china_shop: Zhao Xinci looking at a gun pointed at him, with the text "Filial piety in ur face." (Guardian - filial piety)
The Gauche in the Machine ([personal profile] china_shop) wrote in [community profile] sid_guardian2025-05-11 10:25 am
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Guardian Readalong: Vol. 3, Chapters 1 & 2

Guardian novel readalong.


Hi, and welcome to this week's installment of the Guardian novel readalong - in this post, we're starting volume three!

Here are last week's chapters, and you can find all previous discussions in the schedule posts (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4), or via the !readalong tag.

This week's chapters:

Chapter 1: Guo Changcheng's uncle learns that Changcheng is working at the SID, and he calls Zhao Yunlan to invite him to dinner. Zhao Yunlan's being exhausted doesn't put a damper on his seduction attempts, but a leg cramp does. While Shen Wei massages him, Zhao Yunlan questions what he saw in the Great Divine Tree and questions Shen Wei about it. Shen Wei lets his hair down.
Chapter 2: The Magistrate and one of the Ten Yanluo Kings discuss whether Kunlun has been reawakened; if not, they might have to kill Zhao Yunlan's mortal body. Zhao Yunlan takes Shen Wei to his parents' for a meal; his dad isn't home. Zhao Yunlan tries to buy Shen Wei 5000 flowers and is flirty, then realises how much Shen Wei suffered while waiting for him. They track down Zhao Yunlan's "dad" at a teahouse, and Zhao Yunlan learns that his father is sharing his body with sentient dinnerware. Zhao Yunlan asks Shennong's mortar if it forged his memories in the Great Divine Tree. Zhao Yunlan's real dad appears and is kind of a dick, too. Zhao Yunlan fails to oust Shennong's mortar with a god-banishing talisman.

The corresponding chapters in the Chinese version on JJWXC and the fan translation are chapters 79-80.

Excerpts:

1) Guo Changcheng's uncle and aunt find out where he's working

Overflowing with worry, Guo Changcheng’s aunt asked, “What does this department investigate? Surely not important high-profile cases?”

Guo Changcheng opened his mouth, but before he could speak, his second uncle rapped his chopsticks on the side of his bowl. “Keep your questions to yourself. Everything the Special Investigations Department handles is top secret. Don’t make him slip up and say something he shouldn’t. But this is truly bizarre! How did you end up there?”

Only now did Guo Changcheng finally process what he was hearing: his acceptance into the Special Investigations Department really had been a mistake all along, just as he’d suspected. Given his below-average intelligence and people skills, no relative with even a shred of self-awareness would’ve ever recommended him to such a prestigious position.

Guo Changcheng, passive introvert that he was, only ever told his family good news, leaving out the bad entirely. Every time he’d called to tell them how he was doing, it had always been the same report: “I’m doing well.” As a result, over six months had passed without them realizing that he ended up working in the wrong place.



2) Zhao Yunlan tries to be seductive

After a conversation in which he barely seemed to register who was calling or what he himself said in response, he reeled off a bunch of auspicious blessings and hung up, feeling even more drained. Burying his face back into his pillow, he whined, “My head hurts.”

Shen Wei was beside him at once, holding him close in a supportive embrace. After carefully feeling his forehead, Shen Wei said, “You’re a little warm. What brought this fever on so suddenly?”

“What do you think?” Zhao Yunlan’s voice was weak. “Get me some antibiotics and fever meds, will you?”

Shen Wei blushed and obeyed without a word.

After choking down the handful of little pills Shen Wei brought him, Zhao Yunlan rolled up his pajama sleeves and abruptly launched himself forward, pinning Shen Wei down on the bed. Expression fierce, he demanded, “Did this lowly one serve you well last night, my lord?”

Q uickly moving to support his waist, Shen Wei pulled Zhao Yunlan’s gaping pajama top tightly closed around him. “Don’t kick the blanket—you’ve let the heat out! Now you’re going to catch a cold.”



3) Shen Wei's hair

Shen Wei rubbed the sore spot gently. He answered with surprising candor, as if the absolute physical intimacy they’d shared had loosened his tongue. “It’s true. My heart was swept away the first time I laid eyes on you. I’ve never forgotten it for a single moment.”

