It was recently revealed that the cup of hot tea that actor Ding Yuxi caught with his bare hand in a scene in “The Road to Splendour” was actually the real deal.

Ancy Deng, the actress who played the female lead Fu Tingyun, shared this particular titbit in a recent livestream when speaking about the scene, in which Ding’s character Zhao Ling hurriedly caught the hot cup with his bare hand so as not to alert the servants outside while he was holding Fu Tingyun hostage.

Said Ancy, the production team had originally prepared room-temperature water as a substitute prop. However, it was Ding who suggested replacing the cold water with hot water so that his physical reaction would appear more authentic.

Ancy Deng: Ding Yuxi really did catch a cup of hot tea!, DingYuxi, TheRoadtoSplendour, theHive.Asia, catch tea 1
The cup was actually filled with hot tea

She stated that the steam that appeared in the footage when the series aired was not a post-production special effect, but rather a real scene from the set. 

Meanwhile, in response to the public’s surprise over his dedication, the actor remained low-key, saying that he simply wanted to make the scene as convincing as possible and had never intended to highlight how difficult the filming process was.

He also said that he has always followed the acting philosophy of “truly listening, truly seeing and truly feeling.”

Ancy Deng: Ding Yuxi really did catch a cup of hot tea!, DingYuxi, TheRoadtoSplendour, theHive.Asia, 2 stars 2
Ding Yuxi and Ancy Deng play the leads in the drama

(Photo Source: Oriental Daily, SINA)