothing broke out or made a meaningful impact whether good or bad. Towards the end of the month came period revenge and romance C-drama The First Jasmine (莫离 Mo Li) with Bai Lu and Cheng Lei and the drama has since wrapped a relative speedy run with opening Douban ratings of 6.3. That to me is a bit of no man’s land, not bad enough to warrant mocking posts and nowhere near good to be recommended. The take is that the drama is decent, quieter and not flash over substance, with a take on mental illness and physical impairment that is meaningful. But it wasn’t sticky, the leads didn’t wow the audience, no supporting stars broke out, and the story line while set up well petered to the usual stumbling ending. Fans also were pissed that Cheng Lei had maybe 16 minutes of screentime in the last five episodes, which sucks for him but this was always promoted and primed as a big female lead story with her arc the central focus. I don’t think this drama will hurt either lead but it also won’t help, and in the end probably can be filed away as one of those watch when you have time on your hands options.
I enjoyed it but didn’t finish it. I was busy catching up with Love has Fireworks, which was a joy to watch, if you skip the second couple. And after it ended, I just didn’t get back to this. I read some spoilers and just wasn’t in the mood for what was coming after episode 29.
I’m like 95% done with it and it stood out by being a quieter, warmer, more human drama with some solid conversations. I agree with you that it wasn’t sticky. Still, I would have expected ratings in the high 6. Still, for an idol drama, it seems solid.
I felt like the big draw was the FL’s mental illness and the mystery of what happened at the Lishan Academy. Once that got revealed, the next part with the rebellion sort of pales in comparison.
I totally agree with Koala’s assessment about this drama.
I’ve watched 24 episodes of The First Jasmine, but I keep getting distracted by more gripping dramas and films. Instead of sticking with it, I’ve already finished a couple of BBC classics, HBO fantasies, and Netflix K-dramas. The storyline of TFJ is intriguing, reminding me of Story of Kunning, but like many recent dramas of Bai Lu, it lacks the energy to keep my attention. I’m not sure what’s wrong with BL. Her acting feels flat, and she looks completely unmotivated. Cheng Lei was essentially just there to carry her, both in the narrative and through his own acting. lol.
BTW, CL’s fans, most prominently a subredditor named “Passionate_Post” something, are still seething over Zhang Linghe’s breakout success. They keep posting essay-length executive summaries just to whine about how unworthy ZLH is as an actor. LMAO. NGL, CL is a decent actor, but he hasn’t proven himself as a powerful male lead yet, outside of his popular 2nd ML role in My Journey to You. Like it or not, commercial success requires track records to validate it, and even if CL is their fave, he just hasn’t delivered those numbers yet. Fans aggressively hyping a resume with zero substance doesn’t make their fave look like a star. It’s just a tragic exercise in wishful thinking and makes fans look desperate. lol. Cheng Lei successfully graduated from short-drama lead to long-drama support, and finally to a proper male lead. He is on the right track. His fans should should celebrate the accomplishment so far and be on their knees praying he lands better directors and scripts, rather than wasting their time dissing his far more successful peers. lol.
Lol despite zlh fans claiming the recent poj success is all his doing – its more tian xiwei though – he still remains a wooden and limited ranged actor who hasn’t stepped out into any non idol dramas. The only thing hes glazed about is his overrated looks. Hes almost 30 already and has no talent he’s known for beside his face. Cheng lei is at least ok, but constantly cast in rubbish idol dramas. BL has been phoning in all her performances in the last few years and looks as demotivated as her agency mate, xu kai. Its probably time for them to leave yu zheng n move on.
his own fans literaly admitted his bodyguard looked more like a star than he did before. she’s absolutely right. hes not yet reach audience despite having acted alongside several more less known actresses.
guo jiming is known for making ordinary celebrities like Esther look much better.
He just have to wait for him to be like a male lead catch. little money can make mid visual people a bit more attractive in cent.
@Anne & Lea:
What did ZLH do to you? Don’t watch his works if you don’t like him. It’s that simple.
Imagine being so psycho to bring in ZLH unrelated to this drama. Well, you started it.
You precious darling ZLH can’t act to save his life and the second his smiles, his face turns into a certain wrinkly body part. The watered POJ, the relentless attacks on other actors, the bots, let’s see how long this fakery will last. You sure do love your talentless capital puppets.
I wish you would stop dragging Zhang Linghe into almost every comment, especially when the discussion is not even about him. As a ZLH fan, I find it genuinely annoying because it unnecessarily invites haters like Anne to jump in and attack him.
You can praise and defend Cheng Lei without constantly comparing him to Zhang Linghe or bringing up ZLH’s fans. Zhang Linghe has nothing to do with The First Jasmine, so why make him part of every discussion about the drama? Please just support the actor you like without using ZLH as a comparison point or a target. It creates unnecessary fan wars and makes the comment section unpleasant for everyone.
