# Love O2O (TV series)

Love O2O (Chinese: 微微一笑很倾城; pinyin: Wēi Wēi Yī Xiào Hěn Qīng Chéng) is a 2016 Chinese television series based on the novel of the same name written by Gu Man, starring Yang Yang and Zheng Shuang. It aired on Jiangsu TV and Dragon TV from 22 August to 6 September 2016. This story revolves around the love between Xiao Nai and Bei Weiwei. It was a commercial success in China. It became one of the most-watched Chinese modern dramas, with over 25.2 billion views online.
In August 2021, the show was officially banned by the People's Republic of China's government in the entirety of Mainland China as the female lead role, Zheng Shuang was labelled as "actors with poor conduct" by the regulators due to her involvement in a series of scandals, including tax evasion, which she was ultimately found guilty of committing.

## Synopsis

Bei Weiwei (Zheng Shuang) is a computer science university student, who excels in her studies. She aspires to be an online game developer. Her player's name is Luwei Weiwei in the role-playing game, A Chinese Ghost Story. After she is dumped by her online husband Zhenshui Wuxiang, she is approached by the number one player Yixiao Naihe, who suggests they get married so they both can participate in the couples in-game competitions. The newlyweds instantly hit it off and undergo many adventures together in-game.
However, Wei Wei did not expect the real identity of her in-game husband is a college senior, Xiao Nai (Yang Yang) who is both a jock and an academician. After they meet each other, they fall in love. Together, they overcome numerous misunderstandings and obstacles standing in the way of their budding romance.

## Cast
### Main

| Actor | Character | Introduction |
| Zheng Shuang | Bei Weiwei (贝微微) | A 2nd year computer science student. She is bright, intelligent and helpful, and aspires to be a game designer. Her player's name "Luwei Weiwei" in A Chinese Ghost Story, she is the only female player in the Top 10 PK ranking. She catches Xiao Nai's attention when she is playing the game in an internet cafe. |
| Yang Yang | Xiao Nai (肖奈) | A 4th year computer science student. He is the CEO of Zhi Yi Technology Company. He is gentle and kind and hides a cunning intellect. His player's name is "Yixiao Naihe", and he is the top player in the game A Chinese Ghost Story. In real life, Xiao Nai is a well-known man in campus, well-versed in arts, music, and sports. |

### Supporting
#### People at Qing University

| Actor | Character | Introduction |
| Mao Xiaotong | Zhao Erxi (赵二喜) | Wei Wei's best friend and one of Wei Wei's three dormmates. She's bright, cheerful, and stubborn at times. She falls for Cao Guang in the game A Chinese Ghost Story as Cao Guang mistook her web name for Wei Wei's and started to befriend her. |
| Bai Yu | Cao Guang (曹光) | A second year foreign studies student. He initially misunderstood Wei Wei, but later develops a friendship with her, and a crush on her. Later, he also forms a friendship and budding romance with Erxi. |
| Ma Chunrui | Meng Yiran (孟逸然) | The school's "belle", who placed first in the school's online beauty voting. She has a crush on Xiao Nai, and dislikes Weiwei because of it. |
| Qin Yu | Xiao Ling (晓玲) | Wei Wei's dorm mate. Because of her wealthy background, she is often referred to as "Little Rich Woman". |
| Songxin Jiayi | Tian Sisi (田丝丝) | Wei Wei's dorm mate. |
| Zhou Chenjia | Nana (安娜) | Yiran's roommate. She constantly sucks up to Yiran and encourages her to pursue Xiao Nai. In reality, she dislikes Yiran and only befriends her to capture the attention of her cousin, Shaoxiang. |
| Zhang Chaoren | Da Zhong (大钟) | Xiao Ling's boyfriend. Member of the senior class basketball team. |
| Chen Jie | Aixiang Nai'er (爱香奈儿) / Ai Chanel | Yiran's friend. A famous online blogger, who posted degrading remarks about Weiwei online. |

