I’ll respond to @agdr03, @Fern and @Stacey out here so it’ll be easier for me to find my answers.
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To @agdr03,
I’ll be protesting if you stop posting for HL. 😭 I’ll be SZ flopping myself on the bed crying because my tutor will stop tutoring me. 😂
Funny, very funny.
We’ll just give exchange scowls.
Zhao Luci really nailed her character here, didn’t she? I’m trying to remember her other roles (I’ll have to make a list of her other dramas) and this one fits MY image of her best. I liked her in “Dating in the Kitchen,” too. It was titillating to watch a young girl seduce a much older man for a change. But talk about age differences! How much older was the guy there? More than 10, right? But the relationship was tolerable because the heroine wasn’t above 18.
But if you have another drama to write about it’s ok. 🥲
Yes, I watched the first episodes of a few doramas (Japanese dramas). I’d like to write about them while they’re still fresh in my mind.
For example, @GB’s recommended “Silent” caught my interest. I wish to dwell on it more, but I’ll need more than the couple of hours I’ve allocated each day to reflect and write on my dramas if I’m reviewing two dramas simultaneously.
There’s also a cartoon dorama that I think I should keep an eye on. The storyline is so outdated (dare I say it? It’s backwards) that I think it should come with a warning to young viewers. A warning that goes like this:
Warning: Patriarchal, regressive, and frustrating
But I’ll try to avoid hate-watching dramas. Life’s too short to waste on annoying and disagreeable things.
Thank you! I love how Forever Star is a song about DJ’s feelings from beginning to end. 🥰
Yes. The “Forever Star” was on point. I’m glad that the director/sound director didn’t pop in the soundtrack arbitrarily, like white noise. He timed the OST well, and it did a good job providing subtext to DJ’s emotions (and facial expressions) at that moment.
SZ was lying when she said she gave her brother flowers. As if! 😂
Right? I didn’t believe her for a second. Sang Yan wasn’t carrying a bouquet.
But I like that she glanced around as if to check on her brother’s whereabouts before saying that he already had one. (good acting!)
It was also funny how she repeatedly attempted to hand Jiaxu the necktie she was giving him for graduation. She wanted to do it IN PRIVATE. Alas! she kept getting interrupted.
I love that peek a boo and their own bubble! They’re aware of each other’s presence. I love their pic. DJ was wearing the same blue, white collared shirt when SZ graduated. 🥰
Yes, the peek-a-boo moment was sweet.
I found the gifs for you.
That’s one thing I like about this cdrama. There weren’t as many tropes as I thought. And if there were tropes, like this meet-cute between Sang Zhi and Duan Jiaxu after a long absence, it was done with originality and creativity.
It also surprised me that none of the guys noticed the two of them playing peek-a-boo and remarked on it. If Sang Yan had been one of my brothers, he would’ve been observing the guys around me with eyes like a hawk. Pity the guy who would so much as wink at me. He would’ve been the butt of my brothers’ jokes, and I would’ve been mercilessly excoriated when I got home.
I only remember Sang Yan “protecting” Sang Zhi once: back in Episode 1, when he told his roommate Yan to back off and not to come too close to Sang Zhi in case he scared her.
Seeing that Sang Yan tolerated DJ, I guess Duan Jiaxu was really Sang Yan’s blind spot. He didn’t know how spot on his words were here:
DJ: (talking to SZ) After accepting this resume, you’re not allowed to replace me, okay?
Brother: Don’t worry. No one is willing to tutor her except you. She has no other option but you.
I knew that DJ didn’t know about the red envelope yet when he text that first message. How happy was he when he found it. 🥰 Those teary eyes said it all. He was really touched by it because SZ’s wish came from her heart. ☺️
Unlike you, I assumed that DJ had already read her star message and was texting her only as a response to her greetings. He was merely being polite. That’s why I pooh-poohed his text message. Like, so what? what’s the big deal?
But when I watched the epilogue and realized that the text was sent on his own initiative, it thrilled me. I like it whenever the guy shows initiative, and the girl’s unaware and clueless about his efforts. To me, it was more meaningful when Jiaxu reached out to her and proactively communicated with her.
As for Sang Zhi, I’m sure she assumed that Jiaxu was only doing the courteous thing and replying to her star message.
She couldn’t have known that Jiaxu singled her out for his New Year’s greeting. He texted no one else, just like she prepared a red envelope to nobody else.
