Hidden Love

Diabetes

I hate basically everything about this drama. It's so stupid, I'm at a loss for words. What's cool about a child falling in love? Apart from that, it's completely unrealistic and kind of the virginal dream of girls of boy band age. Help! Why does this drama have such good reviews?!?
There are a lot of wonderful Disney Tales, if you wanna die because of Diabetes.
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I hate basically everything about this drama. It's so stupid, I'm at a loss for words. What's cool about a child falling in love? Apart from that, it's completely unrealistic and kind of the virginal dream of girls of boy band age. Help! Why does this drama have such good reviews?!?
There are a lot of wonderful Disney Tales, if you wanna die because of Diabetes.

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Not for people who dislike age gaps and straightforward romance

Everything has already been written. I think it's purely a question of personal taste. Here are the two things that didn't work for me :

- Age - gap : I was very worried about that aspect. To be fair, it was handled rather professionally and there was no reciprocity until the FL was an adult. But it still is a bit on the edge for me. 19-24 is not huge in theory and a 5 years gap is pretty common later on in life. But people change A LOT during those specific years. I am 24 and would personally never consider looking at a 19 yo coming out of highschool as anything else but a young adult who has a lot to learn, no matter how "mature" they present. It would just feel wrong to me.
The ML has treated the FL like a little sister for 10 years and even though they weren't always together, they still were close enough to have each other's phone number and occasionally text. The shift in the relationship almost as soon as she becomes an adult is a bit abrupt for me.

- the ML approach : once the ML quite suddenly decides that he's gonna go for a 19 yo, he gets very blunt with his approach. And it makes sense, he's honest and clear about his intentions and it's probably the best way to straighflowardly break the existing walls between them. I personally don't like this style at all, it's a matter of personal preference but he came off as too pushy and rushed for me.

Other than those two major contention points in the story, it's a very well made, peaceful love
story. So if you don't mind the age gap and the straightforwardness, it's worth a watch.

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Terrible Script, 19 & 24 is a Terrible Age Gap for Romance!

Sit back because it's a lot; coming from a fan who looked forward to Hidden Love since the start of this yr.

People accuse Hidden Love of the Big P word, here I'll be accusing it of terrible, ignorant writing, and plain illogical plot progression. It's terribly written and lacks self-awareness. A 5 year age gap is nothing between consenting adults—the problem is that Hidden Love develops this relationship when SZ, (a rich, immature, sheltered brat) is 19 years old (MAYBE SHE'S 20—same thing) and the ML is 24, but acts older.

I feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone, because how can I be the only person to find it strange how there's really only 1 episode of DJX having conflicting emotions over his change in love for his meimei...and then the next ep is him confirming it, then the next ep we move immediately to him flirting and beginning to pursue her. Pursue a 19 year old....

❌ Here's what they should have done differently:

1. ❌ DJX accepts his feelings too quickly—alarmingly quick. Yikes.
~2/3 episodes. First, him thinking about her more, then acknowledging his feelings, then WHAM! he's pursuing her now???
I would have hoped for there to be longer hesitation and for there to be a point where he pulls away—It's weird because he has known her since she was 14 and he was 19. It doesn't help that the actress casted for 14 year old SZ literally looks like an 8 year child, not a pre-teen. (actress is 12, which doesn't help either).

Shouldn't he find that so conflicting and feel some amount of disgust or have a knee jerk reaction to reject these feelings? Shouldn't he at least sit down with a trusted friend and share his conflicted feelings? Withdraw from SZ? Analyze his memories with SZ and wonder where he went wrong, maybe where these feelings started changing? Analyze if what he feels is really romantic love, or just appreication for a close friend/family member that have been amplified because he's lonely?

2. 🌻Sang Zhi has not grown. She is NOT a grown up.
I thought the time skip would take us to a Sang Zhi that was more mature and wordly in her mid 20s. Maybe take us to a Sang Zhi in her final year of school (age 22), the same age DJX would have been when she was in high school. No. Instead, SZ is 19, and only 2 years have passed since she entered her senior year of high school. It's a black box of 2 years until we see SZ again, and although she tries to pull away she has very weak resolve towards distancing herself from him. Why? BECAUSE SHE'S ONLY 19!

