The Early Spring finished its run on September 9, but the drama’s popularity appears to show no signs of cooling down. On the evening of September 25 and the morning of September 26, a series of controversies related to the show suddenly flooded Chinese social media. At one point, eight related topics appeared simultaneously on Weibo’s Hot Search, occupying all four of the top positions.
The controversy began when male lead Jing Boran attended singer Li Ronghao’s concert with his girlfriend, supermodel Liu Wen. During the concert, Li Ronghao introduced Jing Boran as “the Luke you all love” and referred to the important woman in Luke’s life as “Wen Wen.”
Luke is the English name of Luan Nian, the character played by Jing Boran in The Early Spring. As a result, what appeared to be a lighthearted joke quickly ignited a major controversy. Some fans of the drama, the original novel and its audio drama adaptation argued that a clear distinction should be maintained between fictional characters and real life. In their view, there is obviously nothing wrong with referring to Jing Boran as Liu Wen’s boyfriend, but associating “Luke” with Liu Wen blurred the line between actor and character, affecting viewers who are deeply attached to the fictional pairing of Luan Nian and Shang Zhi Tao.
Some even harshly accused those involved of “leeching off” the character’s popularity to generate more attention for the real-life couple. On the other hand, many argued that criticizing Jing Boran or Liu Wen was unreasonable because the remark came entirely from Li Ronghao. Neither Jing Boran nor Liu Wen had actively brought up the character to promote their relationship.
Li Ronghao himself also received mixed reactions. Some viewers criticized the singer’s introduction as tactless and insensitive, while others said it was simply a harmless joke made during a concert and did not deserve to be blown out of proportion. It is also worth noting that Li Ronghao has been an enthusiastic supporter of The Early Spring. Before the drama premiered, he helped promote it and reportedly sponsored as many as 8,000 screenings. The amount was reportedly even higher than what some actors who actually appeared in the drama contributed.
As the controversy intensified, some people even declared that actors who are already in relationships should not star in romance dramas. However, such a view was widely considered excessively extreme.
Netizens shared their thoughts on the controversy:
“I actually think that makes sense. Luke-Flora and Jing Boran-Liu Wen—I like both couples, as long as it’s not Luke-Liu Wen. Personally, I even like Liu Wen more than Jing Boran.”
“Oh my God, no matter how obsessed you are with the drama, fiction is fiction and reality is reality. They’ve been dating for years and might even be getting married soon. What do you expect them to do, break up with their real-life partners just because a drama couple went viral?”
“But isn’t anyone criticizing that singer for having zero EQ? It really was tactless. I’m a fan of the novel and even I found it irritating.”
“Couple fans, please calm down so I can keep rewatching the drama a few more times.”
“None of this would have happened if Li Ronghao hadn’t dragged the word ‘LUKE’ into it. I’m exhausted. Everyone just go home, get married and move on. This is getting so annoying.”
“But honestly, it is uncomfortable. Why say Luke and Wen Wen? If he had just said Jing Boran, there would’ve been no problem. Luke belongs with Tao. I know fiction is fiction and reality is reality, but don’t take a fictional character and pair him with the actor’s real-life girlfriend. For people who love the drama and novel, they’ll always want those characters to remain together.”
In terms of its story, The Early Spring is adapted from a modern romance novel by author Gu Niang Bie Ku. The 24-episode series aired on Youku and Netflix and stars Jing Boran and Sun Qian. It follows the workplace romance between Luan Nian, the talented creative director of advertising group LIME, and Shang Zhi Tao, a young woman who moves to Beijing to build her career.
The drama attracted significant attention in China as well as several international markets and previously climbed as high as No. 2 on Netflix globally. Although the latest controversy is far from positive, the scale of discussion surrounding the drama even after its finale partly demonstrates its lasting influence, reinforcing The Early Spring’s status as one of the most talked-about Chinese dramas of 2026.
Sources: k14