Liu Yu Ning and Liu Tao’s ‘Be Your Own Light’ 2-Year Anniversary gets new character visuals to celebrate
Michelle Topham 
It is two years to the day today since Liu Yu Ning and Liu Tao’s romance drama Be Your Own Light premiered on YOUKU.
In celebration, the streaming platform just dropped five character visuals and a celebratory poster to commemorate the Chinese drama’s anniversary.
For those who haven’t yet watched it, the drama stars Liu Yu Ning, Liu Tao, Qin Hai Lu and Chai Bi Yun, with an excellent supporting cast that includes Zhang Duo, Yu Cong, Liu Xu, Dai Gao Zheng and Tan Kai.
And yep, it’s a tad different than Liu Yu Ning’s more usual historical romance dramas, but no less interesting. (Ignore the low 7.6 out of 10 rating on My Drama List, as Be Your Own Light is a much better drama than the people rating it on that platform would have you believe).
As modern-day dramas go, if you enjoy a more female-centric drama about women who don’t always make the right choices, for themselves or with each other, Be Your Own Light is a more mature but absolutely solid watch.
Even if Liu Yu Ning doesn’t get as much screen time (damn!) as the three female leads.
If you haven’t yet watched Be Your Own Light (and I don’t blame you, as I just started watching it this week right off Liu Yu Ning’s superb hit series A Dream Within a Dream), its plot goes like this:
He Huan encounters a series of devastating events—her husband flees, leaving behind massive debt, her career suffers a major setback, and her mother falls seriously ill—plunging her to the lowest point in her life. Encouraged by friends, she initially feels lost but soon faces all challenges with resilience, starting over from scratch.
With wisdom and sincerity, He Huan overcomes the difficulties of securing medical treatment for her mother and the relentless pressure from creditors. Staying true to her passion and determination, she quickly rises from an entry-level call center operator to a program host, reclaiming her career peak and becoming her own light.
After achieving her personal dreams, He Huan and her colleagues begin actively exploring the transformation of traditional media into integrated media. With the help of online influencer Jiang Junhao, she dives into the trends of the times, successfully launching her own media platform before dedicating herself to the integrated media development of the TV station.
Just as her career flourishes, He Huan faces a new emotional crossroads.
Her husband’s selfishness and cruelty have forged her clarity and independence, while her relationship with Jiang Junhao evolves from aversion, suspicion, and doubt into understanding, empathy, admiration, and respect.
And, by the way, when you do watch Be Your Own Light, just take a note of how young Liu Yu Ning looks in it.
Even though it was filmed between June 22nd and November4th, 2022, and he was already 32-years-old.
The 40-episode C-drama originally aired between July 17th and August 4th, 2023, but is still streaming on YOUKU for VIP subscribers.
For non-subscribers who don’t want to pay for a YOUKU subscription right now, you can also watch Be Your Own Light via this playlist on YOUKU’s YouTube channel for free.
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