This review may contain spoilers
A heartwarming drama to de-stress with.
I really enjoyed watching this drama. This is a nice drama to watch if you're looking for something that is relaxing and cute to pass time. This is a drama where you don't have to be frustrated by huge misunderstandings and toxic characters because the leads deal with their problems maturely.The transition from friendship to relationship felt natural and the drama does a good job showcasing the lead's moments through a substantial length of time, allowing the leads to develop a believable, unbreakable love for each other. I also liked how the leads learned each other's love languages. It wasn't about how much you can sacrifice for your significant other but about how you both should listen to each other's needs, rely on each other, and grow together. Seeing both characters chasing their dreams successfully was encouraging to me and probably to many other viewers.
Although I really didn't want the drama to end, the ending left me satisfied. It didn't feel rushed or feel like there were still loose ends to tie up. When they went back to their high school and showed flashbacks of their youth, it really brought everything full circle.
I think the actors did an excellent job portraying their characters. Let me just say that Ding Xian has the most beautiful smile, it's like sunshine. Who would not fall for her irresistible smile? Further, the lead couple's chemistry felt real. It's as if I could feel their love for each other through the screen, their acting was well executed. I only met the actors through this drama and am so glad to have found them. Looking forward to other great projects with them!
Was this review helpful to you?
Woahhh!!!!! Amazing "worth watching !!!
I hadn't even finished watching this drama ..but ,I strongly recommend to watch this drama to those who love youth genre and want ML and FL to be beautiful.. Actually ,in most of youth (school -university) based drama s the plot is very similar eg; FL was poor in her studies, and she was easily bullied by others ..And their family was poor.. And ML was very rich blaw blaww ..But ,this is very unique .. the chemistry between ML and FL is so sweet ..I just loved the way they look into each other's eyes ..And also 2nd leads are cute ,In a simple word the whole cast is beautiful and nailed the acting ...I'm not that good in English ..hope you don't mind my language ..Have a nice day ^_^Was this review helpful to you?
SUPER WARM AND LOVELY DRAMA
I finally found my another favourite School Drama.. i am indeed a school drama fan and this is is a super good one.. the hilghlight is on the ML character that is not annoying and just like an ordinary teens. the FL is also super cute and relatable.. the FL is not in a super harmonious home like most drama would capture when the ML is not in one.. she is also struggling from unfairness but despite, she overcomes it very naturally and shows us what grows up really means..Secondly.. i really admire how balanced the ML is.. he is smart, passionate, mature but also childish and get along with people around him.. most importantly.. even though he was going through a concerning family condition.. it doesn't change him in to a cold blooded teen.. he is very warm.. and he cherishes people that he loves.
It's a very good drama and a lot of fluff.. they look cute together and we can just clearly see that they love each other so much. the way they look at each other and how the ML always finds the FL cute.
And my highest respect goes to the ACTING from all the cast especially the ML.. he is very natural and he is really living the character.. the typical of man whose body language will make you crazy.
My fav quotes.. is when SiYue explained what is liking someone feels like and he said "liking someone is when we clearly know they look average but they get prettier the more we look at them " it was so realistic and sweet i wanna cry..
In the end.. we know it's a good drama when you ended up persuading people around you to watch it so you have someone to talk about this drama with..
10/10 would rewatch
Was this review helpful to you?
"Just like the universe, in everyone's life, there will be many stars"
How do we start talking about a series that has everything from everything?How do I even digest that I finished it?
How can I say hello to characters that I felt like I was watching their life story rise and take place in front of my eyes?
Still, because I finished the series that swept me away more than any other series I've watched in half a year, it deserves a detailed review.
So let's get started.
I will avoid spoilers because I know people are watching here, and even if they do not watch now, they may observe in the future.
I will comment in general on my impression of the drama.
Every actor/actress who played in this supernatural drama should win an award, from the top to the rest of the cast.
What a beauty of a series, seriously.
If you're watching Chinese series regularly, you'll probably know that they tend to push unnecessary scenes into the plot, but not here.
Everything was so catchy and so relevant, I did not feel the episodes go by, and somehow I found myself already in episode 20, emotionally insane as if I had experienced it all on my skin.
Whatever, I tried to rewrite what I want to say about this series, but I can not bring up even a little of what this series did to me in writing, so I'll just stop here.
This series gets 100/10 for me.
