- One interesting contrast between the drama and the novel is what they did with the crazy lady who was in love with our hero. In the drama, we can tell right away the crazy lady was in love/obsessed with our hero right from the beginning but in the novel, the first couple of times she showed up there was no indication of any love on her part since all she ever did was scream abusive words at our hero. It was only a bit later in the story that it becomes apparent that she is also in love with Duan Jiaxu…even if she is still insistent that he has to live in pain for what his father did.
- As the drama portrayed, Sang Zhi’s boss was the crazy lady’s friend and bullied Sang Zhi at work. However, she wasn’t quite as unreasonable in the novel and started to doubt her friend’s words about Sang Zhi. The boss eventually came to realize that her friend is the one in the wrong and apologized to Sang Zhi.
- In the novel, the crazy lady didn’t stop coming around just because our hero threatened to call the police on her but there was another reason she changed her mind. The woman’s stepfather had gotten into some trouble and our two leads chanced upon a scene when people were harassing her because of it. Feeling aggrieved, and wrongly accused for something she did not do, the woman finally had a taste of how Duan Jiaxu had lived.
- Some of my favorite parts are the phone conversations between our hero and his friend Qian Fei. This one here before Qian Fei’s wedding but after Sang Zhi’s drunken confession.
Duan Jiaxu, “Bye.”
“Wait!” With a somewhat condemning tone Qian Fei said, “Hey, is it because it has been too long since we have seen each other that you are not treating me like a brother? Or else why are you not telling me about what’s going on with you?”
Speechless, Duan Jiaxu said with a snort “And how many times have you called me about this thing in the last bit?”
Qian Fei said, “Seriously, have you started your pursuit? Did you really lose your guts to chase after the girl just because she is on the younger side?”
Duan Jiaxu was silent for a few seconds then suddenly laughed, “I’ll take it slow.”
That girl still thinks of him as a brother. He probably can’t go too fast.
Reminded of the things he just did that day (the scene where he teased her a bit in the car and asked her to introduce girls to him, hinting that he is willing to date girls of her age.) he cleared his throat, “I really have never done stuff like this but for some reason, I seemed to be…”
“. . . . . . “
“Quite good at it.”
Finally hearing the answer he had been waiting for, Qian Fei was instead more stunned, “Didn’t you just tell me a couple of days ago that there was nothing? You said the girl was too young, and to not mention it again? So what’s up with you today?”
“.. . . . . .”
“The feeling of guilt went away?”
“By this age.” Duan Jiaxu chuckled softly, “Why do I want a thing like that?”
“. . . . . .” Qian Fei cried with a high-pitched voice, “Beast!!!”
There were a few moments of silence.
Duan Jiaxu tilted his head and stared at the passenger seat.
He suddenly remembered the morning he had woken up at the hospital, how the little girl was curled up in a ball, sleeping on the chair by his hospital bed.
He remembered when a glass of water was tossed on him in public, how she had looked as she jumped up to protect him.
Remembered how she was so drunk that she couldn’t even count the months but still remembered to tell him all the things he had to be careful of after his operation.
Remembered how just now she had sat on the passenger seat, looking like a puffer fish with her puffed-up cheek eating strawberries.
Remembered the two little dimples by her lips when she smiled…and the way she looked when she cried for someone else.
Duan Jiaxu looked down and smiled softly, “This feeling is not bad.”
Qian Fei, “What?”
“I am almost thirty and have yet to really do anything I wanted to do so I just wanted to try.” Duan Jiaxu said in a low voice, “If it would scare her, then I would give up.”
“. . . . . “
“But I feel,” Duan Jiaxu rubbed his lips with his thumb, thinking of Sang Zhi’s response just now, he chuckled, “I am not doing too badly?” (Our hero is thinking of when Sang Zhi fed him a strawberry and he tricked her into accidentally touching his lips with her hand)
————————————————-
Ep 17 Novel scene of when our two leads finally got together. (The birthday cake scene at the restaurant did happen in the novel but unlike the drama that was not where our heroine agreed to be our hero’s girlfriend.)
After being quiet for a few seconds, Zang Zhi suddenly thought of a possibility. She raised her head and said stiffly, “Jiaxu Ge (Ge= shorten version of Ge Ge/brother), I want to ask you something.”
