as much as i would like to scream 🗣️ yes 🗣️ from a rooftop because that chemistry was too good to keep to just one project... i think realistically we have to face the fact that, although the slim chance is always there, they're unlikely to :')

BUT! not for the reason(s) that people often bring up e.g. solos kicking up a fuss, The Nonexistent Government Ban™, etc.

i think it's more because they know so many people are hoping to see them in the same project again, given their history with cql, and because of that, they also know what kind of media traction they're going to bring in: no matter how much work they put in, no matter how visionary the script is, a big chunk of the publicity around it is going to be "explosive news! wang yibo and xiao zhan to work together again, XX years after the untamed!". the media will try to dig up whatever salacious details they can about how this second cooperation came to be, after years of never seeing each other in public, and the focus will be taken away from the one thing that xz and yb have worked so hard to make front and centre — their craft.

i can see them wanting to avoid these situations where the entire project crew gets inconvenienced or constantly hounded by the media for soundbites about yz 😭

++ unfortunately bl actors (or anyone who has acted as bl leads) are much easier to typecast than their peers... the moment you act together again, people will immediately start to wonder if the script is subtle bl and unconsciously pigeonhole you into it, if that makes sense? not that being typecast as a bl actor is a bad thing! but again it takes away from the work and imo that's just not the kind of discussion they would want to have ;;

all that said, i would be so happy to be wrong about this ahsjdhajdhasd like. it is also my dream to see them act together again because i think they've both matured so much as artists since 2018-19, and i think they would bring a new dimension to their chemistry onscreen ♡

MAYBE!! MAYBE ONE DAY!!!! when a director-scriptwriter duo that is SO renowned, SO revered, SO well-respected in the industry, offers them both a dual-lead script that is too good to turn down, and that no one can speak against... a girl can dream, right!!!