I miss my couples already :(
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
The "culture" of this show is a predator's paradise
Firstly, I understand I am not the target audience and I didn’t want to be harsh for an “idol romance” but if you are looking for the emotional intelligence and proactive charm of Hidden Love, stay well away from this absolute pile of bin fire. While marketed as a nostalgic, "sweet" coming-of-age romance, Our Secret is actually a 24-episode marathon of unpunished toxicity and pathological passivity.The "Snail" Protagonist Female Lead is a masterclass in self-sabotage and immaturity. Framed as "shy" and "sensitive," she is, in reality, an emotional vacuum who refuses to communicate basic facts. Whether she’s sitting in a classroom seat she hates or pouting because she’s too insecure to speak, she behaves like a spoilt brat who expects the world to read her mind. Her "growth" is non-existent for the vast majority of the show; she simply remains a useless doormat for her family and peers.
A Wretched Culture of Non-Accountability with the most "demented" aspect of this script is the complete lack of justice. The show presents a lawless, predatory environment where villains are treated as "character-building" obstacles rather than criminals:
The Thugs: Stalk and ambush the leads? They just walk away.
The Peeping Tom: Caught taking non-consensual photos? The Male Lead just deletes the SIM card and lets the predator keep his camera and his freedom.
The University Senior: Blackmails the lead into a cybercrime and drunkenly assaults the FL? Not a single legal or academic consequence.
The Saboteurs: Colleagues who scam contracts and rivals who literally lock the FL in a storeroom are never held accountable.
The show pushes a deeply problematic message: Conflict is failure, and silence is virtue. It suggests that "good" people should just "eat bitterness" and endure abuse until they eventually succeed through academic merit. It ties a person’s right to safety and respect to their GPA, suggesting that if you are a "genius," you should be above caring about being tormented.
The central relationship isn't a partnership; it’s a babysitting gig. The Male Lead acts as a silent martyr, absorbing the world's filth to protect a girl who can’t even handle a drunken senior without turning into a trembling damsel. It’s "misery porn" disguised as a romance, where the only way to prove love is to see how much unpunished garbage the couple can survive together.
Verdict:
A regressive, illogical, and frankly infuriating watch. It celebrates submission over agency and stagnation over growth. Unless there is an interest in watching malicious individuals get away with everything while the leads pout in silence, give this one a wide berth.
1/10 – Fundamentally unfit for purpose
Was this review helpful to you?
Heart-warming but has its hiccups
When I first started this drama I thought it would be high school to college. It turns out, however, that the drama starts in college where everyone is split up and then flashes back to high school. And for some reason, that made all the difference. I know this is an element of personal preference here but for me it just meant that I constantly felt like I was waiting for the other shoe to drop and that every time someone had a line about "being together forever" it was like alarm bells.I still really liked the innocence of high school and how it did what c-dramas do best — which is balance the different themes of studying motivation, following your dreams, family pressure, friendship, and first love — really well. Even though there were some parts where I disagreed with what the "message" turned out to be (in terms of parental subplots it was because I was raised in a more Western, more independent household, or there were also moments where I disagreed with the outcome of an argument between friends) I still really liked the growth and character development that the characters underwent.
The time jump and big lapse in miscommunication which I knew was coming was understandable but still not very enjoyable; it really made the FL turn into someone who just seemed to follow the ML around and not have her own thoughts — which was unfortunate because something I had previously appreciated about this drama during HS was that the FL was not a genius but she worked hard and had her own goals, despite falling victim to a very common thing in dramas — where the ML is a genius in one specific subject whereas the FL isn't great at school but has a bunch of small quirky things she's good at so she doesn't seem useless. Still, I appreciate that this was something they ended up addressing directly.
During the college days, I liked that the romance took a bigger role. It makes sense, because they'd grown up. But everything that I loved about the balance in the high school days seemed to fade away. In a new setting, the new roommates and friends that the leads made in no way matched up to the old characters we'd grown to love. And like I said, the plot of the FL making her life revolve around the ML, and then the ML being mean to her still, just all felt very frustrating.
I felt like they inserted some conflict into the second lead couple too, and while I thought this was necessary, I felt like the way they did it with a time jump instead of slowly showing their progression (because the story wasn't following them during college) felt kind of random and awkward and almost too similar to the way the main couple just randomly cut off ties.
