Hidden Love

A MUST WATCH

I absolutely love the story, there is nothing in here that left me unsatisfied-- although I WANT MOREEE!! yes, it's that good.

I've grown in love to this story. The phasing was a bit expected, I thought we would dive right in to the romantic stuff but it was surprising refreshing that they took time introducing us to the characters and making us fall in love with them, understanding how the characters also fell in love. It was a great story phasing, i dare not to miss a single episode.

This is my first c-drama and thank you God, it is. The butterflies in my tummy did not left, the chemistry between the leads is giving!! I would love to watch more of c-drama, with them as the leading stars.

The plot wasn't as heavy as other drama I've watch but this definetly is on par in many great dramas. I wished yo watch a lot more of drama's like this one!! Thank you so much for making this masterpiece!! xoxo

Sang yan, is def my fav character fkcjnsedfncsfnwdashdb

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That first love type of feeling

You know that feeling--where your heart flutters, you feel butterflies in your stomach, and you feel fluffy inside? That feeling where you feel so giddy, and can't stop smiling as if you're on cloud 9--that first love type of feeling? You blush, smiling wide, feeling super warm and fuzzy...this is what this drama is. It's so WHOLESOME! After watching a few angst-type dramas, I'm so glad Hidden Love came into my life. It provided the HEALING and positivity that I needed. So warm, fuzzy, all the feels from start to finish.
I felt myself going through the motions of the FL as she experiences falling in love, heartache, then happiness of having that love blossom (reciprocated). So nostalgic, making you remember what it's like to fall in love for the first time. The chemistry on screen was like no other, you get so emersed into the story of the drama and feel almost like you're the one falling in love.
If you are looking for a happy, wholesome, sweet, make-you-cry-happy-tears type of drama, then this is the one for you.

Storyline was very refreshing and well written. I was a little skeptic with the time skips at first, but it actually all flowed very well. It was nice being able to witness the gradual "growing up" of FL--how she grew and matured from an adolescent young lady who is still naive and innocent to a fine mature adult who understand resposibilites and is able to withstand hardships. Being able to watch the main leads grow (especially FL) makes you feel a special bond to the character and you find yourself cheering them on throughout their journey of discovering love and navigating those feelings for the first time.

Thank you to casts and all production crew for this wonderful love story!

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Beautiful first love sweet story... Like a fairytale everyone wished to have

Hold on to your seats because I've got to tell you about this drama that blew my mind! I mean, Rosy Zhao's performance was out of this world, and her physical transformations were so on point that I had to do a double-take. From a teenager to a young adult, she crushed every single aspect of her character's portrayal.

And let's not forget about the electrifying chemistry between the two leads - it was absolutely off the charts! Their on-screen relationship was so genuine that I felt like I was watching real life unfold right before my very eyes. I can confidently say that this drama has earned a spot in my top three list of must-watch dramas, and I'm sure it will have the same effect on you too, regardless of your age.

The entire cast was spot on, and each member brought their A-game to the table. The actress who played the protagonist's mother was particularly impressive, and I was blown away by her talent.

In conclusion, I urge you to watch this drama if you're looking for a heartwarming, feel-good story that will leave you with a smile on your face and a sense of nostalgia. Trust me when I say that you won't regret giving this drama a chance - it's a must-watch that will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish!

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An all time favorite

I was hesitant in picking up modern c-dramas as i was purely a historical/wuxia/xianxia/xuanhuan purebreed however this drama just blew me away. I admit i dropped it initially during the first 5 episodes due to some comments i have seen but after watching some snippets on Tiktok edits, some moments actually made my heart skip a beat. I decided to pick it back up and voila the rest was history. It's currently on my to be rewatch list however i keep stalling as i still wanted to savor the feeling i felt watching the show. One day for sure i will revisit this (when i eventually run out of c-dramas to watch). To those of you who have hear good and bad things altogether leaving you on the fence whether to pick this up or not. JUST DO IT, DROP EVERYTHING AND BINGE THIS.

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REFRESHING…!

This drama was a very refreshing one, with no toxic ex’s revenge or anything like that, a very simple love story but yet very heart warming.
I really loved watching the drama as every episode ended up making me want to know what happened next. ( I watched it ongoing)

I mainly watched the drama because of the Main leads as both are my fav and seeing them together was a great and a very refreshing pair.

The actors and the story did equal justice to the characters.

I overall loved the drama very much as it was very relatable, all of us atleast once in our life time have had this inevitable crush on someone which is hard to resist and how we end up with that feeling. This was the feeling that actually took me back to my crush.

it was really a good choice to watch it. I suggest all hopeless romantics to atleast give this drama one watch. They will definitely on regret it…!

The ost of the drama is also great. The songs just happen to fit in pretty well as if they were meant to be.