Thus, the epilogue was a nice touch. Not only did it show the impact of Sang Zhi’s New Year greeting on Jiaxu, it also revealed the real sequence of events and altered my perception of Jiaxu’s New Year greeting.
I also liked what @Fern said about it. I’ll post her comment here, too.
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@Fern wrote,
@packmule, please don’t stop writing your thoughts. In addition to all you have written, I think it was very important to him that she continued to do well in her studies, as promised. It was almost as though he was invested in her.
As to the lunar new year envelope, her kindness meant so much to him at that moment. Without a family, he probably had no one to wish him well at all.
I agree on both counts.
1. He was invested in her.
This was clear when he signed up to be her tutor three days a week while holding down part-time jobs.
As far as I could tell, he was working at two other places. Aside from the dessert shop in the mall, wasn’t he also working at the school library and at this place?
But then, I expected just as much from him. If he liked her, then he would want the best for her, too.
As for rewarding her for her good grades, yes, that could also be seen as a sign of his interest in her future.
However, as we saw in the case of the black dog stuffed toy, he didn’t buy that because of her grades. He bought it because it reminded him of her. He only used her high score as an excuse to send it over.
SZ: I received the package you sent. It’s a black dog plushie.
DJ: (smiling) So? Do you like it?
SZ: Uhhmmmm. It looks a bit familiar to me.
DJ: Is that so? Does it look like Sang Yan?
SZ: (chuckling) You still remember my essay.
DJ: Of course I do. I was walking on the street one day and saw this dog. It reminded me of your drawing back then. So I thought it would be a perfect gift for you. Congratulations on scoring 95 points on the physic exams this time.
In short, he bought it on impulse. He saw the toy by chance; it reminded him of her; so he bought it. Venit, vidit, emit.
After the purchase, he justified and rationalized it as a reward for her grades.
Note: in the web novel, he bought presents for her also on holidays and her birthdays.
2. Yes, he was feeling all alone in the airport on New Year’s Eve.
As you said, he had no one to wish him well, so her red envelope hit him in the right spot. What I like about this scene is his expressive face. He ran the gamut of feelings, from confusion, surprise, wonder, joy, unbelief, sadness, dejection, despondence, acceptance, resolve, and courage.
I wish I could get a gif set of this moment.
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@Stacy wrote this
Please don’t stop posting your thoughts!
I agree that DJ’s affection for SZ was more than brotherly, but like others have said I also think he considered her off-limits, because of her age and because he felt indebted to her parents.
Yes, I’ve always recognized and acknowledged that he drew a line and didn’t overstep the bounds. And yes, I read (from @Fern or was it Kate?) that he felt indebted to her parents.
But indebtedness is like a double-edged sword, don’t you think? Indebtedness is not gratitude. Gratitude is a positive feeling while indebtedness is negative.
With gratitude, the individual feels thankful for the assistance/favor/boon he received. His bonds become stronger with the person(s) who gave him succor.
With indebtedness, however, the recipient of the assistance/favor/boon may feel thankful but there’s added feeling of obligation to repay the debt and/or reciprocate at a later time. This obligation to repay and reciprocate can become a strain in the relationship.
I appreciate that this is a safe place to be okay with that idea. Other sites would blow up lol. But I think that’s mainly because people who love this drama to bits want to defend it against the accusations, so they adamantly deny that he saw her in any way except as a sister until she’s in college.
One, that’s why I created and paid for my own blog. I wanted my space to think because it was tiring having to associate with people with more air than brains in their head. Their combined cacophony and knee-jerk reactions to drama gave me a headache.
Two, don’t these people know that to love something (or somebody, for that matter), they’ll have to see it as it is, and embrace the good and the bad? How old are these viewers, anyway? I mean, mentally, how old are they?
As I noted elsewhere, I find this whole pearl-clutching about Duan Jiaxu “secret” non-brotherly feelings for Sang Zhi ridiculous.
Even if my theory is correct that he liked her early on, the fact remains that he didn’t do anything improper to her and with her.
Good grief! It’s not a federal offense to have a crush on somebody or to feel affection for somebody Sang Zhi’s age. What’s the fuss as long as he didn’t act on it?
🙄🙄
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@grace got my point when she wrote this:
BUT like what @pm3 said about how their age difference is a cultural taboo, he would have been really conscious in keeping his feelings (if any) and actions towards her in check. To be nice and caring but not cross the line in liking her. He did not dare to even entertain the thought such that when he really fell for her later, he was so afraid to do so because he has been conditioned, all these years to keep the relationship platonic.