She keeps constantly repeating that she's grown up now, but none of her 'grown up' life is shown, such as actually focusing on her career, working a part time job, interacting with her professors, taking up positions of responsibility at school. She majors in Digital Media? I have not heard this word since it was first mentioned in the time skip episode. SZ is a sheltered, pampered kid who functionally has not changed since she was 17. Her character simply revolves around her meetings with DJX.

3. 😬There should have been a longer gap in between when they got together.
(why does it have to be her freshman yr of uni? Why not the same year when she was graduating uni, as it would have been for DJX when SZ was in highschool) I've said this many times but 19, even 20 is still TOO YOUNG. She has not dated anyone else. She's still a sheltered rich kid. What does she know?

4. ☀️ DJX should have had more wealth of characters around him.
A healthy adult, not suffering from trauma and not having many close friends who they open up to, would not form such an emotional reliance on their 19 year old meimei. Compared to SZ, DJX is much less developed, except for his backstory with his father. Does he have no friends in Yihe? He doesn't really get deep and personal with anyone besides SZ, not even Sang Yan, his jie at work, or his friend who's getting married. Let's not forget the psychotic Jiang Xing or whatever her name is, to act as a foil and make SZ look better. He should consult someone about his changing feelings the same way SZ spoke to her roommates.

5. 🙄 DJX is that DENSE!? How could he not realize SZ's feelings?
You're telling me this highly intelligent, (both EQ and IQ) guy, at age 19, 22, and then 24, did not realize or have an inkling that SZ might like him? The story deliberately never lets him find out when she is in HS or as a child, because then the right thing to do would be for him to flat out draw a boundary, reject her, and distance himself.

Instead, DJX is always 'teasing' in an I'd like to believe innocent way, but isn't taken that way because the audience knows SZ likes him, and that he 'doesn't know'. Such terrible writing, in the year 2023? Do you want to show a proper depiction of a healthy relationship, or do you want to just romanticize these....weird grooming-esque interactions, because the person in power (DJX) NEVER gets the opprtunity to draw a boundary and tell SZ to stop being delusional and obsessive.

5. 🧐❓DJX is only 24. He doesn't FEEL 24.
I get that originally he would have been 27, which would have made more sense with what he does day-to-day, but I find it hard to believe that every 24 year old is this mature and flirty and with a job and a car and a chief engineer at a top gaming company. I can suspend my disbelief that he's really smart, and was forced to grow up early. But some script changes should have been made for us to believe that DJX really is younger in the drama version VS. novel, because what it then really starts to look like is that they just changed his age to be younger so netizens would get off their back about their 7yr age gap.

Honestly? I had high hopes going in! I've been waiting for this drama all year. I loved Chen Zhe Yuan in Secrets in the Lattice, and also can always count on Zhao Lu Si do deliver a great performance.

But the progression from their relationship from brother-sister, to lovers, is concerning.

There were some netizens condemning this show and comparing it to pedophillia, and I can see why. I don't think this show **is** that, but they've done a piss poor job at having 0% evidence of that. When you're making a story with this kind of premise, you need to handle it very carefully and make very deliberate decisions, and Hidden Love didn't do it carefullly enough, and made POOR deliberate decisions.

The novel material may very well have had grooming and pedophilia, I haven't read it and don't plan to. But why wasn't this fixed for an adaptation, with such a good cast? Better yet, fixed for an adaptation that will be aired internationally, that many young children will see? I'll reiterate, a 5 year age gap is nothing. It's PROBLEMATIC and hORRIBLE, however, when it's between a 19 year old, immature and childish girl, and a traumatized, emotionally vulnerable 24 year old man. I'm SZ's age group. I would never date a 24, much less 27 year old. And SZ is 19, and acts 12. Aiyaaa.

ANYWAYS, TL;DR, could have been a great story, with especially great actors after this drought from Cdrama land the past few months, but even my desperation will not allow me to keep watching this (at least not right now). A story with potential, with GREAT ACTORS and OST and PRODUCTION, that had a very poorly thought out,ignorant, misleading, and harmful script.

Could have all been solved by keeping things innocent until SZ is older and mature.