If you feel magic, this drama is no less than one

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IT TOUCHES OUR SOUL ❤️

This is the first time I am writing this review inspite I watched almost all the Asian dramas till date ,This drama has a magic which touches our heart and soul .I was just travelling with story ..Believe me you cry ,you laugh , you feel -finally you will fall in love with this .:The actor and actress even the family stole my heart .Beautiful drama of a family ,friendship ,love and the most important thing the hero never gives up on him inspite of many odds ..
Loved every bit of it ..first drama I didnot even fast forwarded one second also ..
Do watch 😍

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Just love this drama

One of the best drama by Zhao Lusi and Chen Zhenyuan,the chemistry of both actors are great and natural, .ZL acting just superb,such a versatile actress, CZ on the other hand is just improving so well, both are so fine looking..And as for the drama itself, it was refreshing, it gives me a teenage love story way back then during my teenage life..I was so touch of the storyline, no heavy scenes, purely wholesome ..Hats off to the cast and crew of Hidden love, my only wish is that in the future Zhao Lusi and Chen Zhenyuan will have another project, the have such a superb chemistry!❤️❤️❤️

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One of The Best Romance I've seen for a while

I'm a big fan of romance drama. But lately many romance dramas just become so cliché, boring, and too cringey with repititive and expected plot. And at times, I see that the chemistry between the two leads is just awkward and too fake. BUT Damnnn Hidden Love just breaks it for me. I was hesitant to watch the drama at first. Cause I've grown sick of school/campus romance drama. So it took me weeks until I decided to give the drama a try.

This drama has everything I'm trying to avoid from a drama. A secret crush thingy, a childhood love thingy, a ML with a terrible past and got prejudiced by the society, parents' disapproval of the leads' relationship, cutesy FL, high-school and campus love story, etc. But what I didn't expect is that I freaking love the drama since ep 1. The two leads' encounter was soooo cute. The love started to blossom from when the FL was so young and got called out by the school teacher. She met her brother's handsome friend and asked him to pretend to be her brother and came to her school. And ever since, the FL has a secret crush on the ML and that crush soon develop to become love.

Many people might find a huge age gap love story a bit weird. The thing that I find it funny is that the leads are actually has 5 years age gap. It's not too far in my opinion. But the actress who played the younger version of the FL was too much younger for a 5 years age gap (as the ML was already in his 'adult' look). So for me it will make sense if they simply dress the original actress much younger with different hairstyle or makeup instead of using a child actress. Cause people don't grow that much in 5 years. But it's not a big deal tho cause the child actress did a splendid job. Have so many things that I love about the drama that I DON'T KNOW WHERE TO START😭

But I'll try to list them down.

1. An admirable female lead

As I said, they have a pretty huge age gap. The FL hides her love for the ML. But instead of pursuing the ML like a childish girl in many dramas, I love how she actually was determined to study hard and make herself worthy before pursuing the man she loves. She's giving me a smart, independent, and ambitious girl in love. She's also very strong (not in a physical way). The FL was very serious about the person she loves. To the point she didn't let any bad things that she heard about the ML from other people, wavered her love for the ML or made her rethinking about their relationship or suddenly breaking up with the ML. THANK GOD WE FINALLY HAVE A LOGICAL FEMALE LEAD.

And I love every single time the FL was protecting the ML or simply just comforting and trying to boast up his self-esteem. The scene where the victim's daughter threw water to the ML's face and the FL threw the water back to the girl's face, damnn she's so bad ass. And everytime the victim's daughter was trying to change the FL's mind by telling her bad things about the ML's family, and our FL always said "What his dad did, doesn't have anything to do with him" like I'M CRYING OUT OF HAPPINESS😭😭

And just everytime the FL was trying to ensure the ML that he's an amazing person and nothing in the world that can change that is so cute and heart warming. "Duan Jiaxu you're the best. You're an amazing person. Everyone loves you" I'M SOBBING😭😭 so yes, I still have plenty of good points about the FL but I'm gonna stop here or else I'm going to write a novel about her.

2. Loveable ML

I love how our ML was not a cold, arrogant, kinda mean person. Throughout the entire drama, from the beginning to the end, HE'S SO LOVABLE. He was so gentle, so caring, so warm, so loving, so loyal, so....sjskskskjs. I'm IN LOVE WITH HIM. I'm head over heels for him. You can't not love him I swear. You will find yourself fall in love with him IMMEDIATELY. I love his character so much to the point I kept thinking "I need a Duan Jiaxu in my life" while watching the entire drama. This drama has one of the best ML character I've ever seen. Chen Zheyuan really executed his character AMAZINGLY. I'm in love with both Chen and Duan😭

3. Cliché NON-CRINGEY love story that make sense

The story of hidden crush is pretty common in dramas. But HIDDEN LOVE really executed this story perfectly and even took it on another level. I love how the FL waited until she's in a legal age to pursue the ML. And I love how the drama didn't drag the story for too long. Like it doesn't took forever for the ML to realise his feeling for the FL. So we get lots of lovely and beautiful romance scenes between the two leads. I also love how there's no sudden breakup due to misunderstanding in this drama😭😭FINALLY. I love how both of them were fighting for each other to overcome each other's struggles and just be there for each other. So I really wanna hug the script writer, author, and all the production crews for this amazing story line.