“Love at first sight, huh?” Zhao Yunlan flashed him a smug, ­lascivious smile. “Hey, you’re supposed to have long hair, right? Take off your glasses and let your husband have a look.”

Shen Wei obligingly removed his glasses. As he shifted back to his true appearance, a cascade of ink-black hair spilled across the bed.

Some men had an inexplicable obsession with long hair. Whether or not that was true of Zhao Yunlan, the sight of Shen Wei’s hair tumbling down around him went straight to his id—a flawless example of the kind of thing he was into.

At first, he just gazed, struck speechless. Then he carefully reached out one greedy hand to caress a silken lock of hair. This life was truly worth living.

[Help! I want to quote this whole scene!]



4) Shen Wei describes their life in the past

Softly, Zhao Yunlan said, “Tell me more about what happened after we met in the grove.”

Shen Wei paused before replying. “I didn’t really understand anything at the time,” he said, his voice low. “I only knew how good you were to me. You took me to see all the great mountains and rivers. We traveled all over, stopping here and there. But you kept saying how unfortunate it was that Nüwa hadn’t yet mended the sky. You said that the unending torrents of rain had robbed even the great mountains and rivers of their beauty. I didn’t mind, though. They were still beautiful to me—the most beautiful sights I’d ever seen.”

Zhao Yunlan’s brow furrowed. “ Was I good to you? I was the one who forcibly elevated you to godhood.”

Shen Wei laughed. “There’s no place for the likes of me between the earth and the sky. You brought me out of the Place of Great Disrespect to protect me, not to do me harm. I’m grateful to you for all of that. The time we spent together was all the life I needed; having had that, I would’ve died willingly.”

“Shut up,” Zhao Yunlan said. “Don’t talk such nonsense.”



5) Zhao Yunlan asks who "dad" is and explains why his tree-vision can't be true

“What are you, then? Don’t tell me you’re Shennong himself.”

“No, no, I’m no one so mighty.” His “dad” smiled. “I’m nothing but a stone mortar left behind by Shennong. During the Battle of the Creation of Gods, I hitched a ride. Through sheer fortune, I managed to successfully cultivate a consciousness. I’ve done many things to offend Kunlun-jun in the past, but I truly had no choice. My apologies.”

“So what are you doing in my dad’s body? Did you forge the memories I saw in the Great Divine Tree?”

The man’s brows tightened. “Oh?” he asked slowly.

“I’m not some edgelord, and I’m not the Monkey King who turned the Heavenly Palace upside down.” Zhao Yunlan drank the high-quality tea in one gulp, as if it were water. “Sure, I can be a little arrogant, but most of the time I’m pretty easygoing. If something drove me to rebel, it would have to be something as vast as the sky—something that filled me with the fury of the earth. But those things I saw in there? Those memories? I didn’t relate to them at all. There’s no way that was me. Besides, Kunlun was charged with all the mountains and rivers between the earth and the sky. He was the protector of every living spirit within those mountains. I’ve basically been an animal rights activist in all my lives. There’s no way I’d ever blind a divine dragon for no reason.”

His “dad” glanced at Shen Wei and nodded in agreement. “That makes sense.”



Questions:

Is it reasonable for Guo Changcheng's uncle and aunt to freak out at the news of his job? What's your favourite Weilan moment in these chapters? (There are so many!) Should Shen Wei wear his hair long all the time? How does the Netherworld expect to get away with killing Kunlun-jun's mortal body, given how obsessed the Emissary is with him? How do you feel about jealous!Shen Wei? What was your first reaction to finding out about Shennong's mortar? Any thoughts about how moments in these chapters affected or were remixed in the drama adaptation?

(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!
facethestrange: (guardian: zhao yunlan lollipop)

[personal profile] facethestrange 2025-05-22 05:52 am (UTC)(link)
It's so great to see you around again, YAY! :D :D ♡♡♡

"LOL at the SID being a prestigious position. :D :D :D :D :D"

I literally didn't even think of that, lolol. :D :D I always just went with 'it's seen as presigious from the outside', but it does sound hilarious when you know what is actually happening there. :D (I suspect it happens a lot irl, with a lot of jobs and institutions. xD)

"LOL! Is CSZ patient with anyone else?? I can't imagine anyone else describing him that way."

