General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20265 min read

Love You Seven Times (七时吉祥)

Love You Seven Times (七时吉祥) is a 2023 Chinese costume fantasy light comedy television series adapted from the novel Yi Shi Chongdong, Qi Shi Buxiang (一时冲动，七世不祥) by Jiu Lu Fei Xiang (九鹭非香), starring Yang Chaoyue as the fairy Xiang Yun and Ding Yuxi as the immortal Chu Kong, whose tangled red string of fate binds them into seven lifetimes of love tribulations.¹ It was produced by iQIYI and Hengxing Yinli (恒星引力), directed by Li Nan with Du Lin as co-director, and streamed exclusively on iQIYI in 38 episodes from August 10 to August 30, 2023.²^•³

Key fact	Detail
Original title / English title	七时吉祥 / Love You Seven Times¹
Source novel	Yi Shi Chongdong, Qi Shi Buxiang (一时冲动，七世不祥) by Jiu Lu Fei Xiang¹
Format	38 episodes, about 42 minutes each; xianxia fantasy romance light comedy³^•⁴
Lead cast	Yang Chaoyue (Xiang Yun), Ding Yuxi (Chu Kong); supporting cast includes Yang Haoyu, Xing Ze, Dong Xuan, Lin Borui, Lu Yuxiao⁴^•³
Broadcast	iQIYI exclusive, August 10 to August 30, 2023²^•³
Pre-release interest	Over 6.2 million in-platform viewing reservations; Weibo topic reads above 1.4 billion before launch²
Japanese release	Shichi-ji Kichijō ~Endless Love~ (七時吉祥～エンドレス・ラブ～); DVD boxes released March 5, April 2, and May 2, 2025⁵

Spoilers

Premise

The story begins in the celestial bureau of marriage. Xiang Yun was originally a cloud, transformed into a low-powered fairy by Yuelao, the god of marriage, and set to tend the red strings of fate in his pavilion. Chu Kong, a disciple under the Maori Star Lord, wanders into the pavilion, is mistaken for an intruder, breaks Xiang Yun's fan, and in the ensuing quarrel the two tangle the red strings, throwing marriages across the three realms into chaos. The Jade Emperor punishes them by sending them to the mortal world to undergo seven lifetimes of love tribulations before they may return to heaven.⁶

The drama changes the male lead's setup from the novel. In the book, the two leads are minor immortals, described as "two office workers of the immortal realm," whose bickering romance stays small in scale. The series makes Chu Kong an ancient war god who, 30,000 years after defeating the demon Canghai, must descend to undergo trials of love to heal his damaged yuanshen (origin spirit), with Xiang Yun as his chosen tribulation partner and a hidden identity of her own hinted at.⁷ The Japanese synopsis likewise describes the war god Chu Kong descending for reincarnation training to heal his unhealed origin spirit, and the pair living through varied lives across seven incarnations, including a pig and a white tiger, childhood betrothed couples, a cult leader and his disciple, and a married couple whose souls swap bodies.⁵

Production and format

The series was produced by iQIYI's Taoluqi studio in partnership with Hengxing Yinli, with Li Nan and Du Lin directing and a screenwriting team led by Li Lisha and Xu Hong.² Filming began with a ceremony at Hengdian World Studios on February 25, 2022.⁸ iQIYI positioned it in its "Lianlian Theater" (恋恋剧场) romance slate for the 2023 summer season.²

A distinctive device is the "infinite flow" (无限流) structure borrowed from script-kill games: one couple unlocks seven successive romance "dungeons" or scenario copies, each a self-contained mortal-world story, on the way to resolving a crisis across the six realms.² The production leaned on bright, ornate design; the China Literature and Art Critics association report notes that Xiang Yun's makeup drew on Tang dynasty court-lady painting, and that the series paid attention to detail in its small scenario worlds, character growth, and ensemble figures.⁹

Cast

Yang Chaoyue, a debut member of the Chinese edition of Produce 101 turned actress, plays Xiang Yun; Ding Yuxi, known for The Romance of Tiger and Rose, plays Chu Kong.⁵ Other named roles include Xiu Ming (Xing Ze), Jin Lian (Lin Borui), Zi Hui (Zhai Xiangyang), Ying Shi (Zhang Xuehan), Jin Luo (Lu Yuxiao), Hong Xianweng (Yang Haoyu), Jie Zhen (Dong Xuan), the Heavenly Emperor Hao Xuan (Zhang Xiaochen), Wan Jun (Hai Lu), Song Qinwen (Zheng Guolin), and Lu Liang (Yu Bo).³ Yang Haoyu is credited as a special lead, with Dong Xuan, Hai Lu, Zheng Guolin, Yu Bo, and He Wenjun in special appearances.⁶

Reception

Expectations before release were high. The series was widely framed as a successor to Love Between Fairy and Devil (苍兰诀), which came from the same production company, the same author's IP, and a similar light-comedy register, and pre-launch reservations passed 6.2 million with six advertisers attached.¹⁰

The outcome fell short of that expectation. Heat on iQIYI's internal index broke 8000 on premiere day and then declined; through its first week the series ranked third in streaming-market share data and fourth on Maoyan's all-platform heat list, and its in-platform heat never passed 9000, even with a cast appearance alongside fans during an added-release day.¹⁰^•¹¹ Critics identified specific weaknesses: tonal whiplash between comedy and melodrama, loose plotting, and a shift from the novel's small-scale charm toward stock noble-identity and war-god tropes.¹⁰^•⁷ A China Art News review cited in coverage was more positive, crediting the drama's attention to detail in its scenario worlds and ensemble characterization.¹²

The series also drew a copyright dispute: the official Weibo account of Qin's Moon (秦时明月), the 2007 3D animated series made by Hangzhou Xuanji Technology, issued a statement saying the production had not obtained any authorization for its music, footage, or props and reserved the right to pursue legal liability.¹²

In December 2023 the series received the "Outstanding Web Drama of the Year" (年度优秀网络剧) designation in the "TV Landmark" (TV地标) survey of television and online audiovisual media.¹³

International release

The series streams on iQIYI's international site with subtitles in more than a dozen languages, 4K resolution, and Dolby audio.⁴ In Japan it was released as 七時吉祥～エンドレス・ラブ～ (Endless Love), with DVD box sets issued on March 5, April 2, and May 2, 2025.⁵

References

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026