Duan Jiaxu wasn’t bizarre like that Jacob from “Twilight” who had a thing going with a…baby??? (Did I get that right? He imprinted on the heroine’s baby? Whoa!)
Anyway, to continue….
In comparison to the novel, there’s a paragraph in the later chapters that somewhat explains why he was so good to her. The gratitude he felt towards her parents was why he treated her so well.
When I read the novel and when I watched the drama, I definitely picked up on the flirting by DJ but I only saw it as a boy being a normal boy. He teased and flirted because he got a reaction out of her, so it was fun to him. He could do this safely because she was off-limits, because of her age and because she was his best friend’s younger sister. And he had no idea of how she felt or that his behavior was only fanning the flames.
Yes, arguably, he teased her because her reactions were funny to watch. For example, he accused her of stealing the fox stuffed toy,
He put her in an awkward spot when he asked why she blushed when she saw him.
He told her to pay up because she’d been “stealing glances” at him.
He offered to pose for her so she could brag that she had a handsome brother.
DJ: Show me.
SZ: (confused)
DJ: The photo you took just now.
SZ: (embarrassed because he knew all along that she took pictures of him, and not Sang Yan)
DJ: What’s wrong? I want to check if it’s ugly or not. If so, you can snap a few more. Didn’t you say that you want to show your classmate a handsome brother?
I agree, in those instances, he was riling her up because it would be fun to watch reaction.
But what about THAT letter?
He wouldn’t see her reaction so what was the point of writing, “P.S. That boy told me he was also very happy to see Sang Zhi again”?
What’s that in aid of?
However, with all of your posts explaining why you think DJ felt more than brotherly affection for her in these eps, even though he was likely in denial, now I want to go back and re-read and re-watch it with new eyes 🙂
Just take into consideration what I wrote to @grace.
The thing is we had TWO writers for the cdrama. The original writer wrote a straightforward plot: a young girl likes Gege, Gege thinks she’s a bit spoiled but goes along with the flow.
The screenwriter however is the famous Love O2O writer.
If I were her and this novel was given to me to be ADAPTED into a cdrama, of course I’d give it a different spin. My ego would demand that I leave MY mark on it. 😏
I don’t know if you remember the Love O2O plot.
In the story, there was hidden love and secrecy too. The hero Xiao Nai conspired to keep his identity secret from the girl.
Weiwei didn’t know that the gamer she partnered with for her online games was the college boss/everybody’s crush Xiao Nai. He actually chose her to be his partner because he spotted her at his Game Center, and liked her skills.
She thought their partnership was just random. And felt confused when she began falling in love with someone she’d only met online and didn’t know in person.
So Xiao Nai arranged to meet her and revealed himself.
It’s only in the very end of the cdrama when he brought her back to the Game Center where their story all began, did he confess that he picked her, and that their meeting wasn’t accidental.
Weiwei teased him, “So it was love at first sight for you?”
After giving it some thought, he said, “If I’d known what I know now, I’d definitely be in love at the very first sight of you.”
😂
For those, who didn’t watch that drama… Xiao Nai was saying that his understanding of love matured over time.
Back when they first met, he wouldn’t have known how to name or define, his feelings for her, given his youth and inexperience. He could have felt love at first sight, respect for her mad skills, plain curiosity, silent admiration, respect for her mad skills, obsession to be her online partner or good old attraction. Back then, it was too soon to tell because his feelings were then nascent, ambiguous, and confusing.
But given what he learned about love since then, he could say with utmost certitude, that it had been love from the outset.
Lol. Recall what I said about the flowerpot being a metaphor of Duan Jiaxu and Sang Zhi’s relationship in my previous commentary. It wouldn’t be a shocker for me if this screenwriter reprised her outlook on love.
Now…
Apply this writer’s mindset/worldview/mental process/logic to THIS new drama. Would you say that she was the type to write a simple girl-likes-boy, boy-tolerates-her-till-he-falls-for-her kind of story?
No. She’s the type to write a true hidden love story. She goes for reversals, plot twists and the guy-loved-the-girl-first-but-didn’t-realize-it-because-love-isn’t-a-competition stories.
😂
To borrow Xiao Nai’s words, if the viewers had known what they SHOULD have known about this screenwriter’s style and modus operandi, then they’d expect the hero’s hidden love all along.
Of course, given the social taboo on underage attraction, Duan Jiaxu’s feelings would necessarily have to be kept secret…permanently.