I feel like he's not impatient per se, he's just kind of withdrawn and idgaf (I don't have any quotes, just vibes, so I may be wrong), but yep, I really don't think anyone else would think of him as 'patient' first, if at all. xD

"Wait, is ZYL blaming his fever on the sex?? What?"

I think so, yeah - he likes to complain about Shen Wei being rough? And by now they've done it a lot I guess, and he always feels like crap afterwards, so I guess it makes sense to him. (What really doesn't make sense to me is antibiotics though, lol wth. xD)

"I really enjoyed the flower seller identifying them as a couple by sight and trying to cash in on that. :D"

Lol, and she would have been VERY successful if ZYL got to buy what he wanted. ;D

"Wait, how does ZYL know they haven't hooked up a bunch of times before? Surely he should have more faith in his previous incarnations' powers of seduction? ;-p"

It is the first time they met after Shen San, because of the 'Kunlun detector' being messed with, but idk if there are any quotes where ZYL knows about it and it's not just narration (but also he could have found out off-page). If he doesn't know about it and he thinks they met and SW was just avoiding him then yeah, he'd probably expect some of his past selves to be at least a little bit successful. ;D

"ZYL is clumsy now?? confused (But the new and shiny things made me think of his drama jeep and all the motorbikes, lol.)"

Yeah, I really don't see him as clumsy either! Careless and throwing things at walls when annoyed will also result in a lot of broken things, but the word is not right imo. *nods* (And yep, I think that's where it comes from. :D He buys random shiny stuff and then he's broke, rinse and repeat. xD)

"I hate the 'thinking of himself as filthy and unworthy' part, though. Ugh. Get therapy, novel!Shen Wei!"

Omg, and now I want to know if there are therapists for supernatural beings! Because I can't see a human therapist reacting well to 'I hate myself because I'm an incarnation of evil from the dawn of time'. xD Unless they think it's a metaphor, lolol.

"Cars are way more complicated than radios, and "the concept of a radio" is really not that complicated."

I took it as 'radio that can track someone' not 'radio that plays music' - to me that's more complicated than a car, but I think that's individual. :) He's not a scientist in the novel either, and also you don't really have to know how things work to operate them. I can see it as plausible, but I can also see how it sounds weird!

"Hm, I wonder if this got converted into drama!Shen Wei's apology for not noticing the banner cam?"

Oooh, I can totally see the idea coming from this, yes!

"Oh hey, they meet ZYL's dad in a teahouse -- is that why drama!SW meets ZXC in a teahouse? :D"

I love this! Because it means that the drama scene is made out of two different novel scenes (no spoilers for the other one), and it's so much fun when they do that. :D

"Perfect encapsulation of some of drama!SW's smiles, omg!"

Yess, I really love how the characters' body language and expressions are sometimes so spot-on! Like Wang Zheng looking spaced out. :D
facethestrange: (guardian: zhao yunlan gesturing)

[personal profile] facethestrange 2025-05-22 06:15 am (UTC)(link)
"I'm not seeing the clumsiness. Carelessness, maybe - I can see him breaking stuff by not taking care of it much more easily than by being clumsy!

The JJWXC Chinese version doesn't have him being clumsy, either; instead it describes ZYL as extravagant, wasteful and enamoured with new things. Which makes much more sense! I wonder if there's an error in the translation here?"


Yeah, and he apparently throws things at walls on purpose too, lol. All of this makes so much more sense than clumsiness, and if it's not even in the original then I guess it is an error, yeah. Thanks for checking! ♡

"But also by genuinely caring about protecting Haixing! Like, he's terrible and going about it in wrong, bigoted ways, but at least he has principles, which the novel version seems to lack?"

