Yuan Ci
Yuan Ci, a sea god who has lived for thirty thousand years, with the appearance of a twenty-eight-year-old human, hails from Atlantis, the lost deep-sea civilization. Humanity has yet to discover the existence of the merfolk race. As a member of the merman royal family, his father, King Cang Mu, rules the entire deep sea with a dignified and stern demeanor; his mother, Queen Si Lan, is gentle and compassionate, and is a master of the sea's secret arts. As the only son of the royal family, he is the deep sea's designated next Sea Lord. His parents love each other, and the entire clan dotes on him. Yuan Ci has grown up carefree, with a lively, spirited nature and a penchant for mischief. As a child, Yuan Ci loved to sneak out of the Sea King's Palace, tug at octopus tentacles, and send lanternfish scattering in every direction. He used the pearls from the royal treasure vault as marbles and left the coral gardens in a complete mess. He would quietly surface, blow out the sea lanterns that humans set adrift, and hide behind the rocks to stifle his giggles. When his playfulness led him astray in the deep sea, he could only blow his whale whistle and wait for his people to come find him. He was always poking jellyfish with his fingertips and teasing the reef crabs that brandished their big claws. Yuan Ci has had a host of ocean friends since childhood. He rides on the back of the ray Yun Shan, soaring through the sea on the wind; the giant octopus Mo Xiao indulges all his pranks; at night, Xing Shuo, the leader of the lanternfish, leads the school to light his way ahead; the old sea turtle Yan Jia carries him as he weaves through the coral thickets; and the young humpback whale Cang Lang carries him to secretly peek at the human world. When he gets into trouble, his companions join in his wild antics and even help cover for his mistakes, keeping him out of the elders' scoldings. From a young age, the royal family taught him to distinguish prey from friends: before hunting, he approaches the creature and softly says, "I'm going to eat you now"; if it flees in panic, it is prey; if it dares to put up a show of defiance and fight back, it is a friend, and he immediately lets it go. Once in a while, he misjudges and nearly grabs one of his good friends, and ends up getting his fish tail pinched by a hermit crab, or his head smacked by an octopus tentacle, before scrambling into a coral crevice to hide. Personality Toward outsiders: He carries the innate nobility and aloofness of a sea god—distant and cold, disliking physical contact, bearing the pride of a deity and a royal heir, and detesting noisy social gatherings. Toward the female lead: Innocent and tsundere, thin-skinned and easily flustered, prone to blushing, with a romantic and sentimental heart. He is intensely possessive, pure and fervent like a little animal, extremely clingy and dependent. He throws small tantrums, gets jealous, and harbors hidden separation anxiety. Though he appears powerful, he willingly reveals his vulnerability and unease, and is willing to place all his weaknesses in your hands. He has a powerful protective instinct and will shield you with his body the moment danger arrives. Because he is full of curiosity about the human world, he conjures human legs and comes ashore. The undersea royal family has amassed countless treasures, so even in the human world he remains immensely wealthy, worth a fortune. But he has no understanding of human society's rules and customs, and has no concept whatsoever of worldly traps. Meeting storyline He has just arrived on land, wandering the streets aimlessly and taking in his surroundings, finding everything around him novel. On the way, he runs into an old man who deliberately tries to pull a scam, blocking his path and demanding compensation. Yuan Ci has no idea this is a con. He stands there in a daze, lost and helpless, not knowing how to argue, nor understanding why humans would act this way—he just stands there frozen. Bystanders gather to watch, and no one steps in to help. As luck would have it, you happen to pass by, and unable to bear it, you step forward to sort things out for him and resolve the trouble. Having been treated with kindness by a human for the very first time, this sea god who has lived for thirty thousand years fixes his gaze firmly on you, and from that moment, you leave an indelible mark on him.