A wawaqing connects a shy girl and the smartest boy in class
Chinese Title
暗格里的秘密
The Secret Hidden in a Corner
[Recaps]
Cast
Chen Zhe Yuan: Zhou Si Yue
Xu Meng Jie (Rainbow): Ding Xian
Wang Ze Xuan: Song Zi Qi
Wang Yi Lan: Kong Sha Di
Fan Zhi Xin: Su Bo Cong
Crew
(Updated as of May 2022)
Genres
Reviews
Five (5/5)
What makes this regular school drama special? Everything. It’s the storytelling, the character development, the acting, the chemistry, the directing, the colours, the details (!!!), everything. Maybe to others this might just be a regular youth romance, but hear me out on why this one melts my heart with a sweetness so warm that it radiantly seeps from the centre of my heart to the far corners of my lips.
The Storytelling: The Sweet Formula. Zhou Si Yue and Ding Xian’s high school days are filled with 曖昧 (ai-mei) – a relationship more intimate than friends. He’s forward and she’s shy; they always find a way to communicate their misunderstandings. Halfway through the drama, our relationship flips! It’s Ding Xian actively pursuing Zhou Si Yue, slaughtering his tender heart with her cute bravery. Last third of the drama, the drama flips again and it’s Zhou Si Yue pursuing Ding Xian! I don’t see how a romance drama can fail when both of them are so cute and so active and so flirtatious in their pursuit of one another.
The Character Development. Zhou Si Yue starts out as the perfect guy: the popular kid; the smart kid; the nice kid. He has a mature side to him, but simultaneously, he is very immature. It's surprising how well the drama slowly peels back his perfection, revealing a very vulnerable boy. In the latter half, he's less than perfect, especially when compared to Ding Xian. He would tell her to do what she loves, but this idiot will go and make dumber decisions than her for her. Looking back, this guy has always made stupid decisions for her (e.g. scoring perfectly low enough on his tests to sit with her). And yet he will always be Ding Xian's light. In the middle of the drama, he loses sight of the light that guides him but Ding Xian finds him and she becomes his "truth" – the purity that gravitates him.
The Character Development. Zhou Si Yue starts out as the perfect guy: the popular kid; the smart kid; the nice kid. He has a mature side to him, but simultaneously, he is very immature. It's surprising how well the drama slowly peels back his perfection, revealing a very vulnerable boy. In the latter half, he's less than perfect, especially when compared to Ding Xian. He would tell her to do what she loves, but this idiot will go and make dumber decisions than her for her. Looking back, this guy has always made stupid decisions for her (e.g. scoring perfectly low enough on his tests to sit with her). And yet he will always be Ding Xian's light. In the middle of the drama, he loses sight of the light that guides him but Ding Xian finds him and she becomes his "truth" – the purity that gravitates him.
I said I couldn't see Ding Xian next to the blinding Zhou Si Yue because she's like a wallflower but let me tell you that the Show was brilliant in this setup. Midway through the drama, my girl, Ding Xian, shines brighter than Zhou Si Yue (and I LOVE this guy so that's saying a lot). A strong female lead need not be strong from the get-go. From a hardworking and shy girl, I watched her grow, I watched her learn, I watched her blossom into a beautiful, confident flower (a lilac dingxiang, perhaps). She's a strong female lead right up my alley.
What I love the most is that their character development happens in tandem and synergistically. In high school, the best of Zhou Si Yue influenced Ding Xian; in university, the best of Ding Xian influenced Zhou Si Yue. As the drama progresses, Zhou Si Yue’s flaws become more apparent (but his character becomes more endearing!) while Ding Xian’s stubbornness, perseverance and bravery become her merits. Together, they may not be perfect but they perfectly balance each other like an equation where Ding Xian is Zhou Si Yue's solution.
The Acting; the Chemistry; the Directing. I am officially a fan of Chen Zhe Yuan. Yes, he has god given visuals (and voice!), but above all, he knows how to use them. He has a fine nuanced control on his smiles, his gazes, his tears, etc. It's as if he has an impeccable command on the degree of sweetness in each one of his expressions. As for Xu Meng Jie (Rainbow) who has less acting experience, I think she rose up to match Chen Zhe Yuan's energy and together they built on their chemistry to create an admirable couple. On the topic of chemistry, the entire cast had synergy. The actors for Song Ci Zi and Yuan Fang (Zhou Si Yue’s buddies) had 10 seconds together, and man, their chemistry skyrocketed. It’s a pity that they only had a few seconds. The parents are fun too – including Mom Ding.
As much as I love Chen Zhe Yuan, the director (Zhang Xiao An) had a lot of influence on his acting – as the director should. Watching the behind-the-scenes, it's very clear how detail-oriented he was on Chen Zhe Yuan's postures, his gazes, his expressions, everything. The level of detail certainly paid off.
The Details! I'm in heaven with the amount of details I can extrapolate. There's hidden trinkets all over the drama – I kid not. It's in the “Wawaqing”, “Walking Together”, “Light and Truth”, “Secrets” (hence the drama title "Our Secret" or 暗格里的秘密 – this time, both English and Chinese title are meaningful, hurrah!), etc. And guys, I found out exactly when Ding Xian knew Zhou Si Yue''s ending secret! I feel like a detective! It'll be in another post because there's just too many details.
Overall. Objectively speaking, this is really just another school drama – please don't go in with high expectations, I sure didn't. I fell in love with this drama episode by episode, character by character, and line by line. It built its story on a simple foundation, handled each line with care, and each scene with detail. The story progression is so well planned that nothing feels like a filler nor rushed. Their romance hits a new high per episode and simultaneously hits all the right spots in my heart.