Oh, good point! I feel like the novel version is just some rich guy who is an asshole, lol, not in any way a misguided anti-hero type of character.
facethestrange: (guardian: shen wei: smile heart)

[personal profile] facethestrange 2025-05-22 06:42 am (UTC)(link)
"This is one of those areas where I wonder whether the meaning is clearer in a Chinese context, where social skills and etiquette and everything are so nuanced."

Ooooh, it would be cool if this is the case! Because the entire time I see this tiny, tiny difference between knowing how you're supposed to act around people vs. knowing if other people's very specific social behaviors are normal, but I can't flesh it out at all, to the point that it's not really there when I think about it, but I still feel the vibe. So if it had something to do with cultural norms, then maybe these things can be considered more significantly different and I just don't have the context to understand how/why.

"Or Cheng Xinyang did most of the technology side of their lab work, and Shen Wei made up for that with precision and dexterity in other areas. :-)"

I don't even have any headcanons for this topic, but this is adorable and I love it. :D
facethestrange: (guardian: envoy: eyelashes)

[personal profile] facethestrange 2025-05-22 08:46 am (UTC)(link)
This was such a fascinating question that I had to check, lol, and apparently the answer is yes, for hours, but only the news. :D At least only the news are mentioned in canon, but him trying to learn about families from TV would be wonderful omg.

Well, it's Zhao Yunlan's TV, and I think it's likely that he's never had one before. But that kinda makes it even more fun if he only just discovered the possibilities. :D

"It was barely past noon when he and Daqing returned to Zhao Yunlan’s little apartment. All the TV stations were covering the morning’s strange phenomenon, and since the mainstream media appeared to have nothing better to talk about, they were inviting all sorts of quack experts to come on air and expound on their wild theories.

Shen Wei waited for a full three or four hours."


ETA: Our icons are like complementary puzzle pieces of his face. xD :D
Edited 2025-05-22 08:48 (UTC)
facethestrange: (guardian: envoy: eyelashes)

[personal profile] facethestrange 2025-05-22 09:27 am (UTC)(link)
"Someone should tell his uncle and aunt about the fear stick (though I suspect they're not allow, especially given what it's made of)."

Yeahhh, I feel like they would be even more worried, for this reason and also because it's so unpredictable and he doesn't really have any actual control over it. xD Best if they don't know, lol.

"Ouch indeed. (But at least he fights for it?!)"

The fighting got taken out of the official version - GCC thinking about how much he likes the SID is all internal, and it all kinda stops at 'we don't talk about the SID'? I don't remember if this part of the scene got moved somewhere else in this version or if it's just removed completely, but I like it a lot when he gets to fight for what he wants and be convincing about it and win.

"Yes! (And below even the Netherworld, right?)"

Yes, true!

"That's right, isn't it, that it didn't happen? (ZYL's question made me question. ;-p)"

It didn't happen as far as I know. :) They kissed, but that's all, and Shen Wei kinda really wasn't the person to be seducing anyone in any way. xD

"I wonder how old the king is, and if he remembers original flavour ZYL."

Ooooh, such a good question! It kinda all happened at the same time, the creation of the Netherworld and Kunlun's death, didn't it? I have no idea who was already around and who wasn't yet, and if it's mythological or Guardian-specific. (And then there's still so much to come in this volume, which means I have even less of an idea. :P) But if anything the king is at least old enough that the primordial god stuff was still fresh in everyone's mind at that point.

"I wondered if he was going to swear, and that's why it was unfit for polite company, rather that it being about anything he might do, maybe? Like, maybe he was rating for language?"

Ooooh, that would make a lot more sense than anything I could come up with, yes! It's even mentioned later that Shen Wei doesn't swear. :)

"Oh, or maybe it's that ZYL makes him want to let his guard down, so he's more conscious of having to hold back? It becomes a deliberate action he's forcing on himself, rather than a natural default?"

Oh wow, this is such a good idea, I like it a lot! And by 'like' I mean 'this is heartbreaking but also kinda beautiful'. It like he's kinda halfway there - at least wanting to be seen and only then holding back - even if it's a lot more painful than not even wanting it at all.

"But he's still there, and would act in a flash if anything happened to ZYL. :D OMG, he's the muscle!!"

