Ep 30, Zhang Shi takes Zhao Yunlan home, and Zhao Yunlan confronts him

[china_shop]

ep 30, 40:29 to 42:02

Background
Team Ye Zun has released classified info about the SID onto the internet to stir up trouble. Vice-Minister Guo (Guo Ying) comes from the Department of Supervision to collect Zhao Yunlan and escort him to a shiny official vehicle parked outside the SID.

The scene (or scene fragment)
Zhao Yunlan stops on the SID steps and says, "The Old Man came here in person. What exactly does he need from me?" 这是有何贵干 老爷子这都亲自来了 Guo Ying says, "Let's talk about it once we get back to the Xingdu Bureau." 赵处长 咱们还是回去再说吧

Zhao Yunlan agrees. He walks over to the car, loses momentum briefly, then settles into the back seat next to Zhao Xinci without a word.


ZXC: Zhao Yunlan, you've made me so disappointed. 赵云澜 你太让我失望了


Zhao Yunlan nods, entirely unsurprised, while I facepalm. Oh Zhao Xinci!

GY: Director-General Zhao, do we go back to the Xingdu Bureau or the Department of Administration? 赵局 回星督局还是海星鉴

There's a fractional delay as (I think?) Zhang Shi takes over and answers in a slightly higher register than Zhao Xinci's deeper, firmer one(?).

ZS: Go to his home. 去他家


Zhao Yunlan is surprised -- by the tone or the choice to keep this unofficial?

They arrive at Zhao Yunlan's flat. Zhao Yunlan flicks on the light, throws his keys on the side-table with the (empty?) goldfish bowl, and unceremoniously plants himself on the couch, propping his foot on the coffee table and crossing his legs.


Zhang Shi and Guo Ying exchange glances, and Zhang Shi thanks Guo Ying and tells him to leave.

Vice-Minister Guo: Are you planning...? 你是打算


ZS: (smiles in a totally un-ZXC way) I have investigated it. Even though important secrets have been revealed, it wasn't the doing of the SID. 已经调查清楚了 重大机密虽然已经被泄露 但泄露源不是特调处


Zhao Yunlan listens to this and draws his own conclusions.

ZS: (cont.) Regarding Chief Zhao, I'll mainly educate him through criticisms.
至于赵处长 我会以批评教育为主

ZS: (cont.) After this, I will let him go back to work. If I was really going to punish him severely, we wouldn't be talking here.
一会跟他谈完了 会让他回去继续工作 如果真的要对他言责就不会在这里谈了


Guo Ying is totally here for this soft-parenting approach. He politely exits.


Zhang Shi looks around. The place is Shen-Wei-approved levels of neat and orderly.

ZS: It's tidier than I pictured. It seems you didn't overindulge too much.
比我想象的要整洁多了 看来你倒是没有放纵过度

 
ZYL: (calmly, without looking up, while picking earwax from under his fingernail) You are not him. 你不是他


ZS: Oh? How can you tell? 可以见得

[Zhao Yunlan's explanation is elided here; it appears at the start of the next episode]


Zhao Yunlan calmly pulls his gun.

Thoughts and reactions

1. I wonder how many times, especially as a teenager, Zhao Yunlan was summoned into his father's presence and greeted with "You've made me so disappointed." I'm guessing lots, given how unsurprised and unmoved he is by it. (Honestly, it always makes me laugh in a "Really, Zhao Xinci? You're leading with that?" way.)


2. Do you agree Zhang Shi takes over in the car? If so, it's pretty subtle.


3. Is Guo Ying surprised by the direction to take Zhao Yunlan back to the flat, and the implicit decision not to officially intervene? Does he agree with it? He, too, must have mixed feelings about the whole situation, given his position at the DoS and (I presume) career aspirations versus hearing praise of the SID from Changcheng.


4. At what point does Zhao Yunlan realise Zhao Xinci is not himself? Is it in the car and he bides his time to make the challenge, or do his suspicions crystalise when he hears Zhang Shi talking to Guo Ying?


5. This scene always strikes me as evidence that however much Zhang Shi claims to have been a sort-of-parent to Zhao Yunlan and was there for his childhood, he can't have been actively involved or said much -- otherwise his speaking now (and on the roof during the kidnapping, and in the scene during the blindness arc) wouldn't strike Zhao Yunlan as definitively OOC.


6. I wonder how differently Zhao Yunlan would be reacting if a large portion of his brain weren't busy screaming with worry about Shen Wei.


7. And speaking of Shen Wei, the flat is so tidy! I feel like Zhao Yunlan has been making a real effort to respect and preserve Shen Wei's standards of cleanliness in his absence. asdklfa;dslkf

Comments

[trobadora]

ZXC: Zhao Yunlan, you've made me so disappointed. 赵云澜 你太让我失望了

I think the most ZXC about this is that he really still seems to think he can reach ZYL with phrases like that ...

(I like the way ZYL just nods and turns away to look out the window instead of at ZXC!)

There's a fractional delay as (I think?) Zhang Shi takes over and answers in a slightly higher register than Zhao Xinci's deeper, firmer one(?).

Yeah, that's exactly what it sounds like to me; Zhang Shi's voice is audibly different!

Zhao Yunlan is surprised -- by the tone or the choice to keep this unofficial?

Both, I think. Especially since this decision clearly comes out of nowhere for Minister Guo as well.

