Adapted from Gu Man’s novel, the Chinese drama “Love O2O” starring Yang Yang and Zheng Shuang premiered ten years ago. However, the female lead Zheng Shuang faced controversies related to tax evasion and surrogacy abandonment, leading to her being blacklisted as a problematic artist in China. Consequently, the drama was taken down from streaming platforms in mainland China. Now renamed as “Love in a Smile,” the character played by Zheng Shuang, Bei Weiwei, has been replaced by a new actress Wang Zhuyue through AI technology. The new version of the drama started airing in September 2026.
Zheng Shuang rose to fame for her roles in idol dramas like “Meteor Shower” and “Love O2O,” along with Zhou Dongyu, Guan Xiaotong, and Yang Zi being dubbed as the “Four Flowers of the Post-90s” by a popular entertainment magazine. However, during her peak popularity, in 2021, she was embroiled in scandals including surrogacy and tax evasion, leading to an official ban and being labeled as a problematic artist. This resulted in the removal of “Love O2O” from streaming platforms, followed by claims for substantial compensations from the drama’s investors and court-ordered fines totaling over two billion yuan.
Recently, the Chinese streaming platform Youku retained all original plotlines, scenes, and the male lead Yang Yang from the drama, only altering Zheng Shuang’s facial features using AI technology to introduce Wang Zhuyue as the new female lead. Renamed as “Love in a Smile” with upgraded 4K quality, the re-release of the drama has sparked discussions among netizens.
Regarding this first instance of “original footage with AI face replacement” in Chinese drama, many netizens expressed their dissatisfaction, commenting that the new version appeared “strange,” “not visually appealing,” with the protagonist being perceived as “too ordinary” and “less charming” after the alteration. They felt that the new actress displayed stiff expressions and lacked synchronization between facial expressions and body movements, deviating from the original character. However, some viewers mentioned they would still watch the new version for the male lead, Yang Yang, suggesting they could overlook the female lead’s performance.
Facing criticism and controversy, Wang Zhuyue publicly apologized on social media. Confirming the face replacement was authorized by herself, she expressed regret for not meeting the audience’s expectations of the character. Additionally, she shared that she has shifted to behind-the-scenes work and humorously asked netizens to be “gentle with the criticism.”