Guardian Readalong: Vol. 3, Chapters 1 & 2

[china_shop]

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!)

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Comments

[facethestrange]

Ahhhh, this is the chapter with Shen Wei's hair?? ♡♡♡ I haven't looked at anything yet because I was too busy going through all kinds of *gestures widely* stuff, after reading random things I had no business reading, and I didn't have Shen Wei to wipe the memory from my brain, lmao, moving on, but I was already looking forward to it, and now I'm even more excited asdfgfhdjskjkl;; :D

I was reading your excerpt and I went 'noooo, can't stop here??' the very second I got to "Help! I want to quote this whole scene!", hahah, THIS IS SO 100% RELATABLE. ♡♡♡

Srsly, just I love this scene so much. ♡♡♡

(Fic rec! ♡ ink by treescape, E-rated. There are definitely more fics, but this was a recent gift for me and it gets to be a rec all on its own. ♡♡♡ ...*sudden thought* Do I want to deep dive to collect all the long-haired-modern-SW fanart I've saved and/or reblogged? We'll see. :D Probably some of it at least. :D)

"What's your favourite Weilan moment in these chapters? (There are so many!)"

Without going through the actual chapters I can't say with 100% certainty that it's my #1 favorite Weilan scene in them, but yeah, it most likely is. :D :D :D

"Should Shen Wei wear his hair long all the time?"

Idk if he should, unless he wants to, but damn, I just love how awestruck Zhao Yunlan is, and he'd definitely appreciate that (and so would I :D more ZYL's reaction than SW's hair actually :D).

Also:
"Zhao Yunlan learns that his father is sharing his body with sentient dinnerware."

Lololol. :D :D

ETA: The absolute coincidence of encountering this gorgeous and wonderful and slightly NSFW fanart of the long-hair scene that I have never seen before, on my actual tumblr dashboard right now, right after making this comment, when the original post is from 2021, is just... Maybe not 'I should play the lottery' odds, but close enough. :D

ETA: Another one, that I actually went looking for: not this specific scene, but this specific vibe (SFW). :D

I'll see if I find more later - my folder is bottomless and fully unsorted. xD

[autodach]

Shen Wei lets his hair down

This scene is so fanfic-ily indulgent, I sometimes forget it’s actually canon, haha. Shen Wei’s hair is awesome❤

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

Poor Xiao-Guo!

Zhao Yunlan tries to be seductive

And poor Zhao Yunlan also! His attempt at seduction foiled by health concerns XD

Shen Wei describes their life in the past

Aaaaah this whole excerpt! ❤
Xiao-Wei loved to travel together with Kunlun❤❤❤
Zhao Yunlan feels he wronged Shen Wei by making him a chimera, while Shen Wei feels he has no place in this world. So much feeling!!!

Is it reasonable for Guo Changcheng's uncle and aunt to freak out at the news of his job?

It’s understandable that they’re worried. And the fact that for six months, no one realized where Xiao-Guo actually works is concerning: What else don’t they know? Just how much danger is he in that they don’t know about?

What's your favourite Weilan moment in these chapters?

When Zhao Yunlan goes for the imperial palace vibe with “Did this lowly one serve you well”. Not quite roleplay, but playful. It Shows how comfortable they are together.
Also hints that maybe they do get up to roleplay :D

Should Shen Wei wear his hair long all the time?

Zhao Yunlan would develop a bad case of priapism if he did. I’ll let you decide whether that’s yes or no :P

How do you feel about jealous!Shen Wei?

Jealously in general is a turn-off(I’m more into trusting your partner), but it suits Shen Wei and his ghostly nature.

Any thoughts about how moments in these chapters affected or were remixed in the drama adaptation?

We were robbed of modern-day long-haired Shen Wei!

his father is sharing his body with sentient dinnerware

I love how you phrased this XD

[trepkos]

I was just totally thrown by the "sentient dinnerware" ... How? Why? What? How?

And do we ever seen any evidence of Zhao Yunlan being an animal rights activist?