Overall, I still think this was a fun watch and I really liked how there was really a sense of nostalgia and inspiration as we watched them grow up, but as much as I love romance I prefer it as a subplot in the earlier episodes.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Dey are a cute pair, but 22 episodes are not fair !!
A beautiful youth story of talented & aloof campus beau Zhou Si Yue & stubborn & lovely “Cinderella” Ding Xian.DEY INSPIRED ME 2 DISCOVER HOW SWEET, SIMPLE, CUTE LOVE LIKE DEIRS IS STILL GOLD & NOT OLD!!
"gotta keep thing short 2 not spoil things out "
Ok, Chen Zhe Yuan (de effortlessly charismatic ML) - FL (adorable) who had a childhood connection wid him - High school love ... AWWW these were enough 2 get me addicted !!
//Things u should watch out 4 // Young pair - Feel good moments, friends stories, A fluffy. soothing -refreshing series ...
//VERDICT // The c-drama remains steadfast in pace. Dat pure love message of how every1 wants a right person 4 themselves. A REFRESHING FLUFFY ROMANCE WITH THE MOST ADORABLE LEADSSS...
P.S I loved de way how our lovable couple wore matching clothes wen dey hung out !! HoW SwEeT
Link 4 de extra story with special cuts - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nT32MlatCh0
Was this review helpful to you?
Great School Drama
I don't normally like school dramas, but I watched this because of seeing Chen Zhe Yuan in Handsome Siblings. I thought it would be boring, but I was wrong.There's not a lot of action, but the story was very believable and fun to watch. The characters were very realistic and their problems relatable. I especially enjoyed the portrayal of first love and crushes.
The three couples are so cute together, especially the two leads. When the male lead is jealous, he is so cute to watch. It is fun to watch the male lead grow from a secret crush to chasing after his love.
Was this review helpful to you?
Immature Love Doesn't Grow
The goods:The puppy love start with educational competitiveness is cute. Nice nostalgia trip that feels relaxing with it's pace spanning all high school. I think everyone was well cast and did a good job actually behaving like teenagers.
The bads:
But then it felt like they never stopped being teenagers. important conversations were never fleshed out. FL chose a major in STEM only to follow a guy. I am a female engineer and it felt like a horrible message. Also the second couple's bickering was cute....until that was the only thing they did. Unfortunately the third couple also was more of a bickering dynamic too.
Overall easy watch with cute chemistry. Kisses are fine but no real fire since they decided to keep this in the young innocent love zone.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
A Journey Through Youth
I really enjoy these youth dramas, especially when they show the progression of their youth from high school to university to adult life. This probably isn't my most favorite youth drama but it was still a very cute and sweet drama. The drama perfectly captured the innocence of high school, where their most stressful problems ranged from their exams, friendships, and family issues. Then we moved onto university and we can see that things become more serious and problems are harder to resolve. I would've loved to see more of their life after university, but unfortunately, the drama ended too soon.Initially, I really enjoyed watching high school days and when they got to university. I started to get really frustrated with all the problems that arose. I was especially frustrated with Ding Xian. I wanted her to choose her own path instead of continually following Zhou Si Yue. However, later I realized, this is consistent with her character. All she has done was follow Si Yue and didn't know how to do anything else. So when she finally decided to chase after her passion, I enjoyed watching her character develop into an independent woman capable of making her own choices. Zhou Si Yue was definitely my favorite, Chen Zhe Yuan did an amazing job portraying Si Yue and my heart hurt for him when he was in university, nearly on the verge of tears when it came to Ding Xian.
Su Bo Cong was also a little treat to see too whenever he came on screen. I absolutely loved seeing Zhou Si Yue and Su Bo Cong fighting over Ding Xian. The scene where they both got the exact drink for Ding Xian was hilarious! However, I did think the writers did him dirty. I feel like he merely served his purpose as a stepping stone for our main couple. a person to make Si Yue jealous. But all in all, I'm glad Bo Cong and Ding Xian were able to patch things up in the end and that the two men were able to come to an understanding. I liked that the show gave Bo Cong a dignified ending.
As for the side couples, I always love when they tie things up nicely but it would've nice to see more of Jiang Chen and Keke's relationship develop.
All in all, I pleasantly enjoyed this drama, and I might come back to re-watch this drama if I'm in the mood for a short and sweet youth drama.
Was this review helpful to you?
