If you’re watching on Netflix, the title of this episode is “Resplendent. See the stars with you.” But if you’re watching on Youku, the title is “Romance. To see the stars with you.”

I don’t know about you, but I prefer Youku’s translation to Netflix’s.

“Resplendent” only means dazzling, magnificent; and I didn’t see anything in the episode that could qualify as visually stunning. Did you? However, I’m sure we all saw a lot of romance going on between our young couple.

Chapter 22: Romance. To see the stars with you
Featured object: One big star and three tiny stars.

Four major things happened in this episode:

Sang Zhi and Duan Jiaxu began living in.
They went camping.
She went home for the national holiday.
Her parents discovered she had a boyfriend.

I’ll discuss two because I’m heading out to the beach today and get in a few hours of suntan before winter comes.

1. Sang Zhi and Duan Jiaxu settled in their new apartment together and began living in as a couple.

This is a milestone.

I like the way the story handled the issue of cohabitation with delicacy. I’m sure the screenwriter and director didn’t want the drama to be seen as condoning or encouraging cohabitation because…well, it’s simply not a done thing in Asian society, right? And the cdrama still have to get a nod from the Chinese media censors.

I also like the way the story established how our couple made an effort to date and romance each other despite their busy schedules. For instance, Sang Zhi woke up early to make breakfast for him. She left him love notes – just like she did when he got home from the hospital for his appendectomy.

As for Jiaxu, he ordered dinner delivered to their apartment for her and to his office for him so they could eat the same meal at the same time although they were miles apart.

To me, it wasn’t accidental that Jiaxu came home to find a sleeping Sang Zhi on the couch. I think she tried to stay up and wait for him to come home but fell asleep.

Why do I say this?

It’s because of the way she half-woke up after he kissed her cheek. Instead of sitting up and going off to her room, she searched for his hand, snuggled against it, then fell back to sleep. Her body language was clear. She was telling him, “Oh, you’re home! Now, I can fall back asleep again.” The couch was her makeshift bed for that night.

gifs from venuseda’s tumblr

As for him, I can only imagine his feelings. Sure, he worked long hours. But when he came home after a long day, he saw his reason for working hard. He was no longer earning money to pay off the Psycho for his family’s debt. Instead, he was working hard to provide for Sang Zhi. Thus, he must be feeling contentment, tenderness, and a sense of accomplishment that he could offer her a home of their own.

A few years ago, this scene would have been a pipe dream for him. He didn’t think it was possible for him to date her. But now, they were together.

2. They went camping.

Both Sang Zhi and Jiaxu had a busy summer. She successfully completed her month-long internship. Before leaving, she cleared the air with her mean supervisor who was the Psycho’s friend. She corrected her wrong assumption that she stole Jiaixu from the Psycho and advised her to accompany the Psycho to a psychologist to seek help. To me, the fact that the mean supervisor didn’t call Sang Zhi out for her temerity to discuss personal things during work hours meant that Sang Zhi had already earned her respect.

For his part, Jiaxu successfully launched his computer game. He could now take time off to go on a mini-vacation with Sang Zhi. This was his reward to her for putting up with his long hours of work. There was an awkward moment with his bosses that I found funny.

DJ: I plan to make it up to my girlfriend. I want to take her on a trip.
Female boss: That’s a great idea.
Male boss: Do you want me to give you some ideas?
Female boss: (chiding her husband) Don’t give him any lousy ideas. They’re young people in love. Your old-fashioned ideas won’t be helpful.
Male boss: Wait. Does age matter in love?
Female boss: What?! (glances at DJ)
Male boss: (side-eyes DJ too and changes his tune) Ah. Yes, it does!
DJ: (chuckling) I’ll leave you alone, guys in love.

Lol. This tells me that they were aware of Jiaxu and Sang Zhi’s age difference. The male boss realized too late that he had put his foot in his mouth, so he cut the awkward direction of the conversation by admitting that “age does matter in love.” Of course, he meant to say that his old-fashioned ideas wouldn’t be helpful to young kids like Jiaxu and Sang Zhi. But his words still came out like he was confirming that Jiaxu is over-aged and too old for Sang Zhi. Lol. There was no way out for him.

Anyhow…

Jiaxu wanted to take her to a theme park with a great hotel accommodation beside it. But she wanted to go camping at the beach.

I can understand where he’s coming from. He said he didn’t want to give her hardship while they were vacationing. Let’s try to remember that he grew up seeing his mother scrimp and save money after his father’s reckless behavior. Naturally, he didn’t want to see Sang Zhi go through the same deprivation as his mother. If I were to armchair-analyze Jiaxu’s stance, I’d say that he was still suffering from his traumatic experience when his family had big debts to pay. Money remains a sensitive topic for him.