“Um?”
“If, I mean if, we really got together and in the end, broke up because we felt like we are not a good fit.” Sang Zhi asked softly, “We probably wouldn’t be in contact after that right?”
Hearing this, Duan Jiaxu’s eyes moved.
Realizing belatedly that this was probably not the right occasion to be asking such questions, Sang Zhi quickly added, “It was just a casual question.”
Duan Jiaxu was cutting the cake, his voice clear and bright, “Can’t trust me?”
“. . . . .” Sang Zhi fell silent, “Is not that.”
Duan Jiaxu, “Is it because I act too casual and flippant normally?
Sang Zhi didn’t answer.
Duan Jianxu smiled, “Seems like it.”
Sang Zhi mumbled sheepishly, “I didn’t mean that.”
“Sang Zhi, if you feel that we will go our separate ways in the future, then indeed that’s not an appropriate assumption. (The word appropriate here is actually the same word our heroine used for “not a good fit” so it’s a play on words off what she had said). If you don’t agree (to date him), then I can’t force you.” Duan Jiaxu lowered his eyes to meet her gaze, “But if you agree, and then still bring up the matter of breaking up…”
“. . . . .”
His voice stopped, the corner of his eyes tilted up, flashing his fox demon smile again, “Have you ever seen Ge Ge lose his temper?”
Sang Zhi’s hand gripped the corner of her shirt as she raised her eyes to look at him.
Duan Jiaxu lowered his voice and pinched her face affectionately.
“It’s scary.”
The topic ended there.
Duan Jiaxu didn’t mention it afterward and Sang Zhi also pretended that she never asked the question. As if the little episode was something no one cared about.
Seeing that it was about time, Duan Jiaxu sent Sang Zhi back to school.
After Sang Zhi washed up, she returned to her desk and continued to do her own things. Her thoughts were a bit scattered, unable to focus her attention, thinking back to the thought that had suddenly come into her mind.
She actually knew exactly what her concerns were.
Sang Zhi is not worried at all that Duan Jiaxu would treat her badly.
She knew what kind of person he was.
But she worry that, perhaps, he would not like her for very long.
Even if he doesn’t like her anymore, there is a big possibility that Duan Jiaxu wouldn’t try to break up with her. He would only treat the relationship between the two of them as a responsibility.
It would evolve into something very painful for both of them.
Is she really too hypocritical?
Being with him is something she had obviously hoped for for a very long time, but when it finally is within reach she is instead filled with doubts, feeling extremely uneasy.
So uneasy that she doesn’t even have the courage to take that final step.
Sang Zhi tried her best to toss aside those thoughts and act the same as before when she is with Duan Jiaxu. Many times, she would make up her mind to finally be with him but the words would get swallowed back the moment it is about to come out of her mouth.
Seemingly sensing that something was amiss with her, Duan Jiaxu came to her a lot more frequently than before.
Sang Zhi didn’t know how to tell him what was in her head.
After all, she was unwilling to tell him that she had liked him since she was thirteen years old.
Neither does she know how to free herself from the unsolvable dilemma in her head.
(Time passed until Sang Zhi ran into the crazy lady during a work dinner and was cornered in the women’s bathroom by her.)
“It seemed he never brought it up to you.” Noticing her reaction, the corner of Jiang Ying’s lips curled up, “I’ll tell you a secret, his dad is a bastard who killed someone while drunk driving.”
“. . . . .”
“A bastard that takes nearly 100,000 yuan in medical expenses a year.” Jiang Ying said, “What girl is rich enough to drag on like this with him? He doesn’t even have a house.”
Sang Zhi raised her head, completely unaffected by her words, and said matter of factly, “But I have money.”
“. . . . .” Clearly unable to believe this would be her reaction, Jiang Ying’s expression instantly turned a bit ugly, “His dad killed someone, he is a murderer, didn’t you hear me?”
Sang Zhi spoke slowly, “Am I marrying his dad?”
“……”
Sang Zhi didn’t want to stay with her anymore, she wasn’t even in the mood to touch up her makeup so she took a tissue and started to walk out.
Unable to maintain her mask of calmness, Jiang Ying abruptly threw the lipstick in her hand on Sang Zhi, “You can’t understand human words anymore? There is something wrong with your head? You can’t understand when someone tries to talk nicely to you?”
