Hidden Love

What a bful bful drama.

I never thought i will love this drama so much wen I read the novel. It was so bfully adapted from the novel, rare instance where u can say the adaptation was better than the novel. CZY and lusi I love them so much more from this drama and they made this simple sweet love story so much bful. Also kudos to director also. Such nice execution. I will definitely rewatch this drama many times, it will always be my comfort drama, story, acting, the soothing osts everything was perfect. Also special mention to sang yan (victor ma). He was no lesser star than the leads, his ckt n acting single handedly brought the fun n light moments in the show. All the actors were so well selected n suited the ckts. Highly recommended.

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THIS C-DRAMA IS ***PERFECTION***

This is the most perfect Chinese drama that I have ever watched. I loved every moment of it. It has only been a week since I completed it and I already want to re-watch it!

Why is it sooooo perfect?

1.) THE CAST was gorgeous. Zhao Lusi, Chen Zhe Yuan and Victor Ma, brought this drama to life in such an enjoyable and aesthetic way. The sibling chemistry, the couple chemistry, and the bromance chemistry was amazing all around.

2.) THE PACING. I cannot stress this enough. A lot of C-Drama often fail to catch my interest because they tend to drag and this mainly has to do with the pacing of major events in the drama. With 'Hidden Love,' on the other hand, everything unfolded beautifully, there was NEVER a moment where I was bored, there was something to look forward to with every episode. This is the first time I didn't want this to end, and I even wanted the drama to be longer than 25 episodes.

3.) SANG ZHI, which was Zhao Lusi's character, exceeded my expectations and gave me hope that other C-drama heroines could be just as fantastic. I liked that Sang Zhi was quick witted, intellectually sound, and that she never did anything cringe to express her affections towards Chen Zhe Yuan's character Duan Jiaxu. She kept her cards close to her chest and was smart about how she faced her one-sided crush as a teenager. I love that she understood how to keep things appropriate as a kid/teen and simply wrote her secrets down rather than making things awkward by confessing. I also like there are distinct changes in her way of talking, demeanor, clothing style and behavior as she ages so she doesn't remain feeling like a little girl as the drama progresses. There is a confidence/determination to her as an adult that is sooo charming in her character.

4.) AGE GAP! Given that the plot of the drama is a semi-forbidden romance between a younger girl and older man, the writers did a great job NOT making Duan Jiaxu creepy and inappropriate. I enjoyed the fact that he never saw her as anything other than a little sister until she was a grown woman. Even when they finally got into a relationship their communication on the matter of their experiences in dating and their age gap was a welcome conversation between them. Green flags, truly.

5.) VICTOR MA. I need him to be a male leading his own drama, immediately. He does amazing as the role of the older brother, but he has all the makings for a great male lead. He was funny and believable in all his scenes. I also just have to mention how FINEEEE he is, he was enjoyable to watch in every scene he was in.

6.) MAIN COUPLE ONLY. One of my biggest pet peeves with C-dramas is that they consistently use a second lead couple to fill out their episodes and I am never interested in their story lines. Thankfully, 'Hidden Love,' focuses primarily on Sang Zhi and Duan Jiaxu. There is a teensy bit of second lead romance going on towards the end, but not enough to detract from the plot or the ML & FL's relationship. More C-dramas need to adopt this format going forward because personally I find it significantly more engaging.

7.) BROTHER'S BEST FRIEND. I didn't know that this was a trope that I would thoroughly love, until watching this drama. I need more dramas about girls falling in love with their older brother's best friends, because I ate it up in this drama. The overprotectiveness from the brother was adorable, and the anticipation of him finding out once they got in a relationship was just EVERYTHING, I could not get enough.

8.) NO GIMMICKY COMEDY. If you've watched C-dramas as long as I have you probably know the difference between a drama that is playing up the comedy aspect and ones that feel more natural/realistic in their interpretation of funny moments. 'Hidden Love," is a blend of both with all the right characteristics, the comedy wasn't gimmicky or annoying but relatable and genuinely got a laugh out of me. It also had its moments of really bringing you into the tense melodramatic scenes without feeling overwhelmingly heavy with tension and anxiety. It was perfect in its execution of each character interaction, and this enhanced the viewing experience immensely.

9.) CINEMATOGRAPHY. Beautifully shot, especially Zhao Lusi she looks absolutely flawless in this drama. There is quality to every scene and it definitely makes the drama that much more addicting. You simply cannot detach your eyes from the screen.


Please watch it. It was absolute perfection in my humble opinion. I never rewatch dramas and I'm itching to rewatch this one. You won't regret it. Its officially my favorite C-drama .

