I love this too! I can absolutely see him as the kind of person who talks all the time about inconsequential stuff about himself, but doesn't really let anything of actual significance slip. And/or alternatively — he's someone who's very conscious of what kind of image he presents to others all the time.
My money would be on it being an interest of his - putting up a notice at the university doesn't seem like a very targeted attempt at Hallows research, since Haixingren aren't even supposed to know about them and randomly finding a useful book this way seems quite unlikely. Maybe he has space on his bookshelves after getting rid of this batch of read books. Or maybe it's part of his 'I'm very human, definitely' cover - he doesn't really seem to have much in the way of hobbies beyond cooking, and academics are generally nosy in each other's direction; I could easily see people asking him what he likes to do with his time and him going '... read?' because that's an easy one and he does enjoy it.
I was thinking that this is around the time that he is looking into the Mountain River Awl, but yeah it wouldn't be very efficient. I can definitely see both of those though — it being a genuine interest as well as a cover. In one of my WIPs, I have him using the cover excuse to justify it with himself, when in fact he just really likes books.
Da Qing, on the other hand, I think knows a lot. He lives with Zhao Yunlan, and seems to be a bit of a confidante throughout, so it's more a question of what he can be bothered to be curious about.
Haha that's true. I think he just can't be bothered with some stuff. Although it seems like ZYL's romantic dalliances is definitely a subject of interest xD
I do think both he and Zhao Yunlan know about Zhu Hong's feelings even at the beginning of the series, though perhaps not quite how serious she is about them - not that that means they're dealing with it in a useful adult manner...
I like this point! It's quite obvious that she has feelings for him, but I think ZYL was also surprised by the lengths she was willing to go, and definitely by how much his words and actions have affected her (as he learns in the dream).
no subject
My money would be on it being an interest of his - putting up a notice at the university doesn't seem like a very targeted attempt at Hallows research, since Haixingren aren't even supposed to know about them and randomly finding a useful book this way seems quite unlikely. Maybe he has space on his bookshelves after getting rid of this batch of read books. Or maybe it's part of his 'I'm very human, definitely' cover - he doesn't really seem to have much in the way of hobbies beyond cooking, and academics are generally nosy in each other's direction; I could easily see people asking him what he likes to do with his time and him going '... read?' because that's an easy one and he does enjoy it.
I was thinking that this is around the time that he is looking into the Mountain River Awl, but yeah it wouldn't be very efficient. I can definitely see both of those though — it being a genuine interest as well as a cover. In one of my WIPs, I have him using the cover excuse to justify it with himself, when in fact he just really likes books.
Da Qing, on the other hand, I think knows a lot. He lives with Zhao Yunlan, and seems to be a bit of a confidante throughout, so it's more a question of what he can be bothered to be curious about.
Haha that's true. I think he just can't be bothered with some stuff. Although it seems like ZYL's romantic dalliances is definitely a subject of interest xD
I do think both he and Zhao Yunlan know about Zhu Hong's feelings even at the beginning of the series, though perhaps not quite how serious she is about them - not that that means they're dealing with it in a useful adult manner...
I like this point! It's quite obvious that she has feelings for him, but I think ZYL was also surprised by the lengths she was willing to go, and definitely by how much his words and actions have affected her (as he learns in the dream).