[trepkos]

I share his long hair fetish.

I'm glad they changed his dad from being a bowl in the drama - that would have required too much explanation.

Poor Guo - why does everyone think he's so rubbish? He just needs confidence!

So ... do we know whether what he saw in the Tree was all true? It was pretty confusing, without having to work out truth from lies ...

[trobadora]

Shen Wei lets his hair down.

LOL! Great summaries, great choice of excerpts. :D

Is it reasonable for Guo Changcheng's uncle and aunt to freak out at the news of his job?

I think yes, since they haven't witnessed all his growth since he joined the SID - he hasn't shared anything with them and so they haven't seen how he changed.

What's your favourite Weilan moment in these chapters? (There are so many!)

I'm not feeling most of it very much, but the hair scene is lovely!

Just a few random thoughts from me, I'm very scatterbrained at the moment:

His first stop was his second uncle's house.

So, in the novel Xiao-Guo doesn't live with his aunt and uncle. Also, Xiao-Guo has a cousin, his uncle apparently has a kid! Interesting differences from the drama.

(With this, it makes sense that the uncle hadn't realised he was working at the SID - whereas in the drama, where I always thought GCC lived with his uncle and aunt, I really wonder about that! Guo Ying says in episode 14 that he only found out that morning ... But maybe he doesn't live with them in the drama either?)

There were so many unspoken rules dedicated to keeping up appearances, and Shen Wei's grasp on them was shaky at best.

Huh. I'm not quite sure what exactly the novel is envisioning here, given that in chapter 2 we are told that When dealing with anyone but Zhao Yunlan, Shen Wei was entirely comfortable, navigating social interactions with ease. I can't quite see how that fits together together ...

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.

*grumbles* I want him to be into it because it's Shen Wei's hair, because of what it means to him to see Shen Wei like that, not because he's into this sort of thing in general!

It just didn't seem like something he would do. Was there any guarantee that what the tree had revealed was true? How much of what he'd seen was real? How much was false?

LOL, I love that ZYL is basically going, this story is too OOC, I'm not buying it! :D

And he asks SW questions to clarify things, but it still manages to be very sweet while they're talking about their first meeting. ♥

The Qin'guang King hummed. "Zhao Yunlan is unspeakably cunning. He's deceived you more than once. Perhaps he simply managed to piece together enough to bluff and frighten the Chaos King of the Gui."

This guy definitely has more brains than the Magistrate!

"It seems our only choice is to sacrifice this mortal body of the Mountain God."

Uh-oh!

"Regardless, I should be the one marrying you into the family, shouldn't I? After all, just yesterday you said you'd take my last name."

Hee! I love it when SW turns the teasing around on him.

Zhao Yunlan stayed utterly still. It suddenly began to sink in that while he had known Shen Wei for less than a year, Shen Wei had been watching over him for an unimaginable amount of time. This life would last only a few dozen years, but there had been the life before, and the one before that, and the one before that-hundreds of lives, one after another. From ancient times to the present, this man had silently watched over him as he was endlessly buffeted by the cycle of reincarnation. Again and again, Shen Wei had borne witness as Zhao Yunlan had been born, aged, suffered illness, and ­ultimately died. He had seen every love and every hatred Zhao Yunlan had ever known-none of it to do with him whatsoever, as if he was watching it all play out on screen.

Looking at it from that perspective, Zhao Yunlan was suddenly unable to breathe.

♥ ♥ ♥

Where others put up a facade around outsiders, then relaxed and revealed their true selves with an intimate partner, Shen Wei was the polar opposite. He was ­accustomed to firmly locking himself down in front of Zhao Yunlan, terrified of his true nature being even slightly perceived.

That is so depressing. :(

Does the novel ever properly deal with SW's self-worth issues about his nature? I don’t remember that. :(

In fact, when he reached the bottom of the stairs, he took the time to nod at a waitress, maybe twenty years old, who was carrying some tea sets. For some reason, her hands shook at the sight of him. A teapot fell to the floor and shattered.

