Hidden Love (2023)

Best Drama In 2023

This is the best drama series in 2023, in my opinion. The casting was superb - Zhao Lusi and Chen Zheyuan are both excellent actors and lived up to expectations in the series. They personified their roles so that you really cannot imagine anyone else playing the characters of Sang Zhi and Duan Jiaxu. Their chemistry is electric. They are physically so comfortable with each other that you will probably think they are a real-life couple. Many of their fans in fact, have been clamouring for them to work together again. This is the first time Chen Zheyuan has taken on this type of role - his character is generally more mature, calm and steady than what I have seen in his previous work. It's a good transition for him as he takes on lead roles in 3 upcoming dramas, all of which are quite serious. Special mention also to Victor Ma - very natural, totally believable as Sang Zhi's older brother. My only wish is that they had kept to the novel where the lead characters' age gap is concerned. There's a 7-year age gap in the novel, but in the series, the gap is reduced to 5 years. The OST has a good mix of cutesy-sounding tunes with a couple of touching ballads as well. Definitely songs to add to your Spotify playlist. If you want to have a warm, fuzzy feeling from watching a good movie or drama, watch this. It'll have you crying and laughing along. Most of the time though, you'll probably have a goofy smile on your face - the series is just that sweet! Happy watching!

Citeste mai mult

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.

Citeste mai mult

We probably all have at least one sweet crush when we were young. Some materialized into a relationship, some might just be that one crush that you wish likes you back. Hidden Love is about that one sweet crush when you were little. Watching this show sort of brings back memories to when you were a little girl and has that butterfly in your stomach feeling every time this person is near, but he may not know you exist of have the same feeling as you. I was smiling and blushing at the same time at some of the scenes. This is one "feel good" drama that I really enjoyed. It has no major conflict, it's just a simple and sweet romance drama. I thought Zhao Lusi suited this role and played it well. She can be a spoiled brat and sweet at the same time. If you like fluffy romance that makes your heart flutters, you should definitely watch this drama.

Citeste mai mult

Such a good watch. Topic: brothers best friend

Boy was I concerned when I started this drama and the FL looked like a baby while the ML was a full ass grown man.
After watching it I have to say they solved this age gap pretty well.
The ML is a green flag and I fell in love with him BUT the FL was just perfect not only is Zhao Lusi breathtakingly beautiful I also really enjoyed her acting. They really casted a good match.
Not to mention the big brother who was just perfect.
This drama contains the usual long and painful bild up before their first touch but plays it out really well.
I hope you enjoy watching this drama because I sure did.

Citeste mai mult

Perfeição pura

Como descrever a experiência que tive assistindo esses dois? Não tem como. Fazia muito tempo que um drama não fazia isso comigo. Não tenho palavras pra explicar o quão emocionante é essa história e a sensação de paz e coração quentinho que provoca na gente.
Cada interação desse casal me dava arrepios e o jeito que ele olha pra ela... Sem explicação. Eu já tinha lido o manhua, que é baseado na novel e não senti tanta conexão com a história, mas ver essa história na tela mudou completamente minha perspectiva.
Sang Zhi é uma menina quieta, que costuma guardar as emoções pra si. Um dia, quando tinha 14 anos, ao voltar pra casa acaba conhecendo Duan Jia Xu, o melhor amigo do seu irmão mais velho. Ela já começa a desenvolver um "crush" adolescente por ele desde o início, que obviamente não foi correspondido visto que ele via ela como uma irmã mais nova. Depois de um tempo eles acabam se afastando e se reencontram quando ela entra na universidade.
Não quero dar spoilers, então fica apenas minha recomendação: ASSISTA. Você não vai se arrepender.
Eu tenho dificuldade de gostar de dramas chineses porque foram raros os que assisti e realmente gostei. Sempre gravito ao redor dos coreanos. Os personagens aqui parecem reais. Eles tem falhas, mas eles enfrentam tudo juntos.
Eu fiquei com muito medo de me decepcionar com os protagonistas, mas não. Sang Zhi é muito quieta, e oculta seu amor (por isso o nome do drama) por muitos anos. Ela guarda esses sentimentos literalmente num potinho kkk (quem assistiu vai entender), até que Duan Jia Xu finalmente começa a notar ela, não como uma irmã emprestada, mas sim como uma mulher decidida e disposta a enfrentar qualquer dificuldade por ele. Eles são a definição de relacionamento saudável. Cada vez que eles se tocam, se olham, os diálogos... Você sente a emoção ali escancarada na sua frente.
Os personagens secundários também são muito legais, apesar de não terem taaaanto tempo de tela assim. Um destaque pro irmão dela, que conseguiu o posto de melhor irmão e melhor amigo dos doramas chineses (pelo menos dos que já assisti kkkk).
A trilha sonora da série é maravilhosa e complementa muito bem cada cena, além de também expressar muito bem o conflito entre as emoções dos personagens e descrever seus sentimentos perfeitamente: Preste atenção na letra das músicas quando estiver assistindo, você com certeza vai saber do que estou falando.
Pra encerrar, fica novamente a recomendação, você não vai se arrepender.

