Picspam: Chu Shuzhi &/ Zhao Yunlan (early drama episodes)

[china_shop]

Hi, my initial plan was to picspam Chu Shuzhi smiling at Zhao Yunlan. Of course, I took way too many screencaps, so please congratulate me on whittling them down and not including every single scene where the two of them appear together (just most of them). *g*

Naturally, I immediately extended my brief when I began scanning the episodes and saw this.


Episode 4, interview scene. Zhao Yunlan interrupts Chu Shuzhi's interviewing of Shen Wei with a casual hand on Chu Shuzhi's shoulder. At this point, I think the only other person who's touched Lao Chu is Guo Changcheng when he's freaking out. I doubt Zhao Yunlan makes a habit of it, either.

Shortly thereafter, on the SID mezzanine, Chu Shuzhi and Zhao Yunlan talk about the case. Chu Shuzhi has unilaterally sent his doll to tail Lin Yusen, and Zhao Yunlan sees Chu Shuzhi's ear twitching and catches on immediately.



There are mutual compliments:
ZYL: Not bad, Lao Chu. Sending a puppet to shadow him. You even picked up remote monitoring.
CSZ: Casting a long line to catch the big fish, you taught me that.

Again, outside my brief, but I do enjoy them working so well together at the end of episode 4, during fake Zhang Danni's poisonous-gas temper tantrum.





Not pictured: after Zhao Yunlan starts negotiations with fake Zhang Danni, he sends a sly, silent glance to Chu Shuzhi, signalling that Chu Shuzhi should pull Da Qing out of the danger zone. Chu Shuzhi immediately gets the message.

Episode 5 has this wonderful exchange outside the residence where Butler Wu works.







GCC: Chief Zhao, you're amazing. You can see her face from so far away?
ZYL: If you were the chief, you'd be able to see it, too
CSZ: This is the instinct of a beast.
ZYL: Lao Chu, you little... You've changed.
CSZ: *smirks*

I love that Chu Shuzhi has opened up and joined the team enough to tease Zhao Yunlan like this. It's so playful, especially in the middle of a case! And it feels like a real shift from the first couple of episodes, building on what's come before.

Honorary inclusion: at the start of episode 6, when they're interviewing Ji Xiaobai about his missing Weiwei, Zhao Yunlan stomps on Da Qing's foot for being tactless, and Chu Shuzhi looks away, presumably so he won't laugh.



Not pictured: in episode 5, in the mirror dimension, when Dixingren!Weiwei appears, Zhao Yunlan puts a restraining hand on Chu Shuzhi's shoulder.

Gratuitous cap just because Chu Shuzhi is pretty. This is from episode 7, when the rest of the team minus Zhao Yunlan are talking about web comics.



Still in episode 7, Zhao Yunlan and the team watch the CCTV footage of the mugging. When Zhao Yunlan gets flustered about being caught on tape with Shen Wei, Chu Shuzhi raises his eyebrows and gives a sceptical, "Ahh." Hee!





Episode 7, at the hospital. This one is a bit of a stretch because Chu Shuzhi is probably following Lin Jing's explanation rather than looking at Zhao Yunlan, but he is looking across rather than up, and it looks so speculative. If I were vidding... (Also, it made me wonder: what if the entire SID team (minus Da Qing) had crushes on Zhao Yunlan, each in their own way, before Shen Wei arrived on the scene. *g*)



Episode 7 at the web novelist Lai Su's place. I just thought these shots of them working together were pretty.





Not pictured because it happens too quickly: in ep 9, when they're outside the SID preparing to leave for their trip to the mountains, Zhao Yunlan tosses Chu Shuzhi some car keys with zero warning, and Chu Shuzhi catches them effortlessly and without fuss. *hearts*

When they stop to rest on their way to the Hanga caves, in ep 10, Zhao Yunlan and Chu Shuzhi's both sprawl on a big rock. (Chu Shuzhi often sits with his feet up at the SID, too. I wonder how differently he'd have sat if Shen Wei had been there openly as the Envoy earlier on; how much has he adopted the habits and postures of those around him *koff*ZhaoYunlan*koff*?)





