sid_guardian | Guardian Readalong: Vol. 3, Chapter 25 & Epilogue

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Guardian Readalong: Vol. 3, Chapter 25 & Epilogue

Hi, and welcome to this week's installment of the Guardian novel readalong!

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 25: Zhu Hong and Fourth Uncle follow the branch of the Divine Tree down to the Great Seal. The branch plants itself, and it and the Ancient Merit Tree quickly grow upwards, all the way to the Mortal Realm. Aboveground, Zhao Yunlan has become Kunlun-jun, and Shennong's Mortar bows to him and says his work here is done. Zhao Yunlan/Kunlun is calm and says "I know" a lot; he meditates beneath the Soul-Guarding Lamp. On the mountain above the resort, the captured souls spill out and save Changcheng and Chu Shuzhi from falling. Changcheng is engulfed in spiritual flame and starts reciting the Soul-Guarding Order. Shen Wei emerges, ensouled, from the Lamp, and Kunlun catches him and kisses his brow. Kunlun explains Changcheng is the reincarnated wick. The massive, quickly growing tree waters and replenishes the earth.
Epilogue: Zhao Yunlan is working in his office, in an utterly foul mood. The various SID members come in to gawk at him, and he bites all their heads off. The gui have souls now, but have disappeared, but also, they're everywhere? Zhao Yunlan is staying in a hotel. Shen Wei arrives and apologises for the mind-wipe, but Zhao Yunlan passive-aggressively pretends not to know him. Changcheng reveals that Zhao Yunlan never left Shen Wei's hospital bedside. Finally, Shen Wei kneels, Zhao Yunlan sits next to him, and they make up.

The corresponding chapters:
* official translation vol. 3 chapter 25 = fan translation chapter 106
* official translation epilogue = fan translation Extra 1

Excerpts:

1) Zhao Yunlan becomes Kunlun-jun

There was a swirl of light before Wang Zheng’s eyes. The man who had just been wearing a rumpled trench coat was suddenly in a long green robe instead, exactly like the ephemeral figure who had once walked the Great Wild thousands of years ago.

“Back when my master forcefully suppressed the Mountain God’s primordial spirit and sent you into the Reincarnation Cycle, he and the Lord Emissary agreed that the Emissary would live and die with the Great Seal,” said Shennong’s mortar. “Now another calamitous trial has come upon the Mortal Realm, the Great Houtu Seal has been broken, and the Soul-Executing Emissary has sacrificed himself for the Seal. All actions and consequences have fallen into place.”

The blazing flames settled into a gentler orange that reflected warmly in Kunlun-jun’s eyes. After a moment of silence, he quietly said, “I know.”

“The Emissary became a god as a King of the Gui,” continued the mortar. “He got what he wished for, and in the end, erased your…”

“Enough.” Kunlun-jun didn’t so much as look back. “I know all that too.”

2) The souls save Guo Changcheng and Chu Shuzhi

But at that moment, Guo Changcheng realized with a start that he was no longer falling.

He immediately opened his eyes and saw that, because he’d knocked over the little fanny pack that Chu Shuzhi had given him, the soul bottles had tumbled out. When they’d knocked against the railings, their covers had all shattered. The souls he’d collected came pouring out all at once.

They didn’t take human form; instead, they were clusters of brilliant light. Seven or eight souls, including the girl from the bridge, came together and formed a huge net that stretched down from the bridge. It caught them both…just barely.

Shocked, Chu Shuzhi grabbed hold of Guo Changcheng and leaped back up to the bridge, pushing off from the net. His foot brushed the railing as he leaped again and landed at the end of the bridge. He looked back at the net of souls, complex emotions passing over his face. “Thank you,” he said. His voice was very low, and the words felt strange and unfamiliar in his mouth.

3) Zhao Yunlan "explains" the fate of the gui

“There’s something I can’t help wondering about.” Zhu Hong leaned forward, lowering her voice. “Why did the branch that Shen Wei gave me grow a third bud? What made the first two grow in the first place?”

The look on Zhao Yunlan’s face suggested that he didn’t want to answer. But Zhu Hong was a girl, and he was usually a little more polite to girls—especially ones he’d ruthlessly friend-zoned.

