General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20265 min read

Almost Lover (谁都知道我爱你)

Almost Lover (谁都知道我爱你; pinyin: Shéi Dōu Zhī Dào Wǒ Ài Nǐ) is a 2022 Chinese urban romance television series directed by Dai Xiaozhe and starring Victoria Song as He Xiaoran and Timmy Xu (Xu Weizhou) as Xiao Shangqi¹. Adapted from the novel of the same name by Yue Xia Xiao Sheng (月下箫声), it ran for 36 episodes and premiered on Tencent Video on 26 October 2022²^•³. The story follows a woman who secretly loved her close friend for eight years and reunites with him three years after their friendship collapsed, when he arrives in her city to manage a failing four-star hotel¹.

Key fact	Detail
Original title	谁都知道我爱你 (Shéi Dōu Zhī Dào Wǒ Ài Nǐ)⁴
Episodes / runtime	36 episodes, about 45 minutes each³^•⁵
Premiere	26 October 2022, Tencent Video⁴
Source material	Novel 谁都知道我爱你 by Yue Xia Xiao Sheng (月下箫声)²
Lead cast	Victoria Song as He Xiaoran; Timmy Xu as Xiao Shangqi¹
Director / writers	Dai Xiaozhe; screenwriters Zhang Ying and Zhu Zitao⁶
Production companies	Tencent Penguin Pictures, Chenghao Pictures, Laoyou Pictures⁶

Spoilers

Plot

He Xiaoran, Xiao Shangqi, and Chen Fei'er were inseparable friends as students. He Xiaoran secretly loved Xiao Shangqi for eight years while watching him pursue Chen Fei'er; to protect the friendship she kept her feelings hidden, but she repeatedly saw Chen Fei'er treat Xiao Shangqi's affection casually¹. Events on the eve of their college graduation destroyed the friendship of the three. After this double betrayal of love and friendship, the once sunny He Xiaoran left Shanghai for a nearby city and became the host of a late-night radio program¹.

The reunion. Three years later, Xiao Shangqi arrives in that city under heavy pressure to run the Jifeng Hotel, a four-star property losing money year after year². In the first episode, He Xiaoran is hosting a program on the theme of farewell when a caller's familiar voice tells her he is waiting downstairs; the two had been out of contact since she cut him off around their graduation². Reunited in a foreign city with mutual misunderstandings, the two hurt and care for each other in turn and gradually come to love¹.

The drama also develops the leads' working lives. He Xiaoran's radio station, close to going off the air, plans an innovative program called "Da Jia Bang" (大家帮); her colleague Sui Mingwei proposes livestreaming and appears with her as a couple for the cameras, provoking Xiao Shangqi's jealousy until he discovers the livestream audience are hired shills². When a hotel under Xiao Shangqi's management in Qingdao has a food-safety incident, He Xiaoran refuses to shade her reporting because of their relationship, telling him, "As your girlfriend, I believe you"⁷.

Cast and characters

Victoria Song (Song Qian) as He Xiaoran, a radio host in Wusu who once dreamed of becoming a war correspondent and has loved Xiao Shangqi since their student days¹^•⁵
Timmy Xu (Xu Weizhou) as Xiao Shangqi, the second son of the Yunlan Group, who went abroad without explanation during university and returns to take over the family's hotel⁵
Chen Heyi as Sui Mingwei, He Xiaoran's handsome, sunny radio colleague²^•⁵
Gong Wanyi as Chen Fei'er, a self-centered friend eager to escape her family²^•⁵
Gao Rui Fei'er as Li Hui, another colleague at the radio station²
Gao Ren as Zhao Mingxuan, a businessman raised by the Xiao family who stops at nothing to achieve his goals²^•⁵

Supporting players include Hu Ke as Zhou Lili, Zheng Xiaoning as Xiao Zhenyun, and Ren Bin as Xiao Xian, Xiao Shangqi's elder brother, who has a leg disability and feels deeply insecure about it⁶^•⁵.

Production and adaptation

The series was produced by Tencent Penguin Pictures, Chenghao Pictures, and Laoyou Pictures, with Wu Tianxu as chief producer⁶^•³. In an interview with the magazine First Producer, Wu Tianxu, founder and CEO of Chenghao Pictures, said the adaptation was chosen for its capacity to move audiences, and that the drama aims not only at the regret of an unspoken crush but at the new chemistry of two people meeting again after a long separation⁸.

The adaptation changed the source novel's central relationship. In the book, Chen Fei'er has few scenes but is Xiao Shangqi's true "white moonlight", and He Xiaoran is his second choice; the two leads go through an ambiguous period, a relationship, a breakup, and a reconciliation before ending up together⁸. A Qingdao Morning Post review noted that the series goes beyond a single romance storyline, making the leads' professional intersection a major draw⁷.

The soundtrack includes the opening theme "不过是，再见" ("Just, Goodbye") performed by Victoria Song and the closing theme "爱是不放手" ("Love Is Not Letting Go") by Liu Yuning of Modern Brothers⁵.

Broadcast and reception

The drama premiered on Tencent Video on 26 October 2022⁴. DramaWiki lists the broadcast period as 26 October to 18 November 2022 with new episodes Wednesday to Friday at 18:00³, while TVmaze records the final episode airing on 24 November 2022 on a Wednesday-to-Sunday schedule⁹. It was also distributed internationally on WeTV with English subtitles¹⁰ and on Viki¹¹.

Shortly after release, the series topped several industry charts including Yunhe, Datawin, Maoyan, Beacon, and Kuyun, and the main Weibo topic #谁都知道我爱你# surpassed 510 million views⁸. Viewer ratings varied by platform: iQiyi listed 6.7 out of 10², Douban 6.3, MyDramaList 7.3⁵, and Viki 8.8 from about 4,700 user ratings¹¹.

References

Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › International serial drama and telenovelas › East Asian drama series › East Asian web and streaming serials › Titles symbols to Co

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026

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