Fans of The Early Spring think Jing Boran's character is based on Chinese singer Liu Lian

Chinese drama The Early Spring is topping Netflix charts in Singapore. The workplace romance drama follows sharp-tongued advertising executive Luan Nian (Jing Boran) and his secret office romance with newcomer Shang Zhitao (Sun Qian).

But as viewers get increasingly invested in the couple, Chinese netizens have started obsessing over how reel life may have found inspiration from real life.

Specifically, is the main character Luan Nian based on award-winning Chinese singer Liu Lian? And they've got facts to back up their theory.

Long before many people knew Liu Lian as a singer, she was working in advertising.

The Peking University graduate joined Ogilvy Beijing as an intern in 2012 after giving up the opportunity to pursue postgraduate studies through direct admission.

Her starting salary? 3,500 yuan (US$521) a month.

Liu Lian eventually worked her way up to creative director and remained with the advertising giant until 2022.

Sound familiar?

Luan Nian is also a senior creative at a major advertising agency, the fictitious Lime Advertising.

And like Liu Lian, he has ties to Peking University.

Then comes the detail that really sent netizens down the rabbit hole.

Liu Lian has a Samoyed named Taotao.

In The Early Spring, Taotao happens to be Shang Zhitao's nickname.

To add to that, Shang Zhitao also owns a Samoyed in the drama, though hers is called Luke.

The comparisons eventually reached Liu Lian herself. While chatting with actress Wang Gege on a podcast, she addressed the theory with amusement.

"I really want to ask the original author. Am I actually the inspiration?" she joked.

And The Early Spring has apparently done more than make Liu Lian wonder whether parts of her life somehow ended up in a drama.

It's also resurrected an old group chat. According to Liu Lian, the chat with her former Ogilvy colleagues had been practically dead for years.

Then The Early Spring became a hit and everyone suddenly started digging out and sharing old photos from their advertising days.

While working at Ogilvy, Liu Lian formed a vocal jazz duo called Mr Miss with fellow Peking University alumnus Du Kai.

Their debut album won Best Vocal Group at the 28th Golden Melody Awards, in a category that also included Power Station and Grasshopper.

Liu was later named to Forbes China's 30 Under 30 list in 2018 and gained wider recognition after appearing on the third season of Sisters Who Make Waves in 2022.

Chinese media have also reported that Ogilvy kept her position open while she took unpaid leave as her entertainment career took off, leading some netizens to nickname her "Ogilvy's walking advertisement".

So, is she the real-life Luan Nian? For now, there's no confirmation that Liu Lian inspired the character.