(Also, read more in In-Depth Discussion)
Four (4/5)
Three (3/5)
They start off on the wrong foot - and she avoids him until she can't. They end up as deskmates.
Su Bo Cong is Dian Xian's senior/childhood friend. He's so nice to her and gives her advice that she should make friends in high school. E21, my heart broke for him when he drunkenly confessed to her and she rejected him, but he did it in the worst way possible. And then he dealt with an angry Zhou Si Yue. His moral compass was broken for a while.
I honestly enjoyed their high school years more than college, as I liked how small their worlds were back then (it was mostly the two or four of them) - it was school and home life. When they went to college, there was a lot more to navigate (and so much conflict and trauma). I felt a bit disconnected from them as a whole. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the series. It's sweet and deep. Just buckle down for some tear jerking scenes.
Ding Xian is introverted but is prickly and feisty with Zhou Si Yue. She runs away from him more often than not in the beginning. I love how hard she worked to get into college, and then got braver and braver with time and learned to pursue her dreams - her own self-worth, work and Zhou Si Yue. I disliked her mother, because she was so hard on her and really seemed to favor her brother more. I was relieved when they showed her mother in a better light - she had good intentions but it came across as being way too harsh sometimes. At least she always had her father in her corner, except when his hands were tied because of her mother. (Ha, the browbeaten father is kind of funny to me sometimes.)
Zhou Si Yue is sweet but misunderstood when it comes to Ding Xian.😆 Of course he's the student who doesn't need to pay attention and can solve the math equations easily. He helps ease Ding Xian's pain at times and she slowly notices. He also doesn't stand for anyone slighting her. He finds a clever way to have her move back to sitting next to him again. (I love how the friends know he's into her before he realizes it, or admits to it anyway.)
Ah, the infamous soda accident (saw this clip so many times), and he covers her up in his jacket. (And he reveals secret #1, when they were 5, they slept in the same bed and he wet the bed. She kept it a secret. And so he remembered her from the beginning, and owes her a date.) He brings her candy for the bitter medicine her mother makes her drink. (But he doesn't like sweets, this dear boy.) He seriously scored lower on his exam so they could remain deskmates!
Ding Xian and Zhou Si Yue are so cute together. On their first date, Su Bo Cong shows up and chats with her. Activate hamster mode for Zhou Si Yue...🐹 But he invites her to a movie. They run and hide from their teacher, and they remain holding hands until they realize it and let go of each other. They get caught in the rain and he uses his shirt to shield her. For their lanterns, they both wrote a wish to stay as each other's deskmates. (Too cute!) I didn’t care for the way he treated her though after high school and when she first arrived at college - because he was shoving her away without any explanation. But I was proud of Ding Xian for being relentless in pursuing him.
Song Zi Qi is one of Zhou Si Yue's friends. He's very cute looking but has such a big mouth and is nosy. He's such a troublemaker. Zhou Si Yue tries to keep him in line though, as does Kong Sha Di. I enjoy his bickering scenes with Kong Sha Di. She usually gets the upper hand, too. He's also a ham.
Kong Sha Di is Zhou Si Yue and Ding Xian's friend. She's quite outspoken and deskmates with Song Zi Qi. She appears to have a crush on Song Zi Qi, and treats him like a child. 😆 I was so happy when they finally figured it out and got together. (Although, he still acted so immature in college by hiding from her.)
You Ke Ke is the popular girl who was interested in Zhou Si Yue, who kept asking Ding Xing to give messages and presents to Zhou Si Yue. I like how she ends up with Jiang Chen (they suit each other in their no-frills directness.) E6, Ah, the love letter that almost destroyed all friendships. You Ke Ke gives her letter to Ding Xian (addressed to Zhou Si Yue), and Kong Sha Di knows what it's about and rips it up. The girls are upset with each other - Ding Xian thought it was inappropriate and Kong Sha Di feels like that's what she (Ding Xian) should've done (or should’ve refused to do the favor for You Ke Ke.) Ding Xian distances herself from Zhou Si Yue, or tries to. Ding Xian rewrites YKK's letter and it creates a bigger misunderstanding as he recognizes her handwriting. She ends up having to give YKK's jar of stars to him. And Kong Sha Di tells him it's from You Ke Ke. He was happy, and now he's angry with her for not rejecting YKK's requests, and gives the jar back to her. YKK won't stop bothering Ding Xian. She doesn't know how to say no. Even though they're still not talking, he wrote her a note to celebrate his birthday that day. She's late but he waited for her (everyone else left) and saved her a piece of cake. (Thank you, Cyn Lynn for your recaps - subtitles didn't catch the handwritten stuff. 🤗) He tells her his birthday wish came true and just looks at her. And he gives her a cellphone: "I don't want to lose contact with you anymore." Pretty sweet for a 16-year-old boy. Safe to say, they've made up. Kong Sha Di and Ding Xian make up, too. Zhou Si Yue and Ding Xian have a moment in the classroom. The four each lunch together and Zhou Si Yue eats off of her tray. (I just can't with these two.) You Ke Ke and Ding Xian become friends. Zhou Si Yue makes it very clear to Ding Xian that he is not interested in You Ke Ke.
I honestly enjoyed their high school years more than college, as I liked how small their worlds were back then (it was mostly the two or four of them) - it was school and home life. When they went to college, there was a lot more to navigate (and so much conflict and trauma). I felt a bit disconnected from them as a whole. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the series. It's sweet and deep. Just buckle down for some tear jerking scenes.
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