In May 2025, after finishing filming *Big Things in a Small Town*, Zhao Liying suddenly disappeared from the public eye.

She’s nowhere to be seen at fashion events or on variety shows, and she’s even deactivated her social media accounts.

For a while, speculation ran rampant: Some guessed she had gotten back together with Feng Shaofeng, others said she was pregnant with her second child, and still others claimed she had started a new relationship.

Faced with all the talk, she remained silent.

If being a top influencer doesn’t make her any money, what’s the point?

From a bit player to a top star, Zhao Liying was once widely recognized as a “workaholic.”

But just when her career was at its peak, she hit the pause button.

She turned down 23 commercial endorsements and politely declined offers for eight popular period romance dramas, locking herself in the rehearsal room to study the facial expressions and movements of historical figures.

Someone did the math: just from endorsements and TV series alone, she lost out on at least several hundred million.

What’s she after?