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I'm pretty surprised and a little bit disappointed

I'm honestly pretty surprised at how well this drama was received. C-dramas have finally gotten so much recognition and popularity from this drama alone, for which I am grateful. I enjoy both K-dramas and C-dramas and I was always a bit upset that C-dramas came nowhere close to the love and popularity that K-dramas get. So of course, I had to watch this drama myself to see what the whole hype was about. But unfortunately for me, I was disappointed and I really don't see what the hype is about. I feel like so many other C-dramas have a better story line that should've been the spearhead of this spike in C-drama popularity, but alas, this is what we get. The whole sister-brother thing made me uncomfortable at the beginning, and I feel like they chose a child actor that looked WAY TOO YOUNG for the age that she was supposed to be playing at. So because of that, it made it uncomfortable when our ML finally fell for our FL. Even after trying to ignore this point, I don't think their relationship was anything to die for. I didn't find myself smiling ear-to-ear, squealing my little tush off from their relationship. Everything just felt like it was lacking . Anyways I'm pretty tired so I'm just going to end this review but maybe I'll come back to fix it up. Bye for now!

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Plot of the drama

This drama is quite a refreshing one for those who love the fantasy of elder brother's best friend and sister falling in love. Upon entering university Sang Zhi ( female protagonist) falls in love and makes sure of her feelings through her daily interactions with Duan Jiaxu (male protagonist) as they go through life's problems and solve them in their own way. Although DJ always sees SZ as a younger sister but slowly falls for her charms as time passes and discovers his inner feelings.
I personally liked the story because I like male actor and have watched all his previous works. Along with it I like their cute interactions and you can really gush over them. Overall I liked it and the story is a good one-time watch.

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Tbh, I'm a fan of cheesy romcoms and this one had all the tropes I usually like from this genre, but I don't think it was as good as people out it to be?

Briefly, let me explain.
I understand how the first few episodes she views him the eyes of adoration, but his flirtatious nature was already present from the very beginning and that was really off putting to me. I know some people can have flirtatious personalities, just like he does, but to act like that towards your best friend's sister who is 5 years younger than you? When she's still a minor? Nah I'm sorry but that really threw me off. I'm not screaming pedophelia like some other people here but I still found it a bit weird.
With that being said, they really did have good chemistry. The later episodes were so sweet and they were adorable. Nothing I would say was mind-blowing, but compared to other C-dramas it was pretty good. Their acting wasn't bad, they managed to make scenes which could've been extremely cringy feel fairly natural, I was surprised. But with that being said there were still times where it felt forced. I don't blame the actors per se, more so the script itself felt unnatural. It is fiction, but it felt like a fan novel come to life at times, especially in the dialogue. That made it difficult for the actors to act convincingly 100% of the time. It would go back and forth with natural and non-natural.
Plot wise, nothing special. It's been done before, it's nothing new, they didn't add anything new to it. It made it easier to watch, yes, but I honestly had to skip through some scenes cause nothing really grasped my attention. I gave it a high rewatch value due to it fitting as a comfort show, and the music was nice.

Overall, it was a cute watch. Nothing I would say is special but I understand why people like it. It's easy to watch, they chemistry is nice, and they actors are attractive. But besides that nothing in it made it the masterpiece that some people make it out to be. We all have different opinions, so if you enjoyed it to that extent, I'm happy for you, can't relate though lmao

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It weirdly works!

OVERALL
If you 1) are looking for a FL-likes-ML-first love story, 2) are into the older-guy, younger-girl trope, 3) like when FL is "innocent", and 4) can get over the fact that ML and FL meet when she' s a minor (and played by an actress who looks like she's 10), then this drama is right up your alley. If any of the above bother you...maybe still give it a try? It worked for me!

THE STORY
So, not going to lie, the premise of this drama is everything I hate. I'm really not into stories where the FL pathetically pines for the ML for 2/3 of the drama, I don't like FLs that are "innocent" (because 9/10 times, they're just childish and immature), and I'm not particularly into the older-guy/younger-girl trope. The only reason why I decided to give this drama a try is because of the controversy (it had pretty polarized reviews on YT). I wanted to see what everyone was talking about.

The main issue people had brought up is that FL starts out looking like a literal YOUNG child (definitely younger than the 14 she is supposed to be), while ML is the main actor (so adult actor), and it feels very wrong to see any scene between then two or imagine them getting together later on. Giving these comments, I was expecting something huge. But while it was off-putting, it wasn't that bad, imo. These scenes with the child actress are just a few flashbacks, and it's just FL liking ML (not the other way around), so...I just took at as a silly girl doing her thing.

