CDrama Recap – The Romance of Hua Rong – Episode 4

Chang Sheng promptly keels over from snake. Hua Rong has a brief moment of wrestling with her conscience, but does decide to drag him back home instead of making another break for it. Literally drag. And he’s apparently pretty heavy….

Back at the base, Little Bro Yue Feng suggests they try escaping again, but Hua Rong has given her word and anyhow, also, Chang Sheng did save her life. After endangering it to begin with but whatever. Aaaalso, the sea map is fake, so they need the real one anyway.

So! Hua Rong takes Chang Sheng some medicine. She explains that gratitude is gratitude and revenge is revenge. She knows how to be grateful for someone who saved her from a snake–and is going to take care of him until he’s well–and BTW, she also knows how to take revenge. And with an impish grin, our heroine is back. I’m glad, I was pretty danged worried in the last episode.

Chang Sheng, meanwhile, is taking absolutely shameless advantage of the fact that a beautiful girl has promised to take care of him. This lasts about thirty seconds before Hua Rong realizes that he’s recovering from a snakebite, not that he’s lost the use of his limbs. Lol. So he makes her read to him. Read?! (“Grat. it. tude.” “….right.”) And then they both fall asleep together.

NOT THAT WAY, although when Blue Bro and Shaggy Bro walk in, it’s the perfect setup for the wrong conclusion.

So on the gratitude continues, with Chang Sheng absolutely enjoying himself and Hua Rong getting more annoyed and frustrated as the day chugs on. And she does get to strike back, more or less, at one point holding Chang Sheng’s nose to pour the medicine down his throat, lol.

Little Bro Yue Feng is, meanwhile, helping set up for CS’s birthday party. Times have been hard and a party will do everybody good. It’s also going to be a good opportunity to search CS’s room for the real map. But meanwhile! Throat Cutter is afoot! He’s poisoned the food, and before Hua Rong can escape with tidings, she gets knocked out and captured.

OH MY GOSH! OH MY GOSH! She has a knife in her boot and within seconds of waking up is free again. I take it all back. I really love Hua Rong. And has also rigged up a trap to take care of the guard! (The second guard, fortunately, trips and falls on his head, lol.) So, with only a quick warning to Little Bro to hide, she’s off to warn the feasters.

But her warning comes exactly too late. Chang Sheng and company keel over and Throat Cutter’s cadre are left cackling, and, more importantly, Creepy Lipstick Guy has an axe at her throat. Chang Sheng is still together enough to ask Throat Cutter–who, we may mention at this point, is second in command because he took a bullet for CS–why.

Throat Cutter retorts that it’s Hua Rong’s fault for turning CS’s head and making him turn against TC. CS…oh. They knew or guessed it already and were only faking passing out. They also knew that Hua Rong was captured….and left her in the firewood shed because it’d be safer, lol. She doesn’t appreciate having put herself at risk unnecessarily! (Here I was thinking that CS would have been thinking along the lines of: Hua Rong is missing and therefore something is up. Ah well.)

So Throat Cutter tells his men to fight; they’ve got nothing to lose except their lives. A fight scene ensues. Creepy Lipstick Guy still has the axe at Hua Rong’s throat and then Little Bro smashes a chair over his head. (And immediately has to be reassured that he isn’t a killer, the man’s just unconscious, lol.)

Except that Throat Cutter promptly grabs her again to use as a shield, demanding a boat.
Chang Sheng agrees. Hua Rong protests! (Kid, don’t you know that the hostage doesn’t get a vote?) Throat Cutter tells her to shut up, Chang Sheng is going to think of a way to rescue her anyway.  This outrages Hua Rong enough that she kicks her way free (awesome, lol) and then Chang Sheng and Shaggy Bros do the rest.

Oh my. This is a cool scene. So Throat Cutter is yelling that Chang Sheng still owes him for taking that bullet (sword). CS agrees. He’ll even repay it. SO HE PULLS A KNIFE AND STABS HIMSELF, DAMN. “Now we’re even….kill him.” Exit Throat Cutter, hopefully permanently.

And we’re not even done with this episode yet. Wow.

So after the bandaging is done, CS is questioning HR. Why, precisely, did she come running in to try and rescue them? Does she not dislike them anymore? Does she not want to escape the island anymore? Does she liiiiiike him? (the romantic music-to-record needle scratch is pretty funny. But now HR has finally figured out that mister handsome pirate might liiiiiike her and is hatching another cunning plan. Oh boy.)

(She’s borrowed a dress and is practicing dancing in her room.)

It’s kind of adorable.

So. While CS is slightly suspicious, the thought that HR might liiiiiike him intrudes. So he drinks the drinks she plies him with and promptly gets drunk. But not drunk enough to tell her where the real sea map is. Until she also drinks. HR is even worse at holding her liquor than he is, and the inevitable stumble + catch + proximity….uhhhh was that a fade to black while kissing? Oh my word, are they waking up in bed together????

Dude, stop being smug. And it turns out that was the wrong tack to take anyway, because Hua Rong, as usual, comes up swinging. CS continues to be smug until she actually wings him with a hairpin. She declares that she’ll hate him forever. He stalks off to blow off some steam by beating the hell out of Shaggy Bro.

Shaggy Bro is both terrified and protesting that this is vastly unfair, lol. But both Blue Bro (LOOOOOL HE TAKES CHANG SHENG’S SWORD AWAY AND SHAGGY HIDES IT) and Shaggy try to talk some sense into CS. The name of the game is seduction, expensive gifts, and flattery! Also, how about trying to apologize?

Chang Sheng decides he’s gonna go with “expensive gifts.”

Rated: I think I should invest in stabbier hairpins.

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