#### People in Zhi Yi Technology

| Actor | Character | Introduction |
| Niu Junfeng | Yu Banshan (于半珊) | Known by the web name "Yugong Pashan". He often misuses idioms due to a childhood trauma. Member of the senior class basketball team. He is also Xiao Nai's dorm-mate, and also an employee at Zhi Yi. |
| Cui Hang | Qiu Yonghou (丘永侯) | Known by the web name "Houzi Jiu". Member of the senior class basketball team. He is also Xiao Nai's dorm-mate, and also an employee at Zhi Yi. |
| Zheng Yecheng | Hao Mei (郝眉) | Known by the web name "Mo Zha Ta". He is also Xiao Nai's dorm-mate, and also an employee at Zhi Yi. One of the top 3 experts in Zhi Yi. He has a baby face, and is often called "Mr. Gorgeous", "Mr. Girly" or “Mr. Beauty”. |
| Vin Zhang | K.O. | A top hacker and one of the top 3 experts in Zhi Yi. He used to work in the cafeteria inside the campus. He shares a twisted fate with Hao Mei, whom he previously met in a game. |
| Hu Haobo | Ah Shuang (阿爽) | One of the top 3 experts in Zhi Yi. He supposedly, has a phobia of women, but really has a distrust of women in IT. He later betrayed Zhi Yi by revealing company secrets to Zhen Yi, and left the company. |

#### Characters in A Chinese Ghost Story

| Actor | Character | Introduction |
| Zhang He | Zhen Shaoxiang | Known by the web name "Zhenshui Wuxiang". He was Wei Wei's virtual ex-husband. He is Yiran's elder cousin and the heir of Zhen Yi technology. He judges people by appearance and he dumps Wei Wei thinking she is ugly and marries "Xiaoyu Yaoyao", but later regrets it when he sees Wei Wei in real life. |
| Liu Yinglun | Yu Yao (雨瑶) | Known by the web name "Xiaoyu Yaoyao", leader of the Xiao Yu clan. She is regarded as the number one beauty of the game's server, after placing first in a photo competition. Zhenshui Wuxiang's virtual life and real-life partner. A hypocritical and attention-seeking person. |
| Lu Yunxuan | Leishen Nini (雷神妮妮) | Wei Wei's guild mate. She loves to gossip. |
| Liu Yujin | Diemeng Weixing (蝶梦未醒) | Ex-leader of the "Jade Seas Rising Tide" guild and Zhan Tianxia's virtual wife and real-life partner. She hates the Xiaoyu gang as they caused her relationship with Zhan Tianxia to deteriorate, and she makes use of Weiwei's friendship with her to spite them in real life. |
| Zhang Shou | Zhan Tianxia (战天下) | Current leader of the "Jade Seas Rising Tide" guild and Diemeng Weixing's virtual husband and real-life partner. He has an ambiguous relationship with Xiaoyu Qingqing. |
| Yang Xueying | Xiaoyu Qingqing (小雨青青) | One of Xiaoyu Yaoyao's followers. She likes to flirt with male players, especially with Zhan Tianxia. |
| Song Yuqing | Xiaoyu Feifei (小雨霏霏) | One of Xiaoyu Yaoyao's followers. |
| Liu Qianyu | Xiaoyu Mianmian (小雨绵绵) | One of Xiaoyu Yaoyao's followers. |
| Xiao Xiaobai | Youming Guilao / "Underworld Granny" | A "boss" in the "underworld cave" dungeon, in the game, who likes to capture male players and make them her slaves (or toys). |
| Zhang Haoyu | Tianxia Dayi | |

#### Others

| Actor | Character | Introduction |
| Cai Gang | Professor Xiao | An archaeologist professor, and Xiao Nai's father, at Qing university. |
| Gu Kelly | Professor Lin | A history professor, and Xiao Nai's mother, at Qing university |
| Fu Jun | Old Bei | Bei Weiwei's father |
| Yang Manqin | Chen Fang | Bei Weiwei's mother |
| Bian Cheng | Xiao Yang | Wei Wei's 12 year old student, that she tutors, and introduces Cao Guang to, to tutor in English. |
| Cheng Gong | Mr. Zhen | CEO of Zhen Yi technology. Shaoxiang's father and Yiran's uncle. He uses underhanded means to try to steal Xiao Nai's game creation. |
| Leng Haiming | Mr. Li | Head of the gaming department at Zhen Yi technology. |
| Denny Huang | Feng Teng | President of Feng Teng Organization. |
| Liu Guhao | Mr. Wang | Feng Teng's employee. |
| Yang Yucheng | Professor Li Cheng | An economics professor, and Xiao Nai's uncle, at Qing university. |

## Production

The series was filmed at Shanghai Songjiang University Town, East China University of Political Science and Law and Shanghai Commercial Plaza from September to December 2015.
The fictional game in the universe uses the content provided by A Chinese Ghost Story, a popular MMORPG game in China.

## Reception

The series ranked first in television ratings and became the number one most searched and discussed topic online during its broadcast. The drama is also well-received internationally.
The drama was praised for following the details of the novel faithfully, as well as its refreshing and unique plot. Unlike most dramas, Love O2O does not succumb to overused cliches and plot devices, making it stand out from dramas with similar themes.

