For Episodes 1-3
I am loving Hidden Love with Zhao Lu Si and Chen Zhe Yuan! Not only do our two leads have squeal-worthy chemistry together, but the story itself is great as well. I am kinda a sucker for a great secret crush story. As of this writing, it looks like YOUKU has released the first two episodes on Youtube. If you click on the official YOUKU channel, then to the channel description, it will show a bunch of links. When I followed it to YOUKU international website link, more episodes were available. Hopefully, the show will eventually be available on other platforms as well.
The novel itself is a hilarious read. I am about six episodes in and the drama is thus far following the novel very closely with only minor adjustments. My only regret is that the novel’s hilarious humor doesn’t always translate fully into the drama and the show for some reason has also chosen to leave out certain funny quips. One other thing worth noting is the slight adjustment to our two leads’ characters in the drama vs the novel. In the drama, although our hero teases our heroine quite a bit he really gives off a very gentle vibe. In the novel, our hero says and does all the same things as the drama portrayed, but there is a definite bad boy danger + seduction vibe to him.
Actress Zhao Lu Si is doing an impressive job playing our charming heroine. However, it looks like the drama had chosen to keep the heroine’s character on the more innocent side. In the novel, despite her young age, our heroine is actually quite astute when it comes to observing her own emotions and the reality of what it means of falling in love with someone who is seven years older than her. (Looks like our hero is only five years older than our heroine in the drama though.)
I did a very casual google search and it looks like there are two English translation projects of the novel already in progress so I won’t add to it BUT I am still really tempted to translate certain scenes so I will indulge myself in that. I will also do some drama vs novel comparisons. I am not going to try to cover all the differences but will only cover the ones that caught my attention…or more accurately, the ones I can remember.
1 In the drama, our heroine met our hero for the first time in her brother’s room when she was in 8th grade, and their second meeting was at her school where our hero did a favor for Little Sang Zhi by pretending to be her brother. By the third meeting when Sang Zhi met Duan Jiaxu again, it was a couple of years later and, our heroine is already a junior in high school (11th grade). In the novel, up to about the 6th episode (the college graduation), Sang Zhi was 13 years old the whole time so she really was like a little sister to him during that time period. (I do appreciate the drama of moving the age up. I love the child actor they had cast but it would’ve been sad if we had to wait six whole episodes before we see Zhao Lu Si.)
2. The cute fox stuffed animal was actually supposed to be a very ugly stuffed doll in the novel. We really didn’t get many descriptions of the doll, other than the fact it was so ugly that all of Duan Jiaxu’s roommates thought he was crazy for keeping it.
3. In the novel during the dinner scene where Sang Zhi had the unpleasant surprise of having her period, she was only 13 so it was actually her very first menstrual cycle and she was understandably very flustered.
Novel scene: Duan Jiaxu on the phone with Sang Yan.
Duan Jiaxu: “Bro, your sister…”
Sang Yan: “What?”
Duan Jiaxu: “It looks like her menstrual period started.”
“. . . . . . . . . . . “
There was an instant silence on the other end, so quiet that it was as if the phone had been hung up already.
Duan Jiaxu walked into the supermarket and coughed lightly.
Sang Yan finally spoke, “Then what should we do?”
“. . . . .” There was a hint of incredulous in Duan Jiaxu’s voice, “You are asking me?”
Sang Yan was silent for a few more seconds before saying, “There seems to be a supermarket on the second floor, go get some stuff, bro.”
Duan Jiaxu asked in disbelief, “Is she, my sister?”
Sang Yan said solemnly, “You are my brother.”
Meaning my sister is your sister.
Duan Jiaxu felt a headache coming, “Come down, it is not suitable for me to buy underclothing, you need to do that.”
The air seemed to be stagnant for a good while.
Sang Yan suddenly let out a curse “@#$%&!”
Duan Jiaxu: “?”
Sang Yan “The signal is not good.”
“. . . . . . .”
Dang Yan, “I am hanging up.”
“. . . . . . .”
(Skipping over the part where the two men stood in front of the feminine pads’ shelves trying to figure out what all the descriptions of “day use” or “extra long” mean.)
After sending the few customers she was helping off, a salesperson walked over to them and asked, “Are you guys here to buy these for your girlfriends?”
Sang Yan’s words were interrupted, and the two looked over at the salesperson at the same time.
At this point, Sang Yan should naturally be the one to answer the question. After all, between the two of them, he is the one with the most direct relationship with Sang Zhi. Duan Jiaxu withdrew his gaze and didn’t take the initiative to answer the question.
