Focus on: Shen Wei rescuing Zhao Yunlan and taking him home (Ep 21)

[ishipallthings]

Location: ep 21, 18:40-19:02, 20:11-23:00 (transcripts from Viki subs, screencaps from me.)

Hi guys! This is my second discussion post, I had a great time with the first one! Real life got busy after that, and I haven’t gotten a chance to reply to the insightful comments, but I appreciate every single one and hopefully this time I can jump right in.

Context: Zhao Yunlan is heading back to his flat alone after the visit to Dr. Cheng when he is hit with a vision of a car crash and asks his neighbor to take him outside.

***

The Scene




Zhao Yunlan is struck by images of a car crash and walks into the street. A frantic Shen Wei pulls him out of the way of an approaching car just in time as his neighbor yells at him to be careful. Zhao Yunlan thanks Shen Wei, who berates him worriedly.

Neighbor: Hey, Little Zhao, that's dangerous!
小赵 危险

Zhao Yunlan: Thanks.
谢了

Shen Wei: What do you think you're doing?
你干什么





Zhao Yunlan realizes it’s Shen Wei who rescued him. He says “finally!” and accuses Shen Wei of ditching him at the hospital in a pouting sort of way while a still-worried and frustrated (but relieved) Shen Wei scolds him (in the same tone he uses to scold Zhao Yunlan about the Hallows) then takes him by the wrist to guide him back to the flat (all the touching!!).

Zhao Yunlan: Oh, you're back.
你回来了
You ditched me today.
你今儿可房我鸽子了

If it wasn't for a kind person that took me home, I wouldn't know how to come back.
要不是一个活雷锋送我回家 我还不知道怎么回来呢

Shen Wei: Are you tired of living?
你不要命了你

Zhao Yunlan: You ditched me yet you are scolding me?!
你放我鸽子 你还有理了你

***



Shen Wei takes Zhao Yunlan back to his flat. He guides him to the bed and tells him to sit while Shen Wei prepares food. He deposits the keys at the bedside table and moves off to the kitchen.

Shen Wei: ​​Here, have a seat first.
来 你先坐一会



Zhao Yunlan stands up and moves towards the nearby table, clearly looking for something. He knocks over the owl decoration (why does he have a lantern decoration that looks exactly like the Guardian lantern by his bed??), startling Shen Wei, who rushes over to help him.




Shen Wei worriedly scolds Zhao Yunlan again while helping him to the bed (more touching :D), and in his worry, he says something that catches Zhao Yunlan’s attention.

Shen Wei: How can you be so careless? Don't you know a long time ago...
你怎么能这么淡定 你知不知道你当年





Zhao Yunlan notices this slip and asks him about it, but Shen Wei tries to brush him off while looking very conflicted (his micro-expressions say so much, ah the angst). Zhao Yunlan, being Zhao Yunlan, doesn’t let it go and tries to press further as Shen Wei tries again to change the subject.

Zhao Yunlan: What long time ago?
什么当年

Shen Wei: It's nothing.
没什么

Zhao Yunlan: That's not right. You're hiding something from me.
不对啊 你这有事瞒着我

Shen Wei: I'll make you something to eat.
我先去给你弄吃的






Zhao Yunlan, sensing Shen Wei’s worry, tells him that he can take care of himself but Shen Wei is not having it. (He says “how can we not worry” when you know he means how can *I* not worry).

Zhao Yunlan counters by being contrite (in a way that I think is both sincere but also a little teasing) while Shen Wei is both exasperated and worried. Zhao Yunlan tells him to not be angry.

Zhao Yunlan: Don't worry. I can take care of myself.
放心 我能自己照顾好自己

Shen Wei: Don't worry?
放心
You are crashing into everything. How can we not worry?
你这样乱摸乱撞的 叫我们怎么放心啊

Zhao Yunlan: True, my brains got burned by dark energy.
是 我被那个黑能量把脑子给烧坏了
My eyes and heart are blind, and that isn't worth much.
眼又瞎 心又盲 那个又不是个东西 那个沈教授

Professor Shen, Public Servant Shen, calm your anger.
那个沈教授, 沈公仆 消消气啊



Zhao Yunlan knocks over the incense burner, looking sheepish. Shen Wei bends down to pick it up (🍑), asking Zhao Yunlan what he’s looking for.

