Meta: the bond between Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan

[china_shop]

When I was making screencaps for my Zhao Xinci and Gao Jingfeng meta, it occurred to me that while Shen Wei is having tea with Zhao Xinci, Zhao Yunlan is lurking in the doorway watching, but Shen Wei seems wholly unaware of his presence -- and when he comes outside, he's surprised to find Zhao Yunlan waiting.

But there are other times when Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan seem to be able to sense each other, or they have an unexplained or semi-explained bond.

1. Episodes 1 & 2.
   
   
   
   Of course Shen Wei recognises Zhao Yunlan on campus when they first meet, but Zhao Yunlan seems to recognise Shen Wei on some level, too. In episode 1, he says, "Every time I see you, Professor Shen, I have this feeling like we have known each other from a long time ago." That could be a line in response to Shen Wei's strange intensity, of course, except that in episode 2, Zhao Yunlan muses to himself, "Shen Wei. Where have I seen you before?"


2. Episode 15.
   
   
   
   Shen Wei appears every time Zhao Yunlan activates the Hallows (and sometimes just before he does) to either save him, scold him, or both. Of course, this might be more a reaction to the Hallows than to Zhao Yunlan -- what do you think?


3. When Kong Jing kidnaps Zhao Yunlan, Zhao Yunlan seems to have some kind of dark-energy protection(?), which he identifies with Shen Wei.


4. I think Shen Wei, chained to the pillar, senses Zhao Yunlan sometimes? But I can't remember specifics; I might have made that up.


5. Episode 40.
   
   
   
   Shen Wei manages to send his pendant through the barrier between life and death to Zhao Yunlan, and of course, they find each other in the afterlife.


6. What else am I forgetting?

Do you think their bond is objectively real? I don't just mean emotionally -- I mean how much of this is Fate, how much is explained by the Dial Exchange or the Hallows, how much is it a soul bond? Has Shen Wei put a dark-energy tracker on Zhao Yunlan, to help keep him safe? Any thoughts? Any related fanworks?

(Note: episode numbers for the screencaps are in the alt text. :-)

Comments

[donutsweeper]

TY for linking to the timeline. I guess the thing I've always been a bit confused about was that Zhao Yunlan's been in charge for several years now but just hadn't ever had to deal with the Envoy before e1, which seems a little, idk, convenient and odd to me.

[china_shop]

*nodnod* That's why I think it's likely the Envoy distanced himself from the SID during Zhao Xinci's time (and placed Chu Shuzhi there, so he has someone who can report back). Also, I think the episode 1 case is the first big case the SID has faced during Zhao Yunlan's tenure, so there's been no need for the Envoy to make his presence felt.

P.S. Re the link, you're very welcome! It's a great resource. :-)

[donutsweeper]

I guess I can see that. As befitting his position, he *knows* about the envoy and whatnot and I suppose they might not bothered to do a 'passing of the torch, here meet the new guy' kind of thing when he took over the position so if there hadn't really been a reason to call for him then they might not have met.

(I still think it's a bit of a reach but one of those eh, I'll just accept it and not think about it too hard kind of things)

[china_shop]

Yeah, I imagine Zhao Yunlan's briefing/handover included lots of dire warnings about how aloof and easy to offend the Envoy was (as per Zhao Xinci's experience), so he wasn't in any hurry to push for contact. And Shen Wei was busy with his studies, maybe even studying overseas, since things were so quiet in Dragon City and Chu Shuzhi was there to safeguard matters? :-)

[trobadora]

I imagine Zhao Yunlan's briefing/handover included lots of dire warnings about how aloof and easy to offend the Envoy was

Hee! :D

I don't think Shen Wei would have gone to study overseas if it would have cut him off from access to Dixing, so do you think he's capable of portalling intercontinentally?

[trobadora]

Yeah, it definitely needs some explaining! But my interpretation is that Shen Wei found working with Zhao Xinci unpleasant enough that he gradually stepped back further and further to avoid interacting with the SID, until just around the time Zhao Yunlan took over, he finally sent in Chu Shuzhi to act as his proxy. Chu Shuzhi is pretty powerful, and since there don't seem to have been any truly big cases lately, he could detain any Dixingren culprits and deliver them to the Envoy without the Envoy having to meet anyone else.

[china_shop]

Yeah, that's how I see it too. :-)