Today, she definitely counts as a 2nd tier+ young popular actress. The reason she hasn't jumped to the top tier yet is because she hasn't gotten a good leading lady role. After all, she's been attending school while acting; achieving her current results is already quite impressive. Who dares to hope for a hit drama as the leading lady!
Over the past few years, the actors who've collaborated with Hua Yan have increased in number and quality, but she's only ever had romantic rumors with Ling Yao. She never accepts CP pairings with other male actors. Though Ling Yao's popularity isn't as high as Hua Yan's and he hasn't won as many awards, he has top-notch education in the entertainment circle. He enrolled in the computer science master's and PhD programs at Harvard University last August, returning for two months of vacation each year to accompany her.
