iQIYI’s period comedy drama New Life Begins (卿卿日常) makes a historic record after a week of premiere. New Life Begins has exceeded the ten thousand mark in popularity and also broke records as the fastest iQIYI drama to have done so.
Fans were in for a sweet treat as the news was broken on the internet and to the casts, with Bai Jingting (白敬亭) breaking his usual cool and hot demeanour to celebrate the news with a filter that makes him look chubbier than he is. The female lead Tian Xiwei (田曦薇) has also shot a short video with the staff while in her costume from the series to cheer on this success. Liu Mengmeng and Liu Lingzi on the other hand posted photos of them eating melon seeds while doing a handstand and exclusive behind-the-scenes photos respectively. The whole cast showed support for the series in their own unique ways and although New Life Begins has only aired halfway through, the expectation of it hitting yet another milestone is one everyone is anticipating.
The overly sweet interactions between the male and female leads, Bai Jingting and Tian Xiwei, can be crowned one of the top reasons why New Life Begins is a hit! In the latest episode, Yin Zheng (starring Bai Jingting) visits Li Wei’s (starring Tian Xiwei) grandparents’ house alongside her. After a few rounds of intense drinking, Yin Zheng got slightly too tipsy while Li Wei stayed around to care for him. When he noticed Li Wei’s eyes brimming with tears as she was homesick, he held onto her hands and reassured her that they could come back anytime she wants in the future. He fell back asleep right after his statement, resulting in a sigh from Li Wei who felt that he shouldn’t have drank so much if he knew he was a lightweight. To prove her wrong, he sat up right yet again with a “I’m aware….” and landed a kiss on her, making it the second kiss the two main cast shared on screen, with the first also while he was drunk and took the chance to confess his feelings. This totally sent all fans screaming over how sweet the interaction between the two is.
During an interview with iQIYI, Bai Jingting denied allegations of him being as much of a lightweight as Yin Zheng. “I don’t think I’ll be drunk, at least not to the same extent, but I’ve definitely not blacked out before!” In an analysis of whether Yin Zheng was really drunk or using the alcohol to boost his confidence so as to better confess in episode 8, he insisted that Yin Zheng is really drunk if not, he wouldn’t have forgotten the confession. However, the cast did also joke about Yin Zheng being a completely different person after coming into contact with alcohol. Yin Zheng would become a complete opposite of his usual introverted self and instead be more outspoken and direct with his words.
Tian Xiwei, acts as a 10/10 foodie Li Wei who uses dishes after dishes of delicacies to solve all her problems within the palace and is in actual fact a foodie herself, loving anything that’s sweet and sour in flavour. As the series surrounds itself around the core message “food before love”, the cast were definitely in for a feast. In a particular scene where they were able to enjoy hotpot, Bai Jingting admitted that he brought his own ingredients and even sauce to go with it. “I brought the meat and sesame sauce you see in the series itself and even shared it with my third and fifth brothers in the drama. I mean for us to show how good the food is, the food should actually be delicious in the first place right!” They do also meet up for hotpot sessions outside of filming so it was literally a reflection of their own personal lives.
New Life Begins has premiered on iQIYI (www.iq.com & app) and from today till 30th November, the international app will also be introducing “New Life Begins exclusive series recommendation”, with many existing drama available for free. This will include comedy period drama My Heroic Husband, Lovely Us, in which Tian Xiwei acts as the female lead, Huang Chengzi, Ping Pong, where Bai Jingting stars as the male lead, and many more.