To me, that’s the perfect hidden love story. It’s hidden in plain sight, and forever invisible to disapproving and judgmental eyes. 🙂
@packmule3, I haven’t seen as many of Xiao Lusi’s dramas as you have, but I will agree that this is the role I prefer. She is SO good at teen-aged mannerisms without overdoing them.
Yes, a gif set of DJ opening the red envelope at the airport would be pretty great. 🤩
The ‘other’ airport scene in episode 7 was a highlight for me. In an interview CZY said that until he saw the drama after filming, he didn’t know about SZ’s breakdown at the Yihe airport. I think that airport scene was so well crafted and acted. The shock and disbelief when DJ shows up with a woman whom he doesn’t introduce — it seemed to me that SZ was hearing his words but they were like a buzzing noise because her own thoughts about his broken promise and him being in a relationship were topmost. She held it together until she was out of his sight then collapsed.
DJs words were quite harsh. He must have felt betrayed by SZ not heeding his previous advice and more: that his own feelings for her were perilously close to the surface. I think that the interruption by his boss stopped him from showing his full anger. This actor has soft facial features, but when he looks angry he’s a bit scary because of the contrast.
Howdy! ☺️
I’ll put this here first.
https://mydramalist.com/people/18211-lusi-zhao
Here’s Rosy’s list of dramas. I haven’t watched all of them. She’s got a costume drama with one of Xiao Nai’s best friend in LoveO2O, it’s Love of Thousand Years. ☺️ I haven’t seen it.
In Dating in the Kitchen, Lu Jin (38 in real life) is 36 years old while Shengnan is 21 years old. ☺️
I should try to watch her other dramas but the one that I really can’t get into is A Student Arrives at the Imperial College. I started it but couldn’t continue because of the ML. I didn’t like the way he looked. 😂
Thank you for the list, @agdr03. I liked Dating in the Kitchen. The male lead seemed a good bit older than the FL, but I really liked the actor.
I totally agree @Fern. ☺️
Lin Yu Shen did great and it was a funny drama too. He was perfect for the character of Lu Jin. 🥰
My parents, cousin and grandma enjoyed this drama with me. 😃
I just saw this and it must be true what you said, that DJ is Sang Yan’s blind spot. I mean look at this scene. It’s probably only SY who’s willing to be a driver for DJ and his sister. Would your bros do that for you and your boyfriend? 😃
But the things to notice are the way DJ pulled that seatbelt while SZ was leaning forward, the way SY tried to reveal her secret 😂, the asking of each other of are you hungry?, the holding hands and that hug. 🥰
CTO!
https://twitter.com/netflix_ph/status/1681957870483668992?s=46&t=BT0tHWWRRX1rx64As5f8XQ
I think there’s that scene where SY went back to the dorm after the revelation of the online boyfriend of SZ. He said no one is allowed to date his sister. 😃
@agdr03 – I enjoyed ‘A Student Arrives at the Imperial College’!
I had some problems after watching it because of the stories about his behaviour in real life. I shouldn’t let these things affect me.
It’s a fun show — from memory… not something that will blow you away but a filler.
@agdr03, thanks for that clip. That was a funny scene! I also liked when Sang Yan put 2+2 together with his memories of how SZ used to act around DJ and realised that her affection went far back. He understood those memories before DJ did.
@Packmule3 – Thank you for this extra reflection and wonderful, ‘forensic’ analysis of what is happening under the surface.
I’ve really enjoyed your highlighting of the writer’s spin on the novel.
I have been distracted with life happening this week – but I want to go back after my summer break and watch the show again (on Netflix this time) to look for all these nuances that I missed when watching too impatiently!
My own feeling was that DJ was flirting with SZ -I always think of the milk bottle scene – when he puts a ice cold milk bottle on her cheek – standing very close to her to see her reaction of surprise and being thrown off balance. He liked to get a rise out of her. The teenage male ego looking, instinctively, for reinforcement of his impact on her. But for me he is in that safe, slightly ambiguous space which you are unpacking here with an eye for detail.
Without that sparkle – we would only have had unrequited love. With that ambiguity the whole show ‘shimmers’ with reveals! That must be what intrigues and draws us in. That is a little bit like the appeal of Austen’s ‘Persuasion’…it wouldn’t be enjoyable without the ‘hidden love’ of the rejected suitor.
