Chinese dramas and films

iQiyi has announced the premiere date for the youth romantic drama «Genius Girlfriend» (天才女友).

The lead roles are played by Tian Xi Wei («Pursuit of Jade», «Guardians of the Dafeng») and Hu Yi Tian («Handsome Siblings», «Blossoms in Adversity»). The cast also includes Lai Wei Ming («Blossoms Of Power», «Shine on Me»), Zhao Jia Min («Mystic Tales», «The Lady Commander»), Xia Hao Ran («Love Story in the 1970s») and An Tian («About Love», «Rising Lady»).

Tian Xi Wei plays Lin Zhixia – a genius girl with an IQ of 174 who excels in physics and mathematics but is blunt and lacks social skills. Due to her difficult personality, she had no friends.

Hu Yi Tian plays Jiang Yubai – a cheerful and charming top student who seems calm and balanced on the surface but harbours various secrets.

The drama's storyline spans several years of the characters' lives, from school to adulthood. Lin Zhixia enrols in the best provincial high school, where she meets Jiang Yubai during a problem-solving competition and becomes his deskmate.

Jiang Yubai helps her make friends and fit into the group, while Lin Zhixia in turn helps him improve his studies. Gradually, their relationship evolves from rivalry to mutual support, and they become best friends.

Lin Zhixia is admitted to Fudan University. Jiang Yubai plans to confess his feelings during graduation, but is forced to leave – almost to flee – because his mother becomes implicated in a fraud case. Years later, the two meet again and must overcome mutual grievances for their youthful affection to blossom into true love.

Read more: Tian Xi Wei and Hu Yi Tian to star in romantic drama «Genius Girlfriend»

The series will consist of 28 episodes.

Filming took place in 2025 in Qingdao. The creators chose picturesque locations for outdoor shoots: Beilingshan Forest Park, where the actors in school uniforms shot scenes in autumn and winter settings, as well as the scenic "Flower World" park in Zhangjialou District.

On one of the final shooting days, the crew worked on a love confession scene against a backdrop of falling leaves – as planned by the director, Hu Yi Tian was to kneel on one knee and place a ring on Tian Xi Wei's finger, but a gust of wind blew off the bride's veil, and the actor, improvising, gently adjusted it and then ran his hand through his partner's hair – this gesture, not in the script, delighted the crew. The final part of the scene, in which the characters kissed under a rain of maple leaves, was reportedly so touching that crew members called it "sweet enough to make one dizzy."

According to extras, during breaks Hu Yi Tian helped Tian Xi Wei rehearse dialogues and even came up with a way for her to remember blocking using mathematical formulas, while Tian Xi Wei treated him to homemade cookies, joking that "sugar is necessary to solve higher mathematics problems."

For Hu Yi Tian, this project marked his first shoot in nearly two years, and for Tian Xi Wei, it was a return to the contemporary romance genre after several historical dramas.

Ahead of the premiere, potential ratings for the project are being actively discussed on Chinese social media. According to observers, for an A‑class category on iQiyi, the expected peak viewership could reach around 8,500 points on the platform's internal rating system. Producers and the streaming platform are banking on the "dual-intellect" love line, where the main characters are equal in brainpower, which noticeably sets the drama apart from traditional rom‑coms.

The series «Genius Girlfriend» will premiere on August 2, 2026 at 12:00 Beijing time and will be available exclusively on iQiyi. Originally scheduled for August 5, the creators decided to move the premiere date three days earlier.

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