Hidden Love (2023)

Watching this is like having a crush again

This show is pure dopamine; it's like falling in love or going through your first crush again. Has you squealing every time there's ANY development or even interaction between the two leads, and reminds me of the feeling of watching Business Proposal (another show that's like a pure dopamine shot). And all this is thanks to the amazing acting by the two leads, Zhao Lusi and Chen Zheyuan. The two of them were just SO good together. Chen Zheyuan's character is so dreamy, help 🥺

With that being said, I still skipped a lot of scenes. I'm not a fluff person and just find fluff, coming-of-age, student life, first love etc., to be a bit too low stakes to keep me 100% invested. The pacing is (imo) pretty slow and really drags. I also struggled with how cutesy ZLS's character acted in the first 4-6 episodes, I ended up skipping those.

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Pure fluff, cuteness and love.

As someone who stopped watching 'Girl x Boy loveteam' type of series (became a BL and GL fan for a long time), Hidden Love is a great comeback. Just pure fluff. A lot of very relatable scenes and also scenes that can make the viewers believe (somehow) in love again.

Both Duan Jiaxu and Sang Zhi was written perfectly, "green flag couple" indeed. Now I understand why people are really hooked up by Zheyuan and Lusi's chemistry, they worked. Their chemistry is just top-tier. Love these two so much, really. But in this drama? I fell in love truly to Victor Ma, SANG YAN!! He is just an overall relatable character, I love him so much.

Story wise, tbh, nothing new. I guess what really made this drama stand out was everything inside this drama worked out so well. From casts to story, up to the execution, its really good. But yeah, when it comes to the story, I am not too stunned or what.

Overall, this is such a good watch. It will bring back lots of butterflies on your stomach. Watch this, its worth it, really! 💞

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The success of the year. For those seeking normality

Hidden Love is a good modern product. It's a love story, with 25 episodes, without plot holes. It almost seems more like a Korean product than a Chinese one. There are no stupid friends, kidnappings, rains, falls down stairs or trips and catching on the fly. Ok, these things are also in Korean products. For half the drama there is actually a crazy psychologist, there is a bit of snow falling because it always suits us, and some parents who are a little too apprehensive, you have known this boy all his life, he has always been respectful, kind and perfect , the son-in-law that every mother-in-law would like, but what are you bothering about!. But the clichés stop there. There is fun, comedy, sadness but also understanding, maturity and growth. The story as mentioned is linear and runs which is wonderful. There are no major upheavals, and no villains who break plans. There is the growth of a relationship, two guys who communicate and clarify misunderstandings, there are no subterfuges, just normal problems, the iterations that change between the protagonists, a brother that everyone would like as an older brother and I'm not talking about the lead. There is maturity, knowing what you want and achieving a common goal for a better life. When in a drama do two people decide to stay apart for two years to lay the foundations for a better future for both without tears, hysteria, upheavals? Only note to the costume designer. But why is the protagonist always dressed nice, while poor Jianxu is always dressed 2 sizes too big and wearing hideous jackets. Armocromia move away! Is it a masterpiece that deserves to be at the top of the charts? No. In 2023, dramas with more complex, detailed stories were released. But it is enjoyable, light, sentimental and romantic.

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Drachin terindah selama 7 tahun menjadi penggemar drachin

Entah kenapa drama ini jadi satu-satunya drama yang bikin aku bener-bener fall in love terus ke pemainnya terutama Chen Zhe Yuan dan Zhao Lusi. Udah setengah tahun berlalu, setiap liat interaksi mereka i feel butterfly in stomach. Oh My God... Semua interaksi dari chemistry yang mereka suguhkan itu terasa jujur dari dalam hati. Belum pernah merasakan hal seperti ini selama 7 tahun nonton drachin.

Bahkan dibikin fall in love pada setiap behind the scene, baik yang sudah banyak beredar dari awal maupun baru-baru ini launching yang seakan akan kita dikasih asupan buat fall in love terus ke mereka, gak bakal bisa move on. Padahal gak ada niatan buat move on dari mereka. Pengennya cinta mereka berlanjut sampek ke real life. hihiiii

Udah nonton dari 8 bulan yang lalu dan masih tetap cinta.
Semoga sukses selalu, Chen Zhe Yuan Gege dan Zhao Lusi Jie.