@Fern – The scene at the airport was one of the most moving for me too – we discussed it in the open thread – it was raw and real and you could so easily identify with SZ’s shock and trying to hold it together until she shuddered with tears.
ps clarifying that the triumph of unrequited love would have made SZ the main ‘actor’ and DJ the ‘acted upon’. It’s not as attractive a prospect for a story of love.
@Fern, yup! SY remembered how SZ was back in the days and I loved how this scene played. She was dancing while waiting for DJ to come out and SY was like ‘are you sure it wasn’t you who pursued DJ? SZ stops dancing. Gotcha! 😂
Thank you @Kate ☺️ I can’t remember what episode I was in when I stopped watching, maybe 2 or 3. I should watch it anyway just so I can complete Rosy’s dramas. 😊
Yes, I did hear about the real life story of the ML too. 😬
@agdr03 …
did you see ‘Be at ease Mr Ling’?
I started that one – got 6 episodes or so in – and lost momentum.
I think I felt I knew what was going to happen and that all the surprises had been revealed early on.
@Kate, yes I watched Please Feel At Ease Mr Ling. ☺️ I enjoyed it for the non fuss love story. The ending was good because they had twins. 🥰
But I have to say that the ML there is pretty new too (not sure about this) so he wasn’t as expressive as CZY. 😊
@agdr03…oh ok… Yes agreed – from memory – re the ML!
I enjoyed her in ‘Oh my Emperor!’ – that was a fun romp – in two parts!
I also enjoyed ‘The Tiger and the Rose’ – that was the first thing I saw her in. I wasn’t blown away by the show – not completely my cup of tea -but she was striking in it. I wondered at the time about her popularity.
Agreeing with you that she shone in ‘Hidden Love’. I also enjoyed her in ‘Long Ballad’ and of course ‘Legend of the Starry Sky’!
For me, she has a very modern/cute appealing look – she suits present day roles.
She acted beautifully in ‘The Long Ballad’ for instance but I couldn’t quite lose my sense of her as a modern day young woman.
‘Oh my Emperor!’ works well because it is light and comedic and involved her in time or world travel so she always carries with her the modern-day vibe.
I may revise this opinion. It’s just how she strikes me.
Good scowls of us to each other there. 😂
If you want to post about other dramas, it’s all good. 😊 I really don’t know when I’ll be over HL. I will be for sure. I’ll probably pick up on King The Land then maybe try Rosy’s older dramas. ☺️
I super agree about the OST in this drama. It is very well placed and those 7 songs were put to very good use. It’s not like LoveO2O where it was YY on repeat. 😁
I was wondering why she didn’t end up giving the necktie. You’re right, she wanted to give it in private. ☺️
Thanks for the gifs of the peek-a-boo scene. I love love those peeking look and the turning of their heads. 🥰🥰🥰
Oh your brothers are very strict. 😬 I think the boys were just not aware because they were talking. 😁
Yes! CZY did amazing on his glass case of emotion. 👏🏻 I was tearing up too when I saw his tears. 😢 Hopefully you can find a gif of it. I’ll put it here if I find one.
I just assumed that DJ sent that new year greeting text during dinner because the next scene was him having dinner too just like the Sang Family. But I thought it can’t be that simple of a reply to her red envelope gift. SZ must have thought that he might find her red envelope as soon as he leaves that’s why she ran after DJ finished putting the banner. 😃
Did you read the web novel? I actually put a note on the list that I’m doing about DJ giving gifts to SZ on birthdays/holidays. SY mentioned it to SZ when he told her to take DJ out for a meal. ☺️
That last comment! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
I’m so happy I was able to see this hidden love story. 🥰
@Kate, my first drama with Rosy is The Romance of Tiger and Rose. I really liked that drama. ☺️
I enjoyed The Long Ballad too even if she was second lead. Love Like The Galaxy is my number 1 for her costume drama. 😊
Oh I have to watch Oh My Emperor then if it was funny and light. ☺️It’s with Xiao Zhan too! He’s one of the popular ones right? I haven’t watched him at all. I might just go to this one after my obsession with HL. 🤦🏻♀️
I agree that Rosy suits modern roles best but I can’t put aside Who Rules The World with Yang Yang even if the story wasn’t as good. 🥰
Thanks @Kate 😉
@Kate, I have to clear it. Who Rules The World is number 1, Love Like The Galaxy is number 2. I have to be loyal to YY. 😂
@agdr03 – I love talking about her shows… see what you think of ‘Oh my Emperor’…
It’s very light, definitely a romp
XK is the second lead!
