Hidden Love | Open Thread

A crush on my gege's best bro.
Notable Actors/Actresses

Chen Zhe Yuan: Duan Jia Xu

Zhao Lu Si: Sang Zhi 

Director: 

Li Qing Rong

Scriptwriter: 

Ou Si Jia (Author: Zhu Yi)

Chinese Title
偷偷藏不住

Cannot Be Hidden

Genres: Contemporary, Romcom, (School,) Contemporary Romcom

Network: Youku

Year: 2023
Episodes: 25

Jump to Reviews | Recs | Comments

Cast

Chen Zhe Yuan: Duan Jia Xu	Zhao Lu Si: Sang Zhi
Ma Bo Qian: Sang Yan	Guan Zi Jing: Li Xun
Qin Xin Zhi: Sang Rong	Zeng Li: Li Ping
Hu Yu Xuan: Qian Fei	Lu Dong Xu: Jiang Ming
Wang Yi Lan: Wang Ruo Lan	Qi Tian Qing: Yu Xin
Wei Xiao: Ning Wei	Zhang Hao Lun: Chen Jun Wen

Romcom/Romance Checklist

How much of the plot is angst/romance?

0.75 / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4.5 / 5

The ML: 

Cold–Lukewarm–Warm / Timid / Falls in Love First / Noble Idiot / CEO / General /

The FL: 

Bold / Cute / Cool & Independent / Falls in Love First / Better Than ML / Noble Idiot / 

Describe the Relationship (the tropes):

Bickering Start / Childhood Connection / Cohabitation / Contract Marriage or Fake Couple / Enemies to Lovers / Hidden Identity / School to Adulthood / Love Triangle / Married Couple (Real) / Secretly in Love (FL)  / Star-Crossed Lovers / 

Relationship Progress (officially together; first (official) kiss; breakup*):

Ep 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 15 / 16 / 17 / 18 / 19 / 20 / 21 / 22 / 23 / 24 / 25 

# of CPs (including main CP):
0 / 1 / 2 / 3 (the others didn't matter)

Ending:

Happy / Sad / Open Happy / Open Sad / Bad

Screen-Caps

[Ep1]

He calls her a thief and gives her a fox.

[Ep2]

"If you're too late, then ....for the rest of this life, you won't have a girlfriend." 

(Don't curse yourself too. And pst, he was here early. He'll have a gf)

[Ep3] 

[Ep4]

[Ep5]

[Ep13]

[Ep14]

[Ep15]

"Can I pursue you?"

[Ep16]

[Ep17]

[Ep18]

[Ep19]

[Ep20]

[Ep21]

[Ep22]

[Ep23]

[Ep24]

[Ep25]

Happy.

Reviews

Submit Your Review | Rating Guide

Five (5/5)

Four (4/5)

Three (3/5)

Reviewer: cynlynn

Date: July 2023 

Chen Zhe Yuan and Zhao Lu Si are in their romcom element. Their intimacy tinted my cheeks pink. My favourite arc is when ML realizes their feelings are mutual, but he pursues our FL as if he’s the one who had the crush first. He's a mischievous oppa! 

However, Chen Zhe Yuan and Zhao Lu Si are too good for this light romcom. They hardcarried this but drama still limps on everything else. The secondary cast were dispensable (why even bring on Zeng Li?). That would be an advantage for our main leads to own the screen time, except our MCs are not enough to fill this drama that is either too long for itself or poorly distributed. The main obstacles (e.g. ML’s past, FL’s parents’ approval) were saved for last but skimmed in the dullest way that deflated the ending when story was already losing steam and lacking a real plot.

My main gripe – you would think is the premise, but I was relieved the drama was free of predatory vibes. ML treats our underaged FL like a little sister and nothing more! – is the oily romantic lines. Guys, I live for awkwardly cute romcom lines, but these were so unnatural. Chinese men people don't speak like this. Romcom CEOs have better lines. I sympathize with Chen Zhe Yuan and Zhao Lu Si who would run towards a wall to hide from reenacting their cringey lines. They’re not exaggerating the “PTSD” they got from filming this (their words).

My other gripe, ha, is the romance never achieving the equality I wanted to feel. That's on me, I guess. Until the end, it still felt like he was pampering a kid. 

Oh, correction! The secondary cast were dispensable, except one: Sang Yan! Ma Bo Qian isn’t the best actor and his character also had no depth but the man was hilariously engaging in every single scene. (Pst, does his sass remind you guys of anyone? He’s apparently friends with Huang Zi Tao…Heh.)

And oh, I do enjoy stories like these. Zhu Yi will be joining my coveted list of fluffy, stressless romcom author. Currently, it consists of Gu Man and… Gu Man. I love that their stories are about love, love, and more love. I’m just hoping her next drama adaptation delegates more resources in the scriptwriting. 

Verdict: Cute Chen Zhe Yuan. Cute Zhao Lu Si. Cute chemistry. Okay romcom. 

Two (2/5)

One (1/5)

Recommendations

Genre List:

Contemporary Romance Central

Jiejie	Romance	Kisses