Angelababy has been slammed in the past for her poor acting skills, and even her husband, actor Huang Xiaoming, joined in the online chorus of critics in 2018.

The 31-year-old model-actress has been criticised for having similar expressions whether she is crying, smiling or angry, with some saying she has only one expression - a wide-eyed one.

However, the cast member of Chinese variety show Keep Running (2014 to present) appears to have won some people over in her latest role in Web drama A Murderous Affair In Horizon Tower.

The mystery series, based on the novel of the same name by Chinese author Chen Xue, debuted on Wednesday (Aug 19) with the first four episodes and kicked off with the death of cafe owner Zhong Meibao, played by Angelababy. It also stars Guo Tao, Yang Zishan and Jiao Gang.

Angelababy has several teary scenes in the series - some had her eyes turning red and others involved the shedding of tears.

She was praised by some fans for her natural expressions, which they said helped bring out her emotions when she cried.

Still, there were viewers who were not convinced by her performance and said she looked like she was smiling and crying at the same time. Some questioned if she used eye drops before filming the scenes.

The actress, who makes only a guest appearance in the drama, ended up stealing the thunder from the other stars, when "Angelababy crying" became a trending topic on Weibo after the show aired.