Shen Wei: What are you looking for?
你到底在找什么



Zhao Yunlan tells him he’s looking for a book called “A Record of Ancient Secrets”. Shen Wei freezes in the middle of putting the cap back on the incense burner, which is a very clear tell that would have given him away if Zhao Yunlan could see it. He tells Zhao Yunlan he has no recollection of the book (are you sure, Shen Wei??).

Zhao Yunlan: There was a book called "A Record of Ancient Secrets."
那个之前有一本 上古秘闻录
I can't find it. Did you see it?
我找不到了 你看见了吗

Shen Wei: I don't have any recollection of it.
没印象





Zhao Yunlan takes out a recorder and plays an excerpt from Zhu Hong’s reading of the book, which mentions Kunlun. Shen Wei visibly cycles through many feelings, looking very shocked when he hears Kunlun’s name.

Zhao Yunlan: Listen to this then.
你听一下这个

Zhu Hong, on the recorder:
The Four Pillars stabilizes all four sides of the world. The sky is tilted to the northwest and Kunlun applied the sealing words, saying: “Not old, but already too weak. Not cold, but the water has frozen. Not born yet, but already withered. Not yet smelted, but has turned into gold.”
四柱镇四方 西北天倾 昆仑封字: “曰 未老已衰之石 未冷已冻之水. 未生已朽之木 未灼已化之金.”





Shen Wei grabs the recorder from Zhao Yunlan amid his protests, pressing many buttons to stop the audio from playing. Just as the recording stops, Zhao Yunlan’s phone rings and Shen Wei tells him to answer it.

He pockets the recorder with a sigh of relief, looking conflicted and pained. Zhao Yunlan answers the call, which is from Zhu Hong.

Zhao Yunlan: What are you doing?
你干吗呀你

Shen Wei: Answer your phone.
接电话

Zhao Yunlan, picking up the call: Hello.
喂


Zhao Yunlan asks why Zhu Hong is calling him when she should be enjoying the holiday but is cut off by her mention of the Yashou Market. This immediately catches Shen Wei’s attention.

Zhao Yunlan, on the phone: My god, Miss Zhu Hong.
我说祝红女士
Why can't you just stay at home during the Mid-Autumn Festival and are giving me—
你这大过节的不好好待在家里边给我
…Flea market of the Demi-humans?
亚兽族集市


Shen Wei hurries to sit at Zhao Yunlan’s side, telling him that they may be able to find a cure for his blindness at the Yashou Market.

Shen Wei, to himself: Flea market of the Demi-humans?
亚兽族集市

Shen Wei, to Zhao Yunlan: That place could have the cure for your eyes.
我跟你说 那个地方很可能有方法能治好你的眼睛




Zhao Yunlan tells Zhu Hong he’ll be there soon and teases Shen Wei about not being able to take the day off on a holiday before Shen Wei grabs the keys and they head out to the Yashou Market.

Zhao Yunlan, to Zhu Hong: All right, wait there. I'll be right over.
那个 你在那等着 我马上就到

Zhao Yunlan, to Shen Wei: Look at that. It's a holiday, but I can't even rest. Can't blame me.
看吧 大过节的 想休息也休息不了。不怪我吧
Let's go.
走吧

Shen Wei: Let's go.
走吧

***

Favorite Things about this Scene/Observations:

• Shen Wei’s protective shout always gives me feelings, and I find it hilarious how Zhao Yunlan turns pouty when he realizes it’s Shen Wei who grabbed him, even though he’s the one who insisted that he could get home by himself. Zhao Yunlan doesn’t recognize Shen Wei’s touch immediately, but who could mistake that stern/worried tone? The wrist hold is also very good :D


• Shen Wei is clearly very comfortable in Zhao Yunlan’s flat and space by this point, which gives me all the feelings about domestic Weilan.


