As discussed previously, the characters in these three novels live in the same world within the same timeframe. So their life stories take place parallel to and overlap with each other in the three novels.
The character who serves as the bridge between these three novels is Fu Zhengchu, Sang Zhi’s school friend and Fu Shize’s nephew. So that the explanation of the relationship between these three novels can be understood, the explanation below will include his role in the three novels.
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Hidden Love
As explained above, Sang Zhi and Fu Zhengchu are school friends from elementary school to high school. Fu Zhengchu has liked Sang Zhi since middle school and searched for ways to approach the girl.
In middle school, Sang Zhi offended one of her teachers during a lesson in class. The teacher asked Sang Zhi to tell her parents to come to school. This moment became the beginning of the closeness between Sang Zhi and Duan Jiaxu. Afraid of being scolded by her parents, Sang Zhi planned to ask her older brother, Sang Yan, for help to replace her parents in meeting the teacher at school.
Sang Yan refused, until finally Sang Zhi asked Duan Jiaxu for help to meet the teacher by claiming to be the girl’s biological older brother. Fu Zhengchu knew that Sang Zhi sometimes had problems with teachers and was punished and her parents were called to school. So he deliberately made trouble so that he was also punished so he could have an excuse to be close to Sang Zhi. Like Sang Zhi, he asked his older sister, Xia Congsheng, to replace their parents in meeting the teacher at school.
Xia Congsheng was interested in Duan Jiaxu when the two met at school and braced herself to ask for the young man’s WeChat number. But Duan Jiaxu rejected her in a unique way. In the novel version, Xia Congsheng’s name is not mentioned. Meanwhile, in the drama, Xia Congsheng’s presence was removed.
Fu Zhengchu also once declared his love for Sang Zhi during high school. Sang Zhi rejected him because the girl already liked Duan Jiaxu at that time. Unfortunately, the moment Fu Zhengchu declared his love for Sang Zhi and was rejected was seen by Duan Jiaxu. Moreover, Fu Zhengchu cried when he was rejected, causing a commotion.
Hidden Love Novel Offical English Edition
The novel behind the hit Chinese drama on Netflix tells the story of Sang Zhi, a bright and spirited girl who secretly falls for Duan Jiaxu, her older brother’s warm and caring college roommate. Years after life pulls them apart, they reunite in college, where their relationship begins to change as old feelings resurface and the possibility of romance finally emerges.
Duan Jiaxu, who misunderstood, thought that his best friend’s younger sister was dating Fu Zhengchu. Feeling responsible for his friend’s sister, he scolded and advised Sang Zhi not to date yet while she was still in high school. Sang Zhi felt like a victim of a misunderstanding and explained the situation to Duan Jiaxu. That moment made Fu Zhengchu create a negative impression for Sang Zhi and Duan Jiaxu. In her heart, Sang Zhi blamed Fu Zhengchu for causing the misunderstanding. Meanwhile, in Duan Jiaxu’s heart, his figure was considered the guy who once declared his love for Sang Zhi. So when Duan Jiaxu finally dated Sang Zhi, the figure of Fu Zhengchu created a bad impression in the young man’s memory.
The First Frost
Fu Zhengchu and Fu Shize appear in the extra chapters of the novel The First Frost. At that time, Sang Yan, Sang Zhi, Duan Jiaxu, and Wen Yifan were shopping at a shopping center. Fu Zhengchu appeared and accidentally met Sang Zhi and Duan Jiaxu there. He then approached them and was introduced by Sang Zhi to Sang Yan and Wen Yifan. It was then that Sang Zhi introduced Duan Jiaxu as her boyfriend.
Apparently, when Sang Zhi saw Fu Zhengchu, she remembered the events that occurred at the airport some time before. The young man saw the intimate interaction between Sang Zhi and Duan Jiaxu. At that time he felt that this was a deviation, because to his knowledge Duan Jiaxu was Sang Zhi’s biological older brother. So it felt strange to see the woman he loved having a relationship with her own brother.
He even sent a message and advised Sang Zhi to return to the right path. Sang Zhi apparently felt offended by the message. So she decided to clarify her relationship with Duan Jiaxu so there would be no misunderstanding. Sang Zhi then introduced Sang Yan to Fu Zhengchu and said, “This is my biological brother!”
Realizing that he had misunderstood, the awkward and embarrassed Fu Zhengchu said goodbye, but Fu Shize appeared instead. Fu Shize’s presence attracted the attention of Sang Zhi and Wen Yifan because of his handsomeness and cold attitude. Even Fu Shize dared to ignore Sang Yan when Sang Yan recognized the man as his junior from school.
