The Starry Night, The Starry Sea Episode 1 Recap
> The Starry Night, The Starry Sea Recap
Under the moonlight, the god of death approached a man, lifting his scythe to claim his life. The man pleaded, "How can I avoid death?" The god of death responded, "Find a young woman who is willing to give up her life and spirit to you, then you can live on." The man then asked how he could compel a woman to make such a sacrifice.
The god of death explained, "You must win her heart and make her fall in love with you." When the man inquired how to win her heart, the god of death smiled faintly and said, "It's simple: give your heart in exchange for hers." In contemporary New York City, as dawn broke over the ocean, the sea churned violently, sending waves several meters high crashing ashore. From the tumultuous waters, a mysterious man emerged.
He had long, curly hair and unsettling blue eyes. Shortly after, the same cold and handsome Eastern man appeared on the city streets, gazing with a dazed expression at the towering buildings and bustling traffic. Soon, a vintage-style carriage, reminiscent of the Middle Ages, arrived to collect him. The carriage belonged to Violet, a witch. She brought the Eastern man to a lavish castle, where she humbly knelt before him.
The man, later revealed to be the Merman King, Regulus, unfazed by her deference, accepted her homage. Violet explained that her family’s mission was to protect the Merman King, a duty stemming from his assistance to their ancestors over a century ago, which had led to their family's prosperity. She informed him that much had changed in the world during the hundred and fifty years since he last walked among humans.
Regulus appeared despondent, stating that after over a thousand years of torment, he had no affection left for life. He recounted how, a hundred and fifty years prior, he had been poisoned by Mandala poison, leading to the theft of his spiritual pearl. Without it, his body had steadily weakened, leaving him with only three months to live. Violet, however, joyfully announced that she had located his spiritual pearl, which was why she had summoned him from the deep sea.
A flicker of hope ignited in Regulus's eyes. Meanwhile, Shen Luo, a bright and resilient young woman, carried deep-seated skepticism about love, viewing it as a mere excuse for men to reproduce and women to secure financial stability. This belief stemmed from her parents' divorce when she was five, after which they both remarried, leaving her to be raised by her grandfather.
Despite her cynicism, she worked at a matchmaking agency, though she hadn't closed a single deal in three months. Her latest client turned out to be perverted and made inappropriate advances. Shen Luo angrily chastised him before quitting her job in disgust. Alone in the pouring rain and facing an overdue rent notice from her landlord, coupled with her grandfather's illness, Shen Luo, in a fit of frustration, left the bustling city to return to her serene island hometown.
Upon disembarking from the ferry, Shen Luo felt a pang of disappointment at the lack of a welcoming party. However, her childhood friends, Jiang Yisheng, a doctor, and Zhou Buwen, an antique dealer, playfully ambushed her. Their joyful reunion felt like a return to their carefree childhood days. Shen Luo’s priority was to visit her ailing grandfather at the hospital. At the hospital, Jiang Yisheng led Shen Luo, much to the envy of the nurses who clearly admired him.
Shen Luo playfully teased Jiang Yisheng in front of them, enjoying his embarrassment. However, once in his office, Jiang Yisheng’s demeanor turned somber. He solemnly revealed that her grandfather was suffering from late-stage stomach cancer. Shen Luo was utterly devastated, feeling as if she had been struck by lightning. Despite her heartbreak, Shen Luo composed herself to avoid alarming her grandfather. She put on a cheerful facade when she met him.
Her grandfather was delighted to see her and asked about her work and life. To ease his worries, Shen Luo falsely claimed to have a boyfriend who worked in the city, a fabrication her grandfather readily believed. He expressed his deepest wish to see her happily married before he died. Later, Jiang Yisheng, having overheard Shen Luo’s fabricated story, was keen to introduce her to a potential boyfriend. Shen Luo vehemently rejected the idea of a blind date.
As she walked home, she encountered a man with handsome features but peculiar attire, who seemed very weak and desperately asked her for water. He drank several bottles in one go, then introduced himself as Wu Julan. Shen Luo, however, immediately assumed he was Jiang Yisheng's proposed blind date and was merely using a cheap trick to get her attention. She curtly dismissed him and quickly left. Later that evening, Wu Julan appeared at Shen Luo's house.
Shen Luo believed he had followed her, unaware that Wu Julan (Regulus) had been guided by Violet's instructions. Violet had informed him that the spiritual pearl was hidden in this very courtyard, and that he needed to reside there to sense its exact location on the fifteenth day of the lunar calendar. Shen Luo adamantly refused to let Wu Julan in, but Wu Julan forcibly entered her courtyard without explanation.
That night, Wu Julan stayed in the courtyard, and Shen Luo spent a restless night, terrified that the oddly dressed Wu Julan was a deranged patient of Jiang Yisheng's, a pervert. The following day, Shen Luo invited Jiang Yisheng and Zhou Buwen to her house. They were initially sympathetic, hearing Wu Julan had no parents or home. However, upon seeing the damage he had caused to the courtyard, they became angry and drove him out.
That evening, Shen Luo returned from the hospital to find a pitiful Wu Julan standing under a large tree by her house entrance. Remembering his lonely and helpless situation, Shen Luo ultimately softened and allowed him to enter her home again. However, she sternly told Wu Julan that he must work as her handyman. Wu Julan, eager to stay, did not object. The next day, Shen Luo found Wu Julan’s peculiar and rustic attire quite displeasing.
She forcefully gave him a haircut and made him change into normal clothes. When Wu Julan appeared before Shen Luo in his new outfit, she was instantly mesmerized by his handsomeness and involuntarily swallowed. Wu Julan truly submitted to Shen Luo's commands, diligently performing his duties as a handyman, including washing clothes and cooking. Shen Luo, however, found herself somewhat unaccustomed to his obedience.
