Esther Yu Dramas: All 13 Yu Shuxin (虞书欣) Series Ranked
2026-04-30
Which Esther Yu drama should you watch first? Every Yu Shuxin (虞书欣) lead and major role from 2018 to Road to Success (2026), ranked with MyDramaList and Douban scores, where to stream each in the US, and the two iQIYI dramas she has coming next.
Esther Yu is the English name of Yu Shuxin (虞书欣, Yú Shūxīn), the Shanghai-born actress best known as Xiao Lanhua in Love Between Fairy and Devil. Since her first leading role in 2018 she has headlined or co-led thirteen dramas, from campus romances to xianxia epics to a small-town football story. This guide ranks all of them, explains where she came from, and tracks what she is filming next.
Esther Yu at a Glance
- Chinese name: 虞书欣 (Yú Shūxīn)
- Born: 18 December 1995, Shanghai
- Studied: LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore
- Acting debut: Border Town Prodigal (新边城浪子), broadcast 2016, as Qing She (青蛇)
- First leading role: Youth (最亲爱的你, 2018, Youku)
- Idol debut: finished 2nd on Youth With You 2 (青春有你2, iQIYI, 2020) and debuted in the girl group THE9, which disbanded in December 2021
- Most popular drama: Love Between Fairy and Devil (苍兰诀, 2022), Douban 8.2 from more than 840,000 votes
- Latest drama: Road to Success (灿如繁星, iQIYI), which premiered 5 July 2026
- Next: Yunchu's Vengeance (云初令) and Nian Xiang Si (念相思), both iQIYI, no air dates yet
What Does 虞书欣 Mean?
Her name reads character by character like this:
- 虞 (Yú) is the surname. It is an old family name, the same character as in Yu Ji (虞姬), the consort of Xiang Yu in the story behind Farewell My Concubine.
- 书 (shū) means book, writing or learning.
- 欣 (xīn) means glad or joyful, the character in 欣欣向荣 (xīn xīn xiàng róng), "flourishing and thriving".
Put together, 书欣 suggests something like "joy in learning." Chinese given names are chosen for the sound and feel of their characters rather than as fixed phrases, so this is a reading of the characters, not a translation she has given.
Every Esther Yu Drama, Ranked
Rankings use MyDramaList (MDL), the scores English-speaking viewers give, with Douban breaking ties. Douban, the main Chinese review site, is listed alongside. Douban runs well below MDL for every one of her shows, often by 1.5 to 2.5 points, so compare titles within one column rather than across them. Scores were checked in October 2026.
| Rank | Drama | Year | Her role | Co-lead | MDL | Douban |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Love Between Fairy and Devil (苍兰诀) | 2022 | Xiao Lanhua (小兰花) | Dylan Wang (王鹤棣) | 8.7 | 8.2 |
| 2 | Love Game in Eastern Fantasy (永夜星河) | 2024 | Ling Miaomiao (凌妙妙) | Ding Yuxi (丁禹兮) | 8.5 | 7.6 |
| 3 | My Journey to You (云之羽) | 2023 | Yun Weishan (云为衫) | Zhang Linghe (张凌赫) | 8.5 | 6.3 |
| 4 | Speed and Love (双轨) | 2025 | Jiang Mu (姜暮) | He Yu (何与) | 8.4 | 6.7 |
| 5 | Road to Success (灿如繁星) | 2026 | Lin Wanxing (林晚星) | Chen Jingke (陈靖可) | 8.3 | 6.8 |
| 6 | Ski into Love (嘘，国王在冬眠) | 2025 | Wei Zhi (卫枝) | Lin Yi (林一) | 7.9 | 6.1 |
| 7 | Find Yourself (下一站是幸福) | 2020 | Cai Minmin (蔡敏敏), second lead | Song Qian (宋茜), Song Weilong (宋威龙) | 7.9 | 5.9 |
| 8 | Moonlight (月光变奏曲) | 2021 | Chu Li (初礼) | Ding Yuxi (丁禹兮) | n/a | 7.3 |
| 9 | I've Fallen for You (少主且慢行) | 2020 | Tian Sanqi (田三七) | Liu Yichang (刘奕畅) | n/a | 6.7 |
| 10 | Youth (最亲爱的你) | 2018 | Chen Chenchen (陈晨晨) | ensemble | n/a | 6.6 |
| 11 | A Romance of the Little Forest (两个人的小森林) | 2022 | Yu Meiren (虞美人) | Zhang Binbin (张彬彬) | n/a | 6.3 |
| 12 | Sword and Fairy (祈今朝) | 2024 | Yue Qi (越祈) | Xu Kai (许凯) | n/a | 5.0 |
| 13 | My Amazing Boyfriend 2 (我的奇妙男友2之恋恋不忘) | 2019 | Tian Jingzhi (田净植) | Mike Angelo | n/a | n/a |
Titles without an MDL score are ranked by Douban below the ones that have both.
Where to start
Start with Love Between Fairy and Devil. It is her highest-rated drama on both sites and the one that made her a household name. She plays Xiao Lanhua, a lowly orchid spirit who becomes entangled with the Moon Supreme Dongfang Qingcang (Dylan Wang). The show swings between slapstick and real tragedy, and her comic timing carries the first half.
If you liked that, watch Love Game in Eastern Fantasy next. It reunites her with Ding Yuxi, her co-lead from Moonlight, in a story about a woman trapped inside a novel who must steer its doomed characters. It is the closest thing to a spiritual sequel to Love Between Fairy and Devil in her catalog.
For a modern story, try Road to Success or Speed and Love. Both show her outside costume drama and both score above 8 on MDL.