“No.” Sang Yan didn’t follow common sense and answer accordingly. His eyes swept over Duan Jiaxu and suddenly said meaningfully, “Don’t be fooled by his looks.”
After a pause, he added with all seriousness, “Actually, he is a woman.”
“. . . . . “
Duan Jiaxu froze.
The salesperson’s expression very obviously stiffened, “Huh?”
Sang Yan, “Hey, don’t be like this. She looks a little burly, but she really is a woman.”
After a few seconds, Duan Jiaxu raised his head, his eyes slightly narrowed, looking affectionate and seductive. Flashing a very suggestive smile, he calls out, “Baby?”
Sang Yan’s body was instantly covered with goosebumps, “. . . . . . “
“Why are you explaining so much?” Duan Jiaxu chuckled, and pinched his cheek, “I know without you saying anything that I am the prettiest in your eyes.”
“. . . . . . “
Under the strange gaze of the salesperson and the fairly perfunctory recommendations, Sang Yan managed to maintain a calm expression and decided to just buy a pack of each of the day and night use.
After they left, Sang Yan sneered, “You are sure disgusting.”
Duan Jiaxu raised an eyebrow, “Really?”
Sang Yan, “I almost threw up.”
“Didn’t you say I am a woman?” Duan Jiaxu gave him a tender smile, like a male demon, and said slowly, “I think if I am a woman, I should be quite pretty, right?”
“. . . . . . “
4. At the dinner at the end of Episode 2, Sang Zhi tried to sneak some beef while her brother is busy talking but Duan Jiaxu took the plate and picked out all the beef from the noodle dish. In the show, it looked like Sang Zhi was actually a bit moved by Duan Jiaxu’s gesture but that was not her reaction in the novel:
Sang Zhi stared at the very bare noodle dish, left with only a few shredded carrots and vegetable leaves, pitifully plain. She looked over and fixed her gaze at Duan Jiaxu’s bowl that was full of beef.
A breath of dejection is stuck in her throat, unable to come out.
“. . . . . . “
She really didn’t want to say it out loud.
Do! You! Really! Like! Beef! So! Much?!
Sang Zhi pursed her lips and picked up her chopsticks reluctantly.
Knowing that no one there would help her, she didn’t waste her energy complaining and endured the humiliation by filling her bowl with a bowl of noodles that had been picked over by him.
5. There was a small scene right before Duan Jiaxu helped Sang Zhi grab a little bear from the claw machine, where Qian Fei complained loudly about how all the girls that had approached him were either looking for Sang Yan or Duan Jiaxu’s phone number. The show left out a funny conversation between the two siblings later that night while they were driving home.
Sang Zhi was silent for a while but eventually leaned her head toward Sang Yan and asked, “Just now, Qian Fei Gege (gege= brother) said there were people who sought him out to ask for your phone number, is that really true?”
Sang Yan, “Of course.”
Sang Zhi, “Is there a follow-up story?”
Sang Yan, “I didn’t give my number so there is no follow-up story.”
“Oh.” Sang Zhi thought for a moment, “Good thing you didn’t give it.”
Sang Yan turned the steering wheel, not saying anything.
The next second, Sang Zhi continued, “I think maybe, they went to Qian Fei Gege to ask for your contact, then they planned to ask you to give them Jiaxu Gege’s contact number.”
“. . . . . .”
“Gege, you need to be careful.”
“Shut up.”
“Don’t let them humiliate you.”
“. . . . . .”
“Although you are indeed the ugliest in our family, but,” Sang Zhi paused, seemingly trying to find the right words before saying honestly, “But, when you are outside, you are still pretty ugly.”
“. . . . . . “
(Lest you guys worry about Sang Yan’s self-esteem, in the novel, Sang Yan is always telling Sang Zhi that all the girls are chasing after him so his self-esteem is quite healthy.)
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I hesitated to start watching this because I wasn’t keen on Chen Zhu Yuan in Mr Bad, but ended up trying one episode – the two – then, oh, am I binge-watching now at episode six??!! And while I always like Zhao Lusi (who wouldn’t?! She’s a great actress) it’s actually Chen Zhu Yuan’s performance that’s grabbing me more. He suits this character – and I’m glad they haven’t made him bad-boy like the novel!! Thanks for sharing the differences and translations. It will add to my enjoyment of watching the show! xx
I would not have minded if they could’ve pulled off the bad boy vibe in the drama but I agree with you that the softer image worked really well in the drama as well.