The ML is nowhere near as good looking as XK – I think, from memory, he may be a Chinese singer…
Yes he is…:https://mydramalist.com/people/13358-koo-jason
I watched it in the early days of getting in to K and C dramas… but I remember thinking it was fun!
@agdr03,
Yes. In the web novel, it was mentioned that DJ gave SZ gifts on holidays and her birthday. The holiday that stood out for me was “CHILDREN’S Day.” 😂😂
I can’t remember the chapter though. I skim the chapters of the episode I’m watching when I want something clarified. (For example, why she couldn’t spell his name. I forgot that Chinese wasn’t phonetic but evolved from pictographs.)
I don’t read ahead.
@packmule3, even Children’s Day?! 😁 Hilarious. That would have re-enforced her feelings of being very junior to him, as if he were an uncle/shūshū rather than a gege.
@Fern,
Yes. Children’s Day. (eye-roll emoji here)
I was just scrolling through so I don’t know where I read it. That’s the problem between web novels and actual novels in a book. If this had been a physical book, I would have dog-eared the page or highlighted and put a sticky on it to mark where it was.
I believe much of SZ’s early feelings about DJ were colored not only by their age difference, but by their size difference. Many disparaging comments about her short stature are made about SZ by her brother, SY, in the presence of DJ. And during early interactions between DJ and SZ, he’s filmed looming over her (e.g. when they meet at the car during her brother’s move back to campus) or bending down to meet her eye to eye (e.g. when DJ talks with SZ outside the dessert shop after SZ rejects the classmate pursuing her). But SZ, being feisty, isn’t one to let her relative lack of height define her, and she often comes out swinging: not only physically, tussling with her brother, but verbally, tossing barbs at DJ. Both SY and DJ are happy to respond in kind, up to a point. SY will grapple with his sister only until she starts crying or calls for parental reinforcement. DJ will engage in repartee with SZ until he senses that her feelings may get hurt, then makes a point to soothe her.
I am not offended by DJ having ambiguous feelings for SZ when he’s in college and she’s in high school because he, on the cusp of adulthood, is still figuring himself out. He’s like the famous cat of physicist Erwin Schrödinger’s thought experiment on quantum superposition. The cat in the sealed box is both alive and dead until the box is unsealed and the reality resolves into one or the other. DJ’s feelings for SZ can be both romantic love and not romantic love until the hiding stops. Until SZ comes of age, DJ will keep his fondness for her within strict boundaries, not just to adhere to societal mores, but for his own peace of mind. He is, as SZ senses, a person who has a strong moral compass.
@Packmule3, I watched Silent many months ago and found it worthwhile. I was surprised how the deaf community, or at least one member of it, was depicted as having prejudices against those who’d been born with hearing then became deaf, and against those with hearing that try to engage the deaf community by learning sign. I recently finished another Jdorama (on Viki), On a Starry Night, in which the male lead is deaf. Although his deafness affected his interactions with people, it wasn’t necessarily his defining characteristic. I liked On a Starry Night after I got past the meet-drunk, but it is a noona romance, which might eliminate it from your watch list. The Jdorama First Love: Hatsukoi also had a deaf character in a female supporting role, and she’s shown interacting with family and friends without a “you’ll never understand me” haughtiness.
Glad to hear that, @Kate.
The web writer wrote a run-of-the-mill unrequited love story between young girl and her Gege. The comeuppance (or vindication? victory?) came when Gege fell for her in the end because she worked hard and proved to him that she was an adult, “worthy” of being loved by him.
An experienced screenwriter, however, could take this generic unrequited love story and give it a different spin…the “Footprints in the sand” twist as I call it.
Have you heard of that story? There were two sets of footprints on the beach. But occasionally, one pair of footprints would disappear, leaving only one tracking in the sand. The individual confronted God, “Hey, Big Dude! You told me if I followed you, you’d always be by my side. But I see you didn’t keep your end of the bargain. On tough times and lean days, you left me walking alone.” And God said, “No, little dude. I kept my word. I never left you. When you see only one set of footprints, I carried you then.”
The cdrama becomes all the more special when there’s a subtext to Sang Zhi’s unrequited love, and the real hidden love story is that the guy liked her all along but shouldered the strain of keeping it secret.
It’s fun watching her go through her struggles of unrequited love for her Gege. But it’s also fun to imagine that he had his own internal struggles with his “brotherly” affection for his meimei.