I have no idea what I'm supposed to make of this.

Shen Wei nodded with utmost courtesy. "Uncle."

SW calls him 伯父, bófù, which is a term of respect for an older man. And he's actually a 石钵 shíbō, stone bowl. Does the Chinese fandom ever call him 钵父? :p

/terrible pun

"Sir, I'm trying to be nice here before resorting to force, considering that you might be connected to Shennong-one of the Three Sovereigns."

I don't remember, how did he arrive at that conclusion?

"I just come out and borrow his body occasionally, and I make sure he remembers the important things afterward. I've never caused him any problems. Don't worry."

This is worse than Zhang Shi in the drama; at least Zhao Xinci knows he's there and is aware of and party to what's going on!

"I'm not some edgelord, and I'm not the Monkey King who turned the Heavenly Palace upside down."

I wanted to go and check what "edgelord" was in Chinese, but the JJWXC version instead says, 我又不是我手底下的那个中二小僵尸, which the fan translation renders as, I'm not that childish zombie who works for me" . I definitely prefer edgelord!

I don't care whose stupid bowl you are.

LOL!

Version comparison:

• During Xiao-Guo's conversation with his uncle and aunt, the fan translation has this bit which isn't in the official translation:
  

  Of course, Guo Changcheng no longer remembers how he passed out from fear on his first day.
  
  Guo Changcheng has always been the unsociable kind. He had barely gotten used to the atmosphere at No. 4 Bright Avenue, but he has already become strongly fond of that place, especially Chu Shuzhi and others.
  
  As for Zhao Yunlan, Guo Changcheng basically treats him like half a dad... although this "half-dad" suddenly found him a stepfather unannounced.
  
  And yet, this stepfather is the kindest, and easiest to talk to, so Guo Changcheng very adamantly says to his uncle, "I don't want to leave."
  
  Guo Changcheng has always been indecisive, and would jump at any chance to agree with everyone else. Uncle and aunt are both taken aback by his new-found decisiveness.
  
  After a good while, aunt asks, "Is that place.... really that good?"
  
  Guo Changcheng nods his head very forcefully.
  
  "You really want to work there?" Uncle is still worried, "Is it really not dangerous?"
  
  In order to stay, Guo Changcheng very decisively lies, "Not dangerous at all."
  
  "Well alright then," Uncle thinks, he is an adult now after all, though he has never had any achievement or ambition. Now that he has passion for his work, it wouldn't be wise to extinguish that passion, so he hesitantly agrees, "Then give me your Chief's number, I will find the time to meet with Zhao Yunlan. He is not much older than you, you need to learn from him."

  Instead, the official translation has two paragraphs about GCC fitting in at the SID, and how he thinks about everyone there.


• "Great, great great great beauty. I really feel, this life is worth living."
  
  The first part of this line is iconic ... and it's not in the official translation at all. There, instead we get: 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.


• In the fan translation, ZYL's thoughts about Chiyou's descendants, and the comparison with Daqing, and wondering what of what he saw in the Tree is true, are actually said out loud to SW:
  

  He ponders in silence, frowns, and then continues, "But I think, since I grew up with Da Qing that damn fatty, even if he ever wronged me one day, like eloping with a cat mistress, the most I would do is refuse to acknowledge him, I still wouldn't do anything to him."
  
  Shen Wei blinks in confusion, not quite sure why the topic has now turned to eloping cats.
  
  "If I really promised Chiyou to take care of his descendants, and I watched generations of dragons grow up from small worms to several-million-mile-long beasts, I would have never stabbed the godly dragon in its eye and crashed it into Mount Buzhou. I would have rather stabbed myself in the hand." Zhao Yunlan very adamantly announces, "I definitely didn't stab the dragon in the eye, and Mount Buzhou was definitely not my doing either."
  
  "The judge very shamelessly spewed a bunch of bullcrap, and none of it was true. How much of the things that I saw in the holy tree is true, do you think? And who showed it to me?"

• The section in the Netherworld isn't in the JJWXC version/fan translation.


