Question about Zhu Hong's dream (ep 31)

[china_shop]

In Zhu Hong's dream (episode 31), Zhao Yunlan seems younger, with less of the aggressively "bad boy" persona he adopts early in canon. He wears a button-down denim shirt untucked and rolled up at the sleeves. His trousers are short enough that they leave an inch or two of bare ankle.

Also, for some reason, Zhu Hong is out doing fieldwork in a dress and high heels. They chase someone (notably, not in a black hoodie), who attacks and then runs off. Then they bicker about Zhu Hong's shoes, and she tells him to head back to the SID first. Which he does, even though their suspect could still be lurking around.

My question: do you think this actually happened? Is this how Zhao Yunlan dressed a couple of years ago? Did Zhu Hong do fieldwork? Or is it a composite fantasy made by the Nightmare Master out of Zhu Hong's various memories -- an action-scene excuse for Zhao Yunlan to hold Zhu Hong and protect her?

Comments

[trobadora]

I don't think the levels of dressiness compare? He's still very casually dressed, and she isn't.

[miss_ingno]

Yeah fair, it's definitely not on the same level. It still feels more dressy than Zhao Yunlan usually is? like okay, it's a denim jeans shirt, but it's *a shirt* with buttons and stuff, so like. It's a very ZYL way of being a little dressy 😂

in my brain it just visually aligns them more on Zhu Hong's side than they usually are, like how china pointed out that usually Zhu Hong matches ZYL's leather look sometimes. But it's actually a good point that even in Zhu Hong's fantasy, ZYL is only willing to bend so far into this romantic ideal (and he wouldn't be ZYL if he did, lbr, and imo she's into him as he is enough that she wouldn't want that anyway)

[china_shop]

It still feels more dressy than Zhao Yunlan usually is?

I think so, too. I think it's the black trousers that make it seem more respectable than his usual look. And maybe the shoes rather than boots?

[miss_ingno]

Good point!