Despite starting filming after the drama adaptation of Da Mo Yao (Ballad of the Desert), the other Tong Hua novel Secrets Hidden in Time will hit the small screen next month in early January 2013 as the drama Best Time starring Wallace Chung, Janine Chang, Jia Nai Liang, and Han Xi Ting. I’ve written my novel review earlier this year, and its by far my least favorite Tong Hua novel. I said then that Tong Hua ought to stick with her bread and butter the period novels but since I read Secrets I’ve also read her other modern novel The Time Never Back (Time that Passes By Never Comes Back) and its absolutely lovely and so different than anything else she’s done. Which really makes Secret the outlier since Tong Hua can write a modern novel well, making even doubly confused why this one sucked donkey balls. I think it really is the premise and ending where female lead Su Man is fixated and obsessed with her first crush Song Yi to the exclusion of common sense and pride, and they end up together in the novel after he dumps her for her best friend first. Ugh, Song Yi remains supremely grody to me to this day. Conversely the other male lead Lu Li Cheng is so awesome he was the only reason I finished the novel.

I was at the flagship Eslite yesterday and saw the republished edition of Secrets on sale with Wallace and Janine on the cover. It was shrink wrapped so I couldn’t flip through it, but I wonder if Tong Hua changed her ending in it? There are been lots of chatter that the ending to the drama is different which is why I want to watch this drama so bad. The opening theme song and title sequence has been released and looks soooooo good. Secrets had a pretty makjang second half which works well in a drama setting, plus Su Man and Lu Li Cheng have tons of super shippy scenes in the novel that I can’t wait to watch onscreen. Wallace and Janine look like they have explosive chemistry, Jia Nai Liang looks sufficiently annoying and constipated that I am rubbing my hands with glee ready to hate on the live action version of douchebag Song Yi, and Han Xi Ting makes for a super spicy Ma La Tang. And the opening theme sequence gives away a major spoiler in Ying Er‘s cameo appearance as Xu Qiu, and she looks fantastic and super sexy and bitchy. Love it! This is yet another drama I’m looking forward to starting 2013 with and I must say it looks promising indeed.  Continue reading →