• The small pause and swallow that Shen Wei does right before he starts berating Zhao Yunlan “how are we supposed to relax?” is a wonderfully telling detail.


• Shen Wei is usually very careful about not letting slip anything about the past - (most notably it also happened during the tea scene after the proper identity reveal) so his slip of the tongue says a lot about exactly how worried he is right now.


• Zhao Yunlan is very attuned to everything about Shen Wei, so of course he catches the slip and doesn’t let it go (and we know he remembers Shen Wei’s panic about the recorder and recognizes the significance of this reaction as he mentions it to Da Qing in ep 23).


• Zhao Yunlan being cajoling and calling Shen Wei 沈公仆 always cracks me up :D


• EVERYTHING ABOUT SHEN WEI’S FACE WHEN KULUN IS MENTIONED WRECKS ME, and I also love his expression and the pause when the book is mentioned, I live for these small details.


• I also love how Zhao Yunlan immediately tells Zhu Hong they’ll meet her at the market once Shen Wei says they may be able to find a cure there, it says a lot about how much he trusts Shen Wei and his opinion.


• There is so much touching in this scene (and this whole arc) and that is one of my favorite things ever.

Questions:

• How do you think Shen Wei reacted when he realized Zhao Yunlan left the hospital without waiting for him?


• Shen Wei is holding a bag of groceries when they enter the flat - so does this mean he did some very fast shopping before stopping by the hospital? Because I love the idea of that, though I would have guessed that he’d be in too much of a rush for that.


• What exactly is Shen Wei referring to when he brings up what happened “a long time ago”?


• Do you think this is the first time Shen Wei has heard someone say Kunlun’s name since waking up in the present?


• Thoughts on Shen Wei’s reaction to Zhao Yunlan simply knowing of someone like Kunlun?


• Do you think Shen Wei has moved into Zhao Yunlan's flat at this point? :P


• What do you like about this scene? :)

Hope you’ve enjoyed this discussion and please do leave fanwork recs in the comments if you know of anything!

Comments

[sakana17]

Wonderful post! I don't have lots to add, just a lot of appreciative squee over the gorgeous screencaps! ♥___♥ Shen Wei's worried face!!

I love this scene so much! All the touching! And Shen Wei very much at home in Zhao Yunlan's flat. Maybe Zhao Yunlan's blindness gives Shen Wei a good "excuse" to move in, whether or not he acknowledges it as moving in.

Because I'm a nerd about props (and obsessed with Zhao Yunlan's apartment), I'm not sure the container he knocks over is an incense burner. At least, it's not the one we saw earlier (episode 6) that was used to send a message to the Regent:


But it might be a container to hold the incense burner?? To be honest, I'd thought it was a wooden box that held a supply of Zhao Yunlan's lollipops. XD

Do you think this is the first time Shen Wei has heard someone say Kunlun’s name since waking up in the present?

Oooo, that is a great question. I hadn't thought about it before, but true, no one's mentioned the name around Shen Wei up to this point. That would explain a lot about his reaction!

[sasamelons]

Ooh, great post! I too love all the touching and the domesticity in this arc. There was never any question that Shen Wei would take care of him, they just head off together.

I find Zhao Yunlan calling Shen Wei Butler Shen HILARIOUS as well xD And the neighbour's expression as Shen Wei manhandles Zhao Yunlan cracks me up too

How do you think Shen Wei reacted when he realized Zhao Yunlan left the hospital without waiting for him?

I imagine that he reacted VERY, VERY CALMLY.

What exactly is Shen Wei referring to when he brings up what happened “a long time ago”?

I've always wondered about this as well! I can't think of anything in the YOHE bits that we see that would warrant this kind of reaction, but I suppose it refers to some time that Kunlun had been badly hurt. When I first watched this episode, not knowing about the time loop (or how it went in the novel), this line made me assume that Kunlun had died and it had something to do with the Hallows, which was partially why Shen Wei was so protective and always freaking out about Zhao Yunlan touching the Hallows. (And then later it had me wondering what an AU would look like where Zhao Yunlan had died in the past as Kunlun.)

