Hidden Love (2023)

A Fairytale of Love

Once upon a time, you have a young princess who met her prince. She liked the prince the moment that she saw him. That is how I felt watching this drama. A beautiful woven fairytale of love.

In our lifetime we are fortunate to receive the most unexpected gift, you didn't really think it would be that extraordinary but with "Hidden Love" it is. This drama resonates with so many of us that we are transported back to our youth and relive our moments of our own first love.

As soon we Shang Zhi we know that she is a girl that is full of sweetness, naivete, and childlike qualities and there is such a depth of kindness and love that you cannot help but want to protect and embrace her. That is how Duan Jia Xu felt about Shang Zhi. Being her protector but it was really Shang Zhi who was the protector. She helped Duan Jia Xu understand that even though life had thrown him the worst struggles and disappointments, he was more than worthy of being loved.

It was so exciting to see their love blossom over so many years until you felt like family watching your own daughter in this relationship and cheering her on. We felt all of her heartaches, tears, joys and misunderstandings. You feel yourself wanting to help her fix everything and keep the beautiful world that she envisions not only for herself but Duan Jia Xu as well.

Many may go in with a jaded attitude and not feel what I or others feel about this drama and that is ok. But if you just allow yourself to think about the most important love that you had in your life--you will understand. It's just magical.

You find yourself, laughing, smiling, crying and just overjoyed with this fairytale of love. But you know there has never been a fairytale without an obstacle, and you would think it would have been Shang Zhi's parents, but it was actually Duan Jia Xu himself.

Her parents always like Duan Jia Xu but felt the problems that he had in the past with his family would be an issue with moving forward in their relationship. Duan Jia Xu was not to be deterred. After speaking with Shang Zi at the airport he understood and stated to her clearly his feelings and love for her.

Here is the following monologue from episode 24:

Shang Zhi: "Why did you drink? What's wrong? I'll get you something hot to drink."

Duan Jia Xu: "Why did you wake up?"

Shang Zhi: "Are you in a bad mood?"

Duan Jia Xu: "I think I treat you badly."

Shang Zhi: "When did you treat me badly? Is it because of what I said to you at the airport today? I told you because I just wanted you to know. Since you didn't know before, that's why I wanted to tell you. But I didn't want you to feel...You treat me very well. Whether it's the past or now, you still treat me well. It's true."

Duan Jia Xu: "Shang Zhi, I love you. I'm sorry, Zhi. I've said this too late. Over the years, I know I've made you sad. It was your unwavering dedication that made me realize that I'm not good enough. My imperceptive or indecisiveness. None of it was good. But for these shortcomings, I'll try my best to make it up to you for every day we spend together. Zhi, I won't forget the choice you made. I love you, Shang Zhi."

What else can you say after that? Oh, I do.... they lived happily ever after! The End!

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MAKE YOU FEEL LIKE POP ROCKS, STRAWBERRY, BUBBLE GUM *easily best c-drama of this year* must watch!!

I don't know how to explain my feelings about this but literally everything about this drama was amazing.
Maybe you can see this as a general youth drama but but their acting and the subjects they deal with have made the series warm to your heart.

Their acting was so good like.. it was so natural. The way zhe yuan expressed his feelings, the way lu si showed sang zhi's love for jia xu so clearly in his eyes, the chemistry of the two was truly incredible. Even their bickering and being jealous about each other was so cute.

At first I was worried that sang zhi was not yet a minor, but I was very relieved that nothing was as we feared. I think this was one of the most ambitious series of the summer - in fact, many of the summers. Their chemistry was so good that I hope we can see the two of them as partners on a project again.

Also, I think sang yan (victor ma) really shines in the drama. They played so well that they really were like siblings with lu si. And i don't even know why i thought like that but am i the only one that expect sang zhi's friend yu xin would end up with sang yan lmao 😂😂 i think i really want him to be happy with someone and show off about this to sang zhi😂

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The best modern cdrama ?

Their chemistry is to die for 😭 I hope that they will do an another cdrama together (and that they will end up dating🤭)
I have almost seen all of Zhao Lusi's dramas and she does not disappoint. Chen Zheyuan is also an amazing actor with a promising career and I really hope that they will collaborate in an another drama!

I just love how the characters cared for each other and how they resolved misunderstanding's almost immediately. I have smiled throughout all episodes like an idiot and this drama is totally worth your time and patience! I guarantee you that.

The OST is also to die for, especially two of them where the FML sings. I will most definitely rewatch this drama in a couple of years and get reminded of one of the happiest time of my life - which is when I watch this drama 🥰

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A drama that is sugary sweet but delivered so we believe its real!