This person seems to be bringing Zhang Linghe into unrelated stuff, despite claiming she’s not a fan. Please, if its reddit drama, just settle it on Reddit with that person. How are we supposed to know who and what you are referring to?
he played in 2 or 3 IP so far. this isn’t good enough in terms of resources..what does he need to become bigger.
How is ZLH irrelevant to CL given that so many of his haters are actually CL’s fangirls? Lol. I originally posted the comment to test if ZLH is still relevant, and given all of your reactions, he obviously is. lol. Honestly, I can’t take the constant hate and dissing toward him seriously. I check CDrama forums periodically and browse Koala’s blogs daily, and CDrama subreddits are still full of mockers who just can’t get over him. The vitriol hurled at him right after my post just echoes this exact toxic sentiment. It is truly pathetic. You are still foaming at the mouth when his name is brought up! LOL. Move on!
Just as a reminder: I am not his fan. I only appreciate his visuals and acting in POJ; his look isn’t really my cup of tea in other dramas. However, given the success of POJ, ZLH has the potential and the opportunities to sustain his rising popularity. I am looking forward to seeing how he grows.
@Somebody, at this point, your behavior is starting to look like trolling. You claim you are not a ZLH fan, yet you repeatedly drag his name into completely unrelated posts and comment sections, and now you openly admit that you mentioned him just to “test” people’s reactions. That sounds less like appreciation and more like deliberately using his name as bait to provoke hate and fan wars.
As an actual ZLH fan, I find this extremely annoying. If you are genuinely not his fan, then please stop dragging him into every discussion. He does not need you to “test his relevance,” especially when the predictable result is that people like @Anne immediately use the opportunity to attack him. Support whoever you want, discuss the drama that the post is actually about, but please leave ZLH out of unrelated conversations. At this point, constantly bringing him up while claiming not to be his fan is just strange and counterproductive.
@ilyani, I can’t help wondering if you’re just a doppelgänger of the #1 CCP stooge, Lilith, lol. Your writing styles are so similar and reveal the exact same laughable mentality. I’m honestly too lazy to even debate you at this point. It’s completely an insult to my IQ and a total waste of time, lol.
It was fun at early episodes, but now I’m stuck at EP 35. The main characters are quite interesting because both has flaws like one has mental illness and the other one has physical disability but once they resolve their personal issue, the drama has become flat.
The last ten or so episodes seemed to drag a bit to get to a conclusion. It was like snail pace but maybe it felt that way because the way episodes came out while it was currently airing. It was like torture and kind of took the joy out of watching the drama. Although there was quite a lot of heartbreaking revelations toward the end as expected but It was alright. Just wish the ending had more spunk because it all fizzled out toward the end. I would still recommend it because this time the main actress did so well this time around. Her character was so endearing.
Her cry acting when her grandfather had gone was terrible.
You don’t need to depend on Douban ratings to decide whether a drama is worth enjoying. This drama is commercially successful and has consistently ranked No. 1 on Tencent. At the end of the day, that’s what investors care about—strong viewership, popularity, and commercial returns. They’re certainly not losing sleep over a low Douban score
If you don’t enjoy the drama, that’s perfectly fine. It simply means you’re not the target audience—and not every drama has to appeal to everyone.
This drama is anything but successful. It has in fact severely underperformed from what was expected, which can be easily seen by its Yunhe. Fans really need to get a grip
Yunhe is just one estimated metric—not the final word. The drama launched with a record-breaking 7 ads on day one and 31 total spots, topped Kuyun from Day 1, and hit 100M+ effective views. Advertisers and platforms don’t throw money at failures. Commercial success isn’t defined by a single data model—it’s defined by revenue and rankings, and this drama has both in spades. I am not a fan of both actors but I came to this blog post due to douban rating clickbait which I think irrelevant to the drama success.
This drama underperformed, big time, they are right. You can keep crying about it till kingdom come, people simply didn’t watch it and that is all that matters.
@Illa or @Nah– I know you are the same person. you are seriously deluded. you need help.
Drama tanked majestically like every long-form dramas nowadays
zlh antis are another level. they even admit they are psychos. their idol must be proud.
I love it. One of a few dramas that i could finish without being bored.
Another drama that i also enjoyed was TJC and WCR’s. They both were fun to watch till the end. But, skipped the side couples’ stories, especially the stalker.
They do not have chemistry
I really liked thos drama. Seems like the ML and FL have lots of haters. Always have to put their two cents in. If you dont like them dont watch their dramas and spew your hate. I liked the slow pace of this drama. Too many dramas need intense pace that just seem too fake to me and gets tiring after awhile.
Some people are so mean to ZLH here. Is there a need for that? Don’t watch him if you don’t like him. It’s so simple.
How about you leave your gege out of unrelated discussions? You have to bring him up so suffer then.
I brought up ZLH to see haters and a certain self-proclaimed fan in absolute shambles. What a circus, I’m so entertained! 😂