# Our Secret (暗格里的秘密)
**Our Secret** (暗格里的秘密, *An Ge Li De Mi Mi*) is a 2021 Chinese youth school romance drama starring [Chen Zheyuan](https://www.edgepedia.org/chen-zheyuan) as Zhou Siyue and Xu Mengjie (Rainbow Xu, of Rocket Girls) as Ding Xian, adapted from the novel of the same name by Er Dong Tu Zi (耳东兔子). Directed by Zhang Xiaoan, it ran for 24 episodes on Mango TV and iQiyi, premiering on August 10, 2021, and follows the two leads from antagonistic high school deskmates through their university years as they grow into mutual support and, eventually, love.[1](https://kprofiles.com/our-secret/) • [2](https://www.cpophome.com/our-secret-chen-zheyuan-rainbow-xu/) • [3](https://www.tvmao.com/drama/XWVeaWsl)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Native title | 暗格里的秘密 (An Ge Li De Mi Mi); also released as *Secrets in the Lattice* and *Our Secrets*[1](https://kprofiles.com/our-secret/) • [4](https://www.viki.com/tv/38553c-our-secret) |
| Source | Adapted from Er Dong Tu Zi's novel of the same name[3](https://www.tvmao.com/drama/XWVeaWsl) |
| Run | Premiered August 10, 2021; 24 episodes of about 45 minutes, airing Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 12:00 pm CST on Mango TV and iQiyi[1](https://kprofiles.com/our-secret/) • [5](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/58224/our-secret) |
| Leads | Chen Zheyuan as Zhou Siyue (周斯越); Xu Mengjie as Ding Xian (丁羡)[1](https://kprofiles.com/our-secret/) |
| Director | Zhang Xiaoan (张笑安)[3](https://www.tvmao.com/drama/XWVeaWsl) |
| Performance | Topped the Guduo heat index for nine consecutive days within 18 days of launch, with cumulative views of 500 million; Douban score opened at 7.0[6](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_14269876) |
| Ratings | Viki 9.4 from 51,953 users; iQiyi 9.6; IMDb 8.0; MyDramaList 8.4; TMDb 7.6[7](https://cdramadle.com/dramas/our-secret) • [4](https://www.viki.com/tv/38553c-our-secret) |
## Spoilers
### Premise
The story begins when Ding Xian moves with her family to a big city and meets her neighbor Zhou Siyue, a mathematical genius whose good looks and academic standing make him the standout boy of the school. Their first acquaintance goes badly, and the two are assigned to share a desk for the school year despite getting off on the wrong foot.[5](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/58224/our-secret) • [4](https://www.viki.com/tv/38553c-our-secret)
Zhou Siyue is described as a privileged, unrestrained campus heartthrob whose smooth-sailing life is disrupted when his father is framed and hospitalized; he nonetheless pursues firmly what is in his heart. Ding Xian is a diligent, stubborn "Cinderella" figure, initially timid and lacking confidence under a strong-willed mother, who gradually opens up, finds what she loves, and grows more confident after meeting Zhou Siyue.[2](https://www.cpophome.com/our-secret-chen-zheyuan-rainbow-xu/) • [8](https://www.iq.com/album/%E6%9A%97%E6%A0%BC%E9%87%8C%E7%9A%84%E7%A7%98%E5%AF%86-2021-1auz0cjgkyt?lang=zh_cn) Through daily interactions the two discover each other's strengths, accompany each other through low points and confusion in their youth, and ultimately help each other transform and grow.[3](https://www.tvmao.com/drama/XWVeaWsl)
The adaptation covers both the high school and university phases of the characters' lives, an unusually even pacing across roughly seven or eight years of story time for the youth genre, with the emotional register of the high school years differing from that of the university years.[9](https://www.sohu.com/a/488183384_549401)
## Cast
- **Chen Zheyuan** (of the group Mr.BIO) as Zhou Siyue[1](https://kprofiles.com/our-secret/)
- **Xu Mengjie** (stage name Rainbow Xu, of Rocket Girls) as Ding Xian[1](https://kprofiles.com/our-secret/)
- **Fan Zhixin** as Su Baicong (苏柏从)[3](https://www.tvmao.com/drama/XWVeaWsl)
- **Wang Zexuan** as Song Ziqi[1](https://kprofiles.com/our-secret/)
- **Wang Yilan** as Kong Shadi[1](https://kprofiles.com/our-secret/)
- **Liu Zhiwei** as You Keke[10](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/secrets-in-the-lattice)
The wider credited cast includes Yuan Ran as Li Junyun, Shi Yueling as Ye Wanxian, Li Riyao as Jiang Chen, and Xie Zecheng as Yuan Fang.[10](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/secrets-in-the-lattice)
