Secrets in the Lattice (2021)

Pacing too slow and weak indecisive main character

I had finished a River Runs Through It and wanted something similar so based on reviews went with this one.

I did not like it as much. I thought the female lead was fine as actress but the damn script and dialogues just made her into such an annoying character.

She is constantly indecisive and weak minded. Every scene is her on the verge of crying or feeling sorry for herself.

I think this drama might appeal more to younger girls who feel sorry for themselves.

I did not like it much. Music and videography was fine.

Pacing was not good.

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Leave me with deep nostalgic feeling in the end

Actually I watch first 2 episodes years ago, but I lost my iQiyi account and I forgot the title. Recently, I accidentally saw it while browsing Zhe Yuan past work (I'm just watched Hidden Love). What a pleasant surprise when I realized that this is the title that I missed before.

I really really enjoy their high school story. Sweet and genuine, with some innocent stupidity of youth (in a good way). They are not perfect, their parents not perfect, people around them are not perfect, yet they survive walking the journey called youth together, imperfectly but preciously.

The beginning of their uni days is not my fav, involved some stubbornness and miscommunication. But I appreciate that they tackle the biggest issues and acknowledge it as problem (their over dependency of each other, their lack of individuality). They turn into splendid adult together, it's so sweet seeing 2 human being growing up while building each other in healthy way. Zhe Yuan and Meng Jie act very good presenting their grow up journey.

Their set and costume are really good. I enjoyed seeing their color coordinated clothes. Good soundtrack. Decent cinematography. And the painting props are so nice! Especially all Ding Xian's illustration in high school!

I personally really touched by the very ending scene. It give me so much feeling, bring me to deep nostalgic. Somehow make me wanna cry. Ding Xian's smile speak thousands words.

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Cute

Watching this series I just realized that Our Secret walked so that Lighter and Princess could run.
I watched Time and Him Are Just Right & Lighter and Princess before I started watching this and as I am watching I am seriously getting the vibes of both of them and I am not mad about it at all.
The only complain I have so far is that they are making the FL talk like a baby. I get she is in high school but her female high school friends especially KeKe wasn’t talking like that. I know it’s a CDrama thingy to make their FL cute or something by making her talk and behave like a child, just FYI it might be tolerable as a young girl but it’s definitely not cute as an adult so I hope that now that she’s gotten into the university they will make her talk and behave more maturely because I really like this FL. She’s sassy and has spunk but they are literally killing all her sassy spunky vibes with this baby-like acting BS.
Am at the final stretch of the series, let’s see how they end this one. Fingers crossed.

Update: one of my bane of contention was with the way the writers and directors made the FL, with the childish behavior and baby-like speech pattern during the high school period and although the baby-like speech pattern persisted the childish behavior was done away with now in the present time during university, she grew more backbone, which was good to see.
The relationship progressed after ep20 when there are just 4eps left and the romance is so muted, it’s barely there. After concluding the series I realized that it’s a middle school type of romance and it never pretended to be anything else, I will try to not let my expectations of what I wanted it to be influence my rating so I will try and rate as fairly as I can. Overall I enjoyed the drama but it’s pretty forgettable IMO and not something i would ever rewatch.
Someone said beware of diabetes with this series and I kinda echo the sentiment a little bit, it’s definitely a sweet and fluffy series but it lacked that humph to it that would have made it super memorable like it’s successor Lighter and Princess. Simply put Our Secrets was for teenagers while Lighter and Princess was for a more matured audience even though the lead actors were quite young themselves.
Rewatch value is 2/10
Overall value is 7.5/10.

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My Brain Fart (Very long)

This was a drama of youth, love, motivation, and all of life. It expressed a realistic immaturity at times and a daunting slap of reality in the cruel maturity expressed by students rushing off to discover their lives beyond the walls of their classroom. I was, in more than a few words and for more than one reason, sad and happy throughout this. My will to be objective disappears and I am almost tempted to rewatch it instead of doing my work today.

The story surrounds Ding Xian and Zhou Si Yue as they start high school. The introduction slaps us with the harsh reality yet to come before sweeping us into the past. It was sweet. Seeing Ding Xian smile with glee whenever Si Yue became her deskmate again, seeing the main lead that was smart, but not cold and had friends. It was cute and a pleasure to see Ding Xian's love for Si Yue mold her youth, fuel her with ambition and hopes for the future, and better her in ways she probably couldn't have on her own. It was nice to see him become her support and evidently her world. While it seems that all her dreams revolved around him at the time, it was still lovely to see the gradual influence he had on her life.