Road to Success (灿如繁星, 2026): Her Latest Drama
Road to Success premiered on 5 July 2026 on iQIYI and ran daily until its VIP finale on 27 July. It has 32 episodes.
She plays Lin Wanxing (林晚星), a psychology PhD who comes home to Hongjing (宏景) after being falsely accused of academic misconduct, and takes a job looking after the sports equipment at Hongjing No. 8 Middle School (宏景八中). There she meets Wang Fa (王法), a former football coach played by Chen Jingke, and the two end up coaching the school's team of misfits. Douban files it under drama and sports, and the Philippine newspaper Tribune called it "a healing drama that happens to use football as its backdrop." It is closer to a coming-of-age team story than a straight romance.
The drama is adapted from the Jinjiang web novel 《狭路》 (Narrow Road) by Chang Er (长洱) and directed by Li Qingrong (李青蓉), who also directed her in Ski into Love. It holds a Douban score of 6.8 from about 79,000 votes and 8.3 on MDL. Its first-day popularity on iQIYI was the platform's best for a modern idol drama in five years, according to the Yangtse Evening Post.
For the full story, see our Road to Success ending explained, the guide to Chinese school football in the drama, and the Road to Success drama hub.
How Her Career Built Up
Supporting roles and a first lead (2016–2019)
Her first screen credit was Qing She in Border Town Prodigal (新边城浪子), filmed in 2015 and broadcast in 2016. Supporting parts in The Advisors Alliance and Ordinary Years followed in 2017. Her first leading role came in the Youku campus ensemble Youth (2018), followed by My Amazing Boyfriend 2 in 2019.
Youth With You 2 and THE9 (2020)
In 2020 she competed on iQIYI's idol survival show Youth With You 2. She finished second in the 30 May final and debuted in the nine-member group THE9, which was active until December 2021. The show turned her into a mainstream name almost overnight, and the same year she played the second lead in Find Yourself, a Hunan TV romance led by Song Qian and Song Weilong.
The breakout (2022)
Love Between Fairy and Devil premiered on iQIYI on 7 August 2022 and became the defining drama of her career, with more than 840,000 Douban ratings. It moved her from idol-turned-actress to one of the most bankable romantic leads in Chinese drama.
An established lead (2023–2026)
Since then she has alternated between costume fantasy and modern stories: My Journey to You (2023), a wuxia romance directed by Guo Jingming with Zhang Linghe; Sword and Fairy (2024) with Xu Kai; the hit Love Game in Eastern Fantasy (2024); the ski romance Ski into Love and the racing drama Speed and Love (both 2025); and Road to Success (2026).
Her My Journey to You co-star went on to lead Pursuit of Jade; see our Zhang Linghe career guide.
Upcoming Esther Yu Dramas
- Yunchu's Vengeance (云初令): an iQIYI period revenge drama in which she plays Yun Chu (云初). Directed by Zhu Ruibin (朱锐斌) and adapted from the novel 《云初令》 by 朝云紫. It began filming in Hengdian in January 2026 and Douban lists 24 episodes. No air date has been announced.
- Nian Xiang Si (念相思), formerly titled 长生骨: an iQIYI xianxia drama with Hou Minghao (侯明昊). She plays He Pan (何盼), a clam spirit, and he plays Rong Chenzi (容尘子). It is adapted from 《神仙肉》 by 一度君华 and began filming in Hengdian on 30 June 2026. No air date has been announced.
Where to Watch Esther Yu Dramas in the US
Availability as of October 2026 (per JustWatch US). Streaming rights change, so check your region:
- Netflix: Love Between Fairy and Devil, Love Game in Eastern Fantasy, Find Yourself, Ski into Love
- Rakuten Viki: Love Between Fairy and Devil, Love Game in Eastern Fantasy, Ski into Love, Speed and Love, Road to Success
- Prime Video: My Journey to You
- WeTV: Love Game in Eastern Fantasy
More: browse the Chinese dramas hub for guides to other series, or learn the Chinese idioms in Road to Success.
Related Chinese Idioms
Similar idioms about success & perseverance
首屈一指
shǒu qū yī zhǐ
Foremost; top-ranked
Learn more →
胸怀大志
xiōng huái dà zhì
Aim high
Learn more →
一呼百应
yī hū bǎi yìng
Influential leadership
Learn more →
勇冠三军
yǒng guàn sān jūn
Unmatched bravery
Learn more →
百里挑一
bǎi lǐ tiāo yī
Exceptional rarity
Learn more →
不辞辛劳
bù cí xīn láo
Tireless dedication
Learn more →
出人头地
chū rén tóu dì
Achieve outstanding success
Learn more →
单枪匹马
dān qiāng pǐ mǎ
Acting single-handed, without help
Learn more →
The Road to Success Universe
More about Road to Success (灿如繁星)
Road to Success (灿如繁星): 11 Chinese Idioms Every Fan Should Know
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Road to Success Chinese Name & Character Names Explained: What 灿如繁星, 林晚星 and 王法 Really Mean
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Why School Football Is a National Sore Point in China — the Real Story Behind Road to Success (灿如繁星)
China invented football — FIFA says so — and has qualified for one World Cup, where it scored zero goals. Here's the 校园足球 campus-football push, why parents resist it, and what Road to Success (灿如繁星) is really about.
Road to Success (灿如繁星) Ending Explained: Is It a Happy Ending? What Happens to Lin Wanxing and Wang Fa
Road to Success (灿如繁星) finale explained: does Hongjing No. 8 win, is Lin Wanxing's name cleared, does Wang Fa stay — and what happens with 黑桃Q. Full spoilers for the 32-episode ending.
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