When it comes to some of the recent and most beloved C-dramas, Hidden Love is sure to top the list. Featuring the acclaimed actress Zhao Lusi alongside Chen Zheyuan, this drama follows the story of Sang Zhi, a high school girl who secretly develops feelings for her brother Sang Yan’s best friend, Duan Jiaxu.
Since the beginning, Sang Zhi has been admiring Duan Jiaxu and has waited for the moment to confess her love. It’s a sweet, coming-of-age romance full of youthful innocence and familial warmth.
While Sang Zhi and Duan Jiaxu are central to the story, viewers are also introduced to Sang Yan, Zhi's protective older brother. He's full of jokes and seems to be a careless youngster who served as a comical relief in the drama.
However, Sang Yan returned in the latest C-drama, The First Frost, in which the story begins years after Sang Yan and his lover Wen Yifan parted ways in high school. They are brought together by unsolved feelings and, as adults and are forced to live under the same roof.
This means that The First Frost and Hidden Love are deeply connected, but not in the way that requires you to watch one before the other. Instead, they exist in the same universe, featuring siblings from the same family as the main characters in each.
Keep reading to explore more about these Chinese dramas.
How The First Frost is connected to Hidden Love: Two love stories in a shared universe

Since The First Frost came out on Youku in China and Netflix for international drama lovers, there has been a question about whether this new C-drama is connected to Hidden Love. As explained above, both series follow different stories, but are set in the same universe.
Hidden Love focused on how Sang Zhi fell in love with Duan Jiaxu and finally got the chance to love him in her adulthood. The series also featured the Zhi family, including her elder brother.
Since Hidden Love is about Zhi's secret crush and love story, Sang Yan appears as a supporting character. But fast-forward to First Frost, this new C-drama turns the spotlight onto Sang Yan himself, offering a much more mature and introspective love story.
What is the story in The First Frost? Exploring Sang Yan's love story

The First Frost is all about uncovering the hidden side of Sang Yan that fans didn't see in Hidden Love. The drama reveals that he was once in love with Wen Yifan in high school, but the two parted ways.
Things changed in their adulthood when the two crossed paths again, this time living under the same roof and discovering id there can be a second shot at their love. For viewers who watched Hidden Love, this deeper look at Sang Yan is especially rewarding.
There are references, like mentions of his sister Sang Zhi or glimpses of Duan Jiaxu, that tie the two dramas together. These little easter eggs act like gentle reminders that both stories are happening in the same world, just through different lenses.
But even if you never watched Hidden Love, you won’t feel lost. First Frost is a self-contained love story with its own arc, emotional highs and lows, and a satisfying ending. It respects its origin but stands tall on its own.
The C-dramas are available to stream on Netflix.
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