But, just because one works hard, doesn't mean they always accomplish their goals. Everyone works hard. So why work hard when there is no guarantee that it will pay off and the results don't show all that hard work? Zhou Si Yue says it is so we don't regret it. I think this is very powerful and an idea they echo quite often. It also highlights one of the main differences between Ding Xian and Zhou Si Yue. Ding Xian is often lost, driven by outside factors and personal sentiments. She lives in the moment so that she won't regret it later but she fantasizes about the limitless possibilities of her choices, constantly stuck on the "what ifs." Zhou Si Yue is driven and knows exactly what he wants in almost every aspect of his life. He works towards things, whether they be academic, family, or love goals. He does not see the "what ifs" or ponder on them because it has already been done and he feels he did everything in his power while it happened. He is definitely the "don't regret your actions because they were yours made very consciously at some moment in time" type of guy.

This brings us to college. At this point, the YouTube comments section was going insane at both the characters. Ding Xian repeated a year with ambition in hopes of attending the same college as Si Yue and making it there. There is a lot of context to these decisions that are to come and so if I don't clarify them :/ Go watch for yourself. She chooses computing as her major despite having great talent and a love for the arts. At this moment, her love for Si Yue completely drives her life, and as unhealthy as it is, I understand. He was someone who encouraged her and gave her a goal along with the support to reach it. I think it was a very realistic development given all we had seen. Everyone was whining and flabbergasted when she repeated a year of studies for him essentially and if it were me, I don't think I could even name a scenario where I would do the same... if one did exist. But I understood that it was more than following his path in life but it was about proving to herself that she can. Her admiration of such an amazing person with such great ambition made her want to better herself to suit him. She wanted to catch up and stand on equal ground. I think a lot of it comes from her position in her family and her more timid, insecure personality. It made him happy that she wanted to better herself and pursue something, a goal higher than one she wanted on her own. He opened up the world outside of hers and a possibility for other things.

Zhou Si Yue, oh dear. I was feeling sad, frustrated, and all the emotions in between during this time. His father was being investigated so he had to leave for college early, he returned in hopes of comforting Ding Xian just to realize she is doing all this for him, he tries to light up her night with fireworks just to get a call about his very sick father, he gets in a fight, leaves the dorms, and works multiple jobs constantly to sustain his dream and family. Every time I saw his eyes, they were just so dead, sad, and constantly between tears or nothingness. When Ding Xian went to find him, his eyes flashed some hope, then a smile, then some sweet expressions before they hardened with restraint and became a dam about to burst. I don't think his decision to avoid and cut Ding Xian out of his life along with the pain it caused her can be justified but it was explained rather well. He was financially unstable. He didn't have the time, means, or mental to handle anything but what was already on his plate. He almost didn't want to taint her worry-free, single-minded pursuit with his problems. I am glad she stuck by him and opened up his heart, making him realize her place in his heart and life. I am also SOO grateful for his father for the talk they had. The talk was so well done and it pushed him in the right direction of being someone that was deserving of love and a life of happiness. While his delivery could have been better, I am glad he didn't accept her because she was choosing to study something because of him rather than because it was interesting to her. I think him being a ball of undigested emotions really propelled the story. haha. I think that period of time was really helpful for her in analyzing herself independently from him. I was also really happy when they showed his pursuit efforts. That love isn't one-sided and that he shook her world enough to make her hesitate. I was a bit sad for Su Bo Cong senior because he was what Ding Xian would have become without the support pillars that were her friends and I feel for his innocence warped to match and survive in a rather cold and cruel society. The difference was that DIng Xian and Si Yue had it. It helped them overcome their hurdles and made them realize that having a shoulder to cry on might not be all that bad. No need to be strong all the time. I am glad that Zhou Si Yue got to go abroad and took the opportunity because if Ding Xian didn't convince him :/ I would have been so sad that he gave up something he worked towards for so long.

Speaking of which. When they were having the farewell party for him, Oh my. The scene where Song Zi Qi was crying and saying all those things. It made me so happy that they had each other then, but also so sad because it speaks to his character. He was always handling things on his own and bottling everything up. His compassion is really highlighted in those few lines and even though they never show what things he "took on" for Zi Qi, we can imagine it because the author had given me such a clear image of what sort of person he is. When his other friend told him that he would become the Si Yue he wants to be ;-; I was touched as it spoke to his efforts, ambitions, and aspirations. He is someone respected and cherished by his peers and I hope he saw it. His breaking down after they left was probably a mix of things. I like to think it was relief and affirmation of his friends' feelings towards him, gratefulness that he had such friends that were with him supporting him, and also sad that he has to part from them.

