The Gauche in the Machine (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
china_shop) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
sid_guardian2025-04-06 01:39 pm
china_shop) wrote in sid_guardian2025-04-06 01:39 pm
Entry tags:
Guardian Readalong: Vol. 2, Chapters 13 & 14
Welcome to this week's installment of the Guardian novel readalong! Here are last week's chapters, and you can find all previous discussions on the schedule post (vol. 1 part 1, vol. 1 part 2, vol. 2), or via the !readalong tag.
This week's chapters:
Chapter 13: Zhao Yunlan calls Shen Wei "Xiao-Wei" to defuse his fury at the Crows, and they leave the Yao Market. Daqing asks the Crows about his bell. The SID celebrates Lunar New Year's Eve with a party. Zhao Yunlan asks about Shen Wei's name. Chu Shuzhi leaves the SID library in a mood; Daqing tells Guo Changcheng to accompany him home. Zhao Yunlan arranges for Shen Wei to be called in to work so he can present Shen Wei with fait accompli cohabitation, but then he finds the portrait room and sends the movers away. Zhao Yunlan, Shen Wei and Daqing go to see Zhao Yunlan's parents, and Zhao Yunlan comes out to his mother.
Chapter 14: Changcheng follows Chu Shuzhi home; Chu Shuzhi tries to scare him off with cannibalism talk. Changcheng perseveres. Chu Shuzhi advises Changcheng to stop wasting time collecting so many merits; then he disappears. Zhao Yunlan tells Shen Wei he came out. Daqing tells Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei that Lao-Chu's merit shackles were due to be removed but the Netherworld reneged. Shen Wei's knowledge and questions make Daqing suspicious about his identity. Zhao Yunlan sends a message telling Chu Shuzhi to come to the SID.
Phew! That's a lot!
The corresponding chapters in the Chinese version on JJWXC and the fan translation are:
Vol. 2 Ch. 13: ch. 64-66
Vol. 2 Ch. 14: ch. 67 and about the first fifth or so of ch. 68
Excerpts:
1. The SID Lunar New Year's Eve party
Toward the latter half of the night, after the New Year’s bell had already rung, drunk humans and ghosts alike started to run wild. Guo Changcheng flopped down on the table, sobbing loudly for some reason. After he finished crying, he tucked himself into a little corner and ignored everyone, meticulously polishing his work ID over and over with a microfiber cloth. Finally, he rolled under the table and fell into a deep sleep.
Chu Shuzhi, Lin Jing, Zhu Hong, and Daqing were gathered at a mahjong table. Other people’s chips automatically became dried fish when they arrived in front of Daqing. The cat’s expression was deadly serious. He had no choice but to keep winning, having eaten almost all his chips.
Lao-Li pulled a giant femur from out of nowhere and started pole dancing in front of everyone. Sangzan grabbed Wang Zheng’s hand, pulling her unexpectedly into his arms. He held her waist and lifted her up high; she laughed, humming a little tune from a faraway time, and danced a Hanga tribe dance with him.
2) Zhao Yunlan asks about Shen Wei's name
Zhao Yunlan silently put Shen Wei’s hand on his chest. Perhaps because of the alcohol, Zhao Yunlan’s pulse was a little fast. After a while, when Shen Wei thought he was about to fall asleep, Zhao Yunlan quietly asked, “‘Wei’… How did you come by that name?”
“It was originally the character Wei that’s made up of ‘mountain’ and ‘ghost.’” Shen Wei’s gaze dropped, seeming to gaze right through the gleaming floor; there was no knowing how far into the past he was looking. “But someone once said to me that while ‘mountain ghost’ was fitting, it was perhaps naming me into a corner. He told me that in this world, the mountains and seas are all connected, and lofty peaks stretch out endlessly. He suggested, ‘Why don’t we add a few more strokes and make it a proper name?’”
Zhao Yunlan touched his nose. This mysterious “someone” had a way of speaking that sounded rather familiar. “Who has the audacity to just randomly rename someone?”
