Cruel Romance
| Cruel Romance | |
|---|---|
| Genre |
Romance Action Republician |
| Created by | The Fate of Jinxiu by Yu Yi |
| Written by | Yuan Shuai |
| Directed by | Lin Helong |
| Starring |
Huang Xiaoming Joe Chen Kimi Qiao Lv Jiarong Tse Kwan-ho Qi Ji |
| Opening theme | "Fate" by Huang Xiaoming |
| Ending theme | "Shi Guo Jing Qian" by Shen Yisha |
| Country of origin | China |
| Original language(s) | Mandarin |
| No. of episodes | 40 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
Huan Ming Huang Bin |
| Location(s) | China |
| Running time | 45 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
Asian Palm Film Huang Xiao Ming Studios |
| Distributor | Asian Palm Film |
| Release | |
| Original network | Hunan TV |
| Picture format | HDTV 1080i |
| Audio format | Stereophonic |
| Original release | March 3 – March 26, 2015 |
| Cruel Romance | |||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 锦绣缘华丽冒险 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
Cruel Romance (Chinese: 锦绣缘华丽冒险) is a 2015 Chinese television series starring Huang Xiaoming, Joe Chen and Kimi Qiao. It is based on the republician novel The Fate of Jinxiu by Yu Yi. It aired on Hunan TV from March 3, 2015 to March 26, 2015.
The television series is a huge commercial success, achieving high ratings throughout its run.[1] It is the second highest rated television drama for the first half of 2015, and also surpassed 5 billion views online. Joe Chen won Best Actress (Modern Drama Category) at the 17th Huading Awards.
Plot
Set in the 1930s, Rong Jinxiu (Joe Chen) was born in a renowned medical family. When her father saves her teacher Mr Chen from a gunshot wound, her entire family was killed by the Japanese. With only a piece of watch as evidence, Jin Xiu heads to Shanghai to search for her enemies. On the ferry there, she meets the famous triad leader Zuo Zhen (Huang Xiaoming). Through some entanglement, the watch ends up with Zuo Zhen. In order to retrieve her watch, Jin Xiu heads to Bai Le dance hall to look for him. There, she meets her long-lost half-sister Yin Mingzhu (Lv Jiarong), who is currently a famous dancer and the lover of Shanghai's most wealthy businessman Heng Xiangchuan (Tse Kwan-ho). However, Ming Zhu still harbors hatred for the Rong family because they abandoned Mingzhu and her sickly mother many years before.
At the dance hall, Jin Xiu gets injured in the midst of a fight between Zuo Zhen and Long Si. Zuo Zhen then brings her to a high-end hotel owned by Han Yingdong (Kimi Qiao). Thinking that she was rescued by Ying Dong, Jinxiu develops a crush on him, which she confesses to Zuo Zhen.
In an attempt to make money and get closer to her crush, Jin Xiu takes on Zuo Zhen’s job offer as a dancing hostess at Ying Dong’s nightclub, The Paramount. At first, Jin Xiu is very unsuccessful because she doesn’t know how to attract customers and dresses very conservatively. But after some advice from Zuo Zhen, as well as a wardrobe makeover and dancing tips from him, she becomes more successful. As she spends more time with Zuo Zhen, she slowly falls for him.
Meanwhile, Maeda Ryuichi (Qi Ji), the real murderer behind Jin Xiu's family, arrives to Shanghai and begins to stalk Jin Xiu as she resembles his first love Yang Zi, who was killed by the Japanese. In order to monopolize Shanghai's economy, Ryuichi also manipulates Ming Zhu, causing her to circle around both Ying Dong (her first love) and Han Chuan. Jin Xiu and Zuo Zhen's relationship is put in peril as they face a series of incidents and misunderstandings.
Cast
Main Cast
- Huang Xiaoming as Zuo Zhen
- Also known as Second Master. Leader of the Freedom Fighter triad. Calm, composed and sharp, Zuo Zhen is cold and indifferent to women. However, the appearance of Jinxiu changes that.
- Joe Chen as Rong Jinxiu / Yang Zi
- Determined, pure and kind-hearted. Jinxiu learnt medicine from her father since young, and is a skilled physician. After her parents' death, she comes to Shanghai alone to find out the truth, gaining independence and wisdom throughout her journey.
- Kimi Qiao as Xiang Yingdong
- Also known as Master Ying. Gentle and humorous, he seeks independence since young, but is overshadowed by his brother. After losing his beloved woman Mingzhu to his brother, he hides his inner pain and struggles by being a playboy. He subsequently falls in love with Jinxiu, and becomes conflicted with Zuo Zhen.