Honorary inclusion: this is Chu Shuzhi grinning and giving Guo Changcheng a thumbs up for zapping Zhao Yunlan with his fear stick. LOL!



Finally, in the Hanga caves in ep 11, Chu Shuzhi smiles at Zhao Yunlan's having appointed Sang Zan as the SID's new librarian. Aww!



I'm stopping here, because over the few episodes after the Hanga arc, the dynamic changes; instead of Zhao Yunlan working with Chu Shuzhi and the others so much, the focus shifts heavily to the Envoy reveal (as is only right and proper!). We get Zhao Yunlan being "kidnapped" by Zhu Jiu and then, increasingly, partnering with Shen Wei. And whereas at the end of episode 5, Zhao Yunlan and Chu Shuzhi worked together to test Xiao Guo's tailing skills (and Zhao Yunlan says it's the seventh time he's failed, lol), from here on out, Chu Shuzhi's partnership with Guo Changcheng starts to solidify.

Comments

[trobadora]

YES!!!!!! I have a real craving for Chu Shuzhi-and-Shen Wei backstory fic, and there's so little of it! There is so much meaty stuff in there - and just because Chu Shuzhi never gets to the point of seeing the Envoy as someone he oculd be friends with, in that time frame, doesn't mean there isn't a huge amount of development and change in there from Chu Shuzhi as recently released from the dungeons to Chu Shuzhi the established SID agent confident in his job. I would love to see how that looks like from Shen Wei's perspective, too!

[satsuma]

Yeah! It's just a super interesting time, character-development-wise, for both of them individually and as...colleagues? (Not sure what the correct word for "guy who probably saved your life and is also a cultural hero who you are now acting as an informant for" is lmao) They're both still adjusting to life on the surface/in the modern day–Shen Wei would presumably be a bit further along on that, Chu Shuzhi is learning a whole new career, and there's so few Dixingren on the Surface that they probably ended up significant touchpoints for that for eachother also. I can imagine at some point Shen Wei slightly awkwardly asking Shuzhi questions about modern Dixing culture as he's puzzling over some situation he's ended up in due to his role Hei Pao Sho down there

[trobadora]

I think it's a super interesting time for Chu Shuzhi especially, since he's thrown into a whole new culture he's unfamiliar with, doing a job he's never done before, while also dealing with learning the tech skills he needs to function in that context - and handlling the entire fraught Dixing/Haixing situation, all while trying not to disappoint his benefactor/hero/idol. ♥ ♥ ♥

(I don't think Shen Wei can still be adjusting to life on the surface at that point - Chu Shuzhi arrived at the SID during Zhao Yunlan's tenure, so less than three years before canon starts, and Shen Wei woke up in the present day at least 20 years ago, as per Wu Tian'en. Also, even Shen Wei's current identity presumably goes back all the way to an undergraduate degree, up to the present where he doesn't seem to be an entirely new professor any more.)

I can imagine at some point Shen Wei slightly awkwardly asking Shuzhi questions about modern Dixing culture as he's puzzling over some situation he's ended up in due to his role Hei Pao Sho down there

Oooh, I love the idea of them talking about Dixing culture, and the things that Shen Wei missed during his dirt sleep! That's such a delightful concept. ♥ ♥ ♥

and there's so few Dixingren on the Surface that they probably ended up significant touchpoints for that for eachother also

Yeah, totally! And they're the only two Dixingren living legally in Haixing, that's also a huge point. Shen Wei is, well, the Envoy, and Chu Shuzhi is working for the SID, so their interactions with other Dixingren in Haixing would always be fraught ...

[china_shop]

And they're the only two Dixingren living legally in Haixing, that's also a huge point.

But Chu Shuzhi doesn't know that, right? I always thought Chu Shuzhi assumed the Envoy was based in Dixing, and that's why he needed a representative in Haixing. Zhao Yunlan definitely seems to have assumed that, going by his asking Da Qing, "Do you think it's possible that Hei Pao Shi is also staying here on the surface and is using a human face?"