Love you all... Chen Zhe Yuan and Zhao Lusi

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This is a romance story, only romance.

I've been waiting for this drama to air since the poster was released. I hope to enjoy this drama until the end, when this drama is trending I feel happy because I feel that I was not in vain waiting. But when I watched, I was disappointed.

I feel that this drama has one mission, which is to make Sangzhi and Jiaxu become lovers. That, that's all that needs to be done in this drama. I really feel like every groove just revolves around the two of them. Many of the rest of the cast just feel like NPCs. As a viewer, I feel like I don't know any other characters besides Sangzhi and Jiaxu. Maybe this is also the reason why I quite like SangZhi's Brother SangYan, because he's the only character apart from Sangzhi and Jiaxu who feels 'alive' in this drama.

I liked the first four episodes, it was quite enjoyable and I liked the bond between little Sangzhi and Sangyan. Although I feel that the actress playing little Sangzhi is too young to be called a middle schooler, but the child's acting is quite good in my opinion, so I don't mind. The problem was when Sangzhi grew up and became a high school student. I don't know where the mistake lies, but high school Sangzhi feels more like a child than middle school Sangzhi. While watching it I felt confused as to why Sangzhi High was so much more immature, childish, and acted like an elementary schooler. Even Sangzhi lost his confidence when he was in high school. I know it might be due to some reason, but this drama doesn't explain why Sangzhi High School is more childish than Sangzhi Middle School. I can't blame ZLS for this. Because maybe that's what it says in the script. But to be honest it's quite uncomfortable, seeing adult women act like elementary school children.

Actually, I also don't really feel the 'green flag' of a Jiaxu. I felt that Jiaxu didn't have a strong character, and every scene with Sangzhi felt like 'flirt'. I tried to watch up to episode nine because everyone told me to watch until that episode to like this drama. But even up to episode ten, I only saw the relationship between the two which felt very slow and full of slow motion. I mean, not all scenes of look into each other's eyes or touching each other have to be in slow motion... I heard that Jiaxu had a trauma, but up to episode ten this trauma had never appeared. Even when in the past Jiaxu was depicted as poor and had to constantly earn money, the portrayal in the drama did not show Jiaxu as a busy person at all. Although in some scenes he looks asleep, it's just that for someone who is really pressed for money, Jiaxu seems to have a lot of time to go back and forth to take Sangzhi courses, even taking him to the planetarium. I feel like maybe the scenes of Jiaxu working in multiple places should help a bit to better illustrate how hard Jiaxu has to work to stabilize his economy. Unfortunately it was never shown, and we are immediately taken to the timeskip when Jiaxu is already working and has a car. And once again I feel that I don't have a close relationship with the characters around Jiaxu such as his co-workers and the women who chase him, all of them feel like NPCs.

Even though I think there are many characters that can be shown better in this drama. But even characters like Sangzhi's parents, Sangzhi's roommates, even Jiaxu's co-workers feel like just extra characters. They don't have a 'story' for themselves. So even when they appeared, they were only acting as characters bridging the romantic story of Sangzhi and Jiaxu. The other characters really feel lifeless apart from Sangyan. Even the conflict between Sangzhi and his high school friend was reviewed in the simplest way possible just to get the moment Jiaxu saved Sangzhi. Even though this part can be reviewed further, such as why his friend chose to do that. Or what happened after that. But all resolved very quickly. Characters that bothered Sangzhi were immediately eliminated, with no time for Sangzhi to develop when hit by a problem.

And that's the reason I dropped this drama. During the ten episodes running, there was no character development from the two main characters. They just changed costumes, but still act like high school kids. Sangzhi in college was the same as Sangzi in high school, and so was Jiaxu when he was working, he was still the same as when he was in college. Either they lack an antagonist who can develop both characters, or it was just like that from the start. Oh, and I also don't like the character of Sangzhi's parents, who feel like they pamper Sangzhi a lot. This also makes me feel that Sangzhi can't face big problems. And I feel this is why this drama really focuses on romance, because maybe for Sangzhi's character who is used to being spoiled, romance is a big problem for him.

I know this opinion is quite controversial, even here the drama's rating is very high. I am also quite sad because I can't enjoy the drama that I've been waiting for for a long time like other people. I was really looking forward to this drama, maybe that's also the main reason why I'm getting more disappointed. But it comes down to preference again, so I hope that even if I don't represent the majority, I can voice my personal preference a bit.