The lipstick was small so it didn’t hurt when it landed on her but it instantly ignited Sang Zhi’s temper.
Sang Zhi lowered her eyes, staring at the lipstick rolling on the ground, then raised her eyes to look at Jiang Ying. She sneered coldly, tore off her bag, and threw it forcefully on Jiang Ying’s face. In an extremely impolite tone, she said, “Who spoiled you until you gained all these bad habits.”
“……”
The force of the bag caused Jiang Ying to back up a step. After a few seconds of silence, she smiled, “Who do you think?”
“. . . . . .”
“It was Duan Jiaxu.”
There was a moment of stalemate.
Sang Zhi stared straight at her and said, “Auntie, if you are really spoiled, would you still need to come find me today?”
“. . . . .”
“If you have this sort of spare time to do stuff like this.” Sang Zhi picked up her bag from the ground and said in a harsh tone, “It would be better to spend that time on self-care or else if you stand next to Duan Jiaxu I would think that you are his mother’s friend.”
She walked out right after speaking.
A furious Jiang Ying immediately followed her out. She grabbed Sang Zhi’s arm and raised her hand, her body shaking with anger.
(Sang Zhi’s co-worker showed up at this point so the confrontation between the two ended. However, the confrontation caused our heroine to think back to the holidays Duan Jiaxu spent on his own, and the image of him sitting on his own out on the deck the night he had spent in her house.)
She thought of the endless part-time jobs he had during college.
Thought of how he wouldn’t go to the hospital when he got sick and how he always spent holidays on his own.
Thought of his life lately, seemingly becoming brighter than in the past.
Thought of his smiling eyes, as he told her “What other girls have, our Zhi Zhi also needs to have.”
The obstacle inside that she couldn’t get over suddenly melted away. Sang Zhi stood up abruptly and bid everyone goodbye, “I still have something to do, I am going to leave first.”
When she got to Duan Jiaxu’s building, someone happened to open the door at the same time. Sang Zhi followed them in, her mind completely blank as she entered into the elevator, reached the floor Duan Jiaxu’s house is at, and stood in front of his door. She let out a breath and pressed the doorbell.
The door soon opened.
Duan Jiaxu seemed to have just gotten out of the shower with water droplets still on his hair and a strong minty fragrance emitting from his body. His expression was a bit surprised, not expecting her at all at this hour.
Examining her expression carefully, Duan Jiaxu bend down and asked hesitantly, “Why did you come over?”
Sang Zhi stared back at him, didn’t answer his question but instead, as if on an impulse or as if finally saying the words that had been held back for far too long, she said bluntly “Can you keep on liking me?”
It was me who like you first anyway.
It was me who liked you more anyway.
So I want to keep being by your side.
Even if later, you really don’t like me anymore.
It seems I would still come out ahead.
Duan Jiaxu was still dazed and even had the feeling that he had fallen asleep and was dreaming. He looked down, and subconsciously blurted out his thoughts, “Yes.”
Sang Zhi sniffled, “Then…”
“Wait a minute.” Duan Jiaxu smiled, “What are you doing?”
Before Sang Zhi could speak again, Duan Jiaxu has already grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the house, “Come in first.”
“. . . . . .”
“Talk to me.” Duan Jiaxu said patiently, “What’s wrong?”
“I just think today felt right.” Sang Zhi whispered, “So I didn’t want to wait.”
Duan Jiaxu’s breathing stopped, only realizing then that she didn’t seem to be joking “You drank?”
Sang Zhi, “No.”
Duan Jiaxu, “You are agreeing to be with me?”
“Mm.”
There was a few seconds of silence.
Duan Jiaxu suddenly pinched her chin and lifted her face up. His eyes were deep, staring into her clear and nervous eyes. He swallowed, and reconfirmed, “You have thought it through?”
Sang Zhi didn’t look away, staring back at him, she gave another “Mm.”
Finally, the answer was affirmative.
Being so close together, the sensuous seductive temperature ever increasing in a dream like moment. Duan Jiaxu’s eyes darkened, staring at her lips, he suddenly spoke, his voice hoarse, “Open your mouth.”
Still a bit dazed, Sang Zhi let out an ah sound, and her lips fell open.
