Short Drama Daily Top 10 — May 24, 2026

Three May 22 debuts crashed the chart overnight. ENEMY is gone. And 沉乔未晚 (Shen Qiao Wei Wan) became the fastest-climbing title this month, jumping straight to #2 in 24 hours on 197 万 pre-orders.

Source: Hongguo 热播榜 (heat index), snapshot captured May 23–24, 2026. 1 2 3

The 8188 万 score on day 9 is 620 万 below the day 8 peak of 8808 万 but still well above the titles below it — a gap of roughly 1700 万 between first and second place. That's an unusually wide margin for this late in a drama's run. 4

The premise drives the staying power: full-time wife Shen Yanxin discovers her husband is cheating with their son's tutor, quietly collects evidence, divorces him, and re-enters the workforce. Audiences keep returning because the script doesn't resolve the emotional fallout instantly — the ex-husband's arc keeps the viewer unsettled. The 孟娜 × 沉思 third pairing after 漫长觊觎 earns repeat viewers who want the prior installment's emotional debts settled.

The show already crossed 10 billion cumulative plays on May 22 (day 7). 1

197 万 pre-orders before premiere — the second-highest of the May class — and then 7542 万 heat by end of day 2. That's a faster opening velocity than 爱在久别重逢时's own first two days. 5

The setup is: media professional Shen Yiqiao has kept a quiet crush on Zhou Chen for years. A convenient-marriage arrangement brings them into the same household. Then her ex, tennis star Xiang Zhinan, returns from overseas and starts re-entering the picture. The show runs three-way tension without a clear villain — the ex is likable, the husband is devoted, and the lead knows what she wants but won't say it.

郭宇欣's reputation for chemistry-heavy performances after 沉乔未晚 has been tracking well across fan communities since announcement. The pre-order count placed this title in the week's most-watched conversation before episode one aired. The chart entry at #2 confirms the pre-orders converted to actual views.

A sequel picking up the Chen Hansheng timeline. 122 episodes is long for this format — most Hongguo top-10 titles run 60–90 eps. The length signals the production team believes the original's fanbase will sustain a slow build. 6

The opening heat of 6671 万 on day 2 is the strongest debut of any sequel currently on the chart. Three leads split the romantic triangle across Shanghai and overseas, which keeps the plot from settling — the drama's emotional engine is delay, not resolution.

Still holding at day 12, though it's slipping by roughly 1000 万 per day from its 8478 万 peak at launch. The 63-episode structure is working in its favour — shorter runs maintain episode urgency better than sprawling formats, and viewers who started at premiere are near the end now, keeping daily replays high.

This is the first time Li Keyi and Zhang Chi have been paired. The premise — contract girlfriend hired to fend off arranged marriage, who keeps her "get paid and leave" attitude intact while the boss quietly defects — has generated a specific audience who clip the non-romantic scenes for the comedic timing rather than the romance.

The highest-ranked AI-animated title on today's chart — the only 漫剧 in the top five. The title (Mountains and Seas Conceal Ruins; Blindness That Spies on Heaven) signals dense lore rather than the light comedic register of earlier AI titles on this chart. What limited information is available suggests an action-heavy xianxia setting.

Its presence at #5 over multiple live-action competitors continues the pattern of AI-animated titles reliably holding mid-chart positions since Hongguo merged its live-action/漫剧 leaderboard in April 2026. 7

Co-produced with Tencent Video and shot on-location in Shunde (Foshan), which gives it a texture unusual for platform-native short dramas — real market exteriors, real light. The premise pairs an elementary school teacher with a fish shop owner who's also a single father; the story runs on misread character rather than misunderstanding plot. 8

黑泽, cast as the fish vendor, drew significant commentary for a physical presence unusual in the Hongguo male lead roster — tanned, not styled into the default boyband silhouette. The heat on day 5 at 6191 万 suggests the show is holding its audience past the initial curiosity spike. The title is adapted from a Douban novel of the same name.

One of the 520 premiere-class titles that has converted its 140 万 pre-orders into a sustained mid-chart position. Lidocaine — a local anesthetic — gives the title its metaphor: love as something that numbs pain while surgery proceeds underneath. The lead escapes a forced marriage by attaching herself to a higher-status figure; the script runs on danger and proximity rather than sweetness. 1

Adapted from a 番茄小说 original. The darker-register source material is visible in the heat structure: 5840 万 at day 5 is a slower slope than the top-four titles but unusually steady compared to tonally similar titles.

The premise: on their wedding day, the groom refuses to comply with the bride's family's escalating cash demands — having already paid 880,000 yuan in bride price — and walks out. The bride's side files a complaint to frame him for assault. He's acquitted, then ends up with a woman who tried to stop the scheme.

This is the clearest case on the chart of audience identification replacing romance as the engagement driver. The plot is less about the couple than about watching an absurd extortion scenario get dismantled with procedural satisfaction. The high heat without an obvious star cast suggests the premise itself is carrying shares that typical romance titles need a celebrity name to pull. 1

The original trajectory of 蔡欣洋 (male lead of 错嫁有喜) holding a second consecutive top-10 title is now confirmed. 将军请自重 premiered while 错嫁有喜 was still charting, meaning 听花岛 held two roster positions simultaneously. 9

The plot has a structural twist from the standard arranged-marriage formula: the original groom dies before the wedding, and the female lead spends three years as a de-facto widow running a bean curd stall before the dead man's younger brother — now a decorated general — returns and insists on marrying her. The guilt and devotion are pre-established; the audience doesn't wait for the leads to fall in love. They're already there before episode one.

A system-activation revenge fantasy: transmigrator discovers he's the discarded eighteenth prince, gets framed for border wars, activates a "sovereign skill system," and systematically neutralizes the princes who harmed him on his way to becoming regent. 63 episodes, already concluded. The chart appearance likely reflects algorithm re-surfacing after cumulative play volume crossed a threshold. 10

May 22 as a launch slate, not a single premiere. Three titles debuted on May 22 — 沉乔未晚, 我真没想重生啊 2, and likely 复燃 (邓灵枢 / 王凯沐, workplace-reunion) — and two of them entered the top three simultaneously. That's the May 20 pattern repeating: on both dates, three debuts landed close enough together in heat to compress the chart mid-section and displace incumbents in a single day. 退婚强嫁九千岁 and 将军请自重 both sat in positions #3–4 on May 23; both are gone or pushed to the margin today. The bottleneck isn't making a hit — it's surviving the next launch cluster.

ENEMY exits at 24 days. The indie title held the chart from its viral social spike in late April through May 24. That's an unusually long tail for a title with zero traditional promotion, and it did it by charting on heat scores typically reserved for cast-driven releases. Its exit frees up a structural slot that has now been claimed by 结婚那天, another title without a marquee cast — which suggests Hongguo viewers are receptive to premise-driven formats when the hook lands immediately.

The top-four score compression is gone. On May 23, positions #1 through #4 were within a 2500 万 range. Today, #1 stands alone at 8188 万 while #2 is at 7542 万 — a 646 万 gap — and positions #4 through #10 are packed within a 586 万 range. The chart is bifurcating: one title significantly above the field, and then a dense competitive cluster for the remaining nine spots.