4. Cute siblings relationship

You will find one of the cutest brother and sister relationship in this drama. Like all the fights and arguments that they had is VERY MAKE SENSE and relatable. Siblings do fight with each other, but at the end of the day they care and love for each other so much and hate to see each other's getting hurt.


I will end my list here as I'll seriously write a novel instead of a review if I keep going. Overall, this drama is a must watched and one of the best cdrama I've seen for a while. The story, the casts, the characters's and story's development, the makeup, the settings, the cinematography, the musics, EVERYTHING ARE JUST BEAUTIFULLY-MADE. so if you're still hesitant to watch this drama, well, DON'T BE. Cause I promise you this drama won't let you down.

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Loved it

I wish I could say this was overrated, but it's actually not. In the age of open relationships and "situationships", it was really refreshing to see such a pure love story. The opening kind of gave me a heart attack, though. The actress playing her actually looked about 10, though they said she was 14 at that time. And they should have cast a younger ML as well. The child with him was very uncomfortable to watch, considering the end. I'm happy the actual story started when she was in university; otherwise, he would really be a pedo. I like Sang Zhi's character. She knows what she wants and works towards it. When she started liking him, it was puppy love. He was kind of a hero figure to her. He was the brother she wanted. When she heard him getting a girlfriend and kind of confirmed it, I think that's when she understood how much she actually liked him. But I was really happy to see how maturely she handled the situation. She knows he is taken, so she starts focusing on herself and lets him go. I think this is the right approach. Otherwise, it would be very disrespectful to his girlfriend. Even when they meet later, she keeps her distance. But whenever he needs anyone, she is there. And though not romantic, he also liked her more than a friend's sister. But it turned into a romantic one when she took care of him in the hospital. And during the phone call, when he understood he liked her and she probably liked him back, he wasted no time. I am actually a little surprised at how easily he accepted the fact that he liked someone he had seen growing up. I thought he would be more reluctant, given his friendship with her brother. But as long as they are both consenting adults, I actually have no problem with this type of relationship. Even when she was younger, she was so attuned to him. She knew when he was sad just by looking at him. And I loved how his gifts were not flashy but personal. I liked how her family was so protective of her. Yes, parents should be concerned. Especially if he is older than her by 5 years. They communicated instead of beating around the bush. And their concern was not baseless. If they had met the stalker girl, they would have never approved. But he proved with his actions that he is serious, which every parent wants. I love how they put effort into their long-distance relationship; it's important.
Mainly, I loved how pure their love was. They trust each other wholeheartedly, as they should. I just know they will be the couple who will still be in love in their 80s. Honestly, I loved the show. Such a fresh breath of air. If you can handle the first 7 episodes, which are about her in school, the rest is worth it, trust me. Going in my comfort watch. This was a story of her coming of age and his forgiving himself for things he had no hand in. He was a closed book, she made him open up. They both helped each other grow up and become the people they are today. I will miss them.

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Another great acting chop from Zhao Lusi - great script and good acting from Chen Zhe Yuan as well.

Hidden Love is another good act from Zhao Lusi. Sang Zhi falls in Love with Duan Jia Xu, the boy who often comes to her house to play games in her older brother's room. He is five years older than her. Sang Zhi had a crush on Duan Jia Xu when she was young, but they lost contact for some reason. After she graduates, she joins the university in the city he is in. During their day-to-day intimate and close interaction, they slowly fall in Love.

The story is cute, and ZLS did an exceptional job playing a teenage girl with a crush and Love, Duan Jia Xu, and into adulthood. The onscreen chemistry between ZLS and Chen Zhe Yuan is undeniably fantastic. Victor Ma did a good job at playing her annoying older brother as well. I love this drama and found myself rewatching it just like WRTW.

Awesome job, ZLS, and Chen Zhe Yuan. I give it a 9.0 rating.

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Not my typa show

Please refrain from reading this comment if you have not completed the series, as it contains major spoilers.

I typically do not find myself compelled to write reviews for dramas; however, the portrayal of the main characters in "Hidden Love" has prompted me to provide a less favourable assessment. My critique pertains solely to the character of "Sang Zhi" and not to the actress "Zhao Lusi", who has exhibited exceptional talent in her other drama works. I just couldn't stand to like how Sang Zhi presented herself in Hidden Love.