On the friends topic, all the friends they made and couples that came out of it were so cute!! It was so entertaining and interesting rather than the generic "I am friends with you so the love triangle gets resolved cleanly" person. The professors were also amazing and really added to my motivation to study as well as finish the drama hehe.

In the end, it didn't matter what their secret was because we knew :) I think this was one of the greatest youth dramas I've watched. I was glad I watched it when I did as it made me realize that I want to work hard so I don't regret not doing so earlier and trust that I will gain something from the hard work beyond whatever result I am seeking, that if I really failed to reach the moon, I tried my best rather than run away and escape with the mountain of excuses at my disposal. I want to take responsibility for my actions and life. I want to express a level of maturity, at least in that sense.

There is just too much that can be unpacked. I could write so much more (chemistry, parents, etc.) but I would be here forever and frankly, I would rather eat, sleep, watch it again, find something else or maybe do my homework. That last one might not happen just yet but :/ who knows. I know actually, I am going to put the OST on repeat for a while while I figure the rest out.

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i wish it was longer !! absolutely loved it - honest review below

this is in my top3 fave dramas of the year, i really enjoyed this and i wish it was longer i miss them :(

it was especially interesting for me because it follows them from childhood to highschool and then to university and adulthood.

it isnt just about romance but also about friendship, hardships in school and daily life, family relationships and passions/dreams. it teaches you to treasure what you have when you have it and that no matter how much you want to hold in your doubts and struggles sharing them with others can be of great help.

the acting was amazing! i think that the ml in particular was incredible at acting, especially in the more emotional scenes, he was really good at portraying the emotions which the script encouraged to be shown, and his eyes show his emotions so well. i think that the side characters too were very good and i loved the second leads relationship a lot.

the ost is also great! i loved it, i always love cdrama osts tho tbh.. so amazing.

if theres any reason i gave it 9.5 rather than 10 is because i think that they could have maybe had a few more episodes about adulthood or university, as over half was during school, but i still think it was well balanced! their highschool relationship (friendship but almost like dating with no label) was so cute.. makes me wish my highschool life was more like that hahah

anyways, loved this drama and i will miss it! hope to see them together in another drama one day

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Sweet n fluffy with tension and cliches

Honestly I did not know what to rate this, but if you are in it for the fluff it has it in abundance and though it has some tension created by the first scene being her confessing her love and him turning it down and then rewinding a few years the drama is actually pretty free from drama and has more sweetness.

The first part of the drama is however abit draggy, so I actually speeded it up from time to time showing all that one may expect from a C-drama showing kids in highschool being more or less forced to study non stop and measured by their achievements with adults who seem to know nothing about communication with teenagers. It also shows the perfect couple growing together without actually becoming a couple with a huge amount of almost kisses and never ending matching clothing (they even manage to match the plants).

The second part of the drama is the reason for the added stars, though it would probably get bingo in rom-com cliches it is allot of fun to watch and follow these guys character development as well as how they interact with the world. Also the Male lead cries allot, and I mean allot more than any one in this drama. I have never seen a C-drama let a guy cry as much as this guy does and he does it beautifully with added lipgloss to make him seem extra sweet.

More or less everyone except the female leads mother and the teacher are lovable. The second couple is an added bonus and the friendships shown are the icing on the cake (they also have cake) but no kittens or fluffy animals (very rare for a c-drama so do not be to disappointed about that) .

All in all definitely worth watching but it is okay to speed through the first part, put it on 1.5 speed and you wont even notice you are speeding.

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beautiful youth

Long time heard about this drama, but once again I never expected this drama to be so good. Watching this drama make me really feel how good to be youth again, feeling the first love & just being together with my friend at school without have to think or worried about all the problem in life except for homework & test....

I think this is the second time I really want to smack the back of ML head because he is so stupid but yet adorable. Second time I scream to my screen "GEMEZZZZ" when I see how our Male character react. Gemez if I translate to English the closest word to describe it maybe something that have meaning frustated & also adorable. Like how stupid yet adorable Song Zi Qi and Kong Sha Di, especially when they have a fight after high school, oh so stupid yet adorable. & how stupid is our ML, Zhou Si Yue (SY), when he reject our FL, Ding Xian (DX), yet not long after that he finally admit his feeling & start to pursue DX, see stupid yet adorable. Really like how DX like give him lesson & not agreed immediately.

