Actress Rebecca Lim catches Pursuit Of Jade fever during maternity leave, watches it while pumping

SINGAPORE – New mothers know that expressing breast milk daily for their infant can take a while.

For local actress Rebecca Lim, those quiet hours attached to a breast pump have led to an unexpected new obsession: hit C-drama Pursuit Of Jade (2026).

The 39-year-old revealed on her Instagram Stories on June 3 that she has joined the growing ranks of viewers captivated by the period romance and its leading man, Chinese actor Zhang Linghe.

Lim jokingly attributed her newfound fandom to time spent expressing milk for her baby daughter, who was born in early May, giving the Mediacorp star ample opportunity to catch up on episodes of the blockbuster series.

Captioning her post as “daily pumping companions”, Lim shared a photo featuring a tablet playing a scene from Pursuit Of Jade, along with breast pump accessories from home-grown baby care brand Hegen and a brownie from her family’s bakery The Lims’ Kitchen.

But while she may be busy swooning over Zhang’s portrayal of the gentle yet secretly formidable Marquis Xie Zheng, another member of her household has been quietly stealing the spotlight.

Her husband Matthew Webster, 39, recently took to Instagram on May 30 to share family photos that offered fans a rare glimpse of the couple’s second child, including an adorable photo of their two-year-old son hugging his baby sister and kissing her cheek.

Lim, who had previously been candid about the challenges of childbirth and motherhood, appears to be settling in nicely as a mother of two, while also finding time to indulge in a little escapist entertainment.

She is not alone in her belated appreciation of 28-year-old heart-throb Zhang and Pursuit Of Jade, which is still streaming on Netflix and iQiyi after its last episode aired on March 30.

Local actress-host Melody Chen, 48, shared on Instagram on May 8 about her obsession with the show, and how she even bought a Pursuit Of Jade blanket so she could have Xie Zheng wrapped around her.

Singaporean celebrity couple Neo Swee Lin, 63, and Lim Kay Siu, 66, also took to Instagram on May 18 to confess they have fallen down the “Zhang Linghe rabbit hole” and profess their love for him.

Pursuit Of Jade is the first C-drama the primarily English-speaking actors have watched, who also create content as the NeoKELELims where they sing and play the ukulele on their social media accounts.

According to local public relations firm DPHK Consulting’s recent analysis, Zhang is searched 1,044 per cent more on Google in Singapore in the period of May 1 to 30 than popular Chinese A-listers like Dylan Wang and Xiao Zhan.

Zhang ranked first with an average Google Trends score of 70.9, compared with 6.2 for second-place Wang and 3.8 for third-place Song Weilong.