Here's Why C-Drama Stars, Merxat and Dilraba On-Screen Love Team Did not Take Off

In most cases, C-drama and K-drama, do not have a trend of "love teams", a condition in which the pairing between an actor and an actress is buildup by talent agencies or entertainment networks as on-screen love team.  And as on-screen couples, they are frequently paired in a drama as lovers. 

Dilraba and Merxat in The Backlight of Love (2015)

However, there are some instances when C-drama and K-drama stars are being paired frequently in a drama as lovers. Although it does not mean launching them as "love teams", nonetheless, there are pairings that often gather a strong fanbase. 

Dilraba and Merxat in The Backlight of Love

In C-drama, this pairing is commonly known as CP or "coupling". And as crazy as it may sound, these on-screen CPs often attract obsessed fandoms, especially if the "couples" show a strong chemistry.

Merxat and Dilraba in Legend of Ban Zhu

Dilraba Dilmurat is one of the C-Drama actresses who easily develops a "couple" vibe with her partner on-screen. And this unique characteristic makes drama fans  to ship her with her on-screen partner wildly in real life.

Other fans sometimes went too far by creating wild speculations that she's dating her co-star, others spread lies that she's in a relationship with a particular co-star despite having no credible sources or solid evidence with their claims.

But before all these male lead actors came in Dilraba's life, and their wild shippers popped up in the C-fandom, she was once paired with her fellow Uyghur, Merxat Yalkun.

At the start of their respective careers, Dilraba Dilmurat and Merxat Yalkun, were frequently paired as on-screen partners before their respective talent agencies decided to pair them with other celebrities.

Dilraba and Merxat in Legend of Ban Zhu

They appeared as couples in two dramas, The Backlight of Love (2015) and Legend of Ban Zhu (2015). They both appeared in Cosmetology High (2014) but Dilraba had only a guesting role there.

Dilraba and Merxat in Legend of Ban Zhu

There are so many reasons why Dilraba and Merxat look perfect for each other  as on-screen love team. Apart from being batchmates at Shanghai Theater Academy. 

Dilraba and Merxat in Cosmetology High

They are both good-looking who possessed subtle Central Asian features, with piercing eyes and long pointed nose. 

They also have a lot in common. Both Uyghurs who were born and raised in Urumqi, Xinjiang. And they were batchmates at Shanghai Theatre Academy and part of class 2014.

So why their CP didn't take off?

After Legend of Ban Zhu, they had no further drama collaboration and nothing was heard about their team-up since then.

We have seen two reasons that triggered the demise of their CP.

1. They have such a negative impression in The Backlight of Love because of the drama's loveless storyline, thus their CP failed to capture supporters. They have no established rapport there. They have limited exposure as couples. Merxat portrayed a negative character there. 
2. They signed contracts with different talent agencies in 2014. Dilraba with Jaywalk studio while Merxat with Huanyu Entertainment. Usually, when a drama is produced by a certain talent studio or a television/streaming network that has a tie up with a talent studio, they will enlist contract stars of that specific talent agency. Which made Dilraba and Merxat unlikely to be paired ever again. Although there are some instances where the production gets another contract star from a different talent agency or studio to cast in a drama, the decision is based on many things - script, role, availability of schedules or skills of the performer required in the story.

Both Dilraba and Merxat have good visuals. They are both attractive, talented, great acting skills, and have distinct charisma on-screen as a couple. 

They only need a good script to attract supporters of their CP, and right marketing tools to promote the pairing. Perhaps, someday, they will collaborate again in another drama.