Oh, I just thought: maybe Shen Wei asks after Zhao Yunlan's reaction to make up for the stiffness and non-chattiness at the hospital when he took Tan Xiao away? Maybe it's a public(!) concession that they need to work more closely as SID chief and Envoy, as well as (potentially, at this stage) as Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei?
Hm, it doesn't read as a concession to me, but the contrast with the scene at the hospital, where he pointedly didn't stop to talk at all, is an excellent point!
I think it's telling that Xiao Guo has already objected, and Lao Chu shut him down, so the Envoy has already expressed his resolve and the reason for it.
Yes, agreed, that's part of why he reads to me as convinced Shen Wei has already drawn a line and won't budge on this.
Oh... *checks* it's a bit like the effect that knocks the kidnapper away from ZYL in ep 25, which ZYL identifies as Shen Wei's protection, I think?
It's similar, I guess. It still looks to me very much like Zheng Yi's doing in that scene. *shrugs*
This is making me think that Zhao Yunlan's motives evolve as he gets to know Shen Wei better. To start with, I think the element of protection is much stronger (he first asks after the mugging scene). As well as liking working together, he suspects Shen Wei is Dixingren, and he really wants an excuse not to hand him over to the Envoy, right? And then the closer they get, the more it becomes about family/togetherness/wanting?
Yes to all of that! The more he gets to know Shen Wei, and the closer they get, the more he wants that closeness in a personal way, and the more all the external reasons fall away. ♥
I mean, it's basically making their relationship official (is it too much of a stretch to make the analogy with marriage? *g*).
I think Zhao Yunlan does think of it a bit that way! (Shen Wei doesn't, though, which breaks the marriage analogy.)
Aaand now I'm wondering whether one reason for Shen Wei's refusal is because if his Dixingrenness became known, Zhao Yunlan would inevitably have to report such a hire to the Envoy, and that would be yet another layer of awkward lies and bordering-on-farce that Shen Wei doesn't want to face.
That would make sense! And Zhao Yunlan wouldn't just have to report it; the Envoy would have to okay it as well, since he has jurisdiction over Dixingren in Haixing. So he'd be in the position to have to personally grant himself an exception, which, awkward. *g*
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Hm, it doesn't read as a concession to me, but the contrast with the scene at the hospital, where he pointedly didn't stop to talk at all, is an excellent point!
I think it's telling that Xiao Guo has already objected, and Lao Chu shut him down, so the Envoy has already expressed his resolve and the reason for it.
Yes, agreed, that's part of why he reads to me as convinced Shen Wei has already drawn a line and won't budge on this.
Oh... *checks* it's a bit like the effect that knocks the kidnapper away from ZYL in ep 25, which ZYL identifies as Shen Wei's protection, I think?
It's similar, I guess. It still looks to me very much like Zheng Yi's doing in that scene. *shrugs*
This is making me think that Zhao Yunlan's motives evolve as he gets to know Shen Wei better. To start with, I think the element of protection is much stronger (he first asks after the mugging scene). As well as liking working together, he suspects Shen Wei is Dixingren, and he really wants an excuse not to hand him over to the Envoy, right? And then the closer they get, the more it becomes about family/togetherness/wanting?
Yes to all of that! The more he gets to know Shen Wei, and the closer they get, the more he wants that closeness in a personal way, and the more all the external reasons fall away. ♥
I mean, it's basically making their relationship official (is it too much of a stretch to make the analogy with marriage? *g*).
I think Zhao Yunlan does think of it a bit that way! (Shen Wei doesn't, though, which breaks the marriage analogy.)
Aaand now I'm wondering whether one reason for Shen Wei's refusal is because if his Dixingrenness became known, Zhao Yunlan would inevitably have to report such a hire to the Envoy, and that would be yet another layer of awkward lies and bordering-on-farce that Shen Wei doesn't want to face.
That would make sense! And Zhao Yunlan wouldn't just have to report it; the Envoy would have to okay it as well, since he has jurisdiction over Dixingren in Haixing. So he'd be in the position to have to personally grant himself an exception, which, awkward. *g*