• When SW teases ZYL back about who's marrying into whose family, the fan translation has this (which honestly I'm glad got removed):
  
  Zhao Yunlan has been used to one-sided abuse, other than that one time he got drunk, his teasing has never met any comeback. He is instantly left stunned.
  
  ... ...Of course, what he doesn't know is that much like Guo Changcheng, Shen Wei had to rehearse his line three times in his mind to finally be able to say it smoothly out loud.


• Fan translation:

  "What are you doing in my dad's body? Are you connected to the memories I saw in the holy tree?" To Zhao Yunlan, whether he is a deity or something else has no bearing, he treats people and gods the same anyway. Somehow, he has assumed the role of a cop interrogating a criminal.
  
  Zhao Yunlan's "father" raises his eyebrows, and asks slowly, "How did Lord Kunlun find out that the memories inside the holy tree aren't your true memories?"

  Official translation, much more oblique:

  "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.

[facethestrange]

Yay, I read it now. :D :D (My answer re: my favorite Weilan moment definitely stays the same - HAIR! ♡♡♡)

"It’s dangerous! Precarious! If he runs into a deadly case… Aiya!"

I love how the actual answer to this rhetorical question is 'he did, many times, and he zapped the problem to smithereens with his stick at least twice'. :D

"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."

I focused on the second sentence before, and how everyone (including himself) underestimates him, but now I find the "just as he’d suspected" really heartbreaking for him too. Like, he found his place in the world, but he's always suspected that it's not really his place and he doesn't deserve it, and now he's being proven right? OUCH.

"“And your Director Zhao didn’t say anything about it? He just let you stay on and become a full-time employee?”

Guo Changcheng’s chest swelled with pride."

!!! ♡ I just adore the whole part where he just gushes about how much he loves every single person at the SID. It's so precious and he's so happy to have found them. ♡♡♡ And I'm just like 'aw, sweetheart, you DO belong there, never doubt it'!!

"He felt around his bedside table and then his phone was pressed into his hand."

Shen Wei's attentiveness, aw. ♡

"Shen Wei was beside him at once, holding him close in a supportive embrace."

"Instantly, Shen Wei’s arms closed around him again."

♡♡♡! I'm just melting about Weilan again, nothing to see here.

"Quickly moving to support his waist, Shen Wei pulled Zhao Yunlan’s gaping pajama top tightly closed around him."

This is so funny to me. xD Like, Zhao Yunlan being in danger is the only possible situation when Shen Wei could ever forget to be flustered about his bare chest. xD (And even that doesn't always work - see: shower. xD) But what makes it the funniest is that Zhao Yunlan IS actively trying to be seductive here. :D

"It was possible that Zhao Yunlan had been a tad calcium-deficient to begin with"

Lol, you think? xD Srsly so glad that Shen Wei is feeding him now even if Shen Wei also comes with side effects.

"Shen Wei was one of the gui, so if the gui hadn’t been released until after the mountain fell, Shen Wei probably wasn’t in a position to know what had really happened."

The benefit of the doubt he's giving Shen Wei is so precious. Like, he's thinking this while "Shen Wei froze, suddenly looking anywhere but at Zhao Yunlan", oh you sweet summer child.

"I saw how you fell off a large rock into the water the first time we met."

I just find it really cute that this is the first thing he says about their first meeting. :D

"Shen Wei resumed massaging, working on Zhao Yunlan’s shoulder while Zhao Yunlan cuddled up to his hair and fantasized."

I've squeed about the hair scene in general already, but I also want to squee about this specifically, it's so soft and hot, and indeed fanfic-levels of indulgent, and I'm 100% here for it. :D ♡♡♡

"If I looked after Chiyou’s descendants because he entrusted them to me and watched generations of the Dragon tribe grow from tiny worms into huge divine beasts, could I really have been capable of blinding one of them and just letting it die in the collision? It would be like blinding Daqing now and using him as a tool."

I just really, really love that THIS of all things is where he starts doubting what he saw. He would never, ever hurt someone he promised to protect, that's the bare minimum, that's the core of who he is. ♡

"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."

