Scene: Da Ji embarrassing Da Qing in front of the SID, episode 26

[china_shop]

Ep 26, 34:02 to 35:52 (here on Youtube)

A transcript (made with the Viki subs).
Outside the SID, Da Qing is explaining the situation with Da Ji to Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan.



DQ: That's what happened. In short, this rascal has become stuck to me.
DJ: Why not? Dageda, I will always stand by your side.
SW: Anyway, it's good to see you alive.
ZYL: Good! Good!



DQ: (to ZYL) This is so embarrassing. Don't tell them! I have to come up with a countermeasure first.
ZYL: Well, from my direct inference, it's too late.
The rest of the SID: *arrive in the doorway, with varying degrees of dignity*
DQ: Why are you all here?
GCC: Uh, we found a huge clue about the Merit Brush, so we had to go out and investigate. Then, we saw you here. Deputy Chief, may your love last forever.



DQ: What love what forever?! You guys misinterpreted our relationship!
ZH: Well, I have to go and shed my skin.
LJ: I didn't see anything.
DQ: She and I are not in that kind of relationship! Hey! Old Chu...
CSZ: Huh.
ZYL: *laughs some more*



DQ: (to Da Ji) Do you know anything about the Master of Merit Brush? What does he look like?
DJ: The Master of the Merit Brush? He has a strange speaking style and he's quite weird.
Lao-Li: *arrives in the doorway* Chief Zhao, are you going out? Help me buy some fish bones for Da Qing.
ZYL: Okay.



DJ: *lunges at lao-Li and starts throttling him*
ZYL: What are you doing?
DQ: *pulls her away* Are you crazy?
DJ: I just changed my mind! You can't stay here!
ZYL: Then, Old Li is—
DQ: What do you want to do?
DJ: *knocks Da Qing unconscious*
ZYL: Stop there! Girl, easy, just tell me everything.



DJ: Concern about this, concern about that! This is our biggest difference!

Da Ji drags Da Qing's unconscious body away, and Zhao Yunlan looks after them with genuine concern.

Thoughts

This scene is so weird. Zhao Yunlan treats the whole thing like a joke, as if Da Qing is, well, his cat I guess (but nothing more); it's much the same attitude as during the initial strangling attempt. Meanwhile Da Ji is enjoying the attention and claiming Da Qing in front of his friends. Da Qing is super uncomfortable and embarrassed by it all, and the rest of the team come out to gawk (except xiao-Guo, who of course is earnestly supportive). No one seems concerned about the fact Da Ji recently tried to strangle Da Qing and Zhao Yunlan and is clearly volatile. Or that Da Qing's obviously not into her.

But I do appreciate Shen Wei getting a chance to tell Da Ji that it's good to see her alive. An implicit apology.

Questions

What do you make of this scene? Is it cute? Do you think Da Qing is just reaping what he's sown wrt teasing?

Da Qing reads to me as asexual -- do you agree?

Do you think Shen Wei was the one to tell the rest of the team that Da Ji is there? Is that what makes them come outside? If so, was he trolling?

What kind of "countermeasures" might Da Qing have come up with, given time? Convincing Da Ji to be less clingy in public? Explaining that he's not romantically interested in her? Making her go away completely?

Even once Da Qing's unconscious, Zhao Yunlan seems to find the situation amusing. Why doesn't he see Da Ji as more of a threat? Is it because she's a woman, or because she and Da Qing are cats, or something else?


Thoughts, reactions, fanwork recs -- anything related to this scene is welcome!

Comments

[shadaras]

I tend to find all the Da Ji & Da Qing scenes uninteresting at best and awkward to the point of hitting up on my embarrassment squick at worst. :/ The whole thing feels very forced in comparison to other relationships in the show? Da Ji's desperately trying to find/make a specific kind of relationship and Da Qing isn't (he's just delighted/surprised to have reconnected with an old friend he'd forgotten and thought dead!), and he's being pretty nice about it in a way that Da Ji just isn't picking up because she's too attached to this Idea that she has of what their relationship should be, and...

I dunno. I'm fascinated by Da Ji's resurrection stuff. I do not like the very tsundere way she acts about Da Qing.

re: Da Qing as asexual, I think the ace part is less relevant to how I'd read him than passively seeing him as aromantic? Regardless, he doesn't seem particularly interested in relationships beyond ones that fall under the "friendship" umbrella. His partnership with ZYL is the current central relationship of his life for a reason!

[china_shop]

The whole thing feels very forced in comparison to other relationships in the show? Da Ji's desperately trying to find/make a specific kind of relationship and Da Qing isn't

Yes, very much. I think that's probably what Zhao Yunlan & co find funny about it. Even Shen Wei seems mildly amused? (It makes sense if I think of them as literal cats, but as people, I feel like someone should throw Da Qing a lifeline!) And yeah, I find it difficult that Da Ji's feelings for Da Qing completely disregard his reactions, too; otoh, she was just murdered by her husband, so it's hard to know if this is standard Da Ji, or emotionally-pinballing Da Ji. (I guess she's still pretty intense in the flashbacks, but at least she doesn't keep trying to strangle people there.)

(Every time I look up tsundere, I immediately forget its meaning again. :-)

re: Da Qing as asexual, I think the ace part is less relevant to how I'd read him than passively seeing him as aromantic?

Yes, good point. He seems super uncomfortable with the romantic/emotional side of things, even when he's faking it for a case (when he took Da Ji out for dinner).

His partnership with ZYL is the current central relationship of his life for a reason!

*nodnodnodnodnod* I really love that. :-)