# Hidden Love (2023)

> A long-held high school crush gets a second chance when fate reunites Sang Zhi and Duan Jiaxu.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/132246

## Facts

- Seasons: 1
- Episodes: 25
- Episode runtime: 45 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: romance, drama
- Created by: Zhu Yi
- Network: Youku
- Cast: Zhao Lusi, Chen Zheyuan, Victor Ma, Zeng Li, Qiu Xinzhi, Guan Zijing, Wang Yang, Zhang Haolun
- TMDB rating: 8.6/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt28076458/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: none
- Tone: sweet, wistful, gentle, warm, nostalgic

## What critics say

Audiences broadly acclaim the series as a sweet, gentle romance with a strong slow-burn pacing and warm performances.

## Synopsis

Hidden Love (2023) is a Chinese youth romance drama series created by Zhu Yi for Youku. Sang Zhi (Zhao Lusi) has carried a crush on Duan Jiaxu (Chen Zheyuan) since high school, and when fate brings the two back together, they find a chance to build a sweet relationship that they had once only imagined. The engine of the series is the slow, tentative progress of that romance, made of everyday encounters, small misunderstandings, and the family and friendship ties surrounding both leads. Sang Yan (Victor Ma) and Li Ping (Zeng Li) appear among the principal supporting figures, helping to fill out the world around the central pair. Across a single season of twenty-five episodes, the series moves at a leisurely, intimate pace, favoring quiet moments over dramatic upheaval. Its tone is warm, wistful, and gently sweet, with a focus on the ache and comfort of first love revisited years later. Modern Chinese city life provides a contemporary backdrop rather than a historical one. Fans of Meteor Garden and Eighteen Again will find resonance in its sweet, nostalgic register and its patient, character-driven romance.

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