Zhang Linghe Ranks! Top 10 'Green Tea Male Leads' in Chinese Dramas Who Pretend to Be Pitiful, Champion Despite Martial Arts Prowess, Pretends to Be Weak to Get Hugs

In recent years, the charm of 'green tea male leads' in Chinese dramas has gone beyond just being cold, domineering, or deeply emotional. A batch of male leads who are good at pretending to be weak, coquettish, and pitiful have gradually stolen the spotlight from the audience. They are strategic and decisive in front of others, but in front of the person they like, they immediately put on a pitiful expression. Although they are cunning, they can always exchange the female lead's care with a few tears, injuries, or soft words.

This time, based on the hot short reviews on Douban with 'green tea', 'pretending to be pitiful', 'white cut black' and other related evaluations, the top ten male leads in Chinese dramas who are best at showing weakness were selected to see who is the tea art master that makes the audience know it's fake but still can't help but soften their hearts.

Rank 10: Bai Jingting in 'Qing Qing Daily' Bai Jingting plays the sixth young master of Xinchuan, Yin Zeng, in 'Qing Qing Daily'. Since he was young, due to his poor health and lack of attention from his father, he cultivated a low-key and restrained personality. On the surface, he is a weak and ambitious idle young master, but in reality, he is outstanding in ability and has a clear understanding of the court and people's hearts. After marrying Li Wei, Yin Zeng is gentle and considerate, and sometimes shows a jealous and lost expression, making it difficult for Li Wei to be harsh on him.

Some viewers describe Yin Zeng as the 'husband worth having in dreams' and frankly say that such a man is 'one in a million' in reality. His tea flavor is not strong, and he rarely deliberately calculates his rivals. His strength lies in always using gentleness, restraint, and a little fragility to make Li Wei approach him voluntarily. It seems that Li Wei is taking care of a weak husband, but the rhythm of their feelings has actually been quietly grasped by Yin Zeng.

Rank 9: Ding Yuxi in 'Eternal Night: The River of Stars' Ding Yuxi plays Mu Sheng in 'Eternal Night: The River of Stars', who appears to be a haughty and poisonous tongue demon boy, but in reality, he is a half-demon with a tragic past. Mu Sheng is highly alert and often tests Ling Miaomiao in the early stages, and will get jealous and lose his temper when she approaches other men. However, as his identity and wounds are gradually revealed, those ferocity and coldness become a shell to protect himself.

Mu Sheng's most touching moments are often not when he actively says sweet words, but when he pretends to be cold-faced even though he cares so much, and then shows a hurt and aggrieved look. Some viewers say, 'Seeing Mu Sheng reminds me of Zhuo Chuan's haughtiness,' believing that Ding Yuxi performs the contrast of being stubborn, clingy, and lacking security very memorably. Mu Sheng's tea has a sickly aroma, the more he wants to monopolize Miaomiao, the more he appears to be an abandoned little dog on the surface.

Rank 8: Zhang Linghe in 'Crossing the Years' Zhang Linghe plays the son-in-law Pei Wenxuan in 'Crossing the Years', who returns to his youth with the memory of the previous life with the eldest princess Li Rong. The two had a love-hate relationship in their previous life, and after reincarnation, they both say they do not want to repeat the past, but Pei Wenxuan still step by step returns to Li Rong's side. He is usually smart and composed, good at analyzing the situation, but in front of Li Rong, he often acts coquettishly, gets jealous, and uses half-real half-fake grievances to test her feelings.

Some drama fans call Pei Wenxuan 'clever and loves to joke', praising him for still being able to draw pictures to make the princess happy even when he is in prison; some also describe this princess and son-in-law as 'the most delicious meal I have eaten this year'. Pei Wenxuan knows that Li Rong is soft but not hard, so he rarely forces her directly, but instead breaks through her defenses by pretending to be stupid, coquettish, and pitiful. On the surface, it seems that he is being bullied by the princess, but the one who gets the most favor in the end is still him.

Rank 7: Ding Yuxi in 'Rumors of Chen Qingqing' Ding Yuxi plays the young master Han Shuo of Xuanhu City in 'Rumors of Chen Qingqing', who originally came with the task of capturing Huayuan City and seizing the dragon bone, and even prepared to eliminate Chen Qingqing who was snatched away. However, after the two got married, Han Shuo was gradually attracted to her, changing from a cold and black-bellied young master to a love-brain who is jealous and coquettish, and immediately becomes aggrieved and loses his temper when Chen Qingqing approaches other men.

Audiences often tease Han Shuo with 'Han Shuo can't do it' for being powerless against Chen Qingqing, and some highly praise 'the male protagonist's setting is really dead', believing that his contrast supports the whole drama's punchlines. Han Shuo is decisive and ruthless when facing external enemies, but in front of Chen Qingqing, he will complain, throw tantrums, seek comfort, and even perform jealousy as if he has suffered a great grievance. This style of openly vying for favor and secretly eliminating rivals also makes him one of the representative figures of early green tea male leads.

Rank 6: Hou Minghao in 'Entering the Clouds' Hou Minghao plays the criminal prisoner Ji Bozai, a fighter from Extreme Star, in 'Entering the Clouds'. He defeated Ming Yi, the female war god who had been winning consecutively for many years, at the Qingyun Grand Meeting and became the new star of everyone's attention overnight. Ji Bozai appears to be dissipated and casual, but in reality, he is thoughtful. He has long been suspicious of Ming Yi's true identity and purpose. In the process of mutual testing, they both developed true feelings, and his originally calm attitude was gradually replaced by possessiveness.