“The first bud sprouted when he swore that oath with Shennong. The second one grew when he upheld his oath, and the third was when he decided to…” Zhao Yunlan stopped. A shadow crossed his face. “The Reincarnation Cycle couldn’t be created in the Place of Great Disrespect because the gui didn’t have souls. The three buds on the branch of the Great Divine Tree reflected the fact that the King of the Gui had gained three ethereal souls. Since the King of the Gui is connected to the Reincarnation Cycle, Chaos is no longer just lifeless doom; as a result, the gui, who devoured anything and everything, have also disappeared. Understand?”

4) Guo Changcheng is literally Zhao Yunlan's better half

“Just one question,” Chu Shuzhi said.

Zhao Yunlan’s temper flared. “I’ve never loved you! And yes, xiao-Guo is indeed the reincarnation of the Soul-Guarding Lamp’s wick, okay? You can fuck off now!”

“So he has merits bestowed by the Heavens, just like Nüwa?”

“Always doing the same thing, always being the same person, day after day, for tens of thousands of years, keeping the lamp burning—is that any less worthy than the act of creating humanity? If you don’t know what you’re talking about, keep your mouth shut. Don’t fucking embarrass me.”

Chu Shuzhi gave that some thought. “In other words, xiao-Guo is the goodness missing from your heart?”

“Fuck! Off!”

5) Shen Wei kneels, and Zhao Yunlan caves

Shen Wei’s lips were a little pale. Zhao Yunlan turned to leave, determined not to look back. But before he could even take a step, there was a noise behind him. He spun back around and saw Shen Wei kneeling on the floor.

“What are you doing?” Zhao Yunlan leaned over to pull him up. “What the hell is your problem? Get up!”

Shen Wei said nothing.

“Get up!” Zhao Yunlan demanded.

Shen Wei remained silent.

Finally, unable to get him to move, Zhao Yunlan plopped down on the floor beside him.

After a while, he poked Shen Wei. “Hey, it’s practically sunset. The night shift’s about to come out. Won’t that be embarrassing for you, Lord Emissary?”

Questions:
Did you enjoy the ending? What was your favourite part? Least favourite? Do you think Zhao Yunlan's anger is justified? Do you understand what happened to the gui? On a scale of 1 to 10, how much therapy does Shen Wei need? What imagery did you enjoy the most? What are you still most confused about? And do you have 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 -- there are still two slots open, if you want to sign up to host a post!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"The couch for visitors was occupied by a coat that had been flung there haphazardly and was now wrinkled—not that its owner cared."

Because he only cares about Shen Wei's coat, not about his own. :D

"It took only thirty seconds for Lin Jing to get the fuck over there."

xD This line is so good and funny. :D

"There was a click, and then Lin Jing excitedly showed Zhao Yunlan the selfie he’d taken of the two of them. Thanks to his position and angle, Lin Jing’s face was so close to the camera that it looked like a huge pancake; meanwhile, Zhao Yunlan’s foul expression and placement in the background made him look like a ghost haunting Lin Jing."

:D LIN JING ILY, and all of this is so funny, and I'm 100% here for SID shenanigans always. :D

“I thought primordial gods couldn’t be photographed by mortal instruments… Wait, I get it. It’s like with Shen-laoshi, right? This is just your physical manifestation in the Mortal Realm, and you can assume your original appearance whenever you want? Hey, can I take a picture with you looking like that ? Just one?”

1) Yay, it is indeed not just the gui. :D 2) Lin Jiiing, you just said yourself that it wouldn't work. ;D (But I guess he wants to try anyway. :D)

“That seems…very profound. Where did the gui go, though?”
“The gui are a physical manifestation of Chaos,” Zhao Yunlan replied. “They’re gone, but they’re also everywhere.”
“Everywhere like the ever-burning Soul-Guarding Lamp?”
“Mnh.”

That explains so little, lol, and 'that seems very profound' would totally be my response too because what else do you say. ;D

(Also, since Shen Wei didn't disappear with the other gui, I guess Ghost Face wouldn't have either? Which makes me wish that he hadn't died and could be around for this after all, free from the Seal forever because there's no seal.)

