in may 2016, lay starred in the chinese television drama "the mystic nine", a prequel to "the lost tomb". the series achieved an unprecedented success, placing first in the television ratings and establishing a record for obtaining several online visits within 24 hours, and has accumulated more than ten billion visits in total. the television series went on to have a secondary story called "the mystic nine side story: flowers bloom" in february, which focused solely on lay's character, er yue hong.