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Adorable

The show is mostly understated. The leads are believable as high schooler/college student in the beginning and as more mature budding adults in the later episodes. When the FL does cute stuff - for instance when she doesn't want to leave her angry brother alone with her boyfriend, but they wont listen to any of her protestations and she just whines cos she doesn't want to go - it is cute, and you don't want to slap her and say "Act your age". LOL
The ML carries off the mushy stuff without making me want to throw up.
The FL lead's family is adorable. The parents dont over react, the brother is such a goof foil for the FL in their arguments. Her friends are cute AH.
Overall, I am not sure how I managed to watch 25 episodes in 4 days - but here I am - a great watch

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Best romantic C-drama to watch

I never write reviews, but this drama deserves one. From the start to the end this C-drama got me hooked up even tho I'm more into K-drama.
The chemistry between the lead and the simple yet so touchy story line made me feel so many emotion, from laughing to crying, I felt every line the characters were saying. I really don't know how to describe it but the acting is so great that every emotions could be felt behind the screen.

Honestly, I gave up so many dramas and especially C-drama because of the low acting or basic story line but this one is a must watch, from the start to the end. I feel like Hidden Love will never be replaced in my heart.

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Secret Crush of a little girl

To me, this drama is very very very much good. Everyday I waited to see the uploaded new episodes and now finally it has finished so I am feeling that somewhere in my heart a bit of sadness giving me pain. Zhao Lusi is my most favourite actress. She is the reason that I became interested in cdramas. I have seen all her dramas. All the dramas may not be perfect like this drama but her acting is always good 👍🏻. Of course she made a great improvement in acting. In this drama she portrayed Sang Zhi character veey nicely. Her LLTG drama was also a famous and fabulous drama. Now if we talk about Chen Zhe Yaun, I think he is also a good actor, good-looking. I saw his first drama Our Secret, it was also a amazing and fantastic drama. He also made some improvement. As Duan Jiaxu, he acted perfectly. Zhao Lusi and Chen Zhe Yuan were looking perfect together in drama. In my eyes, Zhao Lusi is the only one who fits Sang Zhi character the most perfectly.
And finally this drama "HIDDEN LOVE" is really a masterpiece. I wish that this drama ratings can go upto 9.5 . Future readers please increase the ratings.

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MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE POP ROCKS, STRAWBERRY, BUBBLE GUM *easily best c-drama of this year* must watch!!

I don't know how to explain my feelings about this but literally everything about this drama was amazing.
Maybe you can see this as a general youth drama but but their acting and the subjects they deal with have made the series warm to your heart.

Their acting was so good like.. it was so natural. The way zhe yuan expressed his feelings, the way lu si showed sang zhi's love for jia xu so clearly in his eyes, the chemistry of the two was truly incredible. Even their bickering and being jealous about each other was so cute.

At first I was worried that sang zhi was not yet a minor, but I was very relieved that nothing was as we feared. I think this was one of the most ambitious series of the summer - in fact, many of the summers. Their chemistry was so good that I hope we can see the two of them as partners on a project again.

Also, I think sang yan (victor ma) really shines in the drama. They played so well that they really were like siblings with lu si. And i don't even know why i thought like that but am i the only one that expect sang zhi's friend yu xin would end up with sang yan lmao 😂😂 i think i really want him to be happy with someone and show off about this to sang zhi😂

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The best of the best drama there is.

Wow, this drama is the best of the best there is. Watching the character grow up from when she was a child to a college-graduate student is a journey worth watching -- plus the relationship she has with DJX. It's pure, simple and no overboard extra characters that will lead to major misunderstandings b/w the two leads. ZLS and CZY played their characters really well. This story will take you through a rollercoaster of emotions that are relatable to real life and there are a lot of "life quotes/lessons" to be learnt from this drama.

I'd definitely recommend this drama to anyone who haven't watch it yet -- who's looking for a light-hearted, fluffy, sweet, funfilled, romantic, and growing up journey type of drama. It may contain a lot of your type "trope" expected in a drama -- but it's something where you can relax, enjoy the ride and bring back memories of not just your childhood life but the journey from that to a young adulthood life too. The story between Sang Zhi & Duan Jia Xu will take you into a world where you can escape from your everyday "busy" lifestyle into a world "where dreams, love, etc" can be found. You will be so absorbed into the drama -- that you'll find yourself to be happy with them as well as also feel the sadness when they are feeling sad too...all the different emotions can be found throughout the drama -- and this is one great journey worth joining & watching again and again.

The drama ost - are prefectly played throughout the whole drama itself and worth listening to.

Well done Zhao Lu Si, Chen Zhe Yuan, Victor Ma and the other cast members, director, and screenwriter of this drama!! You guys did well!! A round of applause to all of you for your hardwork in bringing this story to life!! Well-worth it and deserves a 10/10 rating no doubt from me and many other viewers who love this kind of story!! Sweetness all around!!

P.S. (Bonus) I love how there's a special with the main leads giving each other positive feedback to each other and some of the other actors/actresses too in the story to each other too!!

