Cruel Romance (Chinese: 锦绣缘华丽冒险) is a 2015 Chinese television series starring Huang Xiaoming and Joe Chen. It is based on the republican novel The Fate of Jinxiu (锦绣缘) by Yu Yi. The series aired on Hunan TV from 3 March to 26 March 2015.

Cruel Romance
GenreRomance
Action
Republican
Created byThe Fate of Jinxiu by Yu Yi
Written byYuan Shuai
Directed byLin Helong
StarringHuang Xiaoming
Joe Chen
Kimi Qiao
Lv Jiarong
Tse Kwan-ho
Qi Ji
Opening themeFate by Huang Xiaoming
Ending themeCircumstances Changes with Time by Shen Yisha
Country of originChina
Original languageMandarin
No. of episodes40
Production
Executive producersHuan Ming
Huang Bin
Production locationChina
Running time45 minutes
Production companiesAsian Palm Film
Huang Xiao Ming Studios
Original release
NetworkHunan TV
Release3 March (2015-03-03) –
26 March 2015 (2015-03-26)
Cruel Romance
Simplified Chinese锦绣缘华丽冒险
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinJin Siu Yuan Hua Li Mao Xian

The series is a commercial success,[1] and became second highest rated television drama for the first half of 2015. It also has over 5 billion views online. Broadcasting rights of the drama were sold to America, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong and Vietnam.

Synopsis

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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) of Shanghai's Huang Pu commerce. 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 wealthiest businessman, Xiang Hanchuan (Tse Kwan-ho). However, Ming Zhu still harbours 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 his enemies. Zuo Zhen rescues her and then brings her to Lion Forest hotel, which he had gifted to Xiang Yingdong, the brother of Xiang Hanchuan. While Zuo Zhen finds Jin Xiu annoying, he can't help but find himself attracted towards her and keeps helping her in the shadows, making sure that she is safe and comfortable in Shanghai. Jin Xiu remains clueless and continues to believe that the comfort and safety she has is because of sheer luck.

With all that happening, Mr Maeda, the one behind the murder of Jin Xiu's family, came to Shanghai posed as a businessman from Japan, with plans to execute all the anti-Japanese rebel groups in Shanghai and make Shanghai's business Japan's.

Cast

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Main

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  • 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 / Yoko
    • 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 has sought 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 comes into conflict 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 but 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 feels 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 had 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

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Soundtrack

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Title Singer
Fate (緣) Huang Xiaoming
Circumstances Changes with Time (时过境迁) Shen Yisha
Love is a Faith (爱是信仰) Edison Lin
Wrong Love (錯愛) Liu Tao
Madness (瘋) Jovi Theng
Lightly (輕輕) Cao Xuanbin
Think Too Beautifully (想得太美) Zhang Qian
At Least We Loved Before (至少愛過) Rynn Lim

Ratings

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Hunan TV Ratings[2]
Broadcast date Episode CSM50 City ratings National Internet ratings
Ratings (%) Audience share (%) Rank Ratings (%) Audience share (%) Rank
March 3, 2015 1-2 1.52 4.103 1 2.67 7.35 1
March 4, 2015 3-4 1.722 4.708 1 3.30 9.17 1
March 6, 2015 5 1.185 3.303 1 2.74 7.73 1
March 7, 2015 6 1.283 3.628 1 2.74 7.73 1
March 8, 2015 7-8 1.942 5.337 1 3.28 9.44 1
March 9, 2015 9-10 1.944 5.377 1 3.44 9.98 1
March 10, 2015 11-12 2.084 5.716 1 3.37 9.62 1
March 11, 2015 13-14 2.026 5.619 1 3.51 10.04 1
March 12, 2015 15-16 2.161 6.014 1 3.63 10.36 1
March 13, 2015 17 1.505 4.215 1 3.07 8.58 1
March 14, 2015 18 1.695 4.824 1 3.07 8.58 1
March 15, 2015 19-20 2.09 5.64 1 3.07 8.58 1
March 16, 2015 21-22 2.002 5.661 1 3.44 10.08 1
March 17, 2015 23-24 2.156 5.998 1 3.76 10.81 1
March 18, 2015 25-26 2.04 5.685 1 3.65 10.54 1
March 19, 2015 27-28 2.037 5.622 1 3.47 9.84 1
March 20, 2015 29 1.333 3.854 1 - - 1
March 21, 2015 30 1.403 4.238 1 - - 1
March 22, 2015 31-32 2.122 5.767 1 3.51 10.10 1
March 23, 2015 33-34 2.181 6.194 1 3.7 10.79 1
March 24, 2015 35-36 2.328 6.648 1 3.8 11.16 1
March 25, 2015 37-38 2.451 7.026 1 4.10 11.80 1
March 26, 2015 39-40 2.601 7.489 1 4.33 12.73 1
Average ratings 1.994 5.55 1 - - -
  • Highest ratings are marked in red, lowest ratings are marked in blue

International broadcast

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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
Giải Trí TV   Vietnam March 21, 2017
D-Drama May 10, 2018
Sony ONE   Singapore
  Malaysia
  Indonesia
  Philippines
  Thailand
June 23, 2018

References

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  1. ^ ""Cruel Romance" Achieves High Ratings". Jayne Stars.
  2. ^ "电视剧收视率排行榜 | 收视率排行" (in Chinese (China)). Retrieved 2020-06-06.
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