Shen Wei smiled. “Just someone I met by chance on the road.”
3) Zhao Yunlan sees the portrait of Kunlun-jun
Eventually, the beam of light made its way to an ancient ink painting on the southern wall. It was huge, nearly occupying the entire wall on its own. The paper was as thin as a cicada’s wing, the surface as smooth as snow…and like all the others, it was a painting of a person.
The person was drawn with delicate brows and an almost lifelike expression. His long hair reached the ground, and he wore the simplest green robe imaginable. His head was tilted slightly, lips curved in the faintest hint of a smile. The brushwork was so vivid that it seemed the man might step out of the painting at any moment…and it was clearly none other than Zhao Yunlan himself!
Along the edge of the painting was a small line of text. It wasn’t modern simplified or traditional Chinese. In fact, it wasn’t any sort of writing he was familiar with. Zhao Yunlan had never laid eyes on it before. And yet, somehow, one quick look told him exactly what it said:
Laying eyes on Kunlun-jun for the first time, in the shades of the grove. A single fleeting glance and the melody of my heart faltered.
By Wei.
Was…was he, Zhao Yunlan, the Mountain God of the Great Wild…?
4) Zhao Yunlan comes out to his mother
She still seemed dumbfounded. Finally, stumbling over her words, she said, “Is he… The man you brought with you, is he…”
Zhao Yunlan nodded. He had both hands on the door, as though blocking it with his body. “I, your son, spent over half a year doing everything I could—cajoling and lying, consulting all thirty-six stratagems and seventy-two transformations… I used every trick I know. It would’ve been easier to start an uprising. And now he’s finally, finally mine. If you feel like you need to kill or maim someone, come at me, but please don’t go out there and ruin all my hard work. It’ll break my heart.”
To an onlooker, it would’ve appeared as though her soul had left her body. Her eyes far away, Zhao Yunlan’s mother began robotically wrapping dumplings without another word.
“Mom?”
His voice didn’t reach her. For a minute or two she was simply in a daze, completely unaware of what she was doing or what she had just heard. She was on autopilot.
Suddenly, after Zhao Yunlan’s repeated attempts to talk to her, she snapped out of it. Words began tumbling from her mouth before she could think. “What about your job? Will people gossip about you? What about your future? That’s right, I… I think your dad said you bought a house a few days ago. Do you still have money?”
Zhao Yunlan blinked, not at all sure how she’d jumped from him coming out to him not having money. If there was any logic there, he couldn’t see it. It seemed like she’d latched on to a few key terms and strung them into random sentences, and they all rushed out at once.
5) Chu Shuzhi gives Guo Changcheng some advice
A thick layer of glowing merits emanated from Guo Changcheng, who was about to cough his trachea into a bow. The impossibly white light seared Chu Shuzhi’s eyes.
The hand that had gripped Guo Changcheng’s neck suddenly lifted and came to rest on that messy bird’s nest atop his head. Guo Changcheng shivered instinctively. Chu Shuzhi patted the top of the man’s head, voice calmer and a bit tired now as he said, “You didn’t study properly as a kid, did you? Have you read The Injustice to Dou E? It clearly states that ‘those who act in kindness often suffer through poverty and live short lives, while those who do evil enjoy riches and long lives.’ Do you remember that?”
Guo Changcheng really wasn’t wired for studying. At the end of every year, he’d return everything he’d learned that year right back to the teacher, every last bit. So now he just squatted on the ground, looking up at Chu Shuzhi with a blank expression.
Chu Shuzhi tipped Guo Changcheng’s chin up and examined him for a while. “Your forehead is somewhat flat and narrow, which means the fate linking you and your parents is shallow. Your ears are thin, which means your youth was full of troubles. The middle third of your nose bridge protrudes a bit, which means you will lose the protection of your elders after you leave middle age, and the latter half of your life will be unpredictable.
