First, a note on the writers of this cdrama.

The original source is a web novel called, “Secretly, Secretly. But Unable to Hide It.” The web novel is written by Zhu Yi. Google is your friend if you want to supplement the cdrama by reading the source material. There’s an English translation out there.

When the web novel was adapted into a screenplay, a screenwriter was called in. The screenwriter is Shen Fei Xian. I looked into her profile on mydramalist and she’s attractive enough to be an actress. (Reminds me of Yaongyi, the webtoon writer of the kdrama, “True Beauty.” She was pretty, too.)

To date, Ms. Shen’s most famous work is “Love O2O” which starred Yang Yang and that actress whose name-must-not-be-said. She was blacklisted from Chinese entertainment after it was discovered that a) she was a deadbeat mom, being sued by her ex-boyfriend in the US for child support, b) she abandoned her two young babies in the US, c) she had the two children via surrogacy, which is illegal in China, and d) she was a tax-evader. I wish our female lead actress in this cdrama, Zhao Lusi, will make wiser choices in life than Zheng Shuang.

But I digress….

To get back to the writers, the reason I brought them up is to remind our blog-readers here that an adaptation isn’t an identical mirror of the source material. It’s expected that the screenwriter – in this case, Ms. Shen – would have inputted her own imagination, structure, plot twists and scenes, thereby adding layers to the original material. Keeping this in mind, let’s be careful when analyzing this cdrama relative to the web novel. Though the dialogues in the cdrama may not have strayed far from the web novel, multiple elements in the drama, like the delivery of the actors, cinematography, background music, format, and editing would have given the dialogues a different nuance.

Moving on to Episode 3.

1. He’s NOT her brother

I get it: most of the viewers insist that Duan JiaXu (DJ) treats Sang Zhi like a brother treats his sister.

But I say no.

Don’t take my word for it. Here’s what DJ had to say about it himself.

a. During the menstruation scene in the previous episode, he categorically rejected the the suggestion that he was like a brother to her. In fact, he TWICE rebuffed a brother-sister relationship with her.

Here. (The subs are from Netflix, btw.)

DJ: It’s that time of month for your sister.
Brother: What should I do?
DJ: Why are you asking me?
Brother: Buddy, do me a favor. Help me buy it.
DJ: Me? Buddy, is she your sister or mine?
Brother: It’s not necessarily a brother’s job. I’ve never done it over the years.
DJ: Enough nonsense. I’m at the supermarket right now. Come down immediately.
Brother: Fine. Buy it with me.

Then here:

DJ: Wait for your sister here. I’m going to find Qian Fei.
Brother: Nonsense. Wait for her with me. My sister is your sister.
DJ: Are you an idiot? After what happened, your sister will feel awkward if she sees me when she comes out.
Brother: You’re right.
DJ: You had better think of an excuse as well. If Qian Fei asks, she won’t know what to say.
Brother: Just say she played with claw machine after using the restroom.
DJ: Sure. (walking away)

Frankly, this scene called to mind that famous episode in Jane Austen’s “Emma” when Emma teased Mr. Knightley about dancing with her.

They were interrupted by the bustle of Mr. Weston calling on everybody to begin dancing again.
“Come Miss Woodhouse, Miss Otway, Miss Fairfax, what are you all doing?– Come Emma, set your companions the example. Everybody is lazy! Everybody is asleep!”
“I am ready,” said Emma, “whenever I am wanted.”
“Whom are you going to dance with?” asked Mr. Knightley.
She hesitated a moment, and then replied, “With you, if you will ask me.”
“Will you?” said he, offering his hand.
“Indeed I will. You have shown that you can dance, and you know we are not really so much brother and sister as to make it at all improper.”
“Brother and sister! No, indeed.”

There’s a wealth of meaning when Mr. Knightley ridiculed the suggestion that they were siblings. He was already in love with her by then. But Emma, in her typical cluelessness, had no inkling of his feelings for her.

Mr. Knightley’s reaction reminded me of DJ’s response. When Sang Yan suggested that his sister is DJ’s sister, DJ shot him down instantly.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that DJ is already in love with her at this point. All I’m saying is that he doesn’t see himself as her brother-surrogate or a brother stand-in. He’s his own person, Duan JiaXu. He’s her friend.

b. In the flashback, when DJ pretended to be her brother to save her from her 8th grade teacher, he warned her that it would be the last time. She had brazenly asked him to pretend to be her brother again, and he said no.

Young SZ: Gege. It’s getting dark. Are you not returning to campus yet?
DJ: (snort) Don’t worry, kiddo. I will keep today’s incident a secret.
Young SZ: Really?
DJ: Mmm.
Young SZ: Pinky promise?
DJ: (pinky-swearing) You must also promise me you’ll pay attention in class and not break the school rules. Okay?
Young SZ: Okay.
DJ: I’m not joking. If your teacher wants to meet your parents again, what happened today will be exposed. I’ll be in trouble.
Young SZ: You can come again next time.
DJ: (glaring at her) Will there be a next time?
Young SZ: No. I just think you’re very nice to me. You’re nicer to me than my brother is. So…if something like this happens again, can I ask you to pretend to be my brother?
DJ: (not answering)
Young SZ: (getting the message) Got it.
DJ: Go home. There had better not be a next time.