I'm not going to say this is the drama of the year. The plot is very basic (almost a non-plot, revolving entirely around FL's unrequited feelings for ML...until they stop being unrequited), and the core of the story (a girl crushing over some guy for years) remains something I'm just not a fan of. But I was truly pleasantly surprised by some aspects of this show:

- First, FL is thankfully not the childish/immature type of "innocent" girl. I think the writers did a good job of giving her a bit of character, a bit of youthfulness, a bit of maturity. She feels very 3D and likeable.
- The writers also did pretty well in cutting out the pining, so FL doesn't look that obsessed with ML and her unrequited love is easier to swallow
- While I had trouble buying that FL started loving ML as a pre-teen (just looked liked admiration to me, like when girls become fans of idols), I liked how the drama shows ML finding out he likes FL and the extent to which she loves him. Overall, the relationship between the two is also very sweet and caring, and rooted in respect. It's a bit cringey sometimes, but on the good side of cringe.
- The secondary characters are all pretty cool additions to the show (which is rare, they're usually useless and annoying). I LOVED the relationship between FL and her brother, as well as FL and her parents. ML's friends were fun too!
- The ending scene is honestly the funniest innovation of a common cliché ever. I loved it!
- Finally, the overall vibes of the show are totally my style. No childish quirks or annoying music. Feels more mature and raw.

Bottom line: I didn't expect to enjoy this drama and I did, so if you're like me, just give it a try!

THE ACTING
Good, all around. I love Zhao Lusi. Nothing else to say haha ML was also pretty impressive, and it was my first time seeing him. The child actress was great too (but she did look WAY too young for the part). On the chemistry department...it was okay. Could have been better, imo, if the writing focused a bit less on FL's age and her being young.

THE MUSIC
Alright, I guess, though nothing I'd listen to on my own!

REWATCH VALUE
Oh, it's high. I've already rewatched it once (with some skipping, I won't lie, but still)!

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Just my thoughts on this show!!!

It was a random pick, no one recommended it to me, I watched a reel and immediately looked for it and yeah I finished all the 25 episodes plus a special so here is my honest review!!!
1. Reality / Fiction:
It's purely fiction💯, I understood how the author of original story created or made up a whole show on thought of "how it will look like if it's too good to be true"
All went well no drama indeed. it's far away from reality and only satisfies the delusions of ppl nvm!!!
2. Story:
A cliche, mediocre and typical, it's good to watch n nothing else, we can predict most of the scenes as what's happening already so.
3. Acting:
FL is such an expressive actress I really appreciate they way she played her role and ML too. Good chemistry.
4. The loop:
it's a delusional story of 'what too good to be true looks like' as I mentioned above, and the childish voice why was director okay with that. It's nice as it's fiction it can be uneasy and discomfort when we think in reality pov like
- 8th class, 14yr old girl first saw 19yr old boy, she likes him because he is good looking and then for kindness which came next after!!!🤓 idk it's her thoughts so idk
- 11th grade, 17yr girl crushing on 22yr guy, okay girl teenage phase can understand, she flew ✈️ to see him as she overheard a rumour like okay!!!
-1st year, 18yr old girl meeting 24yr guy and after being taken care of indeed he should fall for her right like on snowy day!!!🫡
-19yr old girl, her birthday, he is 25yr and it all started like nice, good for them it's fiction
after graduation 👇
-22 her and 27yr him, proposed right away like bro 😄, okay okay marry younger is what writer is telling and settling in life by that age. such delusions.
.
The story is so sweet like good roomates, no exs bs, good parents, good everything and story of ml idk it's unsettling even as fiction. idk why I watched but went on coz I'm bored.
.
Well age is just a number and maturity comes with experiences then idgaf with drama logic because its a pure delulu story. wake up to really pals!!!
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overall, Looks good only to watch and nothing great or impactful drama so, 8.5 star for ost and for crew who worked on this drama, it's my personal opinion so nvm!!!
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have a great day 💚

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Suggest you start at episode 8

I overall liked this drama, but I hated how young they had the youngest Sang Zhi look. There was too much time taken for the scenes where they were younger and I have a fondness for age-gap stories, provided they don't creep me out. (so for me, historical is better than modern, the older the characters, the more comfortable I am in general.) And the eventual love story that occurs doesn't creep me out, but some of those early episodes would make me feel uncomfortable in a couple places, knowing where it was going.