“Overall, your face says you’ll have a hard life and ultimately won’t amount to much. There’s no point in collecting so many merits. Donating money and doing good will only make you even poorer. Try to be smarter from now on. Live in comfort like the nepo baby you are. Enjoy what you should and live a few good days while you can.”
Guo Changcheng kept looking up at him, confused.
“You really are a bit dense,” Chu Shuzhi said.
Questions:
On a scale of 1 to 10, how many feels do you have about the "Xiao-Wei" moment and how hard it mashes Shen Wei in the feels? Do you have a sense of why the Crows are breaking up with the rest of the Yao / helping Ghost Face? Thoughts on Daqing's being the one to send Guo Changcheng to accompany Chu Shuzhi, and generally taking up the mantle of leader in Zhao Yunlan's absence? Would you subscribe to the “Lord Meow Number One in the World” account? Zhao Yunlan's "Surprise! We're living together now!" plan: good idea / bad idea / it only works because it's them idea? On a scale of 1 to 10, how discomfiting is it for Zhao Yunlan to find Shen Wei's portrait room? On a scale of 1 to 10, how discomfiting is it for Shen Wei to meet Zhao Yunlan's mother? (Where is Zhao Yunlan's dad? Surely he should be there!) Zhao Yunlan's coming out speech: any notes? Does Chu Shuzhi really think Guo Changcheng's accumulating merits is a pointless waste of time, or is he just bitter because the Netherworld screwed him?
Poll #32943 SID Lunar New Year's Eve party
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 6
What's your favourite detail from the SID Lunar New Year's Eve party?
View Answers
Guo Changcheng polishing his work ID with a microfiber cloth
3 (50.0%)
Chu Shuzhi, Lin Jing, Zhu Hong, and Daqing playing mahjong
0 (0.0%)
Daqing's mahjong chips turning into dried fish (and him eating them)
5 (83.3%)
Lao-Li pole-dancing around a giant femur
1 (16.7%)
Sang Zan and Wang Zheng doing their Hanga dance
1 (16.7%)
Shen Wei letting Zhao Yunlan use his thigh as a pillow
3 (50.0%)
other
0 (0.0%)
(As usual, these are all just conversation starters - feel free to answer all, some, or none, and to say as much or as little as you like! You don't have to be keeping up with the readalong!)
Our schedule for this round -- please sign up to host a post if you can!
no subject
LOL, you're not the only one writing giant-ass comments; don't feel self-conscious!!! :DDD
But also he's not wrong - if they can screw people over like that, it kinda does mean that its pointless to even bother.
Which is why the whole system is so terrible and I hate it. There are compelling, non-points-based reasons to be a good person! ;-p
XIAO-WEI! ♡♡♡ I want Zhao Yunlan to be holding Shen Wei in this scene in the drama too plz.
Hee! But drama!Shen Wei doesn't really need holding back in the same way. He's much more controlled, even if he is furious in that moment.
This is what the entire connection between Ying Chun and Ya Qing in the drama was built on, isn't it. :D
Hee! I think so! :D
Oh, I love the additional details you highlighted from the SID party -- yes! Toasting Lao-Li with incense is so great. :D
I'm happy for him and all, but DAMN the storyline of getting his vision back in the drama was a million times more satisfying. :D
IKR? The drama version is everything!!
Lololol, is Zhu Hong even going to eat his dried fish or what. xD
I presume she'd just keep using them as chips? Otherwise what would they gamble with?
Okay, I need to go back to commenting on the SOFT WEILAN just for this. ♡♡♡ His head on Shen Wei's thigh, his temples being massaged, ahhhhhhh. ♡♡♡ *MELTS* (Also, he continues to be a cat. :D)
Ohh, you're so right. This is Very Cat! *loves*
These are, like, a paragraph apart, lolol - so leaving Lao-Li to work alone is disrespectful, but not wanting to do the work while being there is not disrespectful. xD xD
Hee! I think Daqing thinks he's too old and venerable to work (and he's not entirely wrong?). Cleaning up is a job for the kids.