*note, I still really like Sangyan's character until now*

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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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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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Gostei porém sei lá

Bom vou dar minha opinião sincera. Até chegar no ep 10 eu estava muito agoniada e desconfortável pelo fato de ela ser uma criança/ adolescente e estar gostando de um homem adulto terminando a faculdade. Apesar de ser meio ok pq é normal adolescente ter um crush assim, o q me incomodou foi o próprio dorama tentando insinuar um clima entre eles, isso me deixou muito desconfortável (talvez o fato de deu ter um irmão 7 anos mais velho influencie nisso), e como ela agia quando era adolescente me incomodou um pouco tbm, ela n parecia ter 16 anos e sim uns 12, mas eu entendi que foi a forma da atriz de interpretar uma personagem bem mais nova q a idade real dela.

Quando ela entrou na faculdade eu dei graças a Deus por ela já ser maior de idade e comecei a gostar mais do dorama, inclusive o ep 15 foi o meu favorito gostei bastante dele e me deixou mais animada para assistir(gostei tanto q até fiz um comentário do ep aqui no mdl kkk). Porém, foi chegando no ep 20 e eu já não tava mais gostando tanto, comecei a achar meio sem graça, parado, não tava me cativando mais. E foi no ep 22 q eu decidi não empurrar mais e "dropar" o dorama. Eu não sei se foi o meu estado no momento ou sei lá, mas talvez algum dia eu termine de assistir e tenha uma opinião diferente de agora.

Eu não tava entendendo pq q todo mundo tava amando tanto esse dorama, falando que é o melhor do ano e eu pensando q já assisti muitos melhores. Acho que esse estilo de história não é o meu forte mesmo. Mas entendi que o que pra mim pode ter sido ruim pra outras pessoas possa ter sido uma experiência ótima.
Acho tbm q bastante gnt q assistiu não assiste muitos doramas chineses e aí talvez o hype que o dorama teve me deu expectativas demais.

Pra concluir, eu achei a atuação de todos excelente, adorei alguns personagens (o Sang Yan por exemplo) e achei incrível e admirável o esforço que a atriz da Sang Zhi fez pra esse dorama lançar, virei fã dela! E inclusive adoro o ator principal, já assisti outros doramas com ele e gosto demais dele.

E por fim, n digo q o dorama é horrível ou q n recomendo pra ninguém, só n foi com a minha cara msm e tá tudo bem, talvez eu assista dnv e goste mais, mas é isso.

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my first and last love

So I am watching this because I am swept along with the 20,000 others that are watching this. Also it is rated a 9.2. So that means it shouldn't be a waste of my time... right?

Yeah this drama isn't a waste of time. It's good. The light and cheery atmosphere alone are enough to have me watching. I have seen a lot of k-dramas lately so this is a nice switch-up. It tells a sweet little love story about a girl and her brothers best friend. Suprisngly enough I haven't seen any dramas with this synopsis before.

Now what is good is the production quality and the visuals of the main leads. I am a few episodes in already and it's easy to watch. Watching is a breeze and I can easily watch, so I hope I don't lose interest. What interests me is those visuals and the hope that the 9.2 rating brings foward some amazing scenes that punch right at my gut and get me really believing that score.

I'm not going to be super bitter about the rating. I honestly don't see that it is a 9.2. I give it what I give it because it isn't perfect, but I rate it so high because it isn't necessarily doing anything wrong either.

What gets me though is the younger actress for our main character. She is great, but she is waaaaaayyyy to young to be portraying a character that is 13/14. The actress is 10 irl, so to have moments that are classically portrayed as a budding romance is weird to me. It makes me uncomfortable.. and it shouldn't be. This show brings up the age gap though, with Duan Ji Xu and Sang Shi. It is very obvious between the two their age because of how she claims him as another 'brother' of hers. Comparing him to her brother, those are cute and not problematic. What is- is how Duan Ji brings up how if she is dating someone and he took her out knowing she is a minor than that is wrong. So he sees her as a minor, he won't date her. That is good. What could be, and notice how I saw /could/. Is that if he ends up dating her, which I know happens, then he has seen her grow up. Now that is grooming.

