SINGAPORE – It has been 15 years since the Channel 8 blockbuster drama The Little Nyonya, and its heart-throb Dai Xiangyu feels the passage of time.

The 38-year-old actor – previously known as Dai Yangtian – who played Japanese photographer Yousuke Yamamoto in the original Mediacorp version that aired from 2008 to 2009 and the Chinese remake in 2020. He returned to his home country of China in 2011 to establish a career there.

He is based in Beijing with his Chinese actress wife Chen Zihan (New Life Begins, 2022).

The former Mediacorp artiste tells The Straits Times in Mandarin, at an event to promote his new Chinese period drama Sisterhood on Monday: “I bumped into (local host) Quan Yifeng’s daughter (23-year-old actress Eleanor Lee) at an event in China recently. She greeted me and I was taken aback. I remember seeing her as a tiny little girl, and she’s all grown up now. I really felt how time flies.“

Dai’s trip to Singapore this time is his first visit in four years.

When asked if he plans to catch up with his former co-stars, he admits candidly that he is not in touch with any local actors.

He says: “I don’t really make friends with other actors because it’s a complicated circle to be in. But I’m pretty sentimental, and I remember everyone I work with, including all the directors I worked with in Singapore. When I can, I do ask after people I know and check in on what they’re doing now.”

An exception, however, is his Sisterhood co-star – Chinese actress Xiao Yan, or Yelena Shaw, 26. The duo are playing a couple again in the new series premiering on Tuesday on iQiyi International, after portraying one in The Little Nyonya remake.

She says their chemistry and friendship made Sisterhood an easier shoot. “I’ll call him up if I have any questions about the series to ask for his opinion. We also discussed our characters and their dynamic beforehand, so it was very easy to get into character once we were on set.”

When asked if he lets his wife know about any intimate scenes he has to shoot, Dai shakes his head. He has been married to Chen, 45, since 2016 and the couple do not plan on having children.

“There’s no need to report to her about anything. We’re all professionals,” he says.

Shaw, who is in Singapore for the first time, says with a laugh: “There aren’t really any intimate scenes anyway. We’re playing a couple, but it’s not really the kind of story with a lot of kisses and physical touches.”

Instead, Sisterhood is centred on the story of samsui women who sailed from their hometown of Sanshui in Guangdong to seek work as manual labourers in 1930s Singapore. Shaw plays the protagonist, a samsui woman who develops a romance with Dai’s 25-year-old gangster character. The drama, which took six months to film in Chinese cities Shanghai and Haikou, recreated old Singapore, especially Chinatown and Tofu Street, with physical sets.

The series is produced by GHY Culture & Media and supported by Infocomm Media Development Authority and Studios Film Office’s Film in Malaysia Incentive Plus.

To prepare for the series, Shaw visited Sanshui a month before filming began to visit the port these women would set sail from and the temple they prayed at before leaving. Shaw felt little external pressure portraying unique stories of early Singaporeans, be it Nonyas or samsui women.

“There were some audience comments during The Little Nyonya about how I didn’t look ‘nanyang‘ (a Chinese term referring to South-east Asia) enough for the show, but I don’t take them to heart. I’m quite happy-go-lucky in that I don’t think too much about ratings or reception. I just do my best and focus on creating my character and a good story,” she says.

Dai feels the same about playing someone more than an entire zodiac cycle younger than him.

He shrugs and says: “Well, I was approached for the role, right? You can’t really age the character up either. He’s meant to be somewhere in his 20s.”

Perhaps Dai does not feel the pressure because he looks almost the same as when he first debuted, even without taking particular care of his skin.

He declares: “I don’t understand why I need to take care of my skin. I don’t even use sunscreen. Why would I? I think a man has his charms at every age.”

Sisterhood premieres on iQiyi International on Tuesday.