Aw. AW. Just the fact that this was Shen Wei's first time seeing the outside world, and how much he loved it, it's so wistful and lovely.

"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."

Now I suddenly saw this line not as 'I'm a freak hybrid who doesn't belong anywhere' but as 'there's no place for the gui and you gave me one'! Because it says "between the earth and the sky". And the place for him was below the earth.

"“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.”

Shen Wei leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to Zhao Yunlan’s temple, taking his hand."

I love how they're both just not having it when the other one talks about dying, lol, but mostly in this scene I just love the casual physical intimacy. ♡ So much soft, in the middle of a conversation, which continues.

"“Now, little beauty, tell me how you seduced me with your youthful body and gorgeous face all those years ago. I want all the details.”

The request struck Shen Wei as unbearably absurd."

I know it's largely about Shen Wei deflecting by pretending to be innocent and shy (and lol at "Unable to maintain the pretense of propriety in the face of this evidence" xD), but also it IS absurd, on the grounds that this is not what happened. :P

“Zhao Yunlan is unspeakably cunning. He’s deceived you more than once. Perhaps he simply managed to piece together enough to bluff and frighten the Chaos King of the Gui.”

Wow, kudos to the king for figuring this out.

“As long as the Mountain God remains within the cycle, his spirit will not be released. The legends spoke true: our little tricks won’t be enough to awaken him.” The Q in’guang King gave a low sigh. “It seems our only choice is to sacrifice this mortal body of the Mountain God.”

One question is how do they expect to get away with it (no idea!), but another question is - what? xD How exactly? Some specific way to sacrifice his body? Because he's died countless times and that didn't break him out out the reincarnation cycle. Or maybe if he dies now, after he's mostly-awaken, he will automatically leave the cycle?

"He hadn’t even registered that something about his dad had been off. What kind of father, knowing full well that his son’s gay lover was in the apartment above, would so coldly and haughtily say, as if he were some kind of gentleman, that “he’s unprepared,” and that they could “make proper plans at a later date”?"

When I first read the other scene, I was like 'wow, in this one moment his father is not that bad, actually giving him some freedom and space', and then it turned out that this was the exact moment that makes Zhao Yunlan start doubting if that was his real father. And it's framed as cold and haughty now, but it really didn't sound like that in the original scene. So I basically read this one as 'my father was not enough of an asshole for a second there, something is wrong'. xD

“Didn’t you play with that as a kid? Why haven’t you thrown it out? What are you taking it out for?”

This is such a mean reaction. Just so needlessly, gratuitously mean.

“Zhao Yunlan!” Shen Wei fumed.

“Present!”

I'm not big on this entire scene, but I find this reply really funny. xD

"“How many others have you joked with like this?” Shen Wei’s voice seemed frozen, his words catching in his throat. His pale lips trembled. “Do you know how many times I’ve almost… I’ve…”

The rest of what he’d started to say was likely unfit for polite company. Shen Wei, ever proper, choked it back with difficulty."

Okay, idk what he actually started to say though? That he almost threw himself at Zhao Yunlan's past reincarnations? xD

"He took out a small radio-like thing, then pulled a few screwdrivers of varying sizes from the toolbox he always kept in the car and started tinkering. His fingers were unusually nimble. It took only a moment’s observation to determine that he had been one of those kids who secretly messed around with a lot of wires and caused fire hazards at school."

This is where his ~skills~ with the bomb came from in the drama, isn't it. :D :D

"Where others put up a facade around outsiders, then relaxed and revealed their true selves with an intimate partner, Shen Wei was the polar opposite. He was accustomed to firmly locking himself down in front of Zhao Yunlan, terrified of his true nature being even slightly perceived.

Even now that they had bared themselves wholly to each other, Shen Wei sometimes still had no idea how to speak to Zhao Yunlan. How could he, when he always felt so unbearably filthy and unworthy?"

