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| Deng Wei’s “The Days of Seclusion and Love” Begins Filming, Greeted by 4,000 Fans (Weibo) |
Hengdian’s buzzing and Deng Wei’s already centre stage — but there’s one tiny detail missing: the leading lady.
Filming officially kicked off on 17 May 2025 for upcoming historical romance “The Days of Seclusion and Love” (闲安), adapted from Bai Lu Cheng Shuang’s popular novel. The booting ceremony was held at Hengdian World Studios, with male lead Deng Wei turning up all suited, sharp, and ready for the cameras. But fans and onlookers were left raising eyebrows — where’s the female lead, then?
No Leading Lady, No Problem?
So far, only Deng Wei has been spotted on set, sparking loads of online chatter. The rumoured female lead, 21-year-old model-actress Vanda Margraf, is still reportedly living it up at fashion events in Italy and hasn’t touched down in Hengdian yet. Nothing’s confirmed, but her name’s been floating around in fan circles for a while now.
With Vanda MIA, fans are already throwing shade — some joked that Deng Wei might as well play every role himself at this point. Others wondered if the production is quietly shifting focus to make it more of a one-man epic. Not helping the speculation is the fact that Deng Wei’s solo casting poster dropped ages ago — no couple shots, no character pairings, just him.
Diamonds Took Over Hengdian
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| Deng Wei Begins Filming “The Days of Seclusion and Love” as 4,000 Fans Turn Up in Support |
While the drama’s still short a heroine, Deng Wei’s fandom — affectionately called “Diamonds” — were out in full force, and they didn’t come to play. Over 4,000 fans turned up, turning the area into a full-on purple-themed festival.
17-05-25 Deng Wei Off Work
— just邓为D | Deng Wei 📀 (@just_DengWeiD) May 17, 2025
He immediately took to supertopic to let everyone know he saw them 🥹
“I saw you all~ Hurry and go back and rest okay, pay attention to safety!”#DengWei #邓为 #เติ้งเหวย#TheDaysOfSeclusionAndLove pic.twitter.com/LvSKwPOY3i
There was a massive 28-metre flower float, fire cannons, purple buses, sparkling banners, and even fireworks. Luxury brands like Dior and ELLE got in on the action too, sponsoring parts of the event. It looked less like a booting ceremony and more like a mini Coachella for drama stans.
Deng Wei, now 30, was all smiles, waving non-stop and visibly moved by the overwhelming turnout. With this level of support, you’d think it was already premiere day.
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| 4,000 Deng Wei Fans Create Purple Wave as “The Days of Seclusion and Love” Starts Filming |
Is the Novel Being Rewritten?
In the original book, the female lead’s revenge arc is a major storyline. But with her absence from the spotlight and Deng Wei’s name stamped all over everything, some book fans are starting to get twitchy. Could her role be getting sidelined?
Deng Wei plays Yin Gezhi, a hostage prince stuck in the messy politics of the fictional Li State. It’s a character packed with emotional depth, strategy, and pain — basically tailor-made for Deng Wei’s moody charisma. But many are hoping the heroine’s story won’t be trimmed to give him all the glory.
For now, it's Deng Wei holding the reins. And if the buzz around this production is anything to go by, “The Days of Seclusion and Love” could become the male-led drama event of the year — even if the "love" part is taking its sweet time showing up.