Hidden Love

"HIDDEN LOVE is resilience, honesty, care, and timeless love."

This drama really deals with the tragedies of young first love in such a sweet, respectful manner that it's so refreshing to see. The drama hits off with absolutely lovely writing of Duan Jiaxu and Sang Zhi. Their chemistry is on par with actual real-life couples, and especially how the age gap is treated here is so sweet and brilliant. I think the drama emphasizes this by constantly reminding the audience of the differences in Zhizhi and Jiaxu's environments, and also the different pressures for example, when Jiaxu had to cancel the dates because of what he said were "trivial life matters," but in reality there were true problems with him being the man, showing that it was his fault, and Zhizhi being the woman respecting that while also asking him if it was really okay. The number of times Sang Zhi showed what falling in love means is to stand up for love when times get hard, with Jiaxu reciprocating the same, supporting her. The prejudice of others about their age gap, the very real worries of parents about their children dating, and whether Zhizhi and Jiaxu were really honest with themselves about their feelings are all explored.

It shows what it is like when you support someone endlessly and do not doubt the person you love. In this case, the story of Jiaxu's family history and the Sang family knowing it and questioning it, and how Sang Zhi comes forward truly and maturely with a tender heart about liking him for a long time, is shown in a very true manner: first being just an infatuation, then when Zhi reaches a certain age realizing it may be a crush, and then the story kicks off to the "hidden love." The show doesn't undercut when it comes to choosing or having to make decisions, with Zhi enrolling in Yihe University and then having an internship, which matters not just for love but also for personal growth both Zhi's feelings and career, and Jiaxu's feelings and career. The parents show concern and take steps like confiscating phones and making time to be at home for Zhi, having Yang pick her up, actually video calling her in college days, and everything in between. The college days are shown very truly: friends, school bullying, college tests, and seminars.

Very mature characters, both Sang Zhi and Duan Jiaxu, show respect for their original concerns about being together, from consent questions like "Can I hold your hand?" to "Do you want to...?" to showing menstruation problems, predatory relationship issues, and putting dreams and family health relationships first. Zhi smartly takes on the pressure of the problems given by the debtor's family while supporting Jiaxu's feelings of "You've done your part; she can't bully you forever; it's not your fault." Very lovely, both Jiaxu and Zhizhi, and the hard-hitting line "Am I really getting too old? Why are my parents no longer here?" just encapsulates everything in one line. Then Zhizhi embraces him and tells him, "I've got you," showing he has a home, a family that will love him.

The drama is very well written and exceptionally adapted, with incredible acting and a lovely cast. No fake drama, no plot twists just real, mature, cared for, true first love. Zhizhi had to hide it for a long time the treasure of "HIDDEN LOVE is resilience, honesty, care, and timeless love." That's the brilliance of this show.

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Nothing special

I heard so much about it so thought to watch
Drop after forest twenty min
The young girl who played Zhao lusi is v young May be 9 or ten. And it becomes creepy to see her fall in love

When Zhao lusi is 17 why she talks in whining voice. , have the director been to ny high school girls in grade ten and 11 don’t talk like this , ny one seen going for high jump with cap?
She hurt her leg and they carry her on back what happened to wheel chair?
so far male lead is the only saving grace I might watch till they grow up but if it’s still same I might drop

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Another show rated highly because the actors are pretty?

I watched about 5 episodes and dropped it.

It's a decent show with decent acting, but I found it borderline unbearable for the following reasons:

1. It's PAINFULLY slow and uneventful. If you're looking for a fun, nice pacing, eventful show that will stir your emotions to really get hooked on, to me, this definitely isn't it. I can definitely see this show being compressed into a 10-15 episode show.

2. The demeanor, especially the main girl, is almost annoyingly reserved, quiet and shy. Basically, the poster girl that they want to portray in China. This is their ideal girlfriend / wife material, very different IMO from how it actually is.

3. I follow the news of how China actually is now, just makes it harder to stomach. They basically want to pretend to the rest of the world that their lives are filled with beautiful houses, an extremely peaceful and secure existence, with beautiful people. It's made to be visually pleasing for the rest of the world to view, but there's not much going on. A big facade to the chaos and mayhem that's actually over there, especially for regular people. If you watch the news, it's anything but that. I know a lot of these Asian dramas kinda do the same, but I think it's ESPECIALLY true due to how horribly they're actually treated over there now and in the last few years.

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Boring and hyped

I honestly don’t understand the hype around Hidden Love. This drama is painfully slow, predictable, and lacks any real emotional depth.

Zhao Lusi’s character, Sang Zhi, is frustratingly boring and weak. Meanwhile, Duan Jiaxu (Chen Zheyuan) is bland and lacks depth—his only personality trait is being the “nice guy.” The supposed “slow-burn” romance feels forced rather than natural, and their chemistry is nothing special.

On top of that, the pacing is atrociously slow. Episodes drag on with unnecessary scenes that add nothing to the story. The drama romanticizes unhealthy relationship dynamics, making it even harder to enjoy. If you’re looking for a well-written, engaging romance, this is NOT it.