That’s why, on a couple of occasions, he insisted that Sang Zhi to buy pretty clothes instead of worrying herself with his financial problems. And that’s why I think he compensates by showering Sang Zhi with gifts and nice things. It hurts him to see Sang Zhi worry about money.

DJ: It’s the Dream Castle.
SZ: But I played this when I was a kid.

Lol. That’s because she was a rich kid and her family went on vacations.

DJ: That’s fine. They also have the biggest carousel in Yihe.
SZ: It will make me dizzy.
DJ: If you find these rides boring, they also have (shuffling pages) they also have thrilling rides.
SZ: I’ll get scared.

She was shutting him down.

DJ: Then take a look at this hotel. I found it online It has a very high rating. All the guests gave positive feedback. Many of them return. Most importantly, it’s very close to the amusement park. Whenever you feel tired, we can go back to the hotel to rest.
SZ: I won’t get tired. In this case, staying in this hotel would be a waste.
DJ: Ahhh… So do you dislike this amusement park or this hotel?
SZ: I don’t like either one.

I admire his patience. She was difficult to please. She sounded like a spoilt brat.

DJ: Actually, it’s not that I find camping a bad idea. My main concern is that a campsite usually has many insects and maybe even venomous snakes. I’m more worried about how you will wash up there. Moreover, if it suddenly starts raining there, there won’t be any shelter. I don’t want you to have a hard time.

In the beginning, I was left scratching my head when he googled “Young girls’ favorite travel plans” after reading Sang Zhi’s travel journal. I thought he couldn’t be that obtuse — she deliberately left it on the breakfast table for him to read. Whereas he always aimed to please her and went along with her plans, this time around, he was consciously going against her wishes. Now I get why he did that.

SZ: Then have you considered this? If we go to the places you’ve planned, we have to pay for the fuel to get there. When we get there, we have to buy amusement park tickets. Food and drink in the park will cost money too. And just now, you showed me some package for two. It…it doesn’t have much to offer. Why is it so expensive? Then there’s this hotel. I don’t think it’s even necessary. We just moved into this new flat. If we spend money on these things, then…
DJ: (smiling) So it’s not that you dislike those places. You don’t want me to waste money.

Yes, that’s the impression he would get because all her arguments could be summed up into one: the expense.

SZ: That’s not true! I…I never wanted to go.
DJ: (smiling at her lack of counter-argument)
SZ: I just want to go camping! Why can’t we just go? I’ve already planned it. Look at all these things I’ve prepared. (going through her notebook) Mosquito repellent, ambiance light, napkins, wet wipes, trash bags, cards, board games, flowers, baskets, and a bubble blower. I have everything we might need ready. So why can’t we go?
DJ: (amused) You’re really so thoroughly prepared.
SZ: Mmm. It’s my first-time camping. Of course, I need to cover all my bases. It’s best to be prepared.
DJ: (nodding)
SZ: Imagine this. We’ll bring all these items with us. We can set up the tent together and set up the camp chairs and a table. Then we’ll sit there. It will feel great, won’t it? We’ll listen to the sound of the waves and enjoy the sea breeze. We’ll wait for the sunset and watch the sunrise. At night, there will be many stars filling the sky. The most important thing is it will be just the two of us.

They looked at each other.

SZ: If we go to the amusement park, it’ll be noisy. But if we go camping, it will be just the two of us. I think it will be very romantic. (smiling)
DJ: What you just said does sound tempting. Then beach camping it is.
SZ: (clapping)
DJ: We’ll do that.

And as she hurriedly got ready, he looked teary-eyed. At least, to me, he looked teary-eyed.

I think his eyes were opened to the differences in their approach – or perspective – on their vacation together. He was looking at the practical things: convenience and comfort. He wanted to have a fun, enjoyable time with her. She, on the other hand, was looking forward to their vacation as an opportunity to have a romantic time together. Thankfully, he realized that she was right. She was rightly putting the focus on the essential thing in their budding relationship: the romance of being alone together.

Hence, the title of this episode, “Romance. To see the stars with you.”

However…

As you all know, my general theory about this show is that it isn’t as simple as it looks. There’s always a twist somewhere, a double meaning, a hidden message. I’m sure most viewers can easily get (or they should!) that meaning of romance.

But here’s the second meaning of the title – my interpretation, of course — that shouldn’t be missed.

The following day it rained, and just like that, her plan to have a romantic time camping and stargazing with him was dashed. Observing all their camping equipment piled up in the living room and then her miserable face, he came up with the brilliant idea to camp indoors.

