Ha, I highlighted a billion things in these chapters without making notes, and now I can't remember the reasons I highlighted them. *facepalm* I'll try to figure it out.
I find Clarity the watch baffling. What exactly is it? What can it do? How? Where did it come from? Are we just supposed to accept it and its powers? Is it a trope thing? Meanwhile, I love the worldbuilding around the ash falling on someone's shadow, and how that was shown/explained -- and also the smooth way Zhao Yunlan dragged Shen Wei away from the grasping shadow hand without making it obvious.
All the background about the SID is great, especially the rule of presumption of innocence -- that's a big contrast with the drama.
“I hate circular halls like these,” Zhao Yunlan said softly. “I hate everything that circles around and around—life and death, again and again, unending.” -- This seems unusually forthcoming of him? And also very foreshadowy.
"What is shame? Can you eat it? Does it taste good? -- LOL, oh Zhao Yunlan.
I wonder how the Soul-Guarding Order acts as a medium between yin and yang ... or is "yin and yang" just a metaphor for "the living and the dead"?
“What happened in the hall just now?” Daqing, unable to bite the hand that fed him, could only cough dryly and change the topic. “Why did your Clarity watch sound the alarm like that?” -- is Daqing talking about the gunshot sound or something else?
Zhao Yunlan is so cold and harsh when interviewing Li Qian. I guess he has to force people into opening up about their traumatic experiences, rather than repressing them -- especially since he's a cold-hearted beast that they feel nervous around...
Hiking his pants up, he squatted down and took a little bottle from his pocket. After pouring its contents in a circle around Guo Changcheng, he bit his own middle finger and smeared a drop of blood between Guo Changcheng’s brows. The moment the blood touched Guo Changcheng’s skin, it was completely absorbed. -- I wonder if anyone can do rituals like this, or if it's a special power. Does Zhao Yunlan officially have special powers at this point?
But resentment is caused by incomplete souls. Like will consume like -- Ohhh, and Li Qian is incomplete because of the Dial! That's why she got dragged along by the suicide girl who was "a manifestation of resentment from the shards of countless suffering, devoured souls." That makes sense!
Zhao Yunlan hesitated. The black cat sighed. “When you should have some shame, it’s like an alien concept for you; when you should be flexible, you’re stubborn. Hee! I love this! Poor, long-suffering Daqing (who is completely wrong in this instance)! <333
There was weird laughter by Zhao Yunlan’s ear, like the roof was mobbed with people—spectators indifferent to his plight. They cackled, enjoying the show. -- When he's interviewing Li Qian later, he says that there were people laughing at her, but this seems like they're laughing at him... huh. (Everyone telling half-truths and hiding secrets makes it much harder to parse what's going on.)
Awww, Zhao Yunlan placing his "insignificant little life" into Shen Wei's hands. And then abruptly regretting it, lol.
A strange feeling stirred in Zhao Yunlan when he glanced at his wrist and saw the bruises from Shen Wei’s hold on it. -- I remember years ago getting the impression that the novel was rather kinky, and this felt like foreshadowing for that even if it didn't really come to much. (But what is Zhao Yunlan's feeling here? Is it arousal?)
The burgeoning desire Zhao Yunlan had been feeling turned into a lit firecracker. It exploded spectacularly, leaving behind a sea of red paper that spelled out “love affair.” Every nerve in his body was alight. -- LOL, I looove this, and also the way he immediately covers it up.
Is Guo Changcheng's face covered in blood from Daqing's attack (lol) or something else?
I really like Shen Wei's "these are the only acceptable reasons to give your life" speech. *hearts him* Poor Li Qian.
“Why are you like a girl?” Zhao Yunlan smiled nonchalantly, but he switched gears before Shen Wei could catch his breath. “Shen-laoshi, have you ever seen me before today?” -- weaponised flirting, just like in the show! Everything performative and calculated (but with secret genuine feeling at the same time).
I wonder if Shen Wei's description of the long-ago case is like a metaphor for their origin story... I'm too hazy on the actual sequence of historical events to be sure.
Li Qian's report is false, isn't it? That's why Shen Wei talks to her about the two kinds of lies? She can't admit that the shadow was following her, not Lu Ruomei.
In the novel, the Emissary is so terrifying that they don't even call his name. And he's the one who makes the first move, rather than Zhao Yunlan summoning him. But [redacts more thoughts about this until we get to those chapters].
In the blink of an eye, Zhao Yunlan banished the irritation from his face as he turned, an old pervert magically transforming into a young bohemian. -- Such a performer!
A few other little details that reminded me of the drama:
Zhao Yunlan couldn’t help but sneeze a few times. Shen Wei immediately stopped. “Officer Zhao, do you have a cold?” Love that they incorporated the sneezing and fussiness in episode 3.
Shen Wei mentions ghosts ("isn't it an absurd waste of time to wonder whether ghosts and gods exist?") and Zhao Yunlan smiles and moves on. Because of course everyone's heard of ghosts. Cf the drama, when he says, "You've even heard of Dixingren?" and gets more suspicious.
Shen Wei had seemed determined not to speak much, but evidently this was a final straw. Brows furrowed, he said, “Smoking and drinking are bad for your health, and Officer Zhao is still so young. It’s best to do such things in moderation.” Cf the cake-stealing scene in episode 3.
The friction pushed his sleeve up to the elbow, scraping a layer of skin from his forearm. Love that the drama kept this, even if they postponed the handsy first aid till later on.
Shen Wei seemed to come back to his senses. He released Zhao Yunlan, adjusting his glasses as if taking refuge behind a mask. ♥ ♥ ♥
Ohhh, the clock tower is at the university? I wonder if that's the case in the drama, too...