I want to commend the actor Victor Ma, who plays Sang Yan, for expertly conveying the brother-sister dynamic with Zhau Lusi. In real life, they’re 2-1/2 years apart in age, but as the bombastic big brother, Sang Yan seems every bit of five years older than Sang Zhi, even when he devolves into sibling squabbling.
@agdr03,
Re. the necktie.
She was waiting for an opportunity. She probably had a speech ready too so it wouldn’t appear as if she had any romantic aspirations when she gave it to him. She wanted to give him the gift and sound casual about it. But she couldn’t do that in front of others.
You see, in Chinese culture (I researched this, so blame my sources if I got this wrong), a necktie is considered a romantic gift. Of course, it can be given by one family member to another. But outside the family, it’s considered a “couple” gift. It’s a sort of present that a girlfriend or wife gives to her man.
Similar to a ring, bracelet, pair of earrings or necklace, the necktie is a personal gift. Just as a boy wouldn’t give jewelry to a girl he isn’t attached to, a girl wouldn’t give it to a platonic friend.
That’s why I *think* Sang Zhi was timing her gift. She didn’t want to hand it to him in public, especially in front of the guys.
I LOVED On a Starry Night. I’ve watched Silent as well and found it very well written and acted. But I’m a romance junkie through and through so I was just a bit sad that there was even one kiss ;P
@Packmule3 – Yes! You wrote: ‘ the real hidden love story is that the guy liked her all along but shouldered the strain of keeping it secret.’
That reading of the show highlights what makes DJ such a sympathetic and, at times, poignant character … along with shouldering the strain of his family debt, he quietly carries this relationship in his heart unbeknownst to SZ.
Love it. And I like ‘the footsteps in the sand’ parallel!
Far more romantic than the original framework in the novel (have only read a couple of chapters).
Your summary makes me think of the moment when SZ is at Uni and is rifling through a car boot. She turns round to see DJ’s face, a blur first of all and then his face comes into focus against the bright sunlight.
We always know about her feelings but his love and support comes into focus as the story unfolds.
@Welmaris, I read that Victor Ma is mostly known as a singer. He was born in NYC, moved to Shanghai, moved back to LA at 13, attended LA County HS for the Arts and USC. He started a career in China after participating in a couple of singing competitions. What a versatile guy. He did portray a brother’s reactions very realistically.
@Packmule3, from watching Kdramas I’ve learned that in South Korean lore, a man accepting a gift of a necktie from a potential lover means she’s roped him to her. I was wondering if the significance was the same in China.
@Fern,
I transferred your comment re the airport scene to the Open Thread. I don’t know when I’ll post my Ep 7 write-up so if others want to chime in, they can do so in the Open Thread.
Link to the Open Thread: https://bitchesoverdramas.com/2023/06/30/hidden-love-open-thread/
@Welmaris,
🙂 Like you, I learned about the dating culture in SK and Korean folklore through kdramas. And sometimes, I slip up and make a careless comment that reveals my kdrama viewing habit.
For instance, I was with people on one trip, and somebody wondered aloud why Korean Air flight attendants would PULL the food cart DOWN the aisle with their heads BOWED down. My friend didn’t understand why:
a) their heads were bowed down as they went from the back of the plane to the front of the plane, and
b) instead of pushing the cart from the rear, they were pulling it from the front.
I answered casually. Something like, it’s because during the Joseon period, the palace maids would customarily exit the king’s room, walking backwards with heads bowed down. The flight attendants were probably imitating the traditional way of showing respect and subservience; they couldn’t show their rear ends to passengers.
Whoops!
I realized too late that I goofed up: I shouldn’t know anything about the Joseon royalty.
Dang it, sageuk writers!!!
@Packmule3, if you don’t want to divulge your Kdrama fandom to colleagues, you can always chalk up slipped tidbits to something you’ve read. The Hallyu Wave is becoming more and more mainstream. Even Forbes has a regular contributor on Kdrama content.
Thank you for transferring my query, @packmule3.
As to your comment on your Korean Air flight, did they think that you were simply well travelled or well-read/did your research? I do feel for the flight attendants, though. How often must they trip over feet in the aisle or bump the elbows of passengers in the aisle while pulling the cart?
I’ve never watched a kdrama that is centred around air transport, although there probably have been some. It might mention the cart pulling and other things that distinguish Korean Air flights. It’s funny to have dramas about accountants but not about flight crews. The closest I’ve seen is the side character in King the Land (which stalled for me) and Reply 1988.