These are literally canon lines but I still feel like they're not true? I know it says in the second line that it's not fully true anymore, now it only happens sometimes (thankfully, because it's just really sad), but he was always hiding his true nature from everyone equally, as far as I can see? Literally even before he met Kunlun he was already trying to hide it. So maybe he also tries this hard to hide it from Zhao Yunlan (but I feel like it's not even always the case?), but he doesn't get to relax when he's around other people either. Is it simply just unreliable narrator, and it feels harder to hide it from ZYL because it would feel worse to potentially reveal something around him than around other people? Eh, I'm just confused. Poor Shen Wei tho, either way. :(

"I installed the signal in his phone. Even after all these years, he’s still using the same one,” Zhao Yunlan said. “I was still in middle school, so my technical skills weren’t the best."

In a book with all the supernatural stuff, this is the most unrealistic detail to me. xD The year is 2013 (it will be stated later), Zhao Yunlan's middle school years are 15-ish years ago - someone using a phone from the late 90s at that point is... xD Idk, even if his father doesn't have a smartphone by choice, I feel like there are still better options. Is it Nokia 3310? It's from 2000, a bit late for Zhao Yunlan to be in middle school, but at least it's something that people still use to this day. xD

"In fact, when he reached the bottom of the stairs, he took the time to nod at a waitress, maybe twenty years old, who was carrying some tea sets. For some reason, her hands shook at the sight of him. A teapot fell to the floor and shattered."

Huh, why? Because he's scary or because he's hot? xD Or something else entirely, like, she's somehow related to what is happening?

"Rather than taking a seat at the tea table, he sat in one of the spare chairs that were a few steps off to the side. He washed a new cup for himself, brewed the tea, and poured, going through the motions with the smoothness of passing clouds or flowing water. He kept his eyes lowered, sending a clear signal that he wasn’t going to butt into the conversation."

His entire VIBE, 'idgaf, I'm not involved', it's amazing.

"The man glanced at Shen Wei, humming as he sipped his tea."

He's HUMMING too, Shen Wei ily.

"There was a limit to Zhao Yunlan’s patience. Light gleamed in his hands as his speech quickened; the Soul-Guarding Whip flashed in and out of view between his palms."

This is a really cool image!

"Zhao Yunlan drank the high-quality tea in one gulp, as if it were water."

And this is the 'ceremony' with Ye Zun in the drama? :D :D

"That unfamiliar gaze skimmed over him and landed on Shen Wei, who was idly flipping through a magazine."

Asdfgfhdjskl, Shen Wei is really, really making a show out of how much he doesn't care even a little bit while exploding on the inside, it's glorious.

*ignores Zhao Yunlan's actual father because I still just want to yeet him into the sun, even just based on these few lines*

[facethestrange]

It took a while to reverse search everything (without much success - it would be so nice of pinterest people if they could just link their sources, kthx), but here they are - many, many more art recs of modern Shen Wei with long hair. :D

Everything is SFW or at least SFW-ish. Some of the pinterest pictures have source/artist tags.

Zhao Yunlan appreciates Shen Wei's long hair:

one (on twitter)

two (on tumblr, the artist's blog is gone but at least there are reblogs)

three (on flickr)

four (on twitter, but I can't tell if that's the artist)

five

six

seven

eight

nine

ten

eleven

twelve

+ idk what exactly is happening here, but Weilan :D

Shen Wei's portraits in modern outfits, including drama ones:

one

two

three

four

five

[china_shop]

Ahh, I've been AWOL for so long! It's been a crazy time, wow. Okay, I'm here now (sort of) -- hiiiiii!

CHAPTERS 1 & 2, yay!!

I really enjoyed CGG's uncle and aunt freaking out about him working at the SID. I liked the crossed wires and confusion, and GCC being such a potato that he hasn't managed to convey it before. Cute misunderstanding fic vibes! (Haha, they thought he was in the Household Registry Department. :D) I think my favourite part is this:

no relative with even a shred of self-awareness would’ve ever recommended him to such a prestigious position.

