Chinese youth drama genre is a thing of its own. They've owned this genre for years now. As a sucker for this genre, similar elements and plot lines do not bother me for I consume them without batting an eye. At times, they still add little more spices to make sure they have their own flavor and still be classified on its own beauty among the rest. I thought I've exhausted and seen the most out of this genre but in 2021, a drama which was not originally part of my watchlist rose to the top of this year's favorite dramas of mine, and that is Our Secrets (Secrets in the Lattice).

Sometimes, Chinese dramas have shaky introductions of the plot where you have to wait for five or more episodes in order for you to fully fit and be comfortable with whatever you are watching. However, for Our Secrets, I never had that kind of problem--instead of waiting five episodes, I only needed five minutes of its first episode to decide that, "Yes, I will keep on watching this drama." Right then and there, the drama captured my interest (and probably my heart too.)

The story started with in medias res (a narrative work beginning in the midst of the plot.) With this tactic, they already knew they would be piquing the interest of whoever jumps into the drama without reading the plot (just like me). As a passerby, you'll definitely wonder why the heck you were already given an angst without prior notice! Therefore, you'd proceed and tadah, without warning, you'll be really into it already.

ZHOU SI YUE
Don't even start me with this character. Never have I encountered a character like ZSY in years of my drama watching. Especially with this kind of plot, a refreshing youth like him definitely is one of the million reasons why I fell in love with the drama's story telling. They made a character that has flaws. Okay let's be honest, in youth dramas, male leads, more often than not, are the very definition of stone-faced, tsundere, and a person who never really cares with others' feelings. They are whom what the whole institution are looking up to not just because of their good looks but because of their genius brains (those who naps and get to sleep 8 hours a night, never study but still remain to be the top student). Zhou Si Yue, on the other hand, given that he has both qualities, he is not stone-faced nor a tsundere. He jokes around, spends time with his friends, a filial son, plays basketball, studies and gets distracted. He competes on a national level and because of this, his school ranking sometimes drop few places from his original rank. With this, you can see how they've made him like us--something we can relate to. Because yes, it is so impossible for us to encounter those male leads we have met in the past. With Si Yue, we somehow believed that we have been classmates with someone like him.

DING XIAN
Oh dear. The dearest and most adorable Xianxian. Ding Xian is such a lovable character. Throughout the drama, her development was the proudest I am of them all. She started off as a timid and introverted newly transferred student. She never thought she would gain friends, thus, she opted to shut her doors with anyone who would approach her. But with the help of her desk mate and other classmates, she started to warm and held the knob of her once shut door. She knew her weaknesses but still worked hard to lessen the obvious gap. She's also aware of what she wants. Although at first, she couldn't fight back with her mother who dictates what her daughter should do and should not, but later on, she found her courage and stood firm on what she believed was right and best for her. It is so nice to see a character like her, a character who might not be gifted with so much academic skills but we saw how much she worked hard in order to enter a prestigious school in the country.

Moreover, the whole Our Secrets gang added so much fun in the story telling. Second and third cps were not annoying unlike most of what I've seen in c-dramas. I actually never had to forward their scenes. The roles of Kong Sha Di and Song Zi Qi were not birthed for the sole purpose that this drama may have supporting roles. They were more than that. It's been a while since I last witnessed supporting characters having a strong footing in the storyline.

All in all, give Our Secrets a chance. I grinned like crazy, laughed out loud, and cried because of nostalgia for this made me look back during the days of my youth. This drama came a surprise and I am glad I decided to watch it.