A major controversy has erupted in the Chinese micro-drama industry after a wealthy female investor was accused of pouring her own money into producing a series based on her personal fantasy — casting herself as the female lead and choosing 23-year-old up-and-coming actor Zhong Yufei as her on-screen love interest — and then requesting more than 60 kissing and romantic scenes, before the actor came forward to say that some of the intimate scenes had gone beyond what had been agreed, to the point of leaving visible injuries on his lips. The situation has since escalated further into a wage dispute over 30,000 yuan, approximately 147,600 baht.
A Chinese female investor — whose name and age have not been disclosed — has become a major topic of discussion after reports emerged that she used her own personal funds to commission a production company to produce a micro-drama of more than 50 episodes specifically for her. She cast herself in the female lead role and personally selected Zhong Yufei, a 23-year-old rising actor, to play the male lead and her love interest in the series.
According to director Meng Xing, her company was hired to produce the series in accordance with the investor's specifications. The storyline featured Zhong Yufei as a fallen prince and the female investor as a princess. However, what surprised the production team was a request to include more than 60 kissing and romantic scenes in a series that was only just over 50 episodes long.
The unusually high number of intimate scenes became a talking point on set, with crew members joking that characters could "barely take a few steps without a kissing scene." Meng Xing claimed she had tried to persuade the investor to reduce the number of such scenes, but the suggestion was not accepted, and the intimate scenes continued to be added into production.
Zhong Yufei later shared his experience working on the project through social media, stating that some of the romantic scenes had been altered or added beyond what had originally been agreed upon, and that he felt his personal boundaries had been crossed. The young actor made clear that he was not opposed to filming kissing or intimate scenes as part of his acting work, but that such scenes should take place within the framework of a clear agreement between both performers.
Zhong Yufei also addressed specific behaviour during the filming of kissing scenes, requesting that the other party not use their tongue or allow saliva to enter his mouth during filming. Separate reports indicated that in scenes filmed earlier in the production, the female investor had hugged or held him tightly, and that there had been physical contact which he claimed was not part of the original script.
The 23-year-old actor further alleged that some kissing scenes were so forceful that they left visible injuries on his lips. This detail shifted the issue from being a mere on-set curiosity into a broader debate about consent and boundaries in the filming of intimate scenes — particularly when one of the actors also holds the status of investor and has the power to dictate the specifics of the project.
After filming wrapped, the problems did not end there. The platform that distributed the series reportedly cut more than 20 kissing and intimate scenes, deeming certain segments overly explicit. The removal of so many scenes disrupted the continuity and narrative flow of the series, causing confusion among some viewers, with some even coming to believe that the two leads may have had a real-life relationship off screen.
Amid the wave of criticism, rumours also circulated that director Meng Xing herself may have been the wealthy female investor who also played the lead role, but she denied this explicitly, stating that her company was merely the contracted production house executing the series on a client's behalf, and that she was not the female investor at the centre of the story.
The dispute then spilled over into a financial disagreement, with Meng Xing alleging that after so many kissing scenes were cut from the released version, the investor was dissatisfied and refused to pay the remaining production fee of 30,000 yuan (approximately 147,600 baht). The production company subsequently issued an apology to Zhong Yufei and stated that going forward it would put in place clearer contracts to protect the rights and boundaries of actors, as well as more rigorously define the authority and responsibilities of investors in bespoke commissioned projects.