Do you think Shen Wei has moved into Zhao Yunlan's flat at this point? :P

I mean, after Zhao Yunlan's eyes are healed, Shen Wei says he'll stay for "one more night" so I assume he hasn't officially moved in but has pretty much done so by this point 👀

[nnozomi]

I don't have a lot to add, but this is a great post about a great scene! It's so carefully balanced between funny and tense. Shen Wei's explosive frustration, and the way it just rolls off Zhao Yunlan (maybe Shen Wei getting so impatient makes it easier for him to stay calm himself?).
The small pause and swallow that Shen Wei does right before he starts berating Zhao Yunlan “how are we supposed to relax?” is a wonderfully telling detail.
I remember a discussion a while back on the point that whenever we see Shen Wei swallow it usually marks something emotionally important...

[tehfanglyfish]

This was so much fun to read! Thank you for choosing a scene that shows them spending time in Zhao Yunlan's apartment. That is one of my very favorite bits of the drama.


How do you think Shen Wei reacted when he realized Zhao Yunlan left the hospital without waiting for him?

I hadn't considered it but now I REALLY wish we could have seen his face because I'm pretty sure it would be top-tier exasperation (with some definite panic under the surface).

Shen Wei is holding a bag of groceries when they enter the flat - so does this mean he did some very fast shopping before stopping by the hospital? Because I love the idea of that, though I would have guessed that he’d be in too much of a rush for that.

I also love the idea of that. There is no need to ask if he's going to be the one cooking for Zhao Yunlan that night. He's going to. Doesn't matter if Zhao Yunlan claims he can take care of himself, insists on takeout, etc. Shen Wei is cooking!

As for the timing, portals! I like to think Shen Wei uses that portal power a lot. Not just for Official Envoy Things but mundane stuff too. The man has three jobs (plus looking after Zhao Yunlan). He needs all the time saving help he can get.

What exactly is Shen Wei referring to when he brings up what happened “a long time ago”?

I like to think that a lot more happened when Zhao Yunlan was in the ancient past than we see on screen. And Zhao Yunlan, being himself, probably got into some careless trouble. Poor young Shen Wei... all smitten with Kunlun but also wondering how he could be such an occasional dumbass XD

Do you think this is the first time Shen Wei has heard someone say Kunlun’s name since waking up in the present?

Oooh! That's a good question. I don't know. I imagine that as soon as he woke up and had a second, he would be doing as much research as possible into Kunlun to try to figure when/where he might be. Would a palace archivist know about him and say the name? Maybe. Whether he had or hadn't heard it, I think it was especially jarring simply because Zhao Yunlan was RIGHT THERE!!

Thoughts on Shen Wei’s reaction to Zhao Yunlan simply knowing of someone like Kunlun?

That's sooooooooooo the random, chaotic nature of Zhao Yunlan. (He's also a brilliant investigator but has this way of just... wandering into things.)

Do you think Shen Wei has moved into Zhao Yunlan's flat at this point? :P
In his heart, they're married and just waiting on renovations for their house to be completed so they can move in. But at this point they're not quite moved in for real, I think. Shen Wei's working on it.

What do you like about this scene? :)
THE TOUCHING!!! (Thank you for drawing attention to it!!) And also just the protective possessiveness of Shen Wei. He waited 10k years. He is NOT letting this disaster of man get himself hurt or killed, damn it. (Which is why ep 40 never happened. Obviously.)

[elenothar]

Head emtpy, only all the touching in this scene.

I love how 'I'm going to cook' is clearly both Shen Wei's #1 avoidance tactic and something he likes doing for Zhao Yunlan. Nice confluence, if probably exasperating when you want to get an answer out of him.

Do you think this is the first time Shen Wei has heard someone say Kunlun’s name since waking up in the present?

... Not a question I'd ever considered and now it's attempting to scoop out my heart with a dull spoon, so thanks for that. I think it's very possible, no one has spoken that name to Shen Wei, because why would anyone? It seems to be both fairly obscure knowledge and not something someone would randomly bring up. Unless Shen Wei initiated a conversation about Kunlun with one of the Yashou maybe, haltingly asking what the world remembers about him...