Citeste mai mult

watched it for the leads

literally forced to put 1 for rewatch value although this drama deserves a 0.

this story plot is the worst. certain scenes were extremely uncomfortable and cringe to watch.
one reason was that FL keeps calling ML 老哥哥, while ML keeps calling FL 小朋友. even though 6 / 5 years age gap is not that big, but the way the drama keeps using these two terms made it felt like a 12 years age gap and it felt really uncomfortable to watch.
however that being said, i especially enjoy the ost!!
literally only watched this drama for the two leads , zhao lu si and chen zhe yuan!! it is a pity that such great cast was for such a horrible drama. i almost could not finish it and had to take a break from it.

Citeste mai mult

Tried Hard, But This Show Just Didn’t Click for Me

I am sorry to be harsh but I judge everything to a gold standard especially to western dramas.

Oh man, I really tried to get into this show. I gave it my best shot, but the first few episodes felt like a random assortment of nonsense. I finally just skipped to episode 7, and honestly, that felt like the real first episode—where the girl grows up and finally starts using her brain. I get that the show is supposed to be light and easy with zero substance, so I’m willing to give it a pass there.

That said, a couple of episodes were enjoyable, but I didn’t feel attached to any of the characters. It feels like one of those disposable, low-budget dramas with minimal writers, but the director worked magic to somehow keep it from falling apart. Seriously, amazing direction.

Outside of the two leads with their “decent” chemistry, every other character felt like a throwaway. Even the brother, who’s just there to provide comic relief, just popped in for random phone calls and small talk. I’m not trashing the show—there’s just nothing happening. No meaningful introductions, no plot twists, no side characters worth remembering. I haven’t even finished the series and, honestly, I don’t feel any urge to. But hey, if I ever have way too much free time, I might give it another shot.

Also, let’s address the weird elephant in the room: the male lead falling for the girl who was basically a sister to him. Yeah, I know things like that can happen in real life, but the first few episodes really sold him as the protective, older-brother type. He was already a mature grown-up while she was still a teen, and the sudden shift into romance felt... off. Like, c’mon, how do you go from “big bro” to boyfriend that fast? But hey, maybe I’m just reading too much into it.

Now, despite all the nitpicking, I have to say the hospital episodes (somewhere around 9 or 11?) were fantastic. Those scenes felt real and had actual substance. I just wish the rest of the show had some kind of plot to match that.

In the end, it's not garbage like most shows, but it’s one of those shows I’ll probably only finish out of boredom. Not bad—just... forgettable.

Citeste mai mult

The leads completely fit their roles

As expected from our queen of chemistry, Zhao Lusi, speaking not only as a fan from her but she is totally great and portrays every drama so perfectly. She excels in every act she plays. Even pairing her from any male lead, every pair she had with, they perfectly fit together.

As for the storyline, it is a bit of cliche but you never get bored watching it, binge watching it to be exact, as the characters portraying each of their role did their best to make this modern drama exceptionally good for us viewers.

It is no doubt if this drama will garner awards at the end of the year . ???

Citeste mai mult

Pure and beautiful!!!