Meaning, he wouldn’t agree to pretend to be her brother again. Once was more than enough.

c. Then, in the dessert shop, he teased her like no brother would.

This is how Sang Zhi and Sang Yan teased each other.

SZ: So did you purposely leave to buy me some candy? (wanting to know if her brother was that worried about her accident)
Brother: You wish! I went to buy water for Duan Jiaxu. I just got one for you in passing (feigning unconcern to rile her up purposely)
SZ: It was all your fault today. (because earlier he teased her about her height and jumping skill; he jinxed her)
Brother: You call me ugly every day and I don’t complain.
SZ: That’s different.
Brother: How so?
SZ: I’m speaking the truth.

I can attest that their behavior is par for the course. Sisters and brothers call each other ugly, hit below the belt, and try to get in the last word.

Now compare their teasing to DJ’s teasing in the dessert shop.

SZ: (taking out money from her purse to pay him and handing the bills to him)
DJ: You’re one yuan short. (hiding his smile)
SZ: No, I’m not.
DJ: (staring at her) You stole so many glances at me. I can’t let you do that for free.

Okaaaaay. Let’s call it like it is. This is flirting. No brother in his right mind would say something like this to his sister.

SZ: (looking around her) No wonder you have no customers.
DJ: Hmm?
SZ: (avoiding looking at him) It’s because you’re running a shady shop.
DJ: Only because I charged you an extra yuan?
SZ: I didn’t steal glances at you.
DJ: Okay. I’m the one making stuff up.

See that? Unlike Sang Yan, he stopped teasing when he saw her discomfiture. He knew that she used the mirror to peek at him, but he allowed her to salvage some pride.

DJ: (changing topic) Would I really charge you? Keep it to buy yourself candy.
SZ: No way. (handing him the money) Don’t you work here to make money? If I don’t pay you, how will you make money?
DJ: (pushing the money back into her hand) Take back the money. Treating you to dessert won’t put me in the red. Your friend is waiting.

Do you see what I mean?

In my opinion, viewers are in a rush to label and categorize DJ’s interaction with Sang Zhi as brotherly in order to avoid suspecting him of unsavory behavior like grooming her. But as I said in the previous episode, grooming means abusing, exploiting and, more importantly, sexualizing the relationship. DJ isn’t a sexual predator. If ever, his banter indicates a tentative and innocent posturing of someone who’s very inexperienced in the courtship ritual. His “You stole so many glances at me. I can’t let you do that for free” is as cheesy and geeky as this one:

Cringe, right?

2. The title of Chapter 3. Considerate. Get a little closer

This title is easy to explain because all throughout the episode we see instances when they got closer to each other because they showed consideration. Let me list them.

a. He took out the meat so she could eat the noodle dish without getting an allergic reaction.

After lunch, she wondered if he did all considerate gestures because he didn’t want her to be embarrassed.

b. He won the stuffed toy for her.

They both knew the real reason she was late for lunch, and it wasn’t because she was crying at the claw machine. Nevertheless, he gifted her with the toy (is this the third, fourth gift now?) to reassure her that her accident was nothing.

He told her, “I got you a plushie. Don’t cry anymore.” Just like when she got in trouble in school, he didn’t think badly of her because of this accident. She shouldn’t feel mortified anymore.

His consideration for her feelings moved her.

c. She insisted on paying him back for her dessert and then offered him all the money in her wallet.

Her consideration for his financial situation moved him.

DJ: Put out your hand. (returns the money) Take it back. Otherwise, people will say I extorted a high school student.
SZ: It’s not extortion. I had dessert. I should pay for it.
DJ: What dessert cost this much. Do you really think this is a shady shop?
SZ: Jiaxu Ge. I just thin it’s a little hard for you to work multiple jobs because you’re short on cash.
DJ: (takes a deep breath)
SZ: If I can help you… But don’t overthink it! If it were my brother, I would help him, too. I swear.
DJ: So do you feel badly for me?
SZ: NO! (thinking that his pride is hurt) I’m sorry. Are you mad?
DJ: I’m not. Thank you, Sang Zhi. I know you need to be nice to me now. I’m touched that you did this and the thought behind it. But I’m not that broke. How about this. When I’m so broke that I can’t afford to feed myself, I’ll borrow money from you. Okay?
SZ: (nodding)

And from this moment on, I think it’s become a private joke for them to lend each other money. In the next episode, when Sang Zhi’s money got stolen, DJ gave her spending money. When SZ got her money back, she gave him some money back, telling him that it was his spending money.

They became closer because of their display of consideration.

d. He stepped in to defend her from her brother’s non-stop teasing.