LOLOL. :D
facethestrange: (guardian: shen wei: smile heart)

[personal profile] facethestrange 2025-05-22 09:34 am (UTC)(link)
Hahah, this could totally be his 'exasperated about ZYL' look. :D (I thought maybe he was relatable because he looks sleep-deprived. xD :D)
facethestrange: (guardian: shen wei: smile heart)

[personal profile] facethestrange 2025-05-22 09:59 am (UTC)(link)
"Did Changcheng know, when he first showed up? I can't remember if/when we saw him react to that."

I skimmed the prologue rn and, while CSZ isn't there, it sounds like GCC didn't know that anything supernatural was real at all, same as in the drama. Which doesn't have to mean that his family doesn't know either, but I guess it makes it more likely.

"Haha, by complete coincidence, I just wrote that for 520 Day. :D :D :D (Not at the apartment, though; new house domesticity.)"

Eeeeee, gonna need to read that one! :D :D Other than my flawless gift, I've only read one 520 Day fic so far *zeroes in on YOHE Weilan immediately* :D, but what a wonderful collection it is! ♡♡♡
facethestrange: (guardian: shen wei: smile)

[personal profile] facethestrange 2025-05-22 10:24 am (UTC)(link)
"Hmm, this might just be me, but I feel like it's not unreasonable if, from their perspective, he seems like a quiet person who doesn't really like to talk about things. Maybe they're respecting his privacy, and they think that if he had anything he wanted to share, he would? I mean, I doubt anyone at the SID asks about the rest of his life particularly, either, right?"

Oh, I didn't mean that his family is in the wrong! :) Quite the opposite even - I think he could use a lot of autonomy to figure out his life and be less helpless, and I'm glad he gets it (and uses it very reasonably). But at the same time it may be the first time (after his grandma at least) that people are suddenly very interested in his activities, even if it's mostly just work activities, and that may be new and exciting for him and feel like an instant bond. :)

"I feel like CC's low self-esteem could have made him insistent that no one bother themselves about him, and just say that he's fine, because he doesn't want to be any trouble, you know?"

Yeah, I see it this way too. (And SID people are not having it either, and instead help him and grumble about him and give him things. :))

"Which is so wrong-headed, especially given that Kunlun immediately glommed onto him when they met, knowing exactly who and what he was..."

Yes, this, exactly!

"Though, maybe at this point SW hasn't actually interacted that much with the rest of the SID, yet? He's still ZYL's plus one?"

Yeah, I guess that's what this version is going for? The scene with SW and GCC where GCC is all frozen in front of the hospital was removed too. But I just like it better when SW is really important to him and makes him feel safe, it's one of my favorite things about the novel even if most of what I love about it is not 'canon' anymore. :D
facethestrange: (guardian: shen wei: smile)

[personal profile] facethestrange 2025-05-22 10:41 am (UTC)(link)
Hah, same! Gorgeous visuals but I wouldn't make this trade-off, I think. :D
facethestrange: (guardian: zhao yunlan lollipop)

[personal profile] facethestrange 2025-05-22 12:13 pm (UTC)(link)
"I wonder if it is. No one with any status works there, just a bunch of weirdos. And ZYL is so young..."

Apparently people don't know that though. xD At least not GCC's family - the way they talk about it, it sounds like it's all big rumors and mysteries, which only makes the SID look more formidable. (“The Special Investigations Department is its own unique entity. I certainly don’t have the power to assign anyone there!” / “What does this department investigate? Surely not important high-profile cases?”)

"I mean, unless there's bleeding. /o\ /o\ /o\"

You don't use antibiotics for bleeding either tho (fresh and not infected; plus Shen Wei could immediately heal it if that was the case), and especially not antibiotics in pill form. I'm super confused but at least I don't think this implies bleeding, hopefully. xD

"But where would he have put them all?"

He presented his brilliant plan himself: "I want to cover the hood and trunk of my car with them to marry you into the family." xD Where they'd go afterwards, so that the car can actually be used as a car, I have no idea. xD

"Oh, has that been the case for that long? I thought it was more recent, for some reason. Maybe because Ghost Face seems to suddenly be so active? And because of the room of portraits: SW has been stalking ZYL all that time, right?"