This drama deserves a 10 because it is perfect for romantic junkies like me. If you want a story that focuses on the main couple and explores how the became a couple, this is it.

The music was perfectly timed an presented to support the relationship. The acting from our leads was wonderful and compelling and their chemistry was off the charts. They conveyed the myriad of emotions of their journey with beautiful facial expressions that pulled me in every time. I believed in their love.

This is not new or groundbreaking story and for some it is actually a problematic story. The part that attracts me if the way the drama lets me experience the emotions the characters are feeling. We feel their butterflies and frustrations and feelings of inadequacies and yearnings and hope and desire to loved and be loved. From beginning to end the actors portray a scenario that unfolds to explain the POV of both of the people in the relationship and how they get to the point of being the ones for each other. It kind of sacrifices any other story lines to just focus on our leads.. There are short scenes of side stories but they were really only to support the main couple . I could see the potential for criticism to say these were just "forgotten" but I was too invested in the main coupe to really care.

So this is not even a flaw for me. In my opinion this allows for the main characters to be fully developed. By this I mean that at the end, I believed that even though the ML was older his life circumstance led him to focus on survival so his romantic/emotional age was actually less than his real age. The same with the FL - her princess life gave her so much security and safety to be who she wanted to be. We also learn early on that she is intellectually capable so this coupled with her freedom of expressions helps her to study and learn from her experiences. She is able to analyze situations and critically think through problems which in a way bridges the age gap. I totally believed that his emotional age and hers where much closer and made them well-suited and no issues with a romantic relationship.

A romantic relationship that they are fully committed to an expend all the passion and energy in their heart and soul to secure and maintain and be happy in. That is the sweetness and also the pure fantasy of this drama. The portrayed sincerity which these two bring to their relationship makes us believe it could absolutely be real. I really enjoyed that ride and will definitely watch again. In my books they deserve a 10/10 for delivering this so well.

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A good coming age love story

Romance was not my preferred genre but it still capture my attention enough to completely watch the series. The cinematography and storytelling is quite good it gives the nostalgia feels and connect to the inner longing crush we encounter in our lives during teenage but never had chance to acted upon.
The take and actors manage to capture the tender n innocence of romance from their growing years to adulthood removing all the uncomfortable feels for that i would applaud the main actors.

I would definitely recommend to give it a try rather going through reviews; it is not everyone's cup of tea.

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Best coming of age drama

Loved the storyline, loved the honesty, love the believability. Sometimes dramas can have elements where it's so unbelievable, it's cringy. I like this one because every scenario is done well. There's no over the top situation. It's very relatable.

I like how you see growth in Sang Zhi, especially in her relationship with her parents. There comes a time when every parents needs to realize their daughter has grown into a woman, and that was done well in this drama.

Loved the actors and actresses, not just the mains, but the whole cast. Casting was done well.

The music, I can listen to on repeat FOREVER. I don't think I've liked a soundtrack so much since A Walk To Remember.

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Sad to see this end!

As with most high-rated dramas, this one has its share of mixed reviews. Those that love it, LOVED it; while those that didn’t, didn’t. For me, this series was a true breath of fresh air for C-dramas. Relationships built on patient respect, communication, and unconditional love rather than bickering, backstabbing, or guilt-tripping manipulation. In that sense, this drama was indeed different. Instead of being an intense roller coaster of emotions, it was more like a cross-country road trip of a story: a gentle, meandering trek filled with breathtaking sights all along the way.

I’m so grateful to Zhao Lusi, Chen Zheyuan, Ma Boqian, Zeng Li, and the whole cast and crew for taking us on this beautiful heart journey. It was magnificent, with so many memorable moments; and you will be so missed. Putting you on repeat until next time….

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Refreshing take on a modern romance

Such a lovely story of a young crush turning into more in adulthood. There is nothing remotely sinister in the childhood portion, as seen from the perspective of a young girl, with the object of her attention having no idea, but just being kind and helpful to her. No ulterior motives by DJX. The adulthood portion is wonderful as feelings start to develop and will ring a bell with so many people when falling in love.
This is a very realistic story about romance, helped by the amazing chemistry between Zhao Lusi and Chen Zheyuan! The smiles, sparkling eyes looking at ech other, they are so beautiful together. Lusi again does that youngster to grown up seamlessly, not just in the way she speaks but in all the physical attributes she brings to playing a youngster. Chen Zheyuan has never looked so attractive as the sly, sexy, foxy DJX, trying to woo SZ when she is grown up and he has fallen for her. Brings alot of emotion to the character as well. Her brother is amazing as well, as is all the other cast. A supportive loving couple ,it is a delight to watch and wish it had gone on longer!

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