Pros
Although I've given such a modest rating, I would like to acknowledge several positive aspects of the series:
1. "Hidden Love" effectively explores and promotes healthy family relationships, particularly in the depiction of Sang Zhi's close bond with her brother. His unwavering support showcases a protective and caring older sibling. For example, he backs up Sang Zhi when she is getting bullied at school, ensures she is well at university, etc.
2. The series handles the age gap between Jiaxu and Sang Zhi with sensitivity and respect, emphasizing that their romantic relationship develops only when Sang Zhi reaches adulthood. There was also a lot of disclaimer throughout the show to emphasize that they are 5 years apart and establish their relationship on a legal and ethical foundation.
3. Sang Zhi's willingness to stand up for Jiaxu - for example, when the antagonist poured water on Jiaxu, she demonstrated her commitment to protecting her man by pouring water back.
4. Sang Zhi handled herself really professionally during her internship, even though her supervisor gave her a hard time.

Cons
1. The primary concern I have with the series centres around Zhao Lusi's portrayal of Sang Zhi as a 17-year-old, which often felt incongruous with the character's age. It almost felt like she was stuck in a 10-year-old's body. For example, there was a scene where she wanted to eat a lollipop and asked her brother's friend to open the wrapper for her - this is what ticked me off. A 17-year-old should reasonably possess the skills to open a lollipop wrapper independently. How are you 17 years old but still need someone to open a lollipop wrapper for you? This inconsistency was particularly vexing, given the more mature portrayal of Sang Zhi at 14 by the younger actress. It raises questions about whether Sang Zhi's affluent upbringing resulted in excessive pampering. Perhaps she came from a rich family so she was babied throughout her life but this still makes absolutely no sense to me. At age 17, she possibly never washed the dishes or her clothes and that's ok but the inability to open a lollipop wrapper appears far-fetched. Another example is the scene where Sang Zhi's brother takes her out to hotpot while her parents are away for a wedding and she is caught playing "fort" at home...

Given that this drama had such high ratings, I really wanted to give this drama a second chance to see what the hype is about. The initial 7 episodes wherein Zhao Lusi portrays Sang Zhi as a 17-year-old were cringe-inducing and prompted me to skip ahead to episode 8, where a 2-year time skip makes her transition to adulthood.

2. Shan Zhi's character demonstrates growth in maturity by the age of 19, making her interactions with the main lead during their early stages of romantic development more enjoyable. However, the relationship takes a downturn once they officially start dating (in ep 17/18). There were several cringeworthy moments I just couldn't stand, such as the moment at the roller skating rink when Sang Zhi felt compelled to notify Jiaxu of her intention to kiss him, which disrupted the flow of the scene. This action appears overly contrived and unrealistic, as spontaneous gestures of affection are typically more natural in romantic relationships. It's also a little bizarre for someone to say "I'm going to kiss you today" - it should usually happen naturally, at the right moment, right? I get that she wanted to respect Jiaxu by giving him a heads up but he already showed affection in the previous episodes that it is safe to assume Shan Zhi can do the same without asking Jiaxu for consent. There were also a lot of weird moments where she was getting flustered for no apparent reason. I mean, c'mon, your mans chilling in full long-sleeve pyjamas at home (and also considering y'all been dating for at least 3 months now)? It's not like he's lounging around shirtless in his boxers on the couch. It just doesn't add up to me.

3. The whole lack of communication in this show is really something else. I mean, in any decent relationship or interaction, good communication is the key to building those deep, meaningful connections, right? But seriously, there were so many times in the series where it felt like Shan Zhi couldn't get her thoughts across to Jiaxu. Let's talk about that KTV scene, for instance, when they randomly bump into each other after two years. There's this whole mix-up with her friend's sweater and some cigarettes falling out, and she tries to explain it to Jiaxu, but he's just not buying it. I mean, come on, at that moment, it felt like she could've laid it out better, like, "Hey, I accidentally grabbed my friend's sweater, and it's an exact copy of the one from KTV, so that's why this whole thing went down." You know, just to clear the air and avoid any misunderstandings. Another example is when they are in Jiaxu's car and Jiaxu asks Shan Zhi if she has any feelings for him and she literally did since the beginning of her childhood, but she replies with "no" because she was shy. I mean, she could've said something flirty like "don't worry about it" with a smirk (?) again, just my opinion. And then, when they were dating, it felt like they never had any real, deep conversations.

While Hidden Love strives to depict an innocent love story, it ultimately falls short due to numerous unrealistic and cringe-inducing moments found during the start of their relationship. As they progress further in their relationship (a year in), that's when I start seeing more improvements and fewer cringe-inducing moments - which is why I think the drama deserves +1 point higher than mid @ 5/10.

I know a lot of ppl gave a much higher rating for this drama so please don't be offended. This is just my opinion.

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