Jiang Jinfu Photo:VCG

 

Li Xiaolu Photo:VCG

 
There were jokes galore from Chinese netizens on Sunday after it was revealed that actress Li Xiaolu and actor Jiang Jinfu would be playing the lead roles in the new drama Love Me and Convince Me. The hashtag #TheNewDramaCastingLiXiaoluAndJiangJinfu soon earned more than 420 million views on China’s Twitter-like Sina Weibo. Many netizens expressed their astonishment over the choice of leads, with some even joking that it was due to the two’s backgrounds that they were “kind of looking forward to watching it.”

The show, which finished shooting in 2016, is set to premiere next year, although many netizens were left wondering if it will make its 2020 date considering the drama surrounding the leads.

Scandals have caused both Li and Jiang to become the subject of heated online discussions in recent years. Amid rumors that she had an affair, the 38-year-old actress recently announced she had divorced her husband actor Jia Nailiang. In a livestream on December 31, 2017, Jia was asked by one viewer where his wife was. While Jia answered that she had gone to get her hair done, Photos of Li leaving the residence of a 25-year-old rapper in the early morning were soon leaked. Jiang has been at the center of accusations of physical abuse toward his girlfriends. The most recent accusations came from a Uruguay woman named Julieta, following those of Japanese model Haruka Nakaura in 2018.

An urban romance comedy, Love Me and Convince Me tells the story of a sharp-tongued female writer (Li) who falls in love with a handsome but complicated young man (Jiang). 

The Chinese title of Love Me and Convince Me roughly translates to “You love this much, I’m going to take it seriously.”  

Chinese netizens quickly began making up alternate titles for the show such as “You love cheating this much, I’m going to beat you” and “You love physical abuse this much, I’m going to cheat on you.”