### Ratings

China Dragon TV / Jiangsu TV premiere ratings (CSM50) :
| Episodes | Broadcast date | Dragon TV | Dragon TV | Dragon TV | Jiangsu TV | Jiangsu TV | Jiangsu TV |
| Episodes | Broadcast date | Ratings (%) | Audience share (%) | Rankings | Ratings (%) | Audience share (%) | Rankings |
| 1-2 | 2016.08.22 | 0.745 | - | 4 | 0.737 | - | 5 |
| 3-4 | 2016.08.23 | 0.716 | - | 6 | 0.73 | - | 5 |
| 5-6 | 2016.08.24 | 0.82 | - | 5 | 0.919 | - | 3 |
| 7-8 | 2016.08.25 | 0.774 | - | 5 | 0.873 | - | 4 |
| 9-10 | 2016.08.26 | 0.864 | - | 4 | 0.935 | - | 2 |
| 11 | 2016.08.27 | 0.927 | - | 3 | 1.151 | - | 2 |
| 12-13 | 2016.08.28 | 0.845 | - | 5 | 1.042 | - | 3 |
| 14-15 | 2016.08.29 | 0.912 | - | 5 | 0.998 | - | 3 |
| 16-17 | 2016.08.30 | 1 | - | 3 | 0.971 | - | 4 |
| 18-19 | 2016.08.31 | 0.927 | - | 4 | 0.904 | - | 5 |
| 20-21 | 2016.09.01 | 0.845 | - | 5 | 0.878 | - | 4 |
| 22-23 | 2016.09.02 | 1.105 | - | 2 | 1.065 | - | 3 |
| 24 | 2016.09.03 | 1.197 | - | 3 | 1.255 | - | 2 |
| 25-26 | 2016.09.04 | 0.992 | - | 4 | 1.121 | - | 2 |
| 27-28 | 2016.09.05 | 1.073 | - | 2 | 1.015 | - | 3 |
| 29-30 | 2016.09.06 | 0.967 | - | 3 | 0.999 | - | 2 |
| Average ratings | Average ratings | 0.910 | | | 0.965 | | |
* Highest ratings are marked in red; lowest ratings are marked in blue.
* In China, 1% viewership rating is considered extremely high since the People's Republic of China has a large population. (1,441,494,608 as of Saturday, November 21, 2020)

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref. |
| 2017 | 2nd China Quality Television Drama Ceremony | Popular Quality Actor | Yang Yang | Won | |
| 2017 | 2nd China Quality Television Drama Ceremony | Innovative Themed Drama of the Year | Love O2O | Won | |

## International broadcast

| Channel | Location | Broadcast start date | Note |
| Jiangsu TV, Dragon TV | People's Republic of China (the Mainland.) | 22 August 2016 | Monday to Sunday 19:30 - 21:00 (two eps) |
| DramaFever | U.S., Canada and Latin America | 23 August 2016 | Monday to Saturday (two eps) |
| Anhui TV | People's Republic of China (the Mainland) | 24 August 2016 | Daily 09:00 am |
| Astro HD | Malaysia | 25 August 2016 | Monday to Friday 18:00 - 19:00 |
| Shenzhen TV | People's Republic of China (the Mainland.) | 29 September 2016 | Every day 19:30 (two eps) |
| Zing TV | Vietnam | | |
| CHOCO TV | The Republic of China (Taiwan.) | 1 October 2016 | |
| TVB J2 | Hong Kong S.A.R. | 10 January 2017 | Monday to Friday 19:00 - 20:00 |
| Jiangxi TV | People's Republic of China (the Mainland.) | 28 January 2017 | |
| Home Drama | Japan | 15 March 2017 | Aired with title Cinderella is Online at 1:15 |
| PPCTV 6 | Cambodia | 25 August 2017 | Monday to Friday at 12:00 and 20:00 |
| CTV 8 HD | Cambodia | January 2019 | Saturday to Sunday |
| iMBC | South Korea | 19 September 2017 | |
| Channel 3 | Thailand | 3 March 2018 | Every Saturday and Sunday at 16:30 - 18:00 |
| GMA Network | Philippines | September 10, 2018 to October 19, 2018 | January 16, 2019 to March 12, 2019 Rerun on GMA News TV every Monday to Friday at 23:00-00:00 |
| MX Player | India | March 2021 - April 2021 Every Friday | March 2021 start aired 4 Episodes on MX Player and weekly episodes aired on every friday to April 2021. |