The next moment his voice trailed off, accompanied by an extremely passionate warm touch.
“Ge Ge will teach you how to kiss.”
His words and his action came completely unexpected. By the time Sang Zhi came back to her senses, Duan Jiaxu’s lips have already descended, the tip of his tongue pushed past her lips, exploring deep within. The minty cold breath seemed inexplicably fiery hot.
As if there was an electric current, pushing the heat higher and higher.
Sang Zhi’s eyes widened, subconsciously took a step back, her back coming up against the door but was instantly pulled back by him. Her head was tilted up, her wrist gripped in his hand, firmly pressed against his chest.
At that moment, Sang Zhi could no longer sense anything else.
All her senses, everything she could see, were all completely monopolized by the man in front of him.
Without any experience, Sang Zhi stood there passively, forgetting to even close her eyes, staring blankly at his thick eyelashes, and his straight nose bridge. The pair of seemingly seductive but always distant eyes are finally, only at this moment, truly filled with longing in them.
Her mind became a bit fuzzy but her body was still stiff.
Perhaps noticing her bewilderment about what to do, Duan Jiaxu let out a sexy laugh. His palm reached up and covered her eyes.
Very forceful, yet carries an extreme tenderness with it.
The towel on his shoulder fell to the ground with a muffled sound. Water droplets were still dripping from the tips of his hair and had turned icy from the cold air as it dropped onto Sang Zhi’s neck.
Sang Zhi couldn’t help but shrink a little.
Duan Jiaxu finally stopped and kissed her lips again before tilting his head to one side, pressing his lips against her ear, his voice low and hoarse, laced with tenderness, “I like you.”
Sang Zhi felt as if her ear had turned numb.
The next moment, he moved his hand down, exposing her covered eyes, his fingertips lightly stroking her cheek.
Their eyes met.
Duan Jiaxu’s eyes were lowered, slightly curved, with a faint light in them. His lips were bright red, with a bit of watery moisture on them, curving up. As if unable to move his gaze away, his eyes bore into hers.
Sang Zhi also stared at him blankly, as if attracted by the light in his eyes, her mind still a bit muddled.
“I need to tell you something seriously.” Duan Jiaxu’s voice was deep, without any embarrassment in his words, carrying with it a hint of a smile, “Actually, I don’t know how either.”
Sang Zhi instinctively asked, “What?”
“But you always say I am old, so I kept feeling that if I just blurt it out honestly,” Duan Jiaxu rubbed the corner of her eye and continued, “I would lose face.”
“. . . . . .”
Duan Jiaxu, “It’s also my first time in a relationship.”
After a few seconds, his voice lowered, and added, “It’s also my first time, liking someone so much.”
“……”
Duan Jiaxu bent down to be at eye level with her and said seriously, “So, don’t you dare think of dumping me.”
Sang Zhi looked a bit sheepish.
Duan Jiaxu chuckled and said, “We have already kissed, so you have to be responsible for me for life.”
This is the final drama vs novel comparison for Hidden Love but leave a comment if you have any questions about what happened in the novel!
All text copyright @ www.Ninja-Reflection.com
Thank you, Ninja! I enjoyed this a lot – the drama too, much more than I was expecting. I did understand at times why some people were critical or had concerns about the relationship dynamics / age difference. There were a few moments where I wasn’t entirely sure of how brotherly Duan Jiaxu really was toward Sang Zhi – especially when she was seventeen. It was later clear he had no idea of her feelings for him, but I sometimes felt that he did and therefore wasn’t as comfortable as I’d have liked to have been, But broadly, and because of Zheyaun’s emotive performance, I was on his side and wanted him to be happy. I totally understood Sang Zhi’s crush on him :)) Did the novel ever resolve the brother’s relationship status?? The drama often hinted he was seeing someone but then never showed us.
The brother has his own book. I haven’t read it yet but I imagine the author would mesh the two stories together so you find out in the brother’s book who was pursuing him and where he went off to when he asked Duan Jiaxu to take care of Sang Zhi in his place.
Oh! That’s a cool idea – and makes sense why there was ambiguity on his storyline in the drama. Maybe a spin off with that actor is on the cards!!
Yes, I read that there will be a spin-off drama coming.