## Production and direction
Director Zhang Xiaoan read the original novel before filming began and was drawn to its warm, truthful storytelling; he brought the young cast in early to absorb a campus atmosphere and describes himself as an "encouraging" director who gives actors a relaxed, safe creative space.[11](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/tashuo/browse/content?id=aa3243d23d76a71aa52f988f) He favored conveying the characters' inner feelings through camera language and performance rather than dialogue alone, and designed small unspoken gestures, such as Ding Xian glancing back at Zhou Siyue after giving him candy, drawn from his own memories of high school.[12](https://www.sohu.com/a/489398722_121130836) • [6](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_14269876)
**Adaptation choices.** Zhang said the team adjusted the story toward a feeling of mutual pursuit (双向奔赴) for the sake of plot richness and pacing, and reworked Su Baicong's characterization to make him more three-dimensional. He also softened the parents' storylines, wanting the two parental figures, one sharp-tongued but soft-hearted and one especially warm, to bring viewers positivity rather than negativity. He argued that the early episodes' slower pace was necessary to establish Ding Xian's family environment, without which her timid, self-doubting high school personality would not hold up.[6](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_14269876)
On the last day of shooting at the school, Zhang felt the story could not simply end there, so he filmed an additional scene not in the script and placed it as the drama's final shot, which he described as a message to the audience and a reflection of Ding Xian's growth.[6](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_14269876)
## Reception
The drama performed strongly for a lightly budgeted youth series. Within 18 days of launch it ranked first on the Guduo heat index for nine consecutive days, its historical peak heat exceeded 60, and cumulative views reached 500 million; news of the leads' movements regularly appeared on trending searches during broadcast periods. Its Douban score opened at 7.0, and the most popular post in its discussion forum was one praising the production team for the directing, writing, costumes, and visuals.[6](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_14269876)
Aggregator scores have remained favorable: Viki users rate it 9.4 from more than 51,000 ratings, iQiyi lists 9.6, IMDb 8.0, MyDramaList 8.4, and TMDb 7.6.[7](https://cdramadle.com/dramas/our-secret) • [4](https://www.viki.com/tv/38553c-our-secret) Some viewers noted that the large time span compressed into 24 episodes makes the plot feel jumpy at points.[13](https://movie.douban.com/review/14545630/)
The finale was released early via paid advance viewing (超点) before the scheduled broadcast run ended; sources differ on the final air date, with one listing August 26, 2021[1](https://kprofiles.com/our-secret/) and the TVmaze episode guide listing September 7, 2021 for episodes 23 and 24.[14](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/58224/our-secret/episodeguide)
## Legacy
For Zhang Xiaoan, the drama became his calling card: after its success he was able to take on further youth projects, including *A Red House Under the Trees* (树下有片红房子), which scored 7.8 on Douban.[15](https://k.sina.cn/article_5737990122_15602c7ea019014uji.html)
## References
1. [Our Secret (暗格里的秘密), Kpop Profiles](https://kprofiles.com/our-secret/)
2. [Our Secret, Chinese Drama 2021, CPOP HOME](https://www.cpophome.com/our-secret-chen-zheyuan-rainbow-xu/)
3. [暗格里的秘密剧情介绍（1-24全集）大结局, 电视猫](https://www.tvmao.com/drama/XWVeaWsl)
4. [Our Secret, Rakuten Viki](https://www.viki.com/tv/38553c-our-secret)
5. [Our Secret, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/58224/our-secret)
6. [打开轻体量青春剧的密码丨专访《暗格里的秘密》导演张笑安, 澎湃新闻](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_14269876)
7. [Our Secret, C-drama Canon, CDRAMADLE](https://cdramadle.com/dramas/our-secret)
8. [暗格里的秘密 (2021), iQIYI](https://www.iq.com/album/%E6%9A%97%E6%A0%BC%E9%87%8C%E7%9A%84%E7%A7%98%E5%AF%86-2021-1auz0cjgkyt?lang=zh_cn)
9. [《暗格里的秘密》突围，青春剧的另一种质感表达？丨专访导演张笑安, 搜狐](https://www.sohu.com/a/488183384_549401)
10. [Our Secret, watch tv show streaming online, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/secrets-in-the-lattice)
11. [专访｜被爱赋能是创作的力量，《暗格里的秘密》导演张笑安, 百科TA说](https://wapbaike.baidu.com/tashuo/browse/content?id=aa3243d23d76a71aa52f988f)
12. [张笑安的斜杠人生丨专访《暗格里的秘密》导演, 搜狐](https://www.sohu.com/a/489398722_121130836)
13. [《暗格里的秘密》剧评, 豆瓣](https://movie.douban.com/review/14545630/)
14. [Our Secret, Episode Guide, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/58224/our-secret/episodeguide)
15. [《树下有片红房子》的7.8分是怎么拍出来的？, 新浪娱乐](https://k.sina.cn/article_5737990122_15602c7ea019014uji.html)
---
*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 My to So*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license