[trobadora]

No, you're right, Chu Shuzhi doesn't know the Envoy has a secret identity and is actually living in Haixing, that part only works from Shen Wei's POV. But he does know that, unlike every other Dixingren, the Envoy can legally come and go in Haixing as he pleases. Enjoy the sunlight, and all that.

I agree that everyone thinks the Envoy is based in Dixing!

[china_shop]

But he does know that, unlike every other Dixingren, the Envoy can legally come and go in Haixing as he pleases. Enjoy the sunlight, and all that.

Huh, I wonder if he thinks the Envoy spends leisure time Upstairs. It seems incongruous to me, and like surely other people would notice?? But maybe to Chu Shuzhi (to whom the robes might not look quite so out of place) it would be less surprising... Or do you think Chu Shuzhi realises the Envoy must have a Haixing cover ID?

[trobadora]

I don't think he thinks the Envoy has leisure time. All duty, all the time. *g* And I'm pretty sure he hasn't the slightest idea a Haixing cover ID is even a possibility. But I do think standing in the sunlight (without being deported for it) is a meaningful thing for a Dixingren to be allowed to do, even if it's happening during work.

[china_shop]

I don't think he thinks the Envoy has leisure time. All duty, all the time. *g*

Ha, good point... and consequently, Chu Shuzhi probably doesn't allow himself leisure activities either, even if he's not working 24/7. He can justify keeping fit, but I expect not much else?

But I do think standing in the sunlight (without being deported for it) is a meaningful thing for a Dixingren to be allowed to do, even if it's happening during work.

*nodnod* That makes sense! :-)

[trobadora]

and consequently, Chu Shuzhi probably doesn't allow himself leisure activities either, even if he's not working 24/7

Yeah, that's how I see it too. He's following a standard Shen Wei didn't mean to set, but inadvertently has all the same.

[china_shop]

I guess Shen Wei doesn't have any prior experience as a civilian manager of devoted rescue-ees, and he probably reasonably expects the SID to take care of general HR functions... but still. Clarity would be helpful! /o\ ;-p

[satsuma]

Regardless of how much time Chu Shuzhi thinks HPS spends in Haixing, he’s still the only Dixingren Shuzhi can regularly talk to, which feels important to me (from his perspective) regardless of the other details. But yeah seconding the idea of standing openly under the sunlight as important to both of them also

[china_shop]

he’s still the only Dixingren Shuzhi can regularly talk to, which feels important to me (from his perspective) regardless of the other details.

Yes, that's a great point. (I was going to add "especially since the SID is so openly bigoted, earlier on," but actually it would be true regardless...)

[trobadora]

Yeah, you're right, that definitely matters to Chu Shuzhi! ♥

[satsuma]

I think it's a super interesting time for Chu Shuzhi especially, since he's thrown into a whole new culture he's unfamiliar with, doing a job he's never done before, while also dealing with learning the tech skills he needs to function in that context - and handlling the entire fraught Dixing/Haixing situation, all while trying not to disappoint his benefactor/hero/idol. ♥ ♥ ♥

Yeah! He’a just got a ton going on there that we know so little about

I don't think Shen Wei can still be adjusting to life on the surface at that point

On the one hand, yeah. On the other, he’s got two whole new cultures to learn which is an extra struggle, and he’s still got some things he seems to have just given up on adjusting to. So like, he def wouldn't be struggling as much as Chu Shuzhi by the time they meet but I think it’d still feel incredibly relatable from Shen Wei’s perspective?

Shen Wei is, well, the Envoy, and Chu Shuzhi is working for the SID, so their interactions with other Dixingren in Haixing would always be fraught

Yeah I think Shen Wei has discovered some who he’s declined to deport but that’s probably a “I’m going to conveniently forget you exist if you don't cause problems” kinda deal. Not so good for regular chats. I’m not sure Chu Shuzhi has met any (that he recognized), but if he did it’d probably be a similar “lets pretend I didn’t notice that” kinda thing

[china_shop]

I’m not sure Chu Shuzhi has met any (that he recognized), but if he did it’d probably be a similar “lets pretend I didn’t notice that” kinda thing

Ohh, what about an AU where Chu Shuzhi visited the underground fight club pre-canon, before it was a case, just for catharsis reasons, and he has suspicions about Ye Huo, but also plausible deniability and no reason to pursue it (because they don't know about the kids disappearing yet)? Maybe?