So, when I rewatched, I just skipped those first 8 eps and there were enough flashbacks to tell the story well enough, IMO, and then I still knew she's had a crush on him for forever, but I didn't feel like he was being creepy at all. (I know he's clueless when she's young, but because I "know the future", it can just be looked at in an ugly lens.)

Past ep 8, it's a heartwarming love story, with many of the familiar tropes. But I do like that her mom gets to be nice to her in this one! LOL

Overall, confirms my enjoyment of Zhao Lusi and adds Chen Zhe Yuan to a list of preferred actors.

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You'll need a lot of tissues ??

Such an amazing drama, really recommend you watch it.Zhao lusi and Chen zheyuan have such good chemistry in the bts. such an emotional drama too. lovely, overall tbh. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🫶❤️🫶❤️🫶🫶❤️🫶❤️😭❤️😭🥹😭❤️😭❤️😭❤️😭😭❤️😭❤️😭❤️😭❤️❤️😭❤️😭❤️😭❤️❤️❤️❤️😭❤️😭❤️😭❤️🫶❤️🫶🥹🫶🥹🫶🫶🥹🫶🥹🫶🥹🫶🥹🫶🥹🫶🥹🫶🥹😭❤️🫶❤️🫶❤️🫶❤️🫶❤️🫶❤️😭❤️❤️🫶❤️🫶🫶❤️🫶😭❤️😭❤️😭❤️🫶❤️🫶❤️🫶❤️🫶❤️😭❤️😭❤️🫶❤️🫶❤️🫶🥹🫶🥹🫶🥹🫶🥹🫶🫶🥹🫶🥹🫶🥹🫶❤️🫶🫶❤️🫶❤️🫶🫶If your still reading this then love you so much!!!!!!!!!!

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The Later episodes along with good PR saved this show and made it what is

Let me start by saying I don’t think it’s a bad drama. The later episodes were okay, but the first part…..like the first 12 episodes? EEEEYUCK!!!!

Everything about those first few episodes rubbed me the wrong way. I know a lot of people are going to say, “But he didn’t like her then.” “It was just a one-sided puppy crush,” blah, blah, blah. While that is technically true, the story is being told from HER point of view. I’m not in his head the way I’m in hers. I’m not insinuating anything, but it’s still something to think about.

Outside of that, I hated and frankly felt completely uncomfortable with how the writing purposely created situations that allowed the two of them to constantly end up ALONE together in small, enclosed spaces. Yeah, nothing inappropriate was actually done, but some things just don’t sit right with me.

The slow-motion shots whenever she stared at him, the romantic background music, the way it was portrayed as though she’s the only one who “gets him”… If it’s supposed to be a one-sided puppy love, what was the purpose of turning these regular interactions into romantic scenes with slow-mo editing and a sentimental soundtrack?

And it went on for like 12 episodes……..basically half the whole show. One or two episodes would’ve been enough. Then they could’ve done the time skip to college, which would’ve felt much more appropriate.

There’s nothing wrong with age-gap relationships, but in this case, those first few episodes just weirded me out a bit. Even though I know the male lead wasn’t in love with her or romantically interested in her at the time, the way certain scenes were edited where she’s in her school uniform and he’s in regular clothes, clearly emphasizing their age difference, paired with her baby voice and his much more mature one just left me stunned.

Those scenes weren’t doing what they were supposed to. They were clearly meant to come across as innocent and from a place of admiration, but the editing intentionally made them feel inappropriate. I honestly would’ve preferred if they had kept a little more distance between them and not made them seem so close or familiar during that stage of the story.

Anyway, I think the directors made some very questionable choices there.

Then HE was the one who confessed, and I was just like… Okay, when did you suddenly start seeing her as a woman instead of that little girl you used to tutor?

I just wish I had never started this drama. I don’t have a problem with it as a whole, but those first few episodes left such a bad impression on me that I couldn’t stop thinking about them. Even when the story moved on and became more tolerable, I kept getting pulled back to those early scenes and feeling uncomfortable all over again.

So no, I didn’t hate the entire drama. The later episodes were okay. But because of how strongly I disliked the first part, I spent the rest of the show overthinking things and getting disgusted whenever my mind drifted back to those early episodes.

VERY WEIRD.

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