Waste of My Time
I found it perplexing that 'Hidden Love' received a high rating of 9.1 which is equivalent to 'Nirvana on Fire.' I watch about 10 episodes but ultimately had to abandon it, lacking any inclination to resume. The series felt monotonous and lacked the promised romantic essence. The male lead's persistent pursuit of his friend's younger sister struck me as inappropriate, to the extent that I would have severed ties if I were the brother. Overall, the drama failed to captivate my interest. I'd advise against investing time in it. If you're seeking a contemporary romance drama, I highly recommend the Korean series 'Crash Landing on You' instead.Was this review helpful to you?
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Modern day Romanticized Grooming and Enablers
Zhaolusi is gorgeous and her acting is acceptable. DXJ acting is bland and boring. He hasn't improved from the Mr. Bad. I get it. He's hot, so he get the pass for his terrible acting skills.Storyline depicted lots of disturbing lines and scenes that shouldn't be romanticized such as the underage girl and the ml. If they just cut out the whole beginning and begins where they met in college, it would have been acceptable.
It's OK to like older men when we are young and naive but to encourage someone underaged to build a relationship with an older man at that age is straight up grooming. No child should be allowed to form a relationship without the guidance of their guardians. That's just neglectful and straightup enablers on her family side. I don't care if there is a back story. It doesn't make sense for the ml to keep involving himself with a child that young with no supervision. He is not a relative nor a real brother. Should have developed a sense boundary.
Overall, story is fine. The flashbacks were quite annoying as they throwed me off track a lot. I get the hype. Young kids, nowadays, are still growing and find everything amazing. I was once a teenager too and understand the imagination to hit on a hot guy. However, there are no excuses for the adults who should known better. It's ok to like a story but know what you are promoting to younger audience.
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Love the Casts but Not The Drama
Okay first of all, i want to say i am a fan of both. I have watched the ML in his other dramas and he is good. I really enjoyed his other dramas and ZLS, The FL, i also have watched all her dramas and truly enjoyed it but i have to be honest. I didn’t enjoy watching this. It felt more like a siblings romance rather than a couple. I just don’t like their chemistry here and this is STRICTLY MY OWN OPINION.You can ignore my review if you disagree on this but this is just my own opinion. I love the Manhua, i’ve read it but the drama is just not it for me. I’ll give high rating because of the casts, i truly do like them and their other dramas but this.. i dont know.
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THE ONLY COMING OF AGE FLUFFY LOVE WORTH WATCHING
Hidden Love – A K-Drama Detox Wrapped in Zhao Lusi’s Sass and StaresI had this drama chilling on my back burner for the longest time—just sitting there like that emergency chocolate you only eat when life really hits hard. After bingeing one too many heart-shredding historical K-dramas (you know the type: pretty hanboks, ugly crying), I needed something to glue the emotional pieces of my soul back together. Enter Hidden Love—aka my post-trauma therapy session in 25 episodes.
Now, Zhao Lusi is my personal serotonin dealer. I don’t touch her dramas casually. No, I save them like a secret stash—only to be opened when I need to laugh, feel alive, and remember that fictional men can, in fact, ruin your real-life standards. Watching her is like getting two shows for the price of one. Why? Because her mental commentary deserves its own spinoff. I’m convinced she sneaks in her own dialogue. Half the time I wasn’t sure if I was watching scripted scenes or Zhao Lusi freelancing with God-tier instincts. Either way, the girl’s a walking plot twist and the director probably just gave up and said, “Let her cook.”
One of the reasons I delayed watching Hidden Love was the H-word—hype. I usually avoid it like spoilers, because over-hyped shows often crash harder than my Wi-Fi during emotional scenes. But alas, Zhao Lusi made me break my rule. And guess what? I regret nothing.
Now I get why everyone lost their collective minds over this drama. I was supposed to just “check it out,” but I ended up doom-scrolling behind-the-scenes videos for an hour like an emotionally unstable intern. The chemistry? Off the charts. The acting? So good I forgot it was acting. The emotional damage? Surprisingly mild—except for the ML’s backstory, which punched me in the gut with quiet pain and then gave me a warm hug in the form of a healing romance. The whole "learning to love again" arc? Ten points to soft boys with traumatic pasts.
And let’s not forget the sibling relationship—it was peak wholesome. Honestly, C-dramas don’t always get family dynamics right, but this one nailed it. I’d watch a spinoff just about their banter and emotional support hotline energy.
Also, the OST. Oh my drama gods—the soundtrack slapped hard. If there's one thing Netflix consistently does right (besides forgetting to release season twos), it’s soundtracks. The music here fit so perfectly, it felt like a character on its own. And don't get me started on the chemistry between the leads—molten lava meets eye contact. There were scenes where I had to pause just to remember how breathing works. The male lead? King of smoldering gazes. That man could melt steel beams with his stare alone.
To future viewers: If you're craving a fluffy, heartwarming ride without the usual dose of overused tropes—go ahead and dive into Hidden Love. It's young love, but done right. No eye-roll clichés, just soft moments, sincere emotions, and a love story that'll leave you smiling like an idiot.
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Immature female lead with a baby voice
One of my friends recommended me this drama and explained a bit of the plot that a 14 year old girl starts to like her elder brother's friend and they fall in love when she's an adult. I found it a bit weird but decided to give it a try.The 1st episode was alright but from the 2nd episode Zhao Lusi's baby like voice started to annoy me. I thought it would get better but it never did. They dragged the drama through 10 episodes of the female lead acting immature (she flew to see her crush who had a girlfriend with no other thinking of whether her family will worry or the fact that she didn't have any money and she also gave her family a lame excuse of going to meet her online boyfriend).