I think this drama isn't stupid, but it has its moments. The opening scene with the young Sang She and Duan Ji are cringe inducing. The music playing up as she sees him for a moment.. I can look past that. I can't look past how three years later she seems even more immature than her younger self. I haven't seen a show with Zhao Lu Si, so maybe her voice is just that young sounding. I do like her character a lot though. She is sweet and naive, but she is calculating in a way. She have ulterior motives with Duan Ji and that is where the love is hiding. It's cute to see her little crush and how that affects her actions with him, it's pretty simple. So the hidden love to me is more of an agenda because of this. Because she likes to hang out with him and pulls him into her life not because he is just nice, but because she secretly likes him and is waiting for the day she can confess or something. I am excited to see how that all unravels but hope that they don't emphasize her youth too much.

With Duan Ji bringing up her age and all I hope they just do it correctly when it comes to him liking her. I believe he will like her when she is of age, and I hope they address that he likes her NOW as opposed to the trope of always loving her. Because he knew her since she was 13/14. I hope he grows to like her as an adult of age and appreciates her growth as a person rather than saying something like he always has loved her. That would make this weirder than it already is.

I get that she likes an older guy, I would too. He is someone she compares her brother too, and he is nice to her. It's a mindless attraction. So I hope for Sang Shi, she realizes what she /really/ likes about him. The older she gets her feelings mature as well.

So this drama is good and I recommend. It's got this amazing feel to it, it's got stunning setups with the camera work and everything. What is needs it to have those hearthrobbing moments between the leads. The set up is very very good, I want their romance to mature and I can see that happening.

What I really must commend is Zhao Lusi's acting. I haven't seen a drama with hers in it and now I know I have been missing out. She is excellent here and so is Chen Zhe Yuan.. who I am most looking forward to see in Sho Po Lang.

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Worth the Watch!!

Trust me, it’s a good show so far.
I’m blushing for every interaction the ML has with the FL. Both actors are very good and I’m in love with them. I’m binge watching the show right now and I’m addicted. It’s a very sweet romance and it’s not too cringy like some other shows I’ve watched. I really like the storyline where the girl falls in love with her brother’s friend, that got me to watch it since it’s very catchy. Zhao Lusi and Duan are very good at their roles and they’re both super attractive. I wish they do more shows together in the future; they look so good together.

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Well-written, light and heartwarming drama

Finally, have finished watching all the 25 episodes. You may see some comments I made while watching the drama in the "Comments" section.

Tbh, I seldom watch Chinese dramas, let alone write reviews, but I think this drama deserves my review. It is a very well-written, light and heartwarming drama about a young girl who had a crush (or "puppy love" as they called it) on her brother's best friend when she was a teenager, which develops into genuine and unconditional love for him when she enters university and becomes an adult.

I love the storyline, it's simple, light, and heartwarming, without any major villains -- the only so-called "villains" would be the ML's ex-creditor who kept on harassing him, and her friend who happened to be the FL's superior in the company where she's interned, and some schoolgirl bullies who bullied the FL's friend when they were still at school.

The rest are all positive characters with heartwarming relationships and their respective chemistries. I love the brother-sister relationship between FL and her brother, as well as between FL and her brother's friend with whom she is secretly having feelings. Love how they act as protective elder brothers to protect their mei mei from bullies. Love the bickering between the elder brother and the younger sister. Their acting is awesome and feels natural.

I also love the buddy friendship between the ML and the FL's elder brother, as well as the friendship between the FL and her three roommates at the university. I also love the FL's parents, both the mom and dad are portrayed as ideal parents who eventually are very supportive of their daughter.

Everything is being portrayed warmly. I believe this is partly due to the amazing acting performance of the actors, not only the main actors but the supporting actors as well. Their acting is awesome and feels natural. The main lead actress, Zhao Lusi, stands out for being able to portray the main FL character from her teenage years until she graduates from university. She is very pretty, cute and adorable. I also love the acting of the SML Victor Ma, who portrays the FL's elder brother. His bickering and interaction with her little sister (both the young and the adult version of the sister) is very heartwarming to watch - thanks to his superior acting skills.

Another thing, the younger FL character is depicted to be 14 years old (8th grade), but the young actress portraying the character (Zhang Xi Wei) seems to be younger, around 11-12 years old, I think? Her acting is awesome for a child actress her age, it's always a delight watching her on screen in the earlier episodes. I predict she will become an amazing great actress when she grows up.

It's a highly recommended drama everyone should watch.

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