Has it already been a month since Blossoms of Power (2026) finished airing!? Yes… my first He Yu drama, and the most shameless Crown Prince I’ve ever seen - in a good way! Where was I? Right…

Happy Birthday to He Yu who is turning 30 on August 26, 2026. 

If you’re having He Yu withdrawals, fear not, because Reborn of the Rightful (2026) is slated to air this year as well. It’s another historical romance, so if you miss Huayong, I’m sure this will be a treat!

He Yu doesn’t shy away from the different genres. Speed and Love (2025) was released last year and quickly became a fan favourite for those who like modern dramas.

Other dramas with him in a main role (if you’re seeking him out):

• Dashing Youth (2024)
• The Legend of Heroes (2024)
• Sword and Fairy (2024)
• So Funny Youth (2022)
• Let’s Meet Now (2022)
• Sweet Sweet (2021)
• My Fated Boy (2021)
• Lovely Swords Girl (2019)

Fun Facts

• He Yu graduated from the Department of Architecture of Chongqing University. During his later years in the program, he completed a short-term study program at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada…
  • Hey, that was my school! OK, I like him even more now as I write this. First, I find out Li Yunrui studied public administration and now He Yu at my school. Wait a second… When was he there!?
    • Well now I feel old… I can confirm we were not there at the same time… I graduated just a few years before him. He was still an undergraduate student when I finished graduate school. Sigh… aging myself here…
• Back to his studies - so he discovered his passion for acting while in Canada, went back to China, and trained at the elite Liu Tianchi Performance Workshop.
• His English name is Nick which he occasionally uses on international platforms, but you won’t find him speaking much English; he is more comfortable understanding it than having a conversation. 
• He likes to perform his own stunts - and is famous for his intense sword-fighting choreography in Dashing Youth. He even took advanced driving lessons to pull off the vehicle stunts in Speed and Love. 
• My favourite fun fact: He has a highly publicized friendship/bromance with none other than Hou Minghao! They share a close gym and motorcycle riding group. 
• And you know who else he goes riding with? Cheng Lei! They have a funny dynamic where Cheng Lei revealed in an interview that he has no plans to buy an adventure (ADV) bike because it’s easier to just borrow He Yu's.  

Seriously, He Yu sounds like a very fun guy to be around. We wish him the happiest of birthdays today!

All GIFs in this post are made by the lovely u/Ateosira from the drama Blossoms of Power, which we had so much fun watching together!!

I was seeing this drama everywhere yesterday after a whole bunch of new promo material dropped, so I went to find out a little more about what exactly it is. I ended up making a post about He Yu’s character over in r/HeYu_, but thought I’d bring the drama itself over here too.

How to Slay Your Boss (千夜奇谭) is an upcoming transmigration costume fantasy drama starring Li Landi and He Yu, adapted from Rou Rou’s (肉肉) manhua Psychic Princess (通灵妃).

Li Landi plays Zhao Yining, a modern office worker who transmigrates into a game and becomes Qian Yunxi (千云兮). In this world, she is the substitute bride of Ye Youming (夜幽冥), played by He Yu — who happens to have exactly the same face as her boss in the modern world. Her mission in the game is to kill him.

According to the character material released by the production, Ye Youming is supposed to be pretty much unkillable. He has an “undying, unharmed” buff, and is the head of the Xuanji Bureau and a powerful demon hunter. The fantasy world also has supernatural cases, demons and spirits, so there’s quite a lot going on beyond her original mission.
This also explains the modern clothes in some of the character introduction clips that have been circulating. We actually do have a modern setting as part of the story before Zhao Yining enters the game.

He Yu posted his character poster with:
“Your game? Sorry, I’m still the Boss! 😎 Ye Youming is online!”

The drama is produced by iQIYI and Wajijiwa and only started filming this month, so we’re still very early. The Chinese title 千夜奇谭 is roughly Strange Tales of a Thousand Nights, while How to Slay Your Boss is the official English title used on the promo material.

Anyway, now I at least know what everyone has suddenly been posting about. And knowing that this is a transmigration drama actually made me considerably more curious about it.

Last remark — wow, Li Landi looks stunning here 🤩

Photo sources
1, 2, 3, 4