The pendant, of course. ♥ ♥ ♥
The "A quick rinse with tap water would have been fine" exchange feels like the tetanus conversation with the roles reversed. And Zhao Yunlan objecting to gauze is funny when he spends half of episode 2 with his arm bandaged, in the drama.
Parts of the "time is a murderer" speech are quite similar, though in the show Zhao Yunlan says it to Lin Jing and Zhu Hong. (Poor Shen Wei!)
The Li Qian interrogation goes much more gently in the drama; I wonder if that's because Guo Changcheng is present. It's hard to be too nervous around him -- he sucks up all the terror particles in the room. *pets Li Qian* Interesting that novel!Shen Wei offers to leave.
Overall, I'm just kind of waiting for them to get to know each other better... :-)
no subject
I find Clarity the watch baffling. What exactly is it? What can it do? How? Where did it come from? Are we just supposed to accept it and its powers? Is it a trope thing? Meanwhile, I love the worldbuilding around the ash falling on someone's shadow, and how that was shown/explained -- and also the smooth way Zhao Yunlan dragged Shen Wei away from the grasping shadow hand without making it obvious.
All the background about the SID is great, especially the rule of presumption of innocence -- that's a big contrast with the drama.
“I hate circular halls like these,” Zhao Yunlan said softly. “I hate everything that circles around and around—life and death, again and again, unending.” -- This seems unusually forthcoming of him? And also very foreshadowy.
"What is shame? Can you eat it? Does it taste good? -- LOL, oh Zhao Yunlan.
I wonder how the Soul-Guarding Order acts as a medium between yin and yang ... or is "yin and yang" just a metaphor for "the living and the dead"?
“What happened in the hall just now?” Daqing, unable to bite the hand that fed him, could only cough dryly and change the topic. “Why did your Clarity watch sound the alarm like that?” -- is Daqing talking about the gunshot sound or something else?
Zhao Yunlan is so cold and harsh when interviewing Li Qian. I guess he has to force people into opening up about their traumatic experiences, rather than repressing them -- especially since he's a cold-hearted beast that they feel nervous around...
Hiking his pants up, he squatted down and took a little bottle from his pocket. After pouring its contents in a circle around Guo Changcheng, he bit his own middle finger and smeared a drop of blood between Guo Changcheng’s brows. The moment the blood touched Guo Changcheng’s skin, it was completely absorbed. -- I wonder if anyone can do rituals like this, or if it's a special power. Does Zhao Yunlan officially have special powers at this point?
But resentment is caused by incomplete souls. Like will consume like -- Ohhh, and Li Qian is incomplete because of the Dial! That's why she got dragged along by the suicide girl who was "a manifestation of resentment from the shards of countless suffering, devoured souls." That makes sense!
Zhao Yunlan hesitated.
The black cat sighed. “When you should have some shame, it’s like an alien concept for you; when you should be flexible, you’re stubborn.
Hee! I love this! Poor, long-suffering Daqing (who is completely wrong in this instance)! <333
There was weird laughter by Zhao Yunlan’s ear, like the roof was mobbed with people—spectators indifferent to his plight. They cackled, enjoying the show. -- When he's interviewing Li Qian later, he says that there were people laughing at her, but this seems like they're laughing at him... huh. (Everyone telling half-truths and hiding secrets makes it much harder to parse what's going on.)
Awww, Zhao Yunlan placing his "insignificant little life" into Shen Wei's hands. And then abruptly regretting it, lol.
A strange feeling stirred in Zhao Yunlan when he glanced at his wrist and saw the bruises from Shen Wei’s hold on it. -- I remember years ago getting the impression that the novel was rather kinky, and this felt like foreshadowing for that even if it didn't really come to much. (But what is Zhao Yunlan's feeling here? Is it arousal?)
The burgeoning desire Zhao Yunlan had been feeling turned into a lit firecracker. It exploded spectacularly, leaving behind a sea of red paper that spelled out “love affair.” Every nerve in his body was alight. -- LOL, I looove this, and also the way he immediately covers it up.
Is Guo Changcheng's face covered in blood from Daqing's attack (lol) or something else?
I really like Shen Wei's "these are the only acceptable reasons to give your life" speech. *hearts him* Poor Li Qian.
“Why are you like a girl?” Zhao Yunlan smiled nonchalantly, but he switched gears before Shen Wei could catch his breath. “Shen-laoshi, have you ever seen me before today?” -- weaponised flirting, just like in the show! Everything performative and calculated (but with secret genuine feeling at the same time).
I wonder if Shen Wei's description of the long-ago case is like a metaphor for their origin story... I'm too hazy on the actual sequence of historical events to be sure.
Li Qian's report is false, isn't it? That's why Shen Wei talks to her about the two kinds of lies? She can't admit that the shadow was following her, not Lu Ruomei.
In the novel, the Emissary is so terrifying that they don't even call his name. And he's the one who makes the first move, rather than Zhao Yunlan summoning him. But [redacts more thoughts about this until we get to those chapters].
In the blink of an eye, Zhao Yunlan banished the irritation from his face as he turned, an old pervert magically transforming into a young bohemian. -- Such a performer!
A few other little details that reminded me of the drama:
Shen Wei immediately stopped. “Officer Zhao, do you have a cold?”
Love that they incorporated the sneezing and fussiness in episode 3.
Cf the cake-stealing scene in episode 3.
Love that the drama kept this, even if they postponed the handsy first aid till later on.
♥ ♥ ♥
Overall, I'm just kind of waiting for them to get to know each other better... :-)