Sang Yan, Wen Yifan and 10 thoughts that made me swoon over the Chinese drama ‘First Frost’

The Hidden Love spin-off show banks on nostalgic moments but also has an identity of its own which definitely makes it a keeper!

As a hopeless romantic myself, I seldom go hunting for content that’s so romantic it would make me feel giddy. Sadly it’s not quite often that the stars align to give me the best love story there ever was. There are the usual K-dramas and the re-watching of early 2000s rom-coms, sure! But to find a show that absolutely has me wrapped around its finger is hard to find. So when I do come across one, I make sure to savour it slowly, steadily and till the end. That’s exactly what I did when I started binging my first Chinese drama ‘Hidden Love’ in 2023.

Seeing Sang Zhi and Duan Jiaxu be head over heels for one another made me feel like nothing could really top this. Until Zhu Yi, the writer of the show decided to make a spin off story on Sang Zhi’s brother, Sang Yan and make me even more delusional than I already am! First Frost had big shoes to fill and boy did it exceed all expectations. Bai Jingting as the silent but passionate Sang Yan and Zhang Ruonan as the mysterious but brave Wen Yifan have undeniable chemistry in the show. It’s the kind that will make your heart ache, feel like a hug and make you feel immensely single all at the same time. 

Just as Sang Yan yearned for Wen Yifan, I yearned to go back home from work and watch this show every night. I immersed myself into the world of First Frost and just watched Sang Yan make my standards higher with each episode. His love felt so convincing that it made me feel like it wasn’t Wen Yifan, but it was actually me he was saying all those heartfelt things to!

The show goes back and forth between their high school days when they both secretly had a crush on each other to present time when circumstances make them live together post Wen Yifan leaving him out of nowhere back then. Throughout the 32 episodes, we watch them re-kindle their romance, be more loyal towards each other, have each other’s back during the toughest of times and heal from the past. “Wen Yifan, am I just your back up option?” is the very first scene of the show, and without any context, you see a heartbroken Sang Yan and all the tragic events that led to that moment. But even in that first scene, you instantly know this drama wouldn’t have a bitter ending, it would leave you blushing till your cheeks hurt. 

First Frost definitely has its cheesy moments, make out scenes that’ll make your heart flutter, it’s funny and sometimes logic also takes a back seat. But isn’t that what makes a good Chinese drama in the first place? The title First Frost, as one of the scenes in the show suggests, is because during the first frost, the sun is farthest from Earth, which makes the temperature drastically fall and makes the nights colder. And on such cold nights is when this show will feel like the warm hug you need for survival. 

Also Read: 8 reasons why Hidden Love's Sang Zhi and Duan Jiaxu are absolute green flags

Here’s why I won’t be getting over this love story anytime soon!

It’s not about passionate confessions; simple moments make this show romantic

While there are big swoon worthy moments between the leads and I’m a sucker for those, what truly had my heart racing was small moments like Sang Yan wishing Wen Yifan ‘Happy New Year’, or asking her what she wished for on her birthday so he can make it come true. It made me feel like they’re just two people living their daily lives whilst being deeply in love! 

Sang Yan is every woman’s ideal type but he is too good to be true even for the fictional world

Please tell me where else would you find a male lead who would keep his old phone charged for eight years just in case the love of his life replies to him? Or plays the same video game every single day just in the hope that she’ll log in and talk to him someday? Or miss his own graduation so he can be there to witness hers because she has no family? There really never was and never will be anyone like Sang Yan in the multiverse of C-drama and K-drama!

The Sang siblings are meant to heal their loved ones

In Hidden Love, we saw Sang Zhi healing Duan Jiaxu from his troubled past and protecting him from every bad energy around him. In First Frost, we see her elder brother, Sang Yan protect Wen Yifan from her so-called ‘family’ who failed to have her back in the darkest of times. He not only helped catch her abuser and throw him in jail, he also healed her mental health in whatever way he could. Clearly, going all out for your partner and loving them like there’s no tomorrow runs deep in the Sang family.

Sang Yan and Sun-Jae from Lovely Runner are cut from the same cloth

From their clothes to the way they talk, the way they both yearn for the same girl they fell in love with in high school - it's all very uncanny. I know I’m not the only one who was reminded of Sun Jae while watching Sang Yan also be an absolute simp for Wen Yifan. This K-drama and C-drama crossover is one I need ASAP!

The show focuses on many important issues like workplace harassment, victim shaming, mental health and more!

Wen Yifan’s back story is dark and heavy. As a teenager, she was sent off to stay with her Uncle Wen, where her aunt’s brother tried molesting her. Later, she faces the same kind of harassment at work from her senior as well and is blamed by the senior’s wife for ‘seducing’ him. All of this takes a toll on her mental health which leads her to sleep walking in the night and also makes her take a step back from Sang Yan thinking that her emotional baggage would only weigh him down. So it’s not just the romance, but sub plots like these that also keep you hooked to the show and hope for satisfying justice for Wen Yifan.

The OST elevates the romantic scenes even more

During Hidden Love, it was Forever Star that made it to every Reel and I was listening to it on loop for an abnormal amount of time. With First Frost, it’s the OST sung by Silence Wang that’s giving me all the C-drama feels as I go about my monotonous day! Both the songs only added more magic to the already romantic scenes in these respective dramas and there’s no way I could imagine those scenes in my head without the songs playing. 

The second leads give us much needed comic relief 

First Frost is set amidst really intense topics and if not that, Sang Yan and Wen Yifan’s romance just turns the heat on. In the middle of all of this, it was good to have the second leads, played by Zhang Miaoyi and Edward Chen Haosen, bring a little frivolousness to the table. They felt more like best friends than lovers and their banter was rather fun to watch!

The dialogues linger on your mind way after the credits roll

Subtlety doesn’t run in Sang Yan’s blood at all. He won’t say ‘I’ll protect you’, instead he’ll say “I’ve finally caught the shadow behind you, from now on your life will only have light”. Or when Wen Yifan asked him if he was sent by her dad to take care of her, he replied saying, “No I volunteered”. When Sang Yan saw a scar around Wen Yifan’s elbow, he drew a butterfly on it and said, “I’m giving you wings to fly”. How is anyone not supposed to dwell on these dialogues way after the show is over? If Sang Yan met me in real life, his words could melt me, sweep off my feet and walk all over me!

This show is proof yet again that men written by women will always be top tier

Only a woman can write about a man who women around the world dream of! Duan Jiaxu, Sang Yan, Zhang Lu Rang are all male leads written by Zhu Yi and they’ve all gone on to become the internet's new obsession! They’re not green flags, they’re an entire green forest written from a female gaze and hence they turn out to be something straight out of our fantasies!

They’re both brain rottingly good looking!

My saved folder on Instagram for Bai Jingting should tell you that I am not the only one swooning over him RN!

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