The Gauche in the Machine (
china_shop) wrote in
sid_guardian2023-11-11 12:49 pm
Entry tags:
Picspam: Chu Shuzhi &/ Zhao Yunlan (early drama episodes)
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.
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.

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Ha! I would like to have written it, but I'm not sure I could pull it off.
That makes me think about poor Shen Wei trying to get Chu Shuzhi to think of their relationship as "a friendship between gentlemen." Which really does not seem to work, alas.
Yes, exactly! (Did you see
I saw a fic once and I can't remember the title or who wrote it, but it had SW coming to CSZ, with ZYL's blessing, because ZYL is so protective that he can't bring himself to play rough with Shen Wei, and sometimes Shen Wei just wants some rough sex, and Chu Shuzhi is willing to give it to him. (Possibly also conflicted, I can't remember!)
I've seen a few variations on this theme (sometimes Dixing-power-related?). It hits a stumbling block for me, personally, in that I don't really enjoy characters kinking on sex acts independent of who they're performing them with. In that scenario, I'd feel a bit like Chu Shuzhi was being used rather than wanted for who he is? (IOW, transferable kinks just usually aren't my thing.) But you know, it's great that people are exploring that! Yay!
For me, the tricky part of this threesome is getting them all to want each other specifically, to the point where they're prepared to risk having the hard conversations, etc.
(Also, personally, I think Zhao Yunlan is protective of Shen Wei in a lot of ways, but I don't see that being one of them. MMV, of course. :-)
/er, wildly over-thinking all of this; sorry! *g*