I LOVE THIS DISASTER SWEETHEART.
Haha, yes! So much love!! :DDD
This whole scene is so SOFT (idec that Zhao Yunlan is pretending to be drunk the whole time, again xD)
Yess! It's amazing the pretending aspect doesn't undermine the softness, but it really doesn't, aww! <3 <3 <3
I love the whole Kunlun painting thing and its description, and also this is always so funny to me because of their actual first meeting. :D
:D :D :D *keeps this in mind for when we get to that part*
Seeee, mutual stalking and shrines and looking for used underwear? You do you, I guess. xD But this though? Especially with how it escalates before he can calm down? Especially while he thinks that Zhao Yunlan is unconscious/asleep? I'm a bit hmpfff that ZYL would worry SW like this and make him think that something was actually wrong, even if it was temporary.
Yes, exactly!!! (This is one reason why I hate surprises. ;-p)
Damn, the gays are all being really weird at each other in these chapters (and also in general, but in these chapters specifically). xD xD
Hee!
This whole concept that the shape of your face can predict your future, I've never heard of anything like that before, is it a thing?
Yep, it's called physiognomy. (Like horoscopes, but for your face instead of your birth date/time.)
Oh, fuck the Netherworld.
Riiiiiiiiiiight??! I'm so glad ZYL doesn't let it slide.
Normally the POV is the person who angered some mysterious ancient being, not the being who is just really pissed off.
Ooh, good point! I like that framing. :D
how do I find a typo on the next day lolol *edits it anyway*
Haha, that happens to me all the time. /o\ Fingers going faster than my brain, I think?
no subject
Hahah, nah, I love y'all's giant-ass comments and mine too, they're so fun to write. :D :D
"Which is why the whole system is so terrible and I hate it. There are compelling, non-points-based reasons to be a good person! ;-p"
Yeah, I agree, and Xiao Guo definitely agrees too. :D
"Hee! But drama!Shen Wei doesn't really need holding back in the same way. He's much more controlled, even if he is furious in that moment."
Just hold him, not hold him back, hee, so that he can, like, MELT INTO IT. *wants* :D :D
"I presume she'd just keep using them as chips? Otherwise what would they gamble with?"
Hahah, so they keep gambling with the dried fish and when they're finished with the game DQ eats them anyway? xD Not much of a loss for him. xD :D
"Hee! I think Daqing thinks he's too old and venerable to work (and he's not entirely wrong?). Cleaning up is a job for the kids."
Lol yep, but also if he's afraid of being roped into doing work, then people at least sometimes try to do that, no matter his status. ;D But not Lao-Li apparently, he doesn't even suggest doing any work. I like their friendship here, and I can totally see where the drama version of it came from. :)
"Yep, it's called physiognomy. (Like horoscopes, but for your face instead of your birth date/time.)"
Oh, I know physiognomy but it's just personality, not actual events of your life, and apparently when exactly/approximately they're going to happen to you too? That's the part I've never heard of. :) (The wikipedia article links to mien shiang, which I guess is a bit more relevant, but even this just says "character, personality, and (future) health", so still not quite as detailed as "The middle third of your nose bridge protrudes a bit, which means you will lose the protection of your elders after you leave middle age, and the latter half of your life will be unpredictable." :P)
no subject
Just hold him, not hold him back, hee, so that he can, like, MELT INTO IT. *wants* :D :D
Ohh, gotcha. Maybe in YOHE?