After that, she started ignoring the male lead for many years just because he broke her promise of not telling her that he had a girlfriend. When she got into university, they met coincidentally and instead of apologizing for ignoring him all these years, she called him an "old man". All the male lead did was to take care of her like his younger sister and in turn she ignored him for years and insulted him for his age even tho their age difference wasn't much.
That was my last straw and I stopped watching it after 10 episodes.
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Saccharine sweet new adult romance
Hidden Love is saccharine sweet I almost got toothache. Very light cdrama focusing on first love. Chen Zheyuan reminds me of Chanyeol of EXO, kpop group☺️What I liked:
1) I really liked Sang Yan and his interactions with his younger sister, Sang Zhi. Victor Ma rocks the role.
2) The actress who played middle school Sang Zhi was really good despite not resembling Zhao Lusi.
3) Sang Zhi's characterisation once she was an intern. She didn't waver easily when her love rival threatened her and harassed Jia Xu.
4) Their kisses and intimate scenes were hot.
What I disliked:
1) 1st half of the series was slow.
2) Don't like how Sang Zhi was infantilised at start. I find her cunning because she knew how to manipulate her parents and brother to do things for her. I also don't like that she hero worshipped Jia Xu.
3) I am on indifferent about Jia Xu. Yeah he has conflict like any other main characters but I don't find him interesting enough to root for him.
Favourite scene
Everytime Sang Yan bickered with Sang Zhi
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Creepy and Weird asf.
I've watched 10 episodes. It's common for girls to idealize handsome older boys but I totally agree that the way the story is told is very strange. I just cannot accept the male lead's behavior. Why would a guy who is supposedly always busy working to make a living go to all the trouble to pretend to be her brother? Did he do anything to feel he owes anything to the girl?Then at every encounter they ever have he never even says "Hi". He'll say something cheesy or even start flirting with her in front of her brother/his friends. At the same time, he is protrayed as Mister Perfect. Give this guy a different appearance and people will say he is a pervert.
It's their third meeting and he gives her a bottle of milk by pressing against her cheek when he approaches her from behind.
Also he insists she should spend the morning with him doing homework. Then that essay he wrote for her. Why was that necessary?
People of different ages may become friends, but this relationship needs some foundation, like shared interest or a desired to protect the weak one. Is she ignored by her family or bullied by classmates? There is absolutely for him to be so involved in her life and her affairs at this stage. I would definitely warn teenagers against such kinds of stories.
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"Like a puppy trying to win your heart but tripping over its own paws idfk !?"
"Hidden Love : 7 or 8 or 7.8/10 idk– A Cringe-Fest That Somehow Wins You Over (Like a Puppy Tripping Over Its Own Paws)"💖 WHY IT KINDA WORKS:
The young love vibes – Awkward, sweet, and painfully relatable if you’ve ever had a hopeless crush.
Zhao Lusi’s chaotic charm – Girl could make reading a phonebook entertaining.
The brother’s best friend trope – Predictable? Yes. Addictive? Also yes.
🙈 THE "WHY AM I BLUSHING?" CRINGE:
The secondhand embarrassment – So strong, you’ll scream into a pillow at least twice.
The over-the-top confession scenes – "Are they… serenading her with a drone?!"
The age-gap weirdness – Slightly less creepy than other dramas, but still hmm.
🎯 YOUR RATING (AND WHY IT TRACKS):
"It’s flawed, it’s cringy, but damn it, it’s endearing." You gave it a 7/10 because:
✅ Nostalgic teen romance
✅ Zhao Lusi’s comedic timing
❌ Some "oof" moments
❌ Pacing issues in the middle
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Sweet youth romance + controversial setting
The best part of this romance drama is the chemistry between the main couple as well as the trio leads. The main leads ZLS and CZY are truly complement each other, although tbvh it's also hard to believe their characters are supposed to be 5 years apart with him being older.Controversial part, the setting between adult male lead and child version of the female lead/ when the female lead during her high school in around 7 ep was actually quite uncomfortable to watch, yes we can argue the male lead didn't see her as a woman yet that time but it doesn't mean everyone should agree with that.
Overall, it's still quite pleasant to watch. All of us have crush, but mostly ended as unrequited ones. Nice to see someone's crush has her happy ending in the fictional world.
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Drama for girls yearning for love
perhaps i'm too old for this type of dramas... the overall plot didnt appeal much to me. watched this because i watched the first frost and wanted to know more about the sang family story.the storyline feels a bit unbelievable. i can understand how a young girl can have a crush on an elder brother's friend, but i cannot understand why the male lead will fall in love with the girl just because she stood up for him. based on the story, it seems SZ holds a special place in DJX's heart from an early part of the story.
i feel this show appeals more to the younger crowd, those who like to see their first love fairytale come true. it does have a feel good vibe to it. both male and female leads look amazing and sweet together. not a show i will rewatch for sure.
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sang siblings i love you
just like everybody else i was weirded by the age gap in this show. if you ignore that it's pretty solid, especially the sibling dynamic was potrayed perfectly in my opinion.the characters were all likeable.
this would be a great entry to chinese dramas in my opinion, the entire show just felt sunny and warm like a spring day
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