Chinese billionaire Zhou Hongyi makes acting debut in drama about CEO falling for cleaning lady

According to Jiupai News, the drama, titled "Reigniting Life: The Hidden Hacker Stunning the World", features Zhou as the leader of a hacker alliance who invests 100 billion yuan (US$13.78 billion) into an AI project led by the main characters.

Chinese billionaire Zhou Hongyi. Photo from Weibo

The film follows the story of a powerful corporate chairman's son who works incognito under his father’s orders and secretly falls in love with a cleaning lady, who turns out to be his father’s former high school classmate. Zhou’s character also performs action scenes, which caught the attention of younger audiences. The drama mixes romance with workplace themes, including start-ups and AI development.

Produced by Zhou’s company, the drama was quickly written in one day and filmed in just two days. It garnered significant attention on video platforms, rapidly gaining thousands of views, with some viewers praising its humor and engaging plot, while others criticized its exaggerated scenes.

The tech billionaire previously shared in an interview that he prefers short dramas featuring dominant CEOs, a genre that has become increasingly popular on video platforms. "I don’t watch TV shows; I watch short series about dominant CEOs," he remarked.

Zhou, 54, has an estimated net worth of US$3.1 billion, according to Forbes.