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People watching for romance but i have not find any strong romance or story is boring

It is a popular romance drama, but it wasn't as impressive as I expected. The story moves at a very slow pace, with many episodes focusing on small, repetitive moments instead of meaningful plot development. While some viewers enjoy the calm atmosphere, others may find it uneventful and lacking excitement.

The romance is sweet, but it often feels overly idealized. There is very little conflict or character growth, making the relationship seem almost too perfect. As a result, the emotional stakes remain low, and the story can become predictable.

Several supporting characters are underused and don't receive enough development. Their storylines are either rushed or forgotten, leaving the drama feeling unbalanced. The plot also relies heavily on everyday interactions, which can make some episodes feel repetitive.

For me their romance and chemistry not hiring ,maybe it's overrated drama bez of actress'.and on netflix

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SECOND WATCH REVIEW
(i never wrote a review the first time i watched it, but would have gut rated it 9.5-10)

This show was one of my first c-dramas! I remember enjoying it a lot and really finding myself to be a fan of Lu Si. She is a phenomenal actress. That said, its been at least two-ish years since I first watched it. So after watching Chen Zhe Yuan be fantastic in Fated Hearts and re-entering this “universe” via The First Frost, I decided it was time for a rewatch.

I want to say, this romance is excellent! They are cute and adorable and caring toward each other. In my memory, the age gap wasn’t that big of a deal – and while it’s true it wasn’t “creepy” because Duan Jia Xu was **not** romantically into her at all until she was 18, this re-watch had me noticing that some phrases and wording were … interesting. As always, I’m not sure if it’s because it’s being translated to english. But even once they are together, the show chose to kind of romanticize Sang Zhi’s childhood crush. It doesn’t help that the actress that played her for when they first met looked 8 rather than 13?

Also I wish they let Lu Si drop the baby voice once she got into college. It’s like the writers REALLY wanted their age gap TO BE an issue even though it wasn’t? Idk I do think this aspect while not horrible, could have been better. He still refers to her as kiddo randomly which is *not* equivalent to her calling him old, it just isn’t. So little things like that were eh. IDK if this is a reflection on the story or the romance? I am leaning toward story only because again, he wasn’t into her until she was older and if he was, this would be more of a horror than a romance tbh.

Honestly, no offense to Duan Jia Xu, but I don’t understand why him and him mom did not take the dad off life support. We only see the dad in one flashback in which he confesses to his family he hit someone and ran, then jumps off the balcony. We have no background as to if this was an unfortunate blip or if Duan Jia Xu’s father was always a dead beat? I think after watching The First Frost, I have such a low tolerance for shitty parenting that I’m being more nit-picky, but other than the man being his birth parent, we get no insight on if he was a good father. If he was a good father and it was a literal one day disaster, I think it would explain why they even kept him on life support. Idk if its maybe a Chinese law or something that was why the man wasn’t just *not* given life support – but 9 years at $100K a year for a man that, if he woke up, would be sent to jail, does not make sense at all? Again, I think I’m being nit picky after hating Wen Yi Fan’s mother and extended family in The First Frost.

Alas, I think the way these two interact and fall in love from start to finish is pretty wholesome. **Sang Zhi** definitely “fell in love” first, but I would say **Duan Jia Xu** fell in love much harder – not to diminish Zhi’s love. She is consistent and persistent in getting Duan Jia Xu to recognize he is a good person and should not bare the weight of his father’s mistake. She is ready to support him which was cute and funny because girl let him make that dough. But from a dynamics perspective is really adorable because Duan Jia Xu has never had anyone look after him. After the accident he had to look after his mother, father, and the victim’s family. He literally has been grinding nonstop so to find a woman that sees him for who he is and not what he can provide was important. Duan Jia Xu’s love on the other hand, was an inkling at first. He was like she’s actually pretty cute inside and out. But from there he really dived into loving her. While he did kinda suck at pursuing her when he was working, I liked that he just could not think about anyone or anything but her. Near the end, once everyone is questioning their relationship, he is literally thinking about how to set them up for marriage. And while I’m sure Zhi has imagined being together forever, he is the one that actually verbalizes and plans around that longer term commitment.

Also, the proposal is cute for the face value reason but also with the realization that he contacted her friends and all of them figured the best way to trick her was to have her think she is helping set up Ning Wei’s proposal.

### Original Thoughts & Ideas
- To what end is a parent a parent vs a burden. When it is “guiltless” to sever or let go of those familial bonds?

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I love this movie !!

This movie is so beautifully made and so many talented actors & actresses.
The two main leads are so talented and the chemistry between the two works so well its so believable and realistic!!
After I watched this movie I had to purchase the DVD and I even fell in love with the music so I just had to buy the CD as well. The soundtrack to the movie I also highly recommend.
I can say that I have watched this movie at least ten times already and I love it so much that I know I will be watching it many..many more times again!!
💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖
💐👏💐👏💐👏💐👏💐👏💐👏💐👏💐👏💐👏💐👏💐👏💐👏💐👏💐👏

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