Qi Lan

Biodata

Background / History

Early Career and Broken Friendship

While still little-known newcomers, Qi Lan and Xie Yibai appeared together on the school variety show Youth Never Ends Class. Xie genuinely considered Qi Lan a close friend. The show ran for only one season before a copyright dispute led to its removal from the internet 24 37.

After Xie began attracting fans and advertisers, Qi Lan’s team hired online trolls, circulated photographs of Xie with a female internet celebrity, and fabricated rumors about him. Xie lost commercial work he had already secured and incurred a breach-of-contract penalty. He remembered Qi Lan as having betrayed him twice, and the experience led him to stop making friends within the industry 24.

Qi Lan later denied having intended the smear campaign, maintaining that his company had acted without his prior knowledge. Xie rejected this defense because Qi Lan had benefited from the outcome 25.

Rise Through *Summer Palace*

Yin Ran subsequently recruited Qi Lan to Zhaoxi Media and cast him alongside Zhang Jue in Summer Palace. The hit drama and their hugely successful promotional pairing, Blue Fields Produce Jade, launched both actors into top-tier stardom. Qi Lan was the “Blue” half of the pairing 14 24.

By the time he reunited with Xie at Zou Yan’s script meeting, the two occupied similar acting niches, were close in age, and had acting abilities Xie found difficult to rank against each other. Qi Lan nevertheless held a slight advantage in popularity and had more die-hard fans 24.

Known Screen Projects

Personality

Qi Lan mixes outward friendliness with pointed teasing in his dealings with Xie Yibai. At the script meeting, he repeatedly tried to speak to Xie and later offered him a ride. Their private messages, however, included barbed remarks about the drama being tailored for Xie and questions about the wealthy men associated with him 25 26.

He presents himself as willing to repair their friendship, asking for an opportunity to make amends. Xie remains distrustful and interprets his teasing, knowing gestures, and public hints about the production as deliberate provocation or showing off 25 26.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Exclusion from *Beacon Fires West of the City*

• Proposed casting: Yin Ran sought a role for Qi Lan in a drama she was co-producing with Zou Yan. Zou described it as a special appearance intended to lend Qi Lan’s popularity to the production without displacing Xie as the sole male lead 24.
• Script meeting: Qi Lan attended the creative meeting at Zou’s home. Yin Ran outlined a supporting character with limited screen time whose appearances would be memorable without overshadowing the protagonist 25 26.
• Public hints: During the meeting, Qi Lan posted photographs of refreshments, part of the project proposal, and Zou’s courtyard on WeChat Moments. The project title was blurred, but the location was recognizable to previous visitors 26.
• Removal: After Xie explained their past conflict, Zou agreed not to hire Qi Lan. He later confirmed that he had informed Yin Ran of the decision 26 37.
• Publicity fallout: Zou deliberately used interest in Qi Lan’s possible involvement to attract attention to the newly approved drama, reasoning that a star of his standing would not publicly clarify that he had not received the role 37.

Revival of the Xie Yibai Pairing

Three days after the drama’s approval, old photographs from Youth Never Ends Class resurfaced online. Marketing accounts promoted Qi Lan and Xie’s former closeness under the Blue-White Pairing, later nicknamed Blue Sky and White Clouds. The material included footage of the two playing a classroom piano together and comparisons with their later red-carpet appearances 37 38 42.

A Chu suspected professional coordination behind the campaign and concluded that Qi Lan’s official team was likely involved. Her evidence included newly registered accounts, coordinated reposting, commercial editing channels, and promotional threads remaining prominent despite fandom disputes. Qi Lan’s authorization and motive were not confirmed in the provided events 42.

The pairing exposed Xie to hostility from Qi Lan’s solo fans and supporters of Blue Fields Produce Jade. Meanwhile, rumors continued presenting Beacon Fires West of the City as Qi Lan’s upcoming drama. Concerned that these expectations would damage the reception of Xie’s eventual casting announcement, A Chu alerted Yin Ran, who agreed to prepare an official announcement 38 42 43.

Relationships

• Xie Yibai — Former friend, variety-show colleague, and professional rival. Xie refuses reconciliation over the early-career smear campaign and considers him an archenemy 24 25 42.
• Yin Ran — Company owner and career backer. She recruited him, developed Summer Palace, and sought a supporting role for him in Beacon Fires West of the City 24 26.
• Zhang Jue — Summer Palace co-star and the other half of Blue Fields Produce Jade 14 24.
• Zou Yan — Producer who initially considered using his popularity to promote Beacon Fires West of the City, then excluded him at Xie’s request 24 26 37.

Notable Quotes

“I've told you many times, that wasn't what I intended. The company did it, and I only found out afterward.” 25

“I've always felt the two of us could be friends. Give me a chance to make it up to you?” 25