Guardian read-along: prologue, chapters 1 & 2

[china_shop]

Hello, and welcome to our weekly read-along of Guardian by priest. We're so happy to have you here!

We're starting off with the prologue and chapters 1 & 2:

• Prologue: Guo Changcheng's first day night at the SID. He briefly meets Zhao Yunlan.
• Chapter 1: Li Qian vs a ghost. Zhao Yunlan is called to a murder scene and meets up with Da Qing.
• Chapter 2: While examining the crime scene at the university, Zhao Yunlan & Da Qing meet Shen Wei, a professor, who seems evasive and suspicious.

Excerpts

1) Our first glimpse of Zhao Yunlan. 2) Zhao Yunlan's apartment. 3) Da Qing appears! 4) Meeting Shen Wei.

1) Our first glimpse of Zhao Yunlan
A young man walked out of 4 Bright Avenue’s little garden with long strides. There was a cigarette in his mouth, and his hands were shoved in his pants pockets. He was tall, with upright shoulders, thick brows, deep-set eyes, and a defined nose. He was very handsome, even if his expression was a little dark.

The man’s brows were furrowed, and he walked so fast that wind seemed to rise in his footsteps. The message on his face was clear: “Don’t block the way, don’t bug me, and fuck off.”

In a stroke of misfortune, Guo Changcheng happened to meet his gaze and was immediately terrified by those black eyes, beautiful yet cold. His instinct told him that this hot guy had a bad temper.

But when the hot-tempered hottie realized who Guo Changcheng was, he suddenly braked. In the next moment, his expression transformed, fluid as that of a master actor. That thunderous look was abruptly one of sunshine and open skies, with a kind smile that spread naturally across his face faster than one could turn a page. Along with that smile, two shallow dimples appeared on his cheeks. The cigarette still in his mouth made the corners of his lips seem a bit crooked. With his eyes crinkled a little, he seemed as if he might be up to no good—but just the right amount of no good, which lent him an approachable air.


2) Zhao Yunlan's apartment
To say Zhao Yunlan’s apartment was as messy as a doghouse would be a grave insult to dogs everywhere. Clothes were strewn all over the bed and floor; it was impossible to tell whether he planned to wash or wear them. All manner of junk was piled on the queen-sized bed, some of it almost beyond human imagination. The lone sock draped over the corner of a laptop was one thing, and the presence of sunglasses and an umbrella wasn’t wholly bizarre, but it would be a stretch to explain the tall hat folded from white paper or the huge jug of cinnabar powder.

All of this clutter had been pushed into a heap, leaving only a nest big enough for one person to lie in—and he’d probably dug out that space just before lying down.


3. Da Qing appears!
As Zhao Yunlan passed through the intersection and decelerated, a black shadow descended from the sky. Like a grenade, a round animal slammed into the hood of his car, nearly denting it. The metal clanged with the impact.

Zhao Yunlan immediately stomped on the brakes, sucking a sharp breath through his teeth. He stuck his head out the window. “This is a motor vehicle, sir, not your litter box! Could you please take it easy?”

Perched on the hood was an utterly black cat. Atop the mere suggestion of a neck was a face like a persimmon; his body was a perfect sphere. With great effort, he sucked in his belly while folding his hind legs beneath him. Only after overcoming those challenges could he extend his front legs—short compared to his round belly—and assume a dignified sitting pose.

This big kitty with his persimmon face took a quick look all around. Seeing no one nearby, his whiskers quivered as he slowly opened his mouth. A rather deep male voice emerged. “Cut the bullshit and get out here. Can’t you smell it?”


4) Meeting Shen Wei
Their gazes met, and they both froze.

Out of nowhere, Is he an instructor or the school hottie? flashed across Zhao Yunlan’s mind.

Something flickered over the hot…instructor’s…face. He seemed to instinctively avoid Zhao Yunlan’s hand but quickly recovered. Clearing his throat, he touched his hand to Zhao Yunlan’s for the merest fleeting instant before letting go. “The honor is all mine. The name is Shen—Shen Wei. I teach here. I’m sorry, I mistook that officer for a student staying behind for the summer.”

Shen Wei’s hand had the chill of a corpse fresh from cold storage. Zhao Yunlan couldn’t help giving him another glance, but Shen Wei refused any eye contact, using the excuse of picking up his scattered lesson plans to avoid his gaze. Zhao Yunlan began to help, and the two of them reached for the same piece of paper at the same time.

Under the circumstances—one of them reaching for his own paper, the other simply trying to help—Zhao Yunlan should have been the one to withdraw. Instead, it was Shen Wei who hastily pulled back, as if burned. His lips were pale, but a trace of crimson tinted his cheekbones.

His entire reaction was peculiar for a first meeting. It was as if he feared Zhao Yunlan, but it was more than that. If a criminal with a guilty conscience came face-to-face with a police officer, in addition to being nervous, they would try to sneak peeks at the officer’s reaction rather than fully avoiding their eyes.

It was all rather baffling. Zhao Yunlan started to observe Shen Wei carefully.