Hahah, so they keep gambling with the dried fish and when they're finished with the game DQ eats them anyway? xD Not much of a loss for him. xD :D
Hm, except that, as Trobadora pointed out, dried fish are people food too. So maybe Zhu Hong will eat them. (Random fun detail: the original drama subs had this typo: "The presbyters of three races Crow, Flower and Snack" -- which means there are icons floating around of Zhu Hong eating Changcheng snacks during the roadtrip, with a caption something like "Member of the Snack Tribe". :D)
Lol yep, but also if he's afraid of being roped into doing work, then people at least sometimes try to do that, no matter his status. ;D
Haha, true. And even though he doesn't have opposable thumbs! :D
but it's just personality, not actual events of your life, and apparently when exactly/approximately they're going to happen to you too? That's the part I've never heard of. :)
Oh, right, of course. Yeah, I never know how much that's the "cultivation is real, fortune-telling is real" kind of world-building, versus how much it's derived from RL/traditional beliefs, you know? But that's a great find -- thanks for the link! :D
no subject
Hee, I think the rewatch is still on a whole other level, but I love that tooooo, and I'm so happy to get to be a part of something similar now. :D :D (Well, technically I was there for the first two (?) posts of the rewatch, with absolutely no idea what I was watching or commenting on. ;D Still eternally grateful because I wouldn't be in this fandom at all without that. :D)
"Ohh, gotcha. Maybe in YOHE?"
In YOHE there would be no callback factor for 'Xiao-Wei', but also idec, YOHE Weilan can do absolutely anything and I'm automatically going to be like
:D :D :D
"Hm, except that, as Trobadora pointed out, dried fish are people food too. So maybe Zhu Hong will eat them. (Random fun detail: the original drama subs had this typo: "The presbyters of three races Crow, Flower and Snack" -- which means there are icons floating around of Zhu Hong eating Changcheng snacks during the roadtrip, with a caption something like "Member of the Snack Tribe". :D)"
Lol, I love how this would kind of be an incentive for everyone to win, not just for Da Qing - when the game is finished you get to snack and not just put the chips away. xD :D And heeeeeeeee, I know the subs (that's the version I have) but I've never seen the icons, that's fantastic. :D :D :D
My mind went to 'she is a snack', which I guess is also true. xD :D :D"Haha, true. And even though he doesn't have opposable thumbs! :D"
Ikr, I'm not sure what kind of work he can do, maybe pushing things around or something. :D
"Yeah, I never know how much that's the "cultivation is real, fortune-telling is real" kind of world-building, versus how much it's derived from RL/traditional beliefs, you know? But that's a great find -- thanks for the link! :D"
Yeah, I'm sure some of it is embellished, but also later I saw that further down at the link there is stuff about specific years and areas of life, so that's extremely close to what CSZ was doing with GCC's face. :D
no subject
In YOHE there would be no callback factor for 'Xiao-Wei', but also idec, YOHE Weilan can do absolutely anything and I'm automatically going to be like
OMG THAT GIF, HEE! (That's How I Met Your Mother, isn't it? LOL.)
And true about the callback factor, but I'd argue that technically there's no callback factor in the drama anyway (that we see) (and even in the novel, it's only in the Shen San short story, right?). So I'm never sure if there's an implied callback in the drama, or if it's the sheer power of the endearment itself that stops Shen Wei dead in his tracks, lol. I mean, it's a pretty shocking thing for anyone to call the Envoy when he's mid-judgement!! :DDD
but also later I saw that further down at the link there is stuff about specific years and areas of life, so that's extremely close to what CSZ was doing with GCC's face. :D
Oh, wow, that's cool! I wonder how "true" the predictive power of it is in the novelverse. Like, is it as much a horoscope-style superstition as in the real world (from my sceptical POV), or is it more true in a supernatural context...
