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This is an interesting development for Tong Yao fans. Previously, in an effort to do a complete retrospective of her work, I tried to download all the episodes of My Spicy Girlfriend 转身遇到你 (premiere 2016) for archival. It proved to be a difficult task. By the time I tried, sources were scarce and while I did end up getting a copy of the drama series, the quality of the video was poor. The resolution was pretty lousy and the audio wasn't in sync. My curiosity about this drama, however, was dampened by the video quality.
BUT... wait! It seems that iQiyi has acquired the rights, given it a new English title (Encounter with You), and quietly released it on their platform on 8 Sept.
While I did see some news of it floating around on Weibo, I was too busy to look deeper. But now that the series has been released for streaming, I took some time to see if this was just a domestic release. Happily for international fans, it’s available globally with multiple subtitles, including English.
There is one catch: it looks like they’ve only released it on the iQiyi app and website,and I suspect they may only make a few episodes free before placing the rest behind a paywall. This means that if you want to watch this series easily, you'll have to pay for at least one month of iQiyi. I’ll be subscribing myself eventually so I can finally enjoy this drama in good quality.
UPDATE (10th Sept) - A quick update on the iQiyi release:
It looks like, at least on the international app, they're releasing the drama series for free, at least for a while. According to the app, non-VIP members get two new episodes every Monday to Tuesday—that's two episodes a week. So, if you're not willing to subscribe, you can still watch this series slowly. Just be sure to keep up with the releases, because sometimes they will lock the early episodes for VIPs after they've been released to non-VIPs.
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I guess the leads of this drama have gathered enough fans since its original release to make this move worthwhile for iQiyi. No complaints from me, though. I only hope streaming platforms will continue to dig up more of Tong Yao’s older dramas and make them accessible online. Some are admittedly too niche to attract younger or international audiences, but one can always hope. 😀
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