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Special place in my heart

There is a lot of hype about this series and i really expected something different from it. The story is just about two people who fall in love and grow their relationship.
Nothing new yes, but… is so warm this one and gorgeous that after finishing it i started to re-watch those heart-melting moments. The scene at the airport - oh i really cried with her, the scene when she is explaining (again at the airport) that she came for him and not for on-line boyfriend. There are more beautiful moments that you just enjoy just watching it.
Zhao Lusi love most of her dramas and i really saw through the years her grow up, she has great chemistry with all her partners.
Chen Zhe Yuan i liked him from Secrets in the Lattice and Mr Bad. He has very good face expressions.
This drama has a special place in my heart because of beautiful feelings of hope, confidence, trust, courage, persistence, and love.

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When your high school love turn real

Made me giggly like a high school girl thinking about her first crush. But also bawling like a girl that just breaking up with her first love.

The main couple both are sweet human being and the biggest green flags ever. Their love is so pure, and I love that they really respect and rely to each other in a very healthy manner.

FL's family is a model family with believable moral compass. I really adore this family relationship with each other.

Setting, costume, OST, and direction is so well thought. And the last but definitely not the least, the acting! All cast working so well and looks very natural. I never watch these casts work before, but I think Lu Si and Zhe Yuan are romance monster. They are so good. Really good. Whoever has first idea to put them together should get an award😂

I'm gonna give shout out to Victor Ma. He is the most believable brother in drama land. He reminds me with my own brothers and several other stories about my friends brother. And he looks like he deserves his own story, I bet he will be very charming. But the rumored spinoff will use different actor, it's okay, but I still want to give shout out to him, haha.

I'm such a Kdrama girl before. But I should say well made Cdrama are superior. I really appreciate that they not afraid of 'cliché' ending and forcing plot twist. Well made cliché is good. I mean, so many people living similar life, yet so different.

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A girl's manifestation came to life

July 30, 2023

Hidden Love is definitely one of the best released rom-com Chinese drama of the year. The story of Sang Zhi and Jia Xu is so fluffy and cute.

As a a rom-com Chinese drama, I was expecting petty and stupid arguments when the leads get together. But they are so mature to the point where all the little misunderstandings are resolved right away. They have such a healthy communication with each other. I am in awe with how much I am jealous of what they have.

Sang Zhi and Jia Xu's chemistry is just off the chart. It is amazing to think how much the actors can deliver into their character role. I understand the hype that Hidden Love received. They truly deserve it.

All the other side characters are just chef's kiss as well. They brought things to the plot and I didn't see anyone being a waste of time. I never skipped scenes either which is quite rare nowadays. As there are so many dramas putting up filler scenes and sub plots which sole purpose is for them to fill their timeslot and drag the show longer.

As someone who have watched Cdramas for a quite a long time now. I will put Hidden Love with the other "S"-tier fluffy rom-com Cdramas imo like "Put your head on my shoulders". "Perfect. & Casual", "Falling into your smile", and "When we were young".

If you are a sucker for rom-com who hates misunderstanding please give this show the love that it deserves!

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Very sweet and highly recommended

From the first episode to the last, it was simply captivating and yet sweet at the same time. I’m sure most have had the all too familiar storyline of having a crush on your older brother’s friend at 13/14yo. I know I did;) and that crush became my first bf at 18yo! Sadly though it didn’t last haha.

Sang zhi had a crush, which turned into a very real liking , going to great lengths to be with him, and it eventually worked out for her. I absolutely loved the young actress at 14yo- she had a natural talent. Sang zhi at 14 was very outspoken and confident, so I’m not sure why at 17, she became rather quiet and reserved. That didn’t really make sense to me. Maybe the writers wanted to portray how she grew as a person in university. But still, her character development didn’t seem to jive.

ML Duan Jiaxu was extremely well acted by Chen Zheyuan. Minimalistic change of facial expressions, his eye connections and how he moves his mouth- all very convincing and engaging. Oh his tears!! [Spoiler- the scene where he spoke to his comatose state father, and after that when SZ hugged him.. OMG it was SO TOUCHING!!! Cried and cried) Well done CZY… a very promising career awaits you!

Storyline was beautifully written. Initially I was a bit concerned on how she would let him know about her feelings, then how he would turn from seeing her as a little sister to looking at her as a woman. The writers did a good job with that transition. Many many good principles and morals to learn from the storyline too; and how SZ handled the “other woman” and her friend aka her supervisor was admirable and so matured.

As for the romance development- also very very good pace, good chemistry, LOTS AND LOTS of PDA :):):) although the kissing was a bitttt forced I felt. ZLS has kissed many many of her male costars ;) so maybe .. idk haha. I’m expecting too much? Lol. But YES!! From the accidental kiss, to the first light touch kiss, to holding hands to the roller-skating kiss etc etc.. plenty to look forward to;)

Definitely highly recommended for a youth drama! Simply enjoy this one:)

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