So they stored their living room furniture elsewhere to clear up the space, and put up the tent, table and chairs. They ate camp-style and played games afterwards. They slept in their sleeping bags.

There was one moment when the mood between them suddenly sizzled. This one –

I like the way he tugged her back then raised his brow to ask her silently if they should kiss. I think non-verbal communication is more romantic and sexier than asking her with words. For one, it means they’re on the same wavelength; they can “feel” each other’s thoughts. And for another, kisses are done in silence, so I think the prelude – that is, the invitation to kiss – should be done in silence, too.

But they were interrupted (“saved”?) by a call from her mother.

My side comment:

The Duan Jiaxu in the drama is different from the web novel. In my opinion, Jiaxu in the web novel was hornier, more amorous, and more – how do I say this? – seductive. He occasionally took advantage of the situation when they were alone in the apartment to be physical with her – which I thought he shouldn’t have because he knew that she was inexperienced. I’ll mention two instances in the web novel (was it in Chapter 67?).

1. Remember that scene when Sang Zhi’s hair got caught on the button of Jiaxu’s pajama top? She was the one to ask permission if she could unbutton it, right? I found a similar reference to the button in the web novel but it was Jiaxu who suggested unbuttoning his shirt.

I’ll take a screenshot.

Source/credit: https://88tangeatdrinkread.wordpress.com

Ugh! I don’t know how literal the translation is, word for word, but I doubt the translator would make something like this up. She/he worked too hard to translate all 85 chapters of it; she/he would remain true to the story and wouldn’t embellish it.

But do you get what I mean? To me, the Jiaxu in the web novel was taking advantage of her and wasn’t being considerate of her innocence. He sounded randy…and cheesy. What did he mean “feel the goods first?”

2. Also, remember in that scene it had been Jiaxu who put a stop to their kissing? He reminded Sang Zhi that she had work tomorrow, and she became flustered. She ran off to her room and was kicking herself because she showed how much she was into him when they kissed. She was embarrassed that she showed him how passionate she was when they kissed.

Well, it was the opposite in the web novel. In the web novel, Jiaxu asked if they could kiss for a while.

Here’s the screenshot.

Source/credit: https://88tangeatdrinkread.wordpress.com

Afterwards, she felt like she was successfully seduced by an experienced guy.

Source/credit: https://88tangeatdrinkread.wordpress.com

Hands down, the Jiaxu in the drama was better than the one in the web novel. He wasn’t leching after her.

Enough with this side comment. Let me continue with the epilogue.

When it was time to sleep, he invited her to go to bed. He asked her, “Are you sleepy? I’ll get the sleeping bag ready.” Then he went inside the tent and unfurled the sleeping bag. He told her, “Come on. Let’s go to sleep.” But Sang Zhi didn’t budge outside the tent, and she looked nervous. He looked down (I guess he saw the sleeping bag) and understood her anxiety. Hiding a small smile, he unzipped the sleeping bags and uncoupled them.

DJ: Which one do you want to sleep in?
SZ: (grinning) This one.

And she crawled to her space and lied down with her back toward him.

He turned off the lights and took off his shirt to sleep with just his undershirt. He reached for her hands and said good night. He added, “During the National Day Holiday, I’ll go back to Nanwu with you….I know you miss home.”

My comments:

1. I like that they held hands while they slept, not only because it was a pure and innocent way to sleep together, but also because it visually tied in with the beginning scene when she was asleep on the couch, and she held his hand as she slept. Now, they could both sleep with their hands linked.

2. I get that the reason that he wanted to go back to Nanwu was to formally speak introduce himself as her boyfriend to her parents. If they were living in already, then it’s just right to show respect to her parents and declare his long-term intentions with her.

3. I like that he understood her boundaries. She wasn’t ready for that sort of sexual intimacy at this stage of their relationship.

4. And this is my second interpretation of the title.

To me, the unspoken reason this scene was edited and shown as an epilogue was to leave the viewers with the message that true romance is not simply about spending a romantic time together. That’s what Sang Zhi said, right? She wanted to go camping because she wanted to spend a romantic time with just the two of them stargazing.

Well, true romance — or true love, for that matter — means creating your own stars even when there’s none to see. I like that Sang Zhi taught him the importance of romance. But I also like that Jiaxu expanded on the meaning of romance, and demonstrated that bondness and closeness could be done in simply ways like facing a setback together, laughing together, and holding hands together.

Value of holding hands while sleeping? Priceless.

Happy Sunday!

*****

P.S. Will take the screenshots of the excerpts later. Off to the beach now!