Both the plot and the casting choices of the current Chinese drama The First Frost have attracted a great deal of interest. Fans of Hidden Love were hoping that Victor Ma would return to the role of Sang Yan, but Bai Jingting was cast as the lead instead. Given his iconic performance as Sang Zhi’s elder brother in Hidden Love, this dramatic shift has raised a lot of interest in why Victor Ma did not appear in The First Frost.

The actor Victor Ma, who portrayed Sang Yan in Hidden Love, has been open about his difficulties in romantic drama acting. The actor revealed in an interview in 2024:

“After shooting a romantic drama, I came to the realization that my poor reaction time makes me a terrible actor in love dramas. I can play a boss, but I’m not the right person to play romantic roles. Because that sense of rhythm is something I can’t feel. Something about it simply eludes me, and as a result, I’m always sluggish to respond. When I see a beautiful sight, I realize I can’t understand it. I can portray the older brother, like I did in Hidden Love, but I often wondered whether I would be able to portray the romantic aspect of Sang Yan.

His remarks make it apparent why he was passed up for the role in The First Frost, which explores Sang Yan’s romantic past in great detail. In contrast to his supporting part as an older brother figure in Hidden Love, The First Frost needed an actor who could handle a romantic and emotionally intense story.

The First Frost is set in the same world as Hidden Love and is based on Zhu Yi’s book First Frost. The First Frost turns its attention to Sang Yan’s history and his connection with Wen Yifan (Zhang Ruonan), while Hidden Love concentrates on Sang Zhi (Zhao Lusi) and Duan Jiaxu (Chen Zheyuan).

Due to the tremendous popularity of Hidden Love’s 2023 debut, The First Frost was made into a high-budget A-Level drama. This change affected the casting choices in addition to raising the production value. Therefore, the production team chose to recast the character with Bai Jingting since The First Frost needed a main actor who could depict both the fun and emotionally complicated aspects of Sang Yan.

Bai Jingting has a lot of experience portraying romantic leads, unlike Victor Ma. His prior roles in dramas like Destined and You Are My Hero showed that he could strike a balance between humor, charm, and intense emotional expression—skills that Sang Yan’s character in The First Frost required.

Sang Yan is mostly seen in Hidden Love as an overly protective and amusing older brother by Sang Zhi. But in The First Frost, he is seen from both Wen Yifan’s and his own points of view, which gives him additional depth and emotional vulnerability. His initial love, grief, and ultimate reunion with Wen Yifan after years apart are all explored in the narrative.

While both Hidden Love and The First Frost take place in the same world, their stories are told in tandem rather than one after the other. The love between Sang Zhi and Duan Jiaxu is chronicled in Hidden Love, starting when she is 14 and continuing until adulthood. Although Sang Yan makes an appearance in the drama, nothing is known about his personal life.

The First Frost, on the other hand, begins somewhat earlier in the chronology, at the age of 15, when Sang Yan first meets Wen Yifan. Over the years, their narrative is told, describing how Wen Yifan’s personal difficulties caused them to part ways until they eventually reunite when she moves back to Nanwu. Sang Yan’s comic presence in Hidden Love stands in sharp contrast to the drama, which displays his depth of heart. Fans of the C-drama have shown their admiration for Victor Ma’s performance of the OST, “Be Your Light for Hidden Love.”

Victor Ma continues to be the ideal elder brother figure for Hidden Love followers. Many people praised his depiction as Sang Zhi’s obnoxious but protective sister, and many were initially let down by the change. But because Bai Jingting has acknowledged that he finds romantic parts difficult, the choice to cast him gives The First Frost the emotional depth it needs to properly examine Sang Yan’s love story.

For Hidden Love, Victor Ma’s portrayal of Sang Yan was ideal as the character provided a humorous and cheerful counterpoint to the primary romance. However, Bai Jingting’s casting is more in line with the demands of the story for The First Frost, which is more romance-driven and demands a deeper emotional resonance.