@Kate! XK is not the ML? 😬😂 Let’s see if it will be interesting enough for me. ☺️
I will give it a try when I’m over HL. ☺️
Thank you! 😊
@agdr03… no he isn’t! And there was quite a discussion about this when it aired!!
It is very light/silly/ etc … the storyline warms up about 7 episodes in.
@Welmaris and @Fern, I couldn’t imagine another actor besides Victor Ma playing SZ’s brother. I like the way they played this whole brother/sister relationship. Victor said that most of their scenes are adlib, as in Lusi and him would go over the script and they’d put their interpretations. They said they are loud on set. 😂
He also said that because Lusi likes the crispy taro – crusted duck ( sounds yum), they changed all of it to this one food. 😃
I learned something about the Chinese culture today. I honestly didn’t know that about giving a necktie. ☺️
Yes, there were times when she was about to give it but then she’d hide it again.
Lovely to hear re VM and ZL @agdr03!
Don’t worry @Kate, I will watch it later. ☺️
I can imagine that those two, VM and ZL, were loud on set. Good casting!
Big smile @agdro3 ☺ !
Remember what I said about in my commentary on Ep 6 that the timing of Jiaxu’s Lunar New Year’s text? I said it was relevant because
a) it showed that, like Sang Zhi, Jiaxu wanted to PERSONALLY greet her on the eve of the holiday. Sang Zhi secretly made the star message for him; he waited till that evening to send her text.
b) it supported my theory that the screenwriter had embedded an additional “hidden love story” that wasn’t in the original source.
Well…
After reading another chapter of the web novel, I saw that screenwriter did diverge from the source material and altered the timing.
In Chapter 27 of the web novel, Sang Zhi wrote 7 words on the paper star: Jia Xu Ge Happy New Year, and Jiaxu replied to her, thus,
Wishing Xiao Sang Zhi happiness every day. You can get into your dream senior high school and university. Happy New Year. Also, thank you Xiao Sang Zhi for your red packet.
Upon seeing his text, Sang Zhi considered asking how he was doing at the dorm during the festivities. But she didn’t want to pry so she simply texted back, “Thank you, Gege. Happy New Year.”
Did you see it?
In the original novel, he saw her star message first, THEN texted her his greeting IN RESPONSE to star message in his red packet.
In the cdrama, the screenwriter consciously separated the two actions so his text was sent of his own accord, and her star message was received while he was at the airport and ready to leave for Yihe.
His reaction upon reading her star message showed more emotion and attachment than his Lunar greeting message did in the web novel.
Oh that was a nice touch by the screenwriter then. 👏🏻
I really thought he hasn’t seen the red envelope yet when he texted SZ while she was having dinner.
DJ’s response was very emotional and his face said it all. ☺️ CZY’s acting was on point. 🙌🏻
Do you think I’ll enjoy reading the novel? 🤔
If you want to, and if you have time, why not?
But it’s not great writing, though. I’m grateful for the translation but frankly, I cringe at calling the work a novel because it seems insulting to real novelists. It’s more like a comic strip or manga written by a teenager.
There’s no character depth and no complex issue. It’s simply about a girl with a crush on her gege.
It’s the screenwriter who rearranged the story to make it more connected and polished. She rearranged the events and scenes so they would flow naturally and impact the next movement and decision of the characters, logically.
Sounds like it isn’t worth the not-a-lot of me time that I can allocate it so I’ll skip it.
Thank you! 😊
I’m so happy with Shen Fei Xian’s work on this drama! 👏🏻
I agree with @agdr03; Shen Fei Xian’s upgrades are so well constructed. She seems to have made something good into something great.
I’m sorry I’ve forgetten who commented that Hidden Love is a simple story. It doesn’t have action scenes like Fireworks of My Heart. The lead characters aren’t trading off saving each other from flood, fire, viral contamination, impalement, poisoning, cardiac arrest and what not. The character arcs in Hidden Love flow organically, but achieving that is not simple. It takes talent to tell an engrossing story smoothly, with characters and situations that ring true.
In my rewatch, I’ve noticed that many of the early scenes with Sang Zhi are filmed as closeups. We often see her hunched over her desk or a table writing her star notes, drawing, looking at mementos, doing homework, etc. I believe these tight shots reinforce in viewers’ minds the privacy of her innermost thoughts. She’s in her own little world. I think that’s great cinematic storytelling.