Half a month later, Daybreak, the film Shen Lian had worked on with Liu Zong, hit theaters.
The leads were Film Emperor Su Niansheng, Film Queen Chen Zao, and rising actor Jiang Nong. Add Shen Lian, who somehow always ended up on trending searches, and the fans were sold, even though the release missed every holiday and fell in the off-season.
Within a few days, the buzz began to build.
Huo Qingshan, played by Shen Lian, was flamboyant and young, yet sensitive and perceptive. He was brimming with passion from his very first appearance, and precisely because of that, his extraordinary fearlessness and devotion to putting righteousness first immediately alerted keen-eyed viewers that he was probably a tragic character.
After all, Liu Zong excelled at twisting the knife. Several of his famous works had left audiences bleeding.
Sure enough, when Huo Qingshan sacrificed himself, muffled sobs could be heard throughout the theater.
Seriously, such a likable character, with such a beautiful, handsome face, rational and decisive in everything he did, never showing a trace of dejection from beginning to end-and he died!
He had every buff stacked.
As one netizen put it: [He's my first love who died too young!]
Online discussions about the film and its characters grew livelier by the day. Although Liu Zong's handling of certain details fell short, the flaws couldn't overshadow its merits. A rare dark horse emerging during the off-season, it instantly became the darling of promotional accounts. Amid all their cookie-cutter articles, one comment broke through: [I just realized nobody's criticizing Shen Lian's acting anymore.]
Oh, right!
Even in scenes opposite Su Niansheng, Shen Lian held his own with ease, making them immensely satisfying to watch.
[Oh, you're too kind. Our Lian has always been working hard to improve. We hope he can