Wen Yifan felt this situation was something new because there was a very handsome man who dared to ignore her boyfriend, who is also very handsome. This was also something new for Sang Zhi. Sang Yan and Duan Jiaxu, who saw that their respective partners seemed to take an interest in Fu Shize, felt jealous of the man.
This story was not brought into the drama The First Frost. So the bridge between the second and third novels was removed. In the drama The First Frost, only Sang Zhi and Duan Jiaxu appear. Sang Zhi appears in the story from when she was a child until she graduates from college. Different from the novel version, Duan Jiaxu appears from the time Sang Yan and Wen Yifan share the same apartment.
In the novel, Wen Yifan considers Duan Jiaxu a rival in romantic matters with Sang Yan. This is because rumors and suspicions once arose during college that Sang Yan and Duan Jiaxu were not just best friends, but also a same-sex couple. Several times Wen Yifan showed indirect jealousy when hearing and then seeing the closeness of the two.
When I Meet the Moon
Yun Li first met Fu Zhengchu at the Nanwu airport. She was in the city to attend an invitation from the virtual reality technology development center in her capacity as an influencer with a massive number of followers.
The young man immediately felt an attraction to the beautiful Yun Li and tried to approach her. This made the introvert Yun Li feel uncomfortable and suspicious that Fu Zhengchu had bad intentions toward her. After successfully rejecting Fu Zhengchu, she instead met Fu Shize who was actually assigned to pick her up at the airport. Fu Shize turned out to work at the same company that invited Yun Li.
By chance, Yun Li’s childhood friend, Deng Chuqi, also lives and works in that city. When Yun Li stopped by her friend’s apartment, she was introduced to Xia Congsheng who became Deng Chuqi’s colleague as well as apartment mate. Xia Congsheng became the connector who made Yun Li closer to Fu Zhengchu and Fu Shize.
So besides at the virtual reality technology development center, Yun Li also met Fu Shize through Xia Congsheng. On one occasion, when Yun Li visited Deng Chuqi’s apartment, Fu Zhengchu and Fu Shize also visited Xia Congsheng. The four of them decided to eat together at a hot pot restaurant.
There, these young women discussed the experience of asking for WeChat numbers from men they found attractive. Xia Congsheng admitted she had only done that once when she was in college. At that time, she replaced her parents in meeting Fu Zhengchu’s teacher. She said her experience then was a bad experience.
Fu Zhengchu then asked, “Sang Zhi’s brother?” So they discussed the incident at the beginning of the novel Hidden Love that we discussed above. On the way back to the apartment, they stopped by a shopping center. They shopped separately between the women and the men. Fu Zhengchu and Fu Shize met Sang Zhi, Sang Yan, Duan Jiaxu, and Wen Yifan.
But this moment was not told in detail. While in the car, Fu Zhengchu was angry at his uncle for being cold and ignoring Sang Zhi and her group. These women were curious about what happened. Fu Zhengchu explained that Sang Zhi’s brother whom they met when he was in middle school turned out not to be her biological brother. Meanwhile, their uncle turned out to know Sang Zhi’s real brother, Sang Yan.
In that novel as well, we see the events that occurred in the novel Hidden Love from Fu Zhengchu’s perspective. He has been in love with Sang Zhi since middle school and actively searched for ways to approach the girl. In high school, he even declared his love for the girl and was rejected. This scene is depicted in the novel and drama Hidden Love.
Apparently, since being rejected in high school, Fu Zhengchu still harbors feelings for Sang Zhi. Even though Fu Zhengchu later dated several girls, his feelings for Sang Zhi did not fade. They then met again when Sang Zhi lived in Nanwu. Sang Zhi’s name was mentioned several times by Fu Zhengchu throughout the novel, but her figure was not shown.
In the novel, Fu Zhengchu’s love story will also be discussed. Yun Li and Fu Zhengchu apparently go to the same university, but they have different majors. Fu Zhengchu is taking undergraduate studies while Yun Li is taking a graduate program. Yun Li’s roommate, Tang Lin, falls in love with Fu Zhengchu and pursues the young man.
Casting Changes
In the drama The First Frost, the actors for Sang Zhi, Sang Yan, and Duan Jiaxu were changed. Zhao Lusi and Chen Zheyuan did not return to play their two iconic characters in the drama The First Frost. Victor Ma, who played Sang Yan, was replaced by Bai Jingting in that drama.
The same thing also applies to the actor for Fu Zhengchu. In Hidden Love, Fu Zhengchu was played by Zhang Jiong Min. In When I Meet the Moon, he was replaced by Li Ge Yang.
Several overlapping plotlines from Hidden Love and The First Frost also underwent changes. This raises the question of whether the When I Meet the Moon drama team will also do the same: removing or minimizing the possibility of Sang Zhi, Sang Yan, Duan Jiaxu, and Wen Yifan appearing in the drama. We will only know when the drama airs.