[trobadora]

Oh, that's a great idea! The fight club is a place I could definitely see him going to, pre-canon, so it immediately makes sense.

[china_shop]

Especially if he didn't realise it was illegal. He might be hesitant to get mixed up in anything shady, given the Envoy obviously would disapprove of it. But he could easily misunderstand its status, I think?

(Ooh, your icon is awesome! ♥!)

[trobadora]

Hmm, yeah, I don't think he'd want to get caught up in something shady. Illegal he might not mind so much - if he thought at first it was just people having fun, that he probably wouldn't bother to worry about the legality unless someone made a point of it.

And I like satsuma's idea that this could lead to canon divergence once he realised what else was going on in that place!

(amedia made it for me! :D)

[china_shop]

I like to think the SID's onboarding includes "Don't get caught up in anything illegal; it will make us look bad." And that Chu Shuzhi would take that seriously so as not to reflect badly on the Envoy. But with the SID, who knows...

And I like satsuma's idea that this could lead to canon divergence once he realised what else was going on in that place!

Yeah, me too. :D

(♥!)

[trobadora]

I'm not sure the SID has any kind of onboarding beyond Zhao Yunlan abruptly shoving the newbie at the latest problem. :p

(I mean, you're not wrong, but ... *g*)

[satsuma]

Ooof yeah that'd be real rough for Chu Shuzhi once the case comes up, if he already knows exactly who the most likely suspect is and it's his quasi-friend from fightclub, both the fearing he misjudged Yo Huo's principles and the feeling like he's at fault for not reporting the fight club to the SID....

(On the other hand, maybe Ye Huo, realizing he can't stop Chu Shuzhi from coming & drawing attention w/his skills, tries to warn him about the manager being sus closer to when the disappearances start? And they're able to save more kids working together/maybe get the SID involved sooner. That would be nice!)

[china_shop]

it's his quasi-friend from fightclub

Quasi-friend and occasional hook-up? *g*

On the other hand, maybe Ye Huo, realizing he can't stop Chu Shuzhi from coming & drawing attention w/his skills, tries to warn him about the manager being sus closer to when the disappearances start? And they're able to save more kids working together/maybe get the SID involved sooner. That would be nice!

That would be awesome! A great fix-it for the fight club kids -- and maybe they'd catch Zhu Jiu earlier, too, through that.

[satsuma]

Quasi-friend and occasional hook-up? *g*

Haha yes maybe! Depends how many times he gets to visit (and how quickly both of them are willing to let their guards down enough to do more than snark/flirt while fighting) before Zhu Jiu starts causing problems.

and maybe they'd catch Zhu Jiu earlier, too, through that.

Hopefully! Though I wonder what they'd actually do with him—sending back to Dixing is just begging for a prison break (er, I mean, besides the canonical prison break.) Also, how much that'd actually stop Ye Zun (who I'm assuming ZJ would refuse to betray, and who's happy to throw away faithful agents)

[china_shop]

Though I wonder what they'd actually do with him—sending back to Dixing is just begging for a prison break

Good point! I think at the start of canon, Shen Wei assumes the system is more or less working. Or at least, he's willing to deliver the shadow man for sentencing (with a plea for leniency), so he's not circumventing the Regent completely. And maybe Dixing's prisons are more secure than they seem, and Ding Dun's escape was an aberration/inside job?

[trobadora]

It would probably feel relatable, even if it's just that Shen Wei remembers exactly what it's like being thrown into an unfamiliar new world!

Yeah I think Shen Wei has discovered some who he’s declined to deport but that’s probably a “I’m going to conveniently forget you exist if you don't cause problems” kinda deal. Not so good for regular chats. I’m not sure Chu Shuzhi has met any (that he recognized), but if he did it’d probably be a similar “lets pretend I didn’t notice that” kinda thing

Yeah, that's how I see it too, for both of them.