[china_shop]

Ahhhh, this is such an awesome post, and it's filled with such gorgeous screencaps!! *twirls you*

I find it hilarious how Zhao Yunlan turns pouty when he realizes it’s Shen Wei who grabbed him, even though he’s the one who insisted that he could get home by himself.

I love how ZYL immediately goes on the offensive and, haha, refers to his father as "a kind person". (I assume just because he doesn't want to even think about Zhao Xinci? Or want to make Shen Wei really feel bad by having forced ZYL into proximity with him.) The best defence... *g*

Shen Wei is clearly very comfortable in Zhao Yunlan’s flat and space by this point, which gives me all the feelings about domestic Weilan.

Look how neat and tidy the place is! And ohhh, I just spent ages going through sakana17's Guardian Clothes Reference looking for the shoes lined up under the bed. Those look much more Shen Wei-ish to me than Zhao Yunlan-ish: the contrasting soles, the not-being-ugg-boots...

Also, LOL, Zhao Yunlan is like my cat, whose motto is "Never stay where you're put!" As soon as Shen Wei walks away, he starts moving, like he thinks he's being sneaky. Hee!

Shen Wei is holding a bag of groceries when they enter the flat - so does this mean he did some very fast shopping before stopping by the hospital?

Oh, EXCELLENT catch! I wonder if he portalled to the shops to save time. *g*

What exactly is Shen Wei referring to when he brings up what happened “a long time ago”?

I've always assumed that was "A long time ago, when you came and helped us win the war, you could see!" Like, "It's not just your own well-being you're jeopardising here! It's all of history!" Except he can't say that.

Thoughts on Shen Wei’s reaction to Zhao Yunlan simply knowing of someone like Kunlun?

I think he doesn't want him to know anything or hear anything. He wants/needs Zhao Yunlan's actions in YOHE to be spontaneous and from the heart, not informed by things he's heard or read. And maybe he's a little worried Zhao Yunlan will recognise himself in the description of Kunlun? Idk.

What do you like about this scene? :)

They are so focused on each other. Zhao Yunlan is really comfortable relying on Shen Wei -- he doesn't apologise or regret being a nuisance, instead telling Shen Wei off for not putting himself out more. And Shen Wei's world obviously revolves around Zhao Yunlan at this moment. Plus, yeah, TOUCHING!! *hearts them both enormously*

I just noticed -- when they leave, Shen Wei grabs the keys. Is that just for the door, or is he going to drive? (Can Shen Wei drive?! He doesn't during the Hanga Arc, but that's not conclusive.)

Anyway! Yay again for such a great post and a wonderful choice of scene! :D :D :D

[awanderingcoyote]

The amount of touching in this episode, yes!!! And SW's micro expressions are so on point. Yessssss. Ahhhhhhhhh. Such a great write-up!!

How do you think Shen Wei reacted when he realized Zhao Yunlan left the hospital without waiting for him? I am sure there was frustration/anger, but not surprise per se. This is ZYL after all XD

Shen Wei is holding a bag of groceries when they enter the flat - so does this mean he did some very fast shopping before stopping by the hospital? Because I love the idea of that, though I would have guessed that he’d be in too much of a rush for that. Yes yes! I always assumed he got food and then was like: let me get to the hospital to pick up this man I love and then he goes there and is like: Where is he?!

What exactly is Shen Wei referring to when he brings up what happened “a long time ago”? Hmmm. This is such a good question, I always assumed there were probably more battles than we got to see and perhaps ZYL had some close calls that made young SW not happy. XD

Do you think this is the first time Shen Wei has heard someone say Kunlun’s name since waking up in the present? I think so! His expression is just so stark! It's good that ZYL can't see.

What do you like about this scene? :) I lovvvvve all the protectiveness and the touching and the domesticity of it all. I also like the fact that SW's expressions are a touch freer here, because ZYL can't see and so it's not so hidden!!!

AHH what a great write-up, thank you!!