The way I understand it, he's been stalking him, and at the same time making sure that they never meet, because he knew the moment they meet he wouldn't be able to resist ZYL (which turned out to be correct). They were not going to meet in this lifetime either but Ghost Face messed with the detector. (Which confuses me a bit because the official meetings between the SID and the Emissary were a thing specifically in this lifetime, but I guess if they never meet on a personal level then Shen Wei can just teleport away and deal with his inability to resist? Oh, and ZYL was not hitting on the Emissary, that must have made it a lot easier too.)

"I'm picturing him gesturing down at his probably half-dressed self, smirking and saying, "After all, how could you resist any version of this??" :D"

:D :D Half-dressed is very generous of you. :D He absolutely 100% would, and it would make SW so justifiably pissed off because 1) he's correct, 2) jokes about the consequences of not being able to resist him are so not okay. :P

"If they are, I have a long patient list for them!! ;-p"

Lolol, from this fandom or in general? xD (But also this may be a joke but it only highlights how much no one can help Shen Wei if he can't even pay someone to try to understand him.)

"But I bet ZYL could explain them in three sentences in a way SW would understand. ;-p"

I'm sure he could (and he probably will :)), but at this point SW is feeling super cautious and walking on eggshells around ZYL, he's not feeling comfortable enough to ask questions.
facethestrange: (guardian: zhao yunlan gesturing)

[personal profile] facethestrange 2025-05-22 12:20 pm (UTC)(link)
"Oh, yeah. Okay, I can see that: the unwritten etiquette rules vs the vagaries of human social interactions? Except, hmm, in the scene with the social behaviours, it's kind of about etiquette too (ZYL asks is it normal for GCC's uncle to call me -- isn't that more about etiquette? *gets all tangled up*)..."

Yeah, same, I can't even word it because it turns into just 'it's all the same, there is no difference', but it still feels like there is a difference? Maybe something like 'this is how you treat people with respect and make them respect you' vs. 'this is how people hint at things that are not necessarily stated out loud'. And he understands the former but not the latter. But that's still not 100% it, and I feel like 'there is actually no difference' is an extremely valid conclusion too. :D
facethestrange: (guardian: envoy: eyelashes)

[personal profile] facethestrange 2025-05-22 12:25 pm (UTC)(link)
"Though, did SW zone out in that scene? I thought he was kind of on stand-by. (Which, I guess, is how a lot of people watch TV anyway, lol.)"

Lol yeah, he did, but the TV was only saying pointless nonsense, so that's very understandable. Still at least at some point he watched it, and maybe even chose to turn it on (though that may have been Daqing). :D

"\o/!! We just need a right eye, and we can make an identikit. :D"

:D :D :D!
facethestrange: (guardian: weilan: taxi heart)

[personal profile] facethestrange 2025-05-22 12:27 pm (UTC)(link)
*twirls in all the new icons* :D :D So many more to come. :D
facethestrange: (guardian: shen wei: smile heart)

[personal profile] facethestrange 2025-05-22 12:51 pm (UTC)(link)
"Yeah, me too! He gets to do that so much in the drama -- he should get to in the novel, too. *pets him*"

Good and not very spoilery news: There is so much of him being his drama-style hero self in this volume. :D ♡ (Not sure if in front of his family though, probably not.)

"And he gave the impression of being quite young..."

Ah, yeah, that's not the end of their backstory - he does grow up. :)

"So there were at least still rumours about him causing trouble and peeing on people. *g*"

Lolol, I wonder how much about this was in the books that had all the information about Kunlun erased. :D

"Yes -- and it's a necessary step towards starting to let his guard down and finding out that IT'S FINE and HE'S FINE and he's been stressing about this WAY TOO MUCH. *ahem* :D :D :D"

INDEED. ♡ /free therapy for Shen Wei, in lack of an actual therapist :D
trobadora: (Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan - be happy)

[personal profile] trobadora 2025-05-22 08:12 pm (UTC)(link)
Oooh, that is a lvoely icon!!! :D

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