Ji Bozai does not admit his jealousy honestly, but instead deliberately uses a strange tone to declare his ownership, and is even laughed at by the audience as 'the green tea cat is in a hurry'. He is ruthless when facing enemies, but when he meets Ming Yi, he can immediately become clingy and aggrieved. Although he has the ability to handle everything himself, he prefers to put on a hurt look and wait for her to comfort him. That contrast of not being lenient with words but eyes full of dependence is the most attractive part of the role.

Rank 5: Deng Wei in 'Longing' Deng Wei plays Tu Shan Jing, the prince of Qingqiu, in 'Longing'. After being tortured by his brother and abandoned in the wilderness, he was rescued by Xiao Yao when he was covered with scales. After recovering his identity, he still stayed by Xiao Yao's side in the form of Ye Shiqian, gentle and obedient, almost never making any strong demands on her. Facing strong competitors such as Jin Jing and Xiang Liu, Tu Shan Jing chooses to guard with a low posture, letting Xiao Yao feel pity for him again and again.

Some drama fans describe Tu Shan Jing as 'the most cunning hunter appears in the form of prey', believing that he seems the weakest and most passive, but in the end successfully gets Xiao Yao's choice. Tu Shan Jing knows how to use his scars, gentleness, and dependence to let Xiao Yao find the value of being needed in him. He rarely publicly attacks his rivals, but can use tears and silence to create stronger emotional pressure. His tea art level has long surpassed the general coquettish male lead.

Rank 4: Zhou Lijie in 'Dreaming of the Qing River' Zhou Lijie plays the prince of Jing Wang, Xia Qi Guang, in 'Dreaming of the Qing River'. At the beginning, when he paid homage to Mo Wang as his teacher, his attitude was arrogant, but he did not know that the female general Mo Qingchuan he admired was actually the true identity of his teacher. Xia Qi Guang has a temper and means to the outside world, but he is particularly obedient when facing Mo Qingchuan, often sticking to her side in the form of a younger disciple, and using direct love confession and coquettish offensive to break through the female lead's defense line.

Many drama followers directly call Xia Qi Guang a 'green tea milk dog', describing him as 'always milky and always obedient' in front of Mo Qingchuan, but when facing others, he starts 'pretending to be a pig and eating a tiger'. He writes dual standards on his face, only showing softness and dependence in front of the person he likes, but when facing rivals, he immediately becomes aggressive. This contrast of being obedient to the teacher and fierce to others makes his tea flavor particularly obvious.

Rank 3: He Yu in 'Hundred Flowers Killing' He Yu plays the crown prince Xiao Hua Yong in 'Hundred Flowers Killing'. He has been poisoned since childhood, showing a weak and indifferent to politics appearance to the public for many years, but in reality, he is very scheming, cultivating power in secret and investigating the truth of his identity. In front of Shen Xihan, he is both a political marriage partner and a chess player who tests her. Xiao Hua Yong is good at using his illness to lower others' guard, and will also show a vulnerable side in front of the female lead, making her unable to completely regard him as an enemy.

Some viewers believe that He Yu combines Xiao Hua Yong's 'weak and broken feeling with black-bellied scheming appropriately', saying that he performs the 'white cut black' character setting with contrast; some also specially affirm the role's 'sickly feeling' and 'tea art'. Xiao Hua Yong's body is indeed weak, but he also clearly knows what effect his cough, pale face, and injured expression can bring. He lets everyone think that he is about to die soon, but has already arranged every step in the dark.

Rank 2: Hou Minghao in 'Jade Mite Tea Bone' Hou Minghao plays the young scholar Liu Jianglai in 'Jade Mite Tea Bone'. After becoming the magistrate of Chun'an County, he solved many strange cases, but later, due to being involved in an old case of killing his wife, he was chased and killed, and was saved by Hong Shanbao, the daughter of the tea king, after being seriously injured. Liu Jianglai hid his identity for self-preservation and stayed in the Hong family in the form of an amnesiac groom. He appears to be obedient on the surface, but in reality, he continues to investigate the truth and competes with other suitors when the Hong family adopts a son-in-law.

A hot short review directly writes: 'This tea bone is talking about the male lead, right? So green tea hahahaha.' This sentence almost summarizes the characteristics of Liu Jianglai's role. He is actually arrogant, black-bellied, and full of tricks, but in front of Hong Shanbao, he will pretend to be good and show weakness, and also knows how to use his injuries and lowly status to exchange for protection. The official publicity even directly calls him a 'true green tea man', and his role setting and love methods are full of tea fragrance.

Rank 1: Zhang Linghe in 'Chasing Jade' Zhang Linghe plays the Marquis of Wu'an, Xie Zheng, in 'Chasing Jade', who is chased and killed due to his family's old case, and after being seriously injured, he hides his name and meets the daughter of a butcher, Fan Changyu, in the form of 'Yan Zheng'. For their respective purposes, the two pretend to be husband and wife, and Xie Zheng even lives in the Fan family in the form of a fallen son-in-law. On the battlefield, he is a decisive and formidable general who makes people tremble, but when he returns to Fan Changyu's side, he is particularly weak, and can always use his injuries, coughs, and grievous expressions to exchange for her care.

Some viewers describe Xie Zheng as 'when a man pretends to be green tea, there is no woman's business', and some even think that he is 'the most tea one in the drama'. At the beginning, the weakness is indeed due to serious injuries, but as the injuries gradually recover, his weakness in front of Fan Changyu increases instead of decreasing, which can be called 'bright and bright'.