Questions
What impressions did you get from the prologue and first two chapters? What did you enjoy the most? Were you hooked from the beginning? What world-building details caught your eye? Favourite character interaction so far? How does it compare with the drama? What other excerpts did you particularly notice or like? If you're reading in Chinese or a different edition, how do the excerpts above compare? If you're reading the official version, do the illustrations match your idea of the characters? Any other thoughts? (Note: these are just conversation starters. Feel free to answer all, some, or none, and to say as much or as little as you like!)

If you like, as well as discussing the chapters, feel free to introduce yourself. For example, how long you've been in Guardian fandom, whether you've read the novel before, and whether you've seen the drama. Which edition are you reading and in which language? Have you read other Chinese novels or are you new to the genre? If you're not usually on Dreamwidth, feel free to say where people can find you, eg, your tumblr, AO3, etc, handle.


Our schedule (you can also sign-up there to host a post)

Comments

[china_shop]

Hi there, and welcome! (I've now turned off anon comment screening for this entry, jsyk. Sorry about that!)

I’m delighted by how much the notice to report letter sounds like ZYL, though I only know ZYL from the drama at this point.

Oh, that's a great point. (I'd really love to know how much all that "obey, love and stand in unity" language is used in China and how much it's fiction.)

Which version of the novel are you reading, btw?

Lao-Wu was some rich family’s butler in the drama, right? Not a member of the SID?

Ohhh, wow, I hadn't put him together with Wu Tian'en at all. *facepalm* I wonder if he's intended to be the same character, or if it's just a naming coincidence. IIRC, lao-Wu doesn't get a lot to do in the novel.

I adored the description of ZYL’s bedroom as being so horrifically messy that the scene carves itself into your bones 😆

ME TOO! :D :D :D :D :D

And yes, poor lao-Yang with his "what is all this? I smell bullshit!" perfectly accurate take. :D

[(Anonymous)]

I’m not sure which version of the novel it is 😭 I googled “镇魂txt” and downloaded the first result. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s probably a JJWXC rip? I’m reading in Chinese. The chapter numbering seems to be off by one.

I didn’t even remember that Butler Wu had a first name in the drama, haha. The reason I thought the butler might have been inspired by novel lao-Wu is that their Wu characters are the same, IIRC.

Poor lao-Yang. So right and so powerless to do anything about it 🤣

Thanks for turning off comment screening! I will have my password sorted out by next week hopefully, so it should be less trouble!

- circumference

[china_shop]

Oh cool! Yay for reading it in Chinese!

The reason I thought the butler might have been inspired by novel lao-Wu is that their Wu characters are the same, IIRC.

Oh right. I guess the drama writers just took the name, then.

Poor lao-Yang. So right and so powerless to do anything about it 🤣

Hee! *pets him*

Good luck sorting out your password! :-)

[amedia]

(I'd really love to know how much all that "obey, love and stand in unity" language is used in China and how much it's fiction.)

Something about the way it was written struck me as a bit of deliberately overdone wink-wink-nudge-nudge (including the "very official Communist-red print"), like the author was having some fun at the authorities' expense. (It kinda reminded me of the #socialistbrotherhood hashtag that Chinese fangirls reportedly used for discussing WeiLan's relationship.)

I also LOVED the bit where Shen Wei dodged the question about following the requisite state atheism (especially given what I've gleaned about his background in the novel from the many references in fanfic) ... which also leads to another interesting way in which the novel is transgressive, aside from the gay-romance aspect, namely the matter-of-fact existence of the supernatural.

Which also reminds me - apologies for the stream-of-consciousness writing and punctuation - this eerily delightful line by the time any given case was closed, the culprits were all dead made me wonder if that wasn't partly because most of the culprits were dead to begin with!

[china_shop]

Something about the way it was written struck me as a bit of deliberately overdone wink-wink-nudge-nudge (including the "very official Communist-red print"), like the author was having some fun at the authorities' expense.

I think you're right. So... presumably it's Zhao Yunlan's sense of humour masquerading as patriotic formality. Ha!

I also LOVED the bit where Shen Wei dodged the question about following the requisite state atheism

Yesss, it's a lot like that exchange in the drama where Zhao Yunlan asks, "You even know about Dixingren?" :D :D :D

this eerily delightful line by the time any given case was closed, the culprits were all dead made me wonder if that wasn't partly because most of the culprits were dead to begin with!

Yup, pretty sure that's exactly it. :D :D :D

[trobadora]

Something about the way it was written struck me as a bit of deliberately overdone wink-wink-nudge-nudge (including the "very official Communist-red print"), like the author was having some fun at the authorities' expense.

That makes sense, hee! :D

I also LOVED the bit where Shen Wei dodged the question about following the requisite state atheism

That's not in these first chapters, right? I just checked again, and I can't find it. (I haven't read ahead, and it's been ages since I last looked at the novel.)

made me wonder if that wasn't partly because most of the culprits were dead to begin with!

Yeah, that's definitely how I'm reading it.

[amedia]

That's not in these first chapters, right? (re: the bit about state atheism)

Whoops, no, my bad! I could not stop reading at the end of Chapter 2–if not for pesky things like needing to go to bed so I could get up for work this morning, I would have kept going indefinitely!!! Sorry to have sent you on a wild goose chase.

[trobadora]

No worries! And great to hear the novel captured you like that!