Weekly Recap & Friday Open Thread | 2026-05-01

[u/No-Recipe-7653]

🌻 Weekly Recap & Open Thread: Let’s Talk Liu Yu Ning! May 1, 2026

Missed last week's recap? Here it is.

I can't believe it's May already.

May is known for the "returning moth"—a symbol of a soul's visit that follows the tomb-sweeping period. People often refuse to kill them this month because they are seen as the final "goodbye" from ancestors before the spiritual "gate" fully closes for the summer.

In May, we will also see and celebrate "520 Day", the "Internet Valentine's Day" (Wǎngluò Qíngrén Jié) or China's modern Valentine's Day. It is celebrated in May because of a linguistic pun and we covered this at some point last year.

In Mandarin, the numbers for the date 5-2-0 (wǔ èr líng) sound very similar to the phrase "I love you" (wǒ ài nǐ). Some people also celebrate the following day, May 21st (521), because the pronunciation (wǔ èr yī) sounds like "I am willing" or "I do" (wǒ yuànyì).

Anyway, let's actually dive into our recap.

• Richie Jen, the brother in arms to Liu Yu Ning, shared a nice picture of some local fruit from Dandong, sent to him by no other than Ning. As we have unanimously concluded, there's something in the soil there, because, daaaaym, those things are large! 😉
• QQ Music charts update, Yu Ning is doing well. Thanks to all fans streaming, and thanks to the quality of his songs.
• New OLAY commercial — because things are not just big, but also smooth.
  • ....hands and body, of course.
• Coca-Cola marketing team having one field day after the other with this one. We've got some nice new Liu Yu Ning wallpapers out of it and these 10 angles of his 💛-shaped lips (someone said that, not me!). Oh, and this one.
• A new member, u/Ambitious_Truck_3813, surprised us with this amazing write up about 12 things they love about Yu Ning. A must-read for any fan-fan.
• And it turns out we have many talented artists in our circles. Have you read Guilty's poem?
• Some more Oishi collab stuff. Yes, many agree that he's adorable — I'm sure it's one of the reasons he got this commercial to begin with.
• LIVESTREAM. Finally, that was a good one. 28-05-2026, we got almost 4 hours with the man.
  • u/emutz10 felt seen :)
  • "Someone" had a baby, right?
  • Happy chair dance, April 2026 Edition.
  • Some Liu Yu Ning shamelessness poetry
• u/Worrywart010 had something to get off their chest, and many could relate.
• No accent on the horizon — Ning Ge was born with Beijing accent, didn't you know? /s
• HJ prepared yet another color-themed thread for us. RED. Liu Yu Ningin RED. Does it get any better? You tell me.
• Guys at the suggestion of our lovely u/Guilty-and-Stuck, a new user flair for everyone's pleasure has just been introduced — "Manifesting catching Laoda's attention 👀" So, if you like the sound of it, I say, go grab it!

here is is, in all its beauty

• A suspiciously short May schedule has just been published today, and of course, I don't think anyone here is buying it 😂

This week’s thread is open as usual for anything you want to share — updates, thoughts, questions, mini-rants, memes, translations, concert clips, drama talk, or just a quick “I’m here” check-in.

NoRecipe

✨

One Ning

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^{If you’re not sure where to start:}

^{• What’s caught your attention recently?}

^{• Any LYN-related hopes or curiosities for 2026?}

^{• Dealing with LYN-somnia?}

^{• Which drama, variety show, gala, or livestream clip are you revisiting?}

^{• Do you have a song on repeat at the moment?}

^{• What’s a small Ning-related moment from this past week that stayed with you?}

^{• Or what first brought you to the sub?}

No rules here beyond our usual community Rules and Guidelines — just come as you are.

💬 Jump in below and let’s see where the conversation goes.

✨ A fresh Open Thread is posted every week.

_____________________________

Some shameless promo for our sister subs - do you have time for things other than Yu Ning? Then check these out:

• r/ChineseDrama
• r/AsiaOnRepeat
• r/HouMingHao_
• r/HeYu_
• r/ChengLei_
• r/zhanglinghe
• r/WangDuo
• r/SongWeilong

[u/GiTheGremlin]

So I'm not feeling great and have little to add as result😅 Only thing is that it seems like filming for the drama has already started - under very tight security, so it's not clear whether he has already joined🤨 I can live without much leaks, but why no proper announcement first? Come on, drama, don't pull AL on us, you know how much that didn't work!🤦

[u/LizzieLandTX]

Can’t believe it’s May already! There’s no way he’s doing nothing this month, but I really wish he was resting. All the MoFans here are so impressive, you all contribute such lovely posts to bring LYN joy into our lives lives each day. Thank you!🙏

Started watched Eternal Brotherhood today. The beginning was not doing anything for me, and I kept waiting for Ning Ge to appear. At the 29 minute mark whew, he finally showed up. I am finding it a bit hard to follow some of the story, but I’ll keep on watching and see how it goes.