no subject
I actually have no idea what it's from, lolol, but yeah, probably. :D /fandom osmosis knowledge
I think it's the only gif that I grabbed from late 2000s/early 2010s livejournal and still use on the regular because it's never not relevant. :D :D
"And true about the callback factor, but I'd argue that technically there's no callback factor in the drama anyway (that we see) (and even in the novel, it's only in the Shen San short story, right?). So I'm never sure if there's an implied callback in the drama, or if it's the sheer power of the endearment itself that stops Shen Wei dead in his tracks, lol. I mean, it's a pretty shocking thing for anyone to call the Envoy when he's mid-judgement!! :DDD"
It's so much of a callback in my head that idec that it's just a headcanon, lol, but obviously all of this is true. :D And also just the fact that using an endearment at all is new. (In the novel it kinda has to be a callback because they use endearments all the time, he wouldn't even notice unless it's a specific meaningful one. But this was my strongest drama headcanon before I even knew anything about the novel. :D)
"Oh, wow, that's cool! I wonder how "true" the predictive power of it is in the novelverse. Like, is it as much a horoscope-style superstition as in the real world (from my sceptical POV), or is it more true in a supernatural context..."
CSZ doesn't strike me as superstitious, so I guess in-world it's true, but it's so funny to me because you could probably disprove it in five seconds by looking at any two people who look similar (let alone identical twins) and their completely different lives. xD
no subject
The hilarious thing about it probably being HIMYM is that if I were into ZYL calling SW his wife (which I'm really not), and into ZYL treating the SID team as his kids (which I'm also really not), then it would be super apt. :D :D
It's so much of a callback in my head that idec that it's just a headcanon, lol, but obviously all of this is true. :D
It makes complete sense for it to be a callback. In my first watch, I kept waiting for it to come up in YOHE, but it never did. I feel like it was probably meant to be implied, and that leaving it unstated was kind of "here, have some more slashbait." ;D
but it's so funny to me because you could probably disprove it in five seconds by looking at any two people who look similar (let alone identical twins) and their completely different lives. xD
I feel like that about horoscopes, but plenty of people put stock in those...
no subject
I'm not into those things either, lol, but now I'm so curious how it would be apt. :D :D *knows nothing about HIMYM, other than some names and faces of characters, and like two quotes out of context*
"It makes complete sense for it to be a callback. In my first watch, I kept waiting for it to come up in YOHE, but it never did. I feel like it was probably meant to be implied, and that leaving it unstated was kind of "here, have some more slashbait." ;D"
Yep, same. *chomps up all the slashbait happily* xD xD :D
"I feel like that about horoscopes, but plenty of people put stock in those..."
Oh, same, but the more vague a statement is, the more everyone can go 'hey, it totally came true!', which I think is generally the case with horoscopes. This sounds more specific, but I guess not that much more, there's still a lot left up for interpretation.
no subject
Just in the superficial sense that the show has a framing device of a dad telling his kids how he met their mother for the first time (it's just an excuse to show lots of other dating, though), and given Guardian is the gradually revealed tale of how ZYL met Shen Wei for the first time... :-)
no subject
no subject
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
no subject
I always wondered if there was something more in the YOHE flashbacks that they had to cut from the script either due to length or censorship, because it really feels like that callback SHOULD be there!
no subject
It really really really really does! (And given how awesome the adaptation is, I would have loved to see what context they'd come up with for "Xiao-Wei" to first arise!!!)
no subject
(I've read plenty of YOHE fic that used "Xiao-Wei", but none that particularly sticks out in my mind, so now I'm wondering what a scene would look like that properly did it justice ...)
no subject
no subject
no subject
(no subject)
no subject
(I think the fact that we don't see ZYL say it in YOHE is what makes me use it sparingly in fic. Like, it isn't just a casual endearment for him, you know? It's significant for both of them. So if he said it spontaneously, it would have to be an emotional response to something.)
All that said, I feel like "Xiao-Wei" is 100% the subtext of the infinitely fond way ZYL looks at young!SW when they're talking under the stars, and having him actually say it -- while something to be wished for -- isn't actually necessary. :D
(Haaaai, I just woke up to an inbox FULL of delicious comments, yayay! <3)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
no subject
Ahhhhh, I want to know what they would actually, canonically do with it SO MUCH. ♡♡♡ A million fics is one thing, I also want to know the drama writers' take because they're geniuses. :D
no subject
no subject
Aren't those the same thing?
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
Ha, I'm 100% with you on that!