As someone who has grown to appreciate Ao Rui Peng only recently, I am happy to announce the upcoming Chinese comedy romance drama Cuo Shi Lu, starring Ao Rui Peng and Zhang Miao Yi, has officially kicked off filming in Hengdian today. (Didn’t enjoy The Coroner’s Diary, but thought he did a great job in it).
The new C-drama does not have an English title as of yet, but its native title, 错世录, roughly translates to Chronicle of the Wrong World.
And this one peaked my interest when it was first announced a couple of weeks ago, as it sounds like it has a unique plot, and an unusual romance, which I will get to down below.
The Cuo Shi Lu booting ceremony photos of the two leads, plus chief director, Chen Dan (陈丹), were also dropped by Tencent on Weibo, along with a somewhat cryptic message about the drama’s plot:
The Mystic Supreme has charted the demonic path, and by celestial decree, their fate is to journey through calamity together.
A master and disciple from different worlds, their hearts drawn to each other—six trials and an extraordinary fate begin now!.
Alrighty, and now I will get to its plot, which is adapted from web novel “Cuo Shi” (错世) by Kuang Shang Jia Kuang (狂上加狂), and which Douban describes like this:
During her journey down the mountain to gain real-life experience, Cui Xiaoxiao unexpectedly finds herself transported two hundred years back in time into a twisted version of reality.
In this “wrong world,” she meets the young Wei Jie and, through a series of unforeseen circumstances, ends up taking his place on the path to becoming a demonic sovereign. This extraordinary encounter in the wrong world grants Cui Xiaoxiao a surge of power, but at the cost of being branded a demon by the world, suffering repeated physical and emotional trauma.
Nevertheless, she responds with resilience, doing everything in her power to help others while searching for a way back to her own world. Along the way, she gradually penetrates Wei Jie’s inner world and discovers that beneath his exterior lies nothing more than an ordinary, wounded boy yearning to be loved. The two grow close and fall in love.
Just then, Wei Jie’s true identity is revealed: he is actually the Ancient Flame Emperor, who had failed his heavenly tribulation. He personally chose Cui Xiaoxiao, sending her into the wrong world to endure his demonic fate in his place, thereby helping him reclaim his divine position. However, through his days and nights with Cui Xiaoxiao, Wei Jie has already been profoundly changed, as he rediscovers the innocence and sincerity of his humanity.
In the end, the two bridge the emotional gap between them and join forces to confront the mastermind behind the plot against Wei Jie, fighting to protect the mortal world.
See, Ao Rui Peng as the Ancient Flame Emperor and Zhang Maio Yi who is training to become a demonic sovereign. And with a “comedy” tag as well. It could be cool, right?
Cuo Shi Lu is, reportedly, scheduled for 32 episodes, although that can change during filming and licensing procedures, and will premiere some time in 2027 (tentatively as, of course, we all know this is contingent on the drama earning its broadcast license, don’t we?).
A solid supporting cast
The comedy romance drama also features a solid supporting cast including Rao Jia Di (Love Between Lines), Cai Zheng Jie (Love and Strife), Zhang Yao, Zhang Li (Love Beyond the Grave), Victor Huang (A Dream Within a Dream), Ma Qiu Yuan (Heavenly Secrets Bureau), Edward Zhang (Why Is He Still Single?), Xiao Yu Liang (aka Rainco Xiao)(Ultimate Note), Tong Meng Shi (The Vendetta of An), Xue Ba Yi (Dashing Youth), and Yan Yi Kuan (Pursuit of Jade).
Cuo Shi Lu is co-written by Zhao Tian You (Love of Thousand Years), and Ying Zhi Nan (Pledge of Allegiance) so, while not top-notch screenwriters, at least yet, that’s promising.
Anyway, we now have cute booting ceremony photos of the two leads, a decent cast, and an intriguing plot, and it will stream on Tencent Video/WeTV, which even with its problems, is still my favorite platform.
At this point, I couldn’t ask for more. How about you?
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