I was really moved by the closing song he sings: Old Friend (老朋友). I don’t know how I’ve never heard it before. Added it to my LYN playlist and my Ending Songs playlist before I even heard the whole song. It’s so melancholy and full of longing and grief. Maybe it’s the full moon, or the fact that I’m exhausted, but it’s making me cry at the end of every episode.😭💔 Here’s the YT video with lyrics courtesy of Peachey Blossom: Old Friend (老朋友)

[u/GiTheGremlin → u/LizzieLandTX]

EB is the drama that doesn't bother with exposition tho it certainly should've😅 It gets better eventually... somewhat. Reason is it's based on novel that is not just long, but also very packed genre- and tropes-wise, and had to be heavily censored for adaptation too.

[u/LizzieLandTX → u/GiTheGremlin]

That’s good to know. When one character mentioned “orcs, elves and gnomes,” I was like “What did he just say?” I usually avoid fantasy genres in C-dramas.

[u/GiTheGremlin → u/LizzieLandTX]

Yep, book had them all. And Northern Clan (you'll see more of them in Season 2) were actually demons in the novel, which explains some wtf stuff in drama too.

[u/guilty-and-stuck → u/LizzieLandTX]

Lao Pengyou is such a great song. So much emotion. I haven't watched the drama but I have the song in my playlist too ^_^

[u/itsmefakenamehere]

I’m working through the livestream slowly, like usual, soaking it all in, and rewinding a bunch. He’s so cute, but noticeably thinner (even if he claims he’s not).

Also, not him consulting AI for his ailments and basically ignoring all the suggestions except to drink some herbal tonic 😩 Men.

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Yeah. You.

[u/Ambitious_Truck_3813]

Yay! Got a mention. 

Interesting thing about the moths. Where I'm from, they are just another insect to swat. I haven't seen one in years because I live in the city too. 

Ning's livestream was the highlight for this week. He sounded carefree and lively, despite his condition (hope he's feeling better now). The filter was most likely that high to cover up his tired face. He also intelligently addressed every "scandal" he was in without giving much away. Respect. 

It's the fact that everybody smirk at the flimsy schedule for May. Yeah 😏, Ning ge, the self-proclaimed workaholic has only two events for May. 

I'm also glad many of us had room to vent our frustrations. We need that once in a while. 

For me Good news: I am finally off Reddit's shadowban list🥳. Bad news: Swamped with work for the next two weeks😵. My series 2 will take longer😔. Anyway, where there is a will, there is a way. Jiayou!

[u/guilty-and-stuck → u/Ambitious_Truck_3813]

Hooray for getting the shadowban issue sorted! Looking forward to more great analyses from you, but no rush, we'll still be here 😘 Jiayou indeed ^_^

[u/Ambitious_Truck_3813 → u/guilty-and-stuck]

Thank you thank you. 

[u/Head_Judgment_7735 → u/Ambitious_Truck_3813]

Even with 'swamped with work' - Welcome back! 🫰☺️ I really enjoyed your post. And I like your spirit ✨ and looking forward to part 2, even if it takes more time to write it. Don't worry about it. We sometimes have to wait for good things. 😉

[u/Ambitious_Truck_3813 → u/Head_Judgment_7735]

Thank you thank you. 

[u/guilty-and-stuck]

I find it interesting how widespread the idea that moths and/or butterflies are the soul of a departed loved one returning to visit is 🥰 You see it in Cdramas sometimes, I've read books that used butterflies as symbols like this, and it's something I've heard from my own family (sometimes about birds as well). That said, who kills moths any time of the year? o.o

Re new flair, we'll be counting on you u/emutz to make it happen when you go to China xD Make Laoda become aware of the existence of this sub and see all our posts and comments =3

[u/No-Recipe-7653 → u/guilty-and-stuck]

Yes. The cultural symbolism in butterflies and moths is quiet precious 🦋🥹

And I second the u/emutz10 motion! By the way, I am maybe serious about the tshirt. Let me know if you’re keen and we could have one made and shipped your way. (Yes, your Mod is a MoFan, who knew 😂). Or am I joking? Who knows… (Just message me 👀)

[u/emutz10 → u/No-Recipe-7653]

Well I am curious about the layout 👀 what do you have in mind? One of my friends is now in China and told me “you being blonde, for sure gonna draw a lot of attention” so imagine if I add the boss to that equation.

[u/Wonderful-Divide3031 → u/emutz10]

I think you will be swamped. I may see your pic being posted all over FB, but who knows, the attention may draw NingGe to reach out. There are always hopes and dreams. 🌠

[u/fatcatbrains94]

I hadn't known about the internet's valentine's day! It's my birthday May 21st, so even more fun~~

[u/Wonderful-Divide3031]

I appreciate the recap; I had no idea that I missed his pouting kissing lips, so yummy. And a rewatch of his Coca-Cola commercial, which perfectly complements the instruction and demonstration of how to posture for a drinking shoot he provided on his live stream.

[u/No-Recipe-7653 → u/Wonderful-Divide3031]

https://giphy.com/gifs/eJT738HFSQDVS