I’m actually gonna cry!!! This is in my top 5 of favorite drama’s of all time!!! People may think it’s weird how she fell for him at 14 when he was 22, but their relationship together was so pure and innocent up until he realized he loved her when she was already an adult so there was nothing weird going on!! Someone scams up with the expression “Duan Xiaju is a walking green flag” and it is nothing BUT true!!The actors were phenomenal!! The charisma between the two characters was beautiful and the innocence when he looks into her eyes is so sweet it makes me scream!!! Like I’ve said in a previous comment, they are so lucky to have found each other and her parents are the best parents I’ve EVER seen in a drama!! They showed their concern for her in a way that didn’t involve breaking the couple up for unnecessary drama!! Her big brother also deserves to be appreciated because he really gave his beast friend to his baby sister cause he knew he was a good guy and knew he would take care of her. He trusted him!! I feel like there were no plot holes in this drama either except for the fact that we never knew what happened to her high school friend that set her up, but maybe it’s for the best! I love that Sang Zhi was head strong and no one could change her emotions. Like she cut off that so called friend immediately and never turned back even when it hurt!! She was quiet and reserved and you don’t see that a lot with female leads in dramas! I know I’m rambling, but I can’t express enough how much this drama effected me!! I’m gonna strive to have this kind of love in my lifetime!! I’ll take no less!! I’m gonna miss this drama so much!!!!❤️❤️❤️??

Citeste mai mult

c-drama u must watched at least once in ur life

this is one of the fluffy, adorable, heart-fluttering Chinese drama I've ever seen. hidden love is a heartwarming youth love story with straightforward storyline, with no dragging plotines, even the relationship main characters and supporting casts are well written & potrayed.

the man with very warm hearted, protective, caring, romantic, responsible, adore, loved, expressive eyes to communicate, protecting, comfort,



remember when he said
thank u for giving me so much love. because of you, i found out that i'm such a great person too. it turns out that i deserve to be loved too. you made me suddenly want to try. to love someone no matter what
Duan jiaxu to sang zhi

Citeste mai mult

Heart Sizzling Romance that will hit all your feels

This is a 2023 Chinese romantic drama with 25, 45 minute episodes. It is adapted from the web novel entitled “Secretly. Secretly but unable to hide it”.

First I will provide an original synopsis then review

Synopsis

Sang Zhi (Zhao Lu Si) is your typical younger sister who engages in all the standard sibling rivalry but acually looks up to and relies on her older brother a lot. Her older brother, Sang Yan (Victor Ma) brings his best friend, Duan Jia Xu (Chen Zhe Yuan) over a lot to hang out and play video games. The spirited Sang Zhi is immediately drawn to the kind and more tolerant than her big brother, Jian Xu. She asks him to help her with some trouble she is having at school and that sets the stage for a relationship of quasi sibling hood that develops between the two. He becomes like her second brother but the good brother who never torments her. Amd she is like the mischievous amd charming little sister he never had. After all she is five years his junior and a kid still in school while he is in college. As the years go by and their relationship deepens, Sang Zhi is the first to realize the feelings she has are not at all sisterly. As things develop you realize the spark was always there and these two, who have hidden their feelings from long, even from themselves, are unable to force an ending only because of their beginning.

