LayarHijau.com – The historical romance drama A Dream within A Dream (一梦如初), starring Liu Yuning and Li Yitong, premiered on iQiyi on June 26, 2025. Within just a few hours, the series soared to second place on the Chinese drama popularity charts, just behind The Princess’ Gambit (桃花映江山), which also began airing during the same time frame.
To celebrate the premiere, Li Yitong shared a lighthearted yet surprising post on Weibo. She jokingly referred to the show as the "giant centipede drama," reminding fans of a frightening incident that happened on set last year—when a real centipede crawled inside her costume during filming.
She wrote, “Song Yimeng is Xiaoyu’s dream, and also my dream. The story itself feels like an actor’s dream. And of course, in a dream, strange creatures might appear. Last year’s centipede photos gave Song Yimeng a new nickname—‘the giant centipede drama’ hahaha. Today, the drama with a centipede crawling on my body is finally airing. I’m ready. Let’s dream together!”
The “centipede Reuters” she mentioned refers to amateur paparazzi (known in Chinese as lutou) who captured and leaked photos of the actual event. The incident occurred while she and Liu Yuning were preparing to film a rooftop kiss scene. Li Yitong was sitting calmly with a hand fan to cool off, completely unaware that a large centipede had started crawling up her leg.
Photographers from a distance noticed and began shouting, “Sister Tong! There’s a giant centipede on your leg!” But she didn’t hear due to the distance and appeared confused. Even more terrifying, the centipede continued crawling from her leg to her stomach and disappeared into her sleeve.
Eventually, after persistent shouting from the crew, Liu Yuning and the staff realized something was wrong. Without hesitation, Liu Yuning rushed to help her, assisting the wardrobe team in shaking her costume until the centipede was finally removed.
Liu Yuning’s brave and gentlemanly action earned widespread praise from netizens, many of whom commented that his heroic off-screen behavior matched the noble characters he often plays on screen.
According to Upmedia, Liu Yuning’s quick response and sincere concern boosted his public image as the "new male god" of Chinese dramas. Viewers applauded not just his acting, but also his real-life kindness and composure.
Following this centipede moment going viral again, fans are even more excited to see the chemistry between Liu Yuning and Li Yitong in A Dream within A Dream, which tells a romantic and emotional tale involving time travel, revenge, and redemption.
Liu Yuning’s recent streak of hits includes The Prisoner of Beauty (折腰) with Song Zuer, A Journey to Love (一念关山) with Liu Shishi, and The Story of Pearl Girl (朱帘玉幕) with Zhao Lusi. With these acclaimed titles under his belt, his popularity continues to skyrocket.