He gave her his cap so she wouldn’t get sunburned, then gave her a pre-game advice. “How’s your warmup? Move more so you don’t get a sprain later.” He probably could see her anxiety because when Sang Yan began taking photos of Sang Zhi’s ugly side, he intervened in the only way he could: by claiming her as his responsibility.

SZ: What are you doing?
Brother: Mom and Dad told me to take photos!
SZ: Can’t you take it when I look good? Why do you have to do it when I’m…
Brother: You have to tell me when you look good or I won’t know! Look at 155 cm here.
SZ: Delete it! Give it to me. Delete it!
Brother: Don’t touch it!
DJ: (stepping in) Stop bullying my sister all the time.
Brother: (confused) What do you mean?
SZ: Did you hear that? My brother told you to stop bullying me.
Brother: (even more confused) Who’s your brother?
SZ: (pointing at DJ)
DJ: (pretending to challenge Sang Yan’s authority) What about it?
Brother: Fine. You can have her.

Then DJ distracted him from annoying Sang Zhi by taking pictures of him and calling him handsome.

To me, this was a funny scene because Sang Yan was oblivious to the backstory. Only DJ and Sang Zhi were privy to their joke; only the two of them knew that DJ once pretended to be Sang Zhi’s brother.

e. Lastly, DJ displayed gentleness when attending to Sang Zhi’s injuries.

His consideration moved her, and she couldn’t help comparing him with her brother. She voiced out loud her grievances against her brother.

DJ: Don’t touch your leg yet. Let me disinfect it for you first.
SZ: (looking up at him)
DJ: It might hurt a little. Bear with it a bit. Does it hurt? Hang in there. It will be over soon. You’re so badly hurt. (fussing) What about this hand?
SZ: (blinking back tears)
DJ: Does it hurt? Why are you looking at me like that? What’s the matter?
SZ: You’re so nice to me. Unlike my brother. All he does is yell at me.
DJ: Do you think he isn’t nice to you?
SZ: He doesn’t love me at all?

This conversation makes them closer. She’s learning from him that not all displays of love and affection and love are nice. Sometimes people can’t help showing extreme emotions like concern and love by yelling at their loved ones.

DJ: He doesn’t love you? Didn’t you see how panicked he was when you fell? He rushed over and carried you in no time. He doesn’t love you? What’s going on in your little head?

Note: if rushing over and carrying her are signs of love, then he also showed love for her too. He also panicked and rushed over to her side in no time. He wanted to carry her but had to cede to Sang Yan as Sang Yan was the real brother; not him.

SZ: But he’s always yelling at me. I’m already hurt, but he is still yelling at me.
DJ: It’s an impossible task to make him stop yelling. It’s all done. Be careful with these wounds. Don’t touch them. Don’t get water on them.

I like that DJ was instrumental in making Shang Zhi understand her brother’s ways better. Again, if he had any intentions of grooming her, he would have sided with her and agreed that her brother didn’t care for her. He would have attempted to isolate her from her brother and make her emotionally dependent on him.

But DJ didn’t do any of these things.

3. Touching

Because she was crushing on him, this moment was imprinted in her mind.

Awww. If you notice, Sang Zhi is a collector and hoarder of memories with Duan JiaXu. She collected the milk bottle and the light bulb, didn’t she? So it doesn’t surprise me that this occasion when his fingers grazed her open palm was memorable for her. (She forgot about their hands touching during pinky promise, though.)

4. Lessons about love

a. He taught her how to reject a suitor kindly.

DJ: But Sang Zhi. It’s nice to have people who like you. You can thank him for liking you before gently rejecting him. But you can’t hurt him.

Again, this reminds me of a scene in Jane Austen’s “Emma” when Mr Knightley rebuked Emma for her unkind behavior towards Miss Bates.

“It was badly done, indeed! You, whom she had known from an infant, whom she had seen grow up from a period when her notice was an honour, to have you now, in thoughtless spirits, and the pride of the moment, laugh at her, humble her–and before her niece, too–and before others, many of whom (certainly some,) would be entirely guided by your treatment of her.–This is not pleasant to you, Emma–and it is very far from pleasant to me; but I must, I will,–I will tell you truths while I can.”

In both cases, the older men witnessed the younger women’s undesirable behavior and took it upon themselves to correct it. They believed that the women could do better.

b. For me, the main takeaway from this episode is her realization that while he was very considerate of her emotions and needs, he appeared to be non-discriminatory and non-exclusive in his care and consideration for her.

SZ: He’s nice. He’s very nice to me. But he seems to be nice to everyone. I’m not the most special one.

It broke her heart that she wasn’t the only star in the sky for him.

To her family and the rest of the world, she’s their lovable but clumsy star that needs spoiling, protecting, and indulging. To him, however, she fears that she’s but one of many stars in his whole world. He wasn’t in love with her like she was with him.

Moving on to Episode 4.