Review

Overall it is one of the best romantic comedy dramas I have ever watched and I am currently at over 270 Asian dramas, mostly romance, watched. There is a reason the majority of reviews are overwhelmingly positive. If you like coming of age, age gap, she falls first but then he falls harder, romances this one is perfect for all of that. If you like a lot of intrigue and plot twists then this may not be as much your ideal. The chemistry between the two leads is so on point it would be easy to understand them dating in real life. Both actors are amazing and you really feel every emotion they go through.
Spoilers*
I read several reviews where people were worried that Zhao Lu Si might be in a role where she suffers as a character, that is how much people like this actress. So for those that worry about that it is not like that. She does have some scenes where she is heart broken but they more than make up for it later. So your favorite actress is not going to be in some Nicholas Sparks like Greek tragedy. It is very heart warming and she plays the role spectacularly as I am sure, if you are a fan, you would expect.
I did not feel like the age gap was large at all. I did wonder how they would transition from their brother/sister like relationship to a romantic one but it actually made sense. It was like he also had hidden feelings for her way earlier than he even admitted to himself. They were very soul mate like so it is not at all hard to envision them gravitating toward each other. Once the brother got over the fact that his best friend was attracted to his little sister it seemed he picked up on just how perfect they were for each other. This was apparent when the brother actually stuck up for them a bit with the parents by going with Jia Xu and nodding his approval in the background.
Personally I identified with the sibling relationship between the brother and sister. My brother is 5 years older than me and our relationship was much like theirs. I did date one of his friends and he dated several of my friends (I called him the friendship killer). The difference was he actually trusted his friends to date me more than someone he didn’t know. He really should not have because his friend was one of the worst people I ever dated and I only dated just that one of his friends. So I could see where it could go either way. Of course I did not date his best friend, the one he trusted acting on his behalf, I dated just a regular one of his friends. It may have been different, and my brother may have felt betrayed more, if it was his best friend. But, because my situation was very similar I could really relate to that sibling relationship and I am sure others would as well. It was a very nice part of the series to explore that relationship.
I did not get the age gap thing being an issue once she was an adult. Five years is not a huge age gap it is within most normal ranges. The girl that played the younger Sang Xi (Zhang Xi Wei) did a fabulous job but did not look 14, she looked much younger. So, it did make the age gap seem a lot larger in their younger years. They did a remarkable job with Zhao Lu Si making her look younger than her actual years by just changing her hairstyle and makeup.
There were no compelling 2nd or 3rd romances and the love triangle was not that persistent. But the romance between the lead characters was so intense none of that was needed. It would have been nice to see the brother with someone and they did drop a hint about something when he knew so much about birthing centers and that never bore out.
I think the second most heart warming and interesting relationship was between the brother and sister. He called her “Little Demon” which was so cute as it reflected that kind of playful rivalry siblings can have for the parent’s affection. She was your typical little sister and he was very much within how most older brothers are. It also reflected what I understand about the shifting view of daughters in China. There were so few females at one point because of the one child policy and favoring boys during those times that daughters actually became precious once the policy opened up. There was a part where she was having a really hard time on her internship and she just wanted her brother. But, it showed he was accepting her relationship and even embracing it when he said you have Jia Xu.
I loved what a warrior to his defense she became when anyone was “bullying” Jia Xu. He had such a hard life because of the horrible incident surrounding his father that I wanted nothing but happiness for him. When the crazy daughter of the man who was hit and killed by Jia Xu’s father threw water at him and she, without hesitation, turned and threw water right back at her I cheered. I also loved that she made it clear to him that she did not all feel the sins of the father were his own. She even was willing to combat her brother when he beat him up. I was a bit angry with her brother for doing that as well and was disappointed when they seemed to lie about him hitting him back. The cut away scene when they showed that he actually did hit him back was a perfect way to wrap that up. I was glad he did not lie to her even to protect her brother.
In other dramas I have been disappointed when the lead would be made to distance themselves because the parents did not approve so I loved that she even took her parents on for him by leaving early when their harsh words drove him away. In really good relationships, the significant other is the first person you can count on being on your side and having your back. The depth of their relationship and connection was apparent in the fact that you could see they were hurt too when the other one was hurt either physically or mentally.
There was a separation, but it made complete sense. He was going back to her hometown to set things up for their future. And neither of them were okay with it but went through it as they knew it was the best in the long run. The scene at the airport where she wanted every last second with him and he indulged her because he actually wanted it too was so cute. I loved that they did not follow the tired trope of I must go away and I am just okay abandoning you in the middle of a deep relationship. And the reason the person is going away is usually inane and you feel like yeah I get you want to do that but why do you insist on doing it now. Or can’t you just do that with the person you love? This wasn’t like that. His going was actually because he knew how important her relationship with her family was to her and there was no reason he couldn’t resettle there as he no longer had a family tying him to his hometown. He also was taking steps to make their financial future more secure. And he wanted to make her parents more comfortable with his ability to provide and take care of her. So all of the reasons he had were good ones.
The proposal scene was just beautiful. I was fully tricked by his surprise as well. It was really sweet and seeing her family there just beaming about it was very heart warming. It was clear that they fully accepted it and that he was now going to be a part of that loving family.

#HiddenLove
#ZhaoLuSi
#VictorMa
#ChenZheYuan

Citeste mai mult

Best light romance drama of the year with PERFECT CAST

I don't usually write a review, but this drama is worth to mention!!!
Hidden Love has super great cast with great chemistry, making me blush myself everytime they have romantic moments. And I soooo freaking love their romance scenes - it gives me butterflies. The story itself is pretty light, making it enjoyable to watch every single episode. Chen Zheyuan plays the cool big brother role soooo perfectly (isn't it a crime to be that adorable tho?!! I'm falling head over heels myself, help!!!). Give him a thropy for stealing my heart. They're such a cute couple, seriously. I keeps smiling from ear to ear watching them.
I wish the drama would be longer, I enjoy the journey of Sangzhi - from being a little brat to a mature young lady (as expected from Zhao Lusi acting). It has perfect pace, not dragging too long but not too fast as well. Definitely going to rewatch it again in the near future.
SUPER recommended if you're a fan of light romantic drama. It's overloaded with sweetness to the point that it's diabetic.

Citeste mai mult