While local actor Jeremy Chan is not in upcoming drama Emerald Hill, his presence is certainly felt among the cast members.

So much so that Taiwanese actor Hsiu Chieh-kai, who plays the Zhang family's second son Jinhe and husband to Li Shuqin, played by Jesseca Liu, felt that he is closer to him.

Speaking to AsiaOne during a set visit in Melaka from July 20 to 22, the 41-year-old shared: "Most of my scenes in the drama were filmed with Jesseca, who is a professional actress. And her husband Jeremy is very cute. In fact, it felt like we had filmed many shows together! We became close quite quickly and can chat about many topics."

He added that Jeremy has a very "cheerful" personality and they became "familiar" with each other quickly.

Chieh-kai also told AsiaOne in an interview in May, before he started filming Emerald Hill, that he hoped to build chemistry with the 45-year-old actress through "good food".

He told us in Melaka that while he was mostly brought to eat local delicacies by the other veteran actresses in the show, he and Jesseca had developed their chemistry over time through filming together.

Emerald Hill centres around Zhang Xinniang, who roams the streets with her adoptive mother Ah Zhu (Chen Liping), cheating others to survive.

When Xinniang is around 10 years old, Ah Zhu brings her to the wealthy Zhang family living on Emerald Hill and claims that she is Jinhe (Chieh-kai) and Shuqin's (Jesseca) long-lost daughter Anya.

As Xinniang (Tasha Low) grows up in the family, she secretly remains in contact with Ah Zhu, sometimes stealing things for her, unaware that Shuqin knows of her deeds and that she is not the real Anya.

When asked if Jeremy would be visiting them in Melaka, Jesseca said he wouldn't, adding that he has just started filming a new drama.

She shared that while they were filming in Singapore previously, the 43-year-old actor would drive her to work every day and mingle with the actors and crew members in the make-up room.

"He was also present whenever we had a gathering and would be in the photos that everyone posted. Some netizens were quite puzzled and thought that he also acted in Emerald Hill," Jesseca said with a laugh.

So could there be a possibility for the audience to see Jeremy in a cameo role in the drama?

"Most likely not," she said, adding that he is focused on his new drama now.

In an episode of Just Swipe Lah released on July 19, most of the actors of Emerald Hill, including Chieh-kai and Jesseca, were in a dance practice where they had to learn the ronggeng to perform for a scene.

Ronggeng is a traditional dance, often accompanied by singing or an exchange of poetic verses, that is used as a medium for social interaction.

Chieh-kai shared that it was a "disastrous" experience for him.

"I am an 'idiot' in dancing… I found out that my brothers [in the drama] were all the same, we have no talent in it, and I was the worst!" he laughed.

Despite that, he shared that it was still quite fitting for his character, as Jinhe is a reserved person.

Jesseca shared that they only had a two-hour session to learn the dance moves before the actual day of filming, and she was "very stiff" during the lesson.

"I felt uneasy and wasn't sure what I was doing," she said.

To prepare herself, Jesseca practised at home—with Jeremy as her dance partner.

"He knew the moves once I showed him the video and grasped it immediately… He would practise with me and teach me how to dance. We rehearsed for a few days at home, whenever we had time, we would ronggeng!" she laughed.

Watch out for more of our E-Junkies videos with the actors of Emerald Hill in Melaka and Batu Pahat!

Emerald Hill also stars Zoe Tay, Chen Liping, Dawn Yeoh, Aileen Tan, Chen Huihui, Chantalle Ng, Romeo Tan, Elvin Ng and Priscelia Chan, with Jeanette Aw reprising her role as Yamamoto Yueniang from The Little Nyonya, and the series is expected to premiere in the first half of 2025.

yeo.shuhui@asiaone.com

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