Zhao Yunlan flicks on the light, throws his keys on the side-table with the (empty?) goldfish bowl, and unceremoniously plants himself on the couch, propping his foot on the coffee table and crossing his legs.

I love how he's doing the impression of a sulky teenager, except it's all much more serious and fraught. *pets him* His father really brings it out in him.

Sitting on the couch, Zhao Yunlan cleans earwax from under his fingernail.

Love this image description, and this little detail! :D

Do you agree Zhang Shi takes over in the car? If so, it's pretty subtle.

I think it's pretty clear, actually!

Is Guo Ying surprised by the direction to take Zhao Yunlan back to the flat, and the implicit decision not to officially intervene? Does he agree with it? He, too, must have mixed feelings about the whole situation, given his position at the DoS and (I presume) career aspirations versus hearing praise of the SID from Changcheng.

I think he's 100% surprised; he initially expects ZYL to be taken to Xingdu Bureau, as he says at the start of the scene. But it looks to me like he's glad ZXC seems to be de-escalating instead.

At what point does Zhao Yunlan realise Zhao Xinci is not himself? Is it in the car and he bides his time to make the challenge, or do his suspicions crystalise when he hears Zhang Shi talking to Guo Ying?

IMO he notices something is off in the car, but the conversation with Guo Ying is when he really knows it's not ZXC.

This scene always strikes me as evidence that however much Zhang Shi claims to have been a sort-of-parent to Zhao Yunlan and was there for his childhood, he can't have been actively involved or said much -- otherwise his speaking now (and on the roof during the kidnapping, and in the scene during the blindness arc) wouldn't strike Zhao Yunlan as definitively OOC.

Yeah, if it happened more frequently it wouldn't be "you are not my father," it'd be "what suddenly put you into this rare mellow mood?" ZYL not recognising Zhang Shi as ZXC means to me that he doesn't know Zhang Shi at all. IMO Zhang Shi can't have been interacting with younger Zhao Yunlan. Which doesn't necessarily mean he wasn't involved in parenting him - he may well regularly have pushed (or attempted to push) ZXC in certain directions, even if he didn't take over and speak or act himself.

I wonder how differently Zhao Yunlan would be reacting if a large portion of his brain weren't busy screaming with worry about Shen Wei.

This is a VERY good question! I think it really contributes a lot to how tightly wound he is in this scene, and how close he seems to snapping. *pets him*

And speaking of Shen Wei, the flat is so tidy! I feel like Zhao Yunlan has been making a real effort to respect and preserve Shen Wei's standards of cleanliness in his absence. asdklfa;dslkf

Either that, or he essentially hasn't been home since Shen Wei left. (Because it's not home without Shen Wei any more? ♥)

[china_shop]

I think the most ZXC about this is that he really still seems to think he can reach ZYL with phrases like that ...

I wonder how often he heard it from his own father. Maybe that's just what parenting sounds like to him?

(I like the way ZYL just nods and turns away to look out the window instead of at ZXC!)

Right? Like, "I am Yunlan's complete lack of surprise."

Both, I think. Especially since this decision clearly comes out of nowhere for Minister Guo as well.

Yeah, I think ZYL's alert for weirdness, and this definitely registers.

I love how he's doing the impression of a sulky teenager, except it's all much more serious and fraught. *pets him* His father really brings it out in him.

Yes! So much this.

I think he's 100% surprised; he initially expects ZYL to be taken to Xingdu Bureau, as he says at the start of the scene. But it looks to me like he's glad ZXC seems to be de-escalating instead.

I wonder if he's thinking, "Who are you, and what have you done with Director Zhao?"

ZYL not recognising Zhang Shi as ZXC means to me that he doesn't know Zhang Shi at all. IMO Zhang Shi can't have been interacting with younger Zhao Yunlan. Which doesn't necessarily mean he wasn't involved in parenting him - he may well regularly have pushed (or attempted to push) ZXC in certain directions, even if he didn't take over and speak or act himself.

Given how ornery ZXC is, I wonder whether Zhang Shi's advice would just have made him double down with the criticism. *sigh*

I think it really contributes a lot to how tightly wound he is in this scene, and how close he seems to snapping.

I think so, too. And maybe how he doesn't let himself shout (like he did at Minister Gao), because Shen Wei would approve of a more measured approach? Idk. ZYL is hanging on by a thread.

Either that, or he essentially hasn't been home since Shen Wei left. (Because it's not home without Shen Wei any more? ♥)

Oh, yes, or that. *cries*

[trobadora]

Sorry for the misclick reply just now; here it is again in the proper place!

I wonder how often he heard it from his own father. Maybe that's just what parenting sounds like to him?

Yeah, I don't think he really has another script for it ...

I wonder if he's thinking, "Who are you, and what have you done with Director Zhao?"

Haha, yeah, and having no idea how literally right he is. *g*

Given how ornery ZXC is, I wonder whether Zhang Shi's advice would just have made him double down with the criticism. *sigh*

Yeah, that sounds about right to me. *sighs*

And maybe how he doesn't let himself shout (like he did at Minister Gao), because Shen Wei would approve of a more measured approach? Idk. ZYL is hanging on by a thread.

Idk, I think it's because he's hanging on by a thread and wound so tight that he's not shouting. I think he feels that if he lets himself actually express any of his feelings in that way, he'll lose control of all of them.

[china_shop]

I think he feels that if he lets himself actually express any of his feelings in that way, he'll lose control of all of them.

Oh, yes, that. *pets him carefully*