First Frost fans react as lead star Bai Jingting trades love for bloodshed in new show, 'Ready for the villain era'

For those who just eased into Chinese dramas with First Frost, and fell in love with Bai Jingting’s Sang Yan, an earnest ‘green flag’ as Gen Z would like to term it, you might be in for a rude shock with his next project, Justifiable Defense. He has traded in the adoring, yearning glances for knives and blood. And if a thriller is more your style, Jingting is ready to serve. And fans, are ready to take whatever he dishes.

Senior prosecutor Duan Hong Shan from the city prosecutor’s office takes on a complex case involving a woman accused of killing her husband in response to long-term domestic abuse. To assist with the investigation, young prosecutor Fang Ling Yuan from the provincial prosecutor’s office is brought in.

As they dig deeper, the case reveals unexpected ties to a controversial incident from fourteen years earlier, one involving excessive self-defense on a school campus, a case Duan Hong Shan himself had handled. That incident involved Li Mu Feng, Mei Zheng, and Jiang Ting. Jingting plays Mu Feng.

Guided by the law and grounded in facts, the two prosecutors carefully navigate the delicate balance between natural justice, human emotion, and legal principles. Together, they work toward a fair and conclusive resolution.

Fans are thrilled to see Jingting step into his 'villain era.’ With scenes showing him delivering sharp, restrained performances in court — and even stabbing without hesitation — many are eager to witness the full extent of his acting range. Some viewers have even drawn visual parallels to his role in First Frost, noting the familiar image of him standing with an umbrella — a motif echoed in this series as well.

Longtime fans aren’t surprised by his versatility. After all, he proved his acting chops in the mind-bending, time-loop drama Reset.