Hidden Love

We haven't watched this one. This section is based on the official episode synopses, the production's own descriptions and Chinese and English coverage, and we'll replace it with a verdict once we have one.

Hidden Love is a gentle, sweet romance, close to what Chinese audiences call tianchong (sweet pet) drama, with little real villainy and a lot of longing. The conflict comes mostly from timing, family and Duan Jiaxu's background. He grew up poor, his father is ill and the family carries debts tied to his father's past, and much of the second half is about whether he feels he has the right to love someone whose parents adore her. The age gap between the leads (roughly seven years, by most accounts) is the show's most discussed feature. English coverage, including Pinkvilla and India Today, said the drama handles it without discomfort: he treats her as a kid while she is one, and the romance only starts when she is an adult at university.

What viewers praised. Chinese and international coverage singled out the casting and the chemistry between Zhao Lusi and Chen Zheyuan, the warm sibling banter with Ma Boqian's Sang Yan, and the soundtrack. It was a ratings hit: it topped the Guduo, Detavan, Lighthouse and Weibo drama charts during its run, and it trended on Netflix in many countries.

What viewers complained about. Its Douban score is modest: 6.7, according to a Taiwanese ratings round-up from July 19, 2023, and Sohu reported about 110,000 ratings at that level. Chinese viewers on Douban complained about some stiff acting, a script they found immature, and changes from the novel, including a toned-down version of a well-known scene. Some readers of the book felt the drama stretched the high-school section.

Pacing. The 25 episodes run about 45 minutes each, which makes Hidden Love shorter than most Chinese romances. The first third covers Sang Zhi's childhood and teens, and the couple only gets together in the last stretch.

Content notes. There is very little on screen that is explicit. The drama includes a parent's long illness and death, family debt, and an emergency surgery. Some viewers outside China were uncomfortable with the age gap, even though the romance is limited to Sang Zhi's adult years.

Sang Zhi is 13 when she meets Duan Jiaxu, her older brother's college roommate. He is kind to her, helps her with her schoolwork and teases her the way you tease a kid. She decides she is in love with him, and she keeps it to herself. Years later, after a misunderstanding convinces her he has a girlfriend, she chooses a university in the city where he lives, and the two meet again on more equal terms. Hidden Love (偷偷藏不住) is a 25-episode Youku drama starring Zhao Lusi and Chen Zheyuan, adapted from Zhu Yi's 2019 JJWXC novel of the same Chinese name. Netflix carried it outside China, where it became one of the best-known Chinese romances of 2023 and later had a companion drama, The First Frost.

The show is split into two halves. The first is a family comedy about a schoolgirl, her prickly older brother Sang Yan and the friend who becomes a regular at their house. The second follows Sang Zhi at Yihe University, where Duan Jiaxu is now working, and the slow shift from a younger sister's friend to a woman he takes seriously.

Hidden Love premiered on Youku on June 20, 2023. Sources disagree on the finale date: English Wikipedia gives July 6, 2023, while the Chinese Wikipedia episode table runs to July 11 and its infobox says July 20. The gap probably reflects different release schedules for VIP members and free viewers, but we haven't confirmed that. Netflix began adding it on June 29, 2023, releasing episodes in batches through mid-July, and its listing is rated TV-PG. Taiwan's CtiTV began broadcasting it on January 2, 2024.

Lee Ching Jung (李青蓉) directed it, and it was filmed in Xiamen. Youku, Wajijiwa Entertainment (哇唧唧哇) and Yinhe Kuyu (银河酷娱) produced it.

There is no second season. The companion drama The First Frost (难哄), adapted from Zhu Yi's novel about Sang Yan, premiered on Youku and Netflix in February 2025, with Bai Jingting as Sang Yan and Zhang Ruonan as Wen Yifan. It is a separate story with a new cast, not a sequel. A Hidden Love film starring Zhu Luoning and Zhou Haoqi, directed by Zhang Yudi and focused on Sang Zhi's high-school crush, was announced for summer 2026; we haven't confirmed that it has been released.

The theme song, "Just Want to Hide You Well" (只想把你偷偷藏好), is a duet by Wang Sulong and Zhao Lusi. Zhao Lusi also sings the ending song, "I Have Someone I Like" (我有喜欢的人了). Insert songs include "Be Your Light" by Ma Boqian and tracks by Zhang Bichen, Zhao Lei and Yi Hui.