In May 2025, a surveillance video suddenly exploded across social media: Director Zhao Deyin swiping a door card and confidently entering Zhao Liying’s multimillion-dollar mansion. Even more striking was the next day when he was seen alone, holding Zhao Liying’s son’s hand at the neighborhood playground—so familiar that even the biological father seemed less acquainted! While the online world buzzed wildly, Zhao Liying appeared at an event sporting freshly dyed pink short hair. When reporters probed about the hot topic, she raised an eyebrow and smiled, “Just helping to promote my new drama, ‘Among Humans.’” Pressed further on whether this counted as a public announcement, she snapped back with three sharp words: “Not at all!” That fiery reply instantly shot to number one on trending lists, amassing over 800 million views.
1. The Rumor Saga Unfolds Like a Soap Opera: From Red Carpet Flirtations to Childcare Questions
The drama kicked off at the end of 2024 during the Singapore International Film Festival. Zhao Liying stepped down in 15-centimeter heels, and Zhao Deyin swiftly stepped in to support her elbow, even crouching to fix her trampled dress. A netizen named @GossipExpert grabbed a high-definition gif: “Look at his eyes! So tender, you could squeeze water out of them!” The two met while filming “Qiao Yan’s Secrets,” a two-month shoot filled with sparks. Zhao Liying praised Zhao Deyin in an interview, saying, “He brings the script to life and always makes the whole crew laugh.” Zhao Deyin even publicly confessed at the premiere, “From ‘Legend of Lu Zhen’ to ‘Happy to Ten Thousand Families,’ I have studied every one of her roles.” The “evidence chain” tightened: in January 2025 at Paris’ Galeries Lafayette, a mysterious man carried Zhao Liying’s Hermes bag; in March at Shanghai Xintiandi, the two were caught whispering in a cafe corner; until May’s viral “childcare video,” netizen @DetectiveConan decoded: “Being able to take the child out alone means their relationship is definitely special!”
2. Stunning Twist: The Rumored Boyfriend Turns Out to Be Someone Else?
Just as fans were celebrating, the truth took a bizarre turn. Real visitors to the Shanghai cafe found that the so-called intimate photo showed a whole table between them, with Zhao Liying’s cousin present the entire time! The French shopping guy was revealed to be stylist Liu Ke’s boyfriend, with side-by-side photos spreading quickly online. Even more dramatic was the “childcare black-clad man” identity exposed! Fans dug up Zhao Liying’s bodyguard’s airport photos from three months ago—same black jacket and sneakers matched perfectly. Veteran insider @OldTimer scoffed, “Nowadays paparazzi can’t even tell bodyguards from directors?” Zhao Deyin’s past love life was also fully exposed. His decade-long film partnership with actress Wu Kexi, spanning four movies, showed zero social media interaction. The bombshell came from leaked film festival footage: Wu Kexi dragging luggage into Zhao Deyin’s hotel room late at night! The audience was stunned, “This plot is crazier than any movie!”
3. Public Opinion War: When Silence Meets a Backlash
Amid the swirling rumors, Zhao Deyin kept quiet. Zhao Liying’s counterattack was textbook brilliant—she turned the dating scandal into a promotion platform! The trailer for “Among Humans” hit over 200 million views amid the chaos, with netizens joking, “This marketing saved millions!” Although ex-husband Feng Shaofeng stayed silent, his friend hinted in messages, “A single mom dating will be more cautious.” Even stranger, Feng’s TikTok comments were flooded with “Get back together” pleas, some tagging Lin Gengxin, “Go protect Yingbao!” This farce unexpectedly revealed the entertainment industry’s double standards: Zhao Liying attended an event in a 185-rupee Zara old dress, mocked as “poor,” yet praised as “genuine”; her pink hair magazine shoot’s trending words centered on her “mental state.” Netizen @ClearEyes angrily commented, “Can the malice against female stars tone down a bit?”
4. The Big Heroine Awakens: Rumors Are Just Dust on the Crown
Looking back on Zhao Liying’s journey, every step shows clarity. Once mocked as a “country bumpkin,” she quietly acted her way to fame with “The Journey of Flower”; married Feng Shaofeng, scoffed at as “marrying into wealth,” but left decisively without drama; after childbirth, she swiftly returned with “Legend of Fei,” sweeping three major awards with “Wind Blowing Half Summer.” Her battlefield has always been the set. In “Among Humans,” she plays sisters with split personalities, delivering a crying scene in three emotional shifts. The director remarked in the behind-the-scenes, “We shot it 18 times. Her eyes were swollen like walnuts but she insisted, ‘Again!’” As rumors dominated trending topics, she was busy taking “Among Humans” to the Tribeca Film Festival—the first Chinese-language series to enter this Oscar precursor. On the red carpet, head held high, that 185-rupee old dress radiated the aura of battle armor, still that extra who once told the camera, “Don’t let me miss my chance.”
While netizens debated if the pink-haired woman in a Zara old dress was “fallen” or “carefree,” her new show quietly rewrote the history of Chinese drama’s global expansion. She was once betrayed by her agent over “low education,” trolled with photoshopped memorial portraits, and battled pregnancy rumors with split-leg photos. Now, faced with overwhelming gossip, one curse silenced them all. While other actresses flaunted romances, Zhao Liying’s acceptance speech already said it all: “Characters outlast trending topics; work beats rumors every time.”