- Lv Jiarong as Yin Mingzhu
- Jinxiu's half-sister. Because of her mother's death, she is consumed by the desire of revenge, and becomes the Japanese's puppet. She loves Yingdong, but has no choice to be with Hanchuan to complete her mission.
- Tse Kwan-ho as Xiang Hanchuan
- CEO of the Xiang Enterprise, a loyal and faithful man. He discovers Zuo Zhen's potential, and grooms him into a capable man. Having accidentally snatched his younger brother's lover Mingzhu, he felt deeply apologetic toward him, and thus is willing to condone all his wrongdoings.
- Qi Ji as Maeda Ryuichi
- A cold and cruel militarist who would resort to anything for his country. Because of his lowly position, he has no choice but to watch his lover Yang Zi being killed. When he comes to Shanghai and discovers Yang Zi's look-a-like Jinxiu, he resorts to all sorts of methods to win her over.
Supporting Cast
| Actor | Role | Introduction | Notes |
| Zuo Zhen's left-hand man and close friend. He was beaten crippled by Long Si, and later died with Xiaoze Yasha. | |||
| Zuo Zhen's right-hand man and close friend. Stays by Long Si's side as a spy to help Zuo Zhen. | |||
| Ming Zhu's confidante. She likes Zuo Zhen. | |||
| Japanese spy, Maeda Ryuichi's teacher | |||
| Xiaoze Yasha | Japanese spy | ||
| Daughter of Shen Jinrong. Innocent and kind. She loves Xiang Yingdong. | |||
| An employee at Hotel Lion Forest, Jinxiu's close friend. She later gets together with Tang Hai. | |||
| Zuo Zhen's rival | |||
| CEO of Huang Pu commerce | |||
| CEO of Mei Hua company | |||
| Zuo Zhen's underling | |||
| Zuo Zhen's underling | |||
| a dancer at Hao Wang dance hall and Jinxiu's close friend. | |||
| Maeda Ryuichi's underling | |||
| Meihua's younger cousin. He falls at first sight for Jinxiu. | |||
| Son of the Chief Police, Police Staff Sergeant. | |||
| Zuo Zhen and Meihua's good friend. He helped introduce Jinxiu to Meihua Company. | |||
| A rich businessman | |||
| Jinxiu's mother, Yin Xinping's younger sister | |||
| Jinxiu and Mingzhu's father | |||
| Jinxiu's teacher | |||
| Mingzhu's mother | |||
| Yingdong's classmate who asks him to retrieve the pocket watch from Jinxiu | |||
| Anna's lover | |||
| Mingzhu's maid | |||
| Hotel Lion Forest's employee | |||
| Hao Wang Dance Hall's boss | |||
| Bribed by Maeda Ryuichi to lie to Jinxiu that he is her parents' murderer | |||
| Mingzhu's admirer | |||
| Hotel Lion Forest's employee. Collaborated with Manager Hu to frame Jinxiu. | |||
| Manager of Mei Hua company. Ordered by Jin Ling to frame Jinxiu. | |||
| Employee of Mei Hua company, Jinxiu's superior. | |||
| Lao Ma's daughter | |||
| Zuo Zhen's underling who becomes addicted to heroin | |||
| Shanghai's famous celebrity. She disguises herself as Mei Hua company's endorser, helping the freedom fighters to carry out their tasks. | |||
Music
| Title | Singer |
|---|---|
| "緣" (Fate) | Huang Xiaoming |
| "时过境迁" | Shen Yisha |
| "爱是信仰" (Love is a Faith) | Edison Lin |
| "錯愛" (Wrong Love) | Liu Tao |
| "瘋" (Madness) | Jovi Theng |
| "輕輕" (Lightly) | Cao Xuanbin |
| "想得太美" (Think Too Beautifully) | Zhang Qian |
| "至少愛過" (At Least We Loved Before) | Rynn Lim |
International Broadcast
| Channel | Country | Date | Notes |
| KTSF |  United States | April 9, 2015 | |
| 8TV |  Malaysia | May 28, 2015 | |
| True Asian HD |  Thailand | July 12, 2015 | |
| OMNI.2 (ON) |  Canada | August 3, 2015 | |
| OMNI AB | |||
| OMNI BC | |||
| ON TV |  Taiwan | August 17, 2015 | |
| CTS | August 24, 2015 | ||
| Mediacorp Channel 8 |  Singapore | September 10, 2015 | |
| True4U | Thailand | February 22, 2016 | |
| Asian TV |  South Korea | April 4, 2016 | |
| 중화TV | 2016 | ||
Sequel
A sequel is in the works, titled Splendid Bright Mood (锦绣缘璀璨年华), starring Huang Xiaoming with Park Shin-hye.[3]