What I really like about this drama:
+ How not shy SY cry a few time & yet no one teasing him as cry baby. Like when he sad, frustated, moved by his friend, happy and all that emotional feeling. We're not often see man cry in our screen, because society makes us think man can't cry or consider sissy. But the truth man just like us woman, they have tears & feeling, why can't they cry if they want to...?
+ The chemistry between our main lead. Even from high school time, a few time I almost scream frustated to my screen for them (SY & DX) to kiss...... DX & SY chemistry is not all over the top, but from their eyes we can feel how deep & pure their feeling for each other.
+ How open SY & DX communication after they're together. Like how DX want their relationship changing, so no childish grumpy or rage, instead she explained to SY how she wants their relationship change into...
+ How fierce actually SY toward DX at the beginning of their university days. I agree with how SY look his relationship with DX & how DX actually a little bit stupid. If DX can only follow SY's step, they will not gonna ever be equal partner. So even though SY's word actually a little bit harsh, but it's really for the good of DX. But actually how funny that SY almost did the same stupid mistake with DX when at the distribution of majors in his high school he actually chooses Art instead science just for the sake he can still together with DX. Ah youth and their heart and head....
+ How cute to see all the couple really wait until they graduate high school to start their relationship.
+ How natural all the couple relationship progress. Even though they basicly you can say childhood friend, except You Ke Ke & Jiang Chen of course. Oh how beautiful if we have one childhood friend that eventually become our life parner.

The minus I can't think much. Maybe the duration still a little bit long, but they definitely not stretch the plot or whatever. For notes I still watch this with 1.5 speed & for me that the ideal speed to watch this drama. Oh and 1 more, until the last episode I still don't get what they mean by 'our secret'. Can't connect the title with the story. Better if they come out with another title instead...

Overall this is really really good youth drama.

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This is a very good coming of age/slice of life drama. Although the leading couple didn’t get together until the last four episodes, their playful, cute, and fluffy chemistry during the high schools years was performed very nicely, College life and their adult interactions were almost a continuation of their high school romance but with some conflict and just more cute interactions. Their romantic scenes were also nice but still more cute than passionate, Overall, the drama, although it is full of clichés, is entertaining and the actors did well bringing their characters to life. Enjoy it!

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The perfect pick-me-up drama that'll warm you up from the inside out

This drama is pure liquid sunshine - like hot chocolate on a cold winter's day, or candy-sweet soda that fizzes on your tongue. On paper, this sounds like your typical high school romance drama with a genius male lead, a not-so-genius female lead, and a bunch of overused rom-com cliches - and admittedly, it is all that. But it does it well. The story is earnest and heartfelt, the characters are all refreshingly realistic and charming (including the secondary characters), and the romance is one of the healthiest, sweetest, most supportive relationships I have ever seen.

Watching the two leads gave me giddy butterflies from the very beginning - the two actors have amazing chemistry and really delivered on their character portrayals. At every step of their relationship, they were on the same page - from reluctant family friends who got off on the wrong foot, to supportive best friends, to that lovely gradual, building awareness of their own feelings for each other. Misunderstandings never dragged, conflict was always resolved quickly, and there was very little filler in the story. Zhou Siyue as the male lead feels like a typical high school teen rather than your usual cold, unapproachable genius ML, and he treats the female lead with a heart-palpitating mixture of sweetness, tenderness, and indulgent patience. There was never an instance where he didn't believe in her - his steadfast respect and faith in her abilities is one of the most charming aspects of this relationship. This is a boy who would bring his girl the moon without a second thought if she asked him to. It is absolutely adorable watching him fall for her.

Ding Xian as the female lead is also extremely endearing as well. I was actually shocked when I found out that Xu Mengjie was from Produce 101, because I had no recollection of her from the show, but as an actress, she has to be one of the most adorable, charming ones I've seen in a while. Again, this is a flip on the tired 'dumb girl' trope - Ding Xian isn't naturally gifted in academics, but the story makes a point to show that it is her hard work and tenacity that allows her to achieve whatever she puts her mind to, and that that is the very trait that our ML immediately sees and respects in her as well.

If there were one flaw I had to point out, it'd be around episodes 21-23 when some of the conflict begins to feel contrived and a little out of place with the rest of the drama - it felt like they'd run out of material and threw in some external conflict to keep the story going. That was fine though, because it didn't drag out that much, and the final episode 24 brings the story back and ends on a really strong note. This is probably one of my all-time favourite high school dramas now - I can't recommend this enough, despite its underwhelming synopsis, so please go watch it!

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