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

And then, awwwwww his feeling of being part of a group at last, after being bullied all through school. Awww! I love that.

patient Chu-ge, who was always willing to teach him what he didn’t know

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

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.

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

Anyway, I did enjoy how SW's protective fussing totally undercut ZYL's attempted seduction. Ha! And then the leg cramp. It's a comedy of errors!

There were so many unspoken rules dedicated to keeping up ­appearances, and Shen Wei’s grasp on them was shaky at best.

Wow, this is the opposite of the drama. Huh.

“My guess is that he only just found out that Guo Changcheng got assigned to the SID…” He trailed off, glanced at Shen Wei, and abruptly changed the subject. “Hey, I need to ask you something. Was I really the one who knocked down Buzhou and destroyed the Path to Heaven?”

Ha, ZYL trying to ambush SW into giving something away. He knows there are secrets.

The hair doesn't do anything for me, personally, but I'm glad ZYL is into it.

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

From ancient times to the present, this man had silently watched over him as he was endlessly buffeted by the cycle of reincarnation. Again and again, Shen Wei had borne witness as Zhao Yunlan had been born, aged, suffered illness, and ­ultimately died. He had seen every love and every hatred Zhao Yunlan had ever known—none of it to do with him whatsoever, as if he was watching it all play out on screen.

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

Clearly, if it weren’t for the fact that he was clumsy and liked buying new and shiny things

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

He was ­accustomed to firmly locking himself down in front of Zhao Yunlan, terrified of his true nature being even slightly perceived. Even now that they had bared themselves wholly to each other, Shen Wei sometimes still had no idea how to speak to Zhao Yunlan.

This made me think of how buttoned down drama!SW is in the car, the morning after the reveal. pets him (I hate the 'thinking of himself as filthy and unworthy' part, though. Ugh. Get therapy, novel!Shen Wei!)

Although Shen Wei probably couldn’t have explained the concept of a “radio” to save his life, he still did his best to keep up the conversation.

I'm calling such bullshit on this. My verbatim note is: HE DRIVES A CAR!!

Cars are way more complicated than radios, and "the concept of a radio" is really not that complicated. I just... do not get this at all. (I headcanon that drama!SW does not drive a car, and so his lack of facility with most tech is at least consistent. ;-p)

Shen Wei reflexively put a hand to his own pocket, thinking of the phone he never touched. He sometimes even put the wrong side to his face when answering a call. If anyone ever tampered with it, he would have absolutely no way of knowing.

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

Zhao Yunlan noticed, of course. He crossed his legs and lit a cigarette leisurely. “Don’t worry. As long as you don’t go find yourself a pretty boy to cheat with, I won’t put anything on you.” Shen Wei shot him a tremendously vexed look.

LOL! ZYL's teasing is so hit-and-miss.

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

Shen Wei’s answering smile was so light as to be nonexistent.

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

My dad’s driven by sheer ambition. His only goals are to be ­promoted and make more money. He puts on a show of being a refined gentleman, but it’s completely obvious that he loves nothing more than authority and worldly prosperity.

Interesting contrast with ZXC, who's driven partly by ambition, but just as much by bigotry.

Love ZYL using the Soul Guarding Order as a threat, and omg, I remember when I first read this, discovering that novel!Zhang Shi is a bowl! HEEE! So ridiculous! It made me laugh every time I was reminded of it. :D :D :D

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.

I love this. It's a little like drama!CSZ reasoning his way out of the dream using his dislike of spicy food, but it's ZYL doing it by/for himself. This is simply not a credible version of him!

I much prefer the ZXC & ZS dynamic in the drama.

When dealing with anyone but Zhao Yunlan, Shen Wei was entirely comfortable, navigating social interactions with ease. He ­offered an appropriate response.

Doesn't this contradict the bit above about him not knowing how to keep up appearances? (I haven't check the other comments yet. I'm sure you've all explained this discrepancy already.)

How does the Netherworld expect to get away with killing Kunlun-jun's mortal body, given how obsessed the Emissary is with him?

I'm so confused by this.