"So I could spend my days with a bunch of dumbasses worshipping me?"

LOL, and also yay - he's a god, he can live the life he wants. :D Which means the life he wants is being annoyed by dumbasses after all, as long as the dumbasses are his friends, which is really sweet. :D

“I had a crush on Kunlun-jun! I sure know how to pick them!”

:D :D :D I love her!

“I heard that you, O Great Immortal, can’t return to your own home, so I’m giving you this. It gets you forty percent off, so you can stop spending all your pay to put a roof over your head. This is all I can do to help you.”

I love them both, they are disasters and it's wonderful, and also can't a primordial god magic himself some money? :P

"Chu Shuzhi strolled in and got comfortable in a seat right in front of him, studying the real live Kunlun-jun as if watching a peep show."

I love how he even doesn't start talking until Zhao Yunlan does, lol, he's literally just there to stare at him. xD

"I’ve never loved you!"

So yeah, Zhao Yunlan is just saying random things because he's pissed off, but where did this come from exactly? Still from his conversation with Zhu Hong, or is this a pop culture reference/quote or something? I feel like I'm missing something. :D

“In other words, xiao-Guo is the goodness missing from your heart?”
(...)
He slammed the door and bolted like a rabbit.

I love the SID people sfm, all of this is gold. :D :D

"With nothing better to do, he killed time playing Minesweeper until the workday was finally over."

I just love that this is what a god does in his ~~not~~ free time. :D :D

"Zhao Yunlan looked up in surprise. His blue-light glasses almost slipped down his nose."

Ohhhh yay, he also wears glasses outside of the library. :D Justtttt, Zhao Yunlan in glasses, YES PLEASE. ♡♡♡

"Daqing ignored him, turned in place, and then nudged the door open with his butt."

Daqing being so cat, hee, the epilogue is a delight. :D :D

"It looked as if Shen Wei had come straight from teaching. His hands were still full of lesson plans."

I think his job really, really, REALLY matters to him if that's what he did instead of coming to see Zhao Yunlan right away, and after a week of being in a coma!

"After the Soul-Guarding Lamp spat him out, Shen Wei had been comatose for an entire week. That whole time, Zhao Yunlan had stayed by his side, not even stepping away long enough to change clothes."

*WIBBLES* (And then Xiao Guo rats him out. :D :D)

"Off to one side, Daqing pretended to lick his paws. His eyes shone with excitement as he watched the drama unfold."

I guess Daqing doesn't care about his standards anymore. :D :D (From chapter 7: "Daqing, who had witnessed the entire scene, covered his face with his paws and came to the realization that he actually quite enjoyed melodramatic moments worthy of evening soap operas. His feline standards had tragically fallen.")

“Rushing off to a hotel room…” Shen Wei skewered him with a look, and the cat hurriedly meowed out the rest. “…is something he wouldn’t dare do even if you lent him a whole other spine.”

Is this a reference to Kunlun's actual spine that is in Shen Wei's body, or is it just a lucky coincidence in English? :D

“Perfect timing! High technical scores!”
Zhu Hong rattled off a hotel name and room number without looking up from the novel she was reading on her phone. “I also think ambushing him at night is a good idea. It’s possible to compensate for emotional disharmony with physical intimacy.”

At some point I need to stop quoting everything these people are doing and squeeing about it, lolol, but I just really, really love all the SID people and their entire vibe, DAMN, they're gremlins and menaces and the best friends anyone could want. :D :D :D

"In under twenty days, this girl’s worldview seemed to have been shattered only for her to somehow cultivate a fascinating frame of mind that included the motto, “Loving someone means wanting to see him get railed.”"

I LOVE HER, and also I knoooooow that's not what it's implying, but I've always been a fan of the 'see' in this sentence. xD :D

"All of his seniors looked back at him. As he gazed at them in confusion, they gave him a collective thumbs-up."

♡♡♡! :D

“Tell Daqing to heat it up first before eating it tomorrow”

This is all really touching, but also I'm impressed that Daqing can heat up his own food. :D

"Having learned about Daqing and lao-Li’s complicated past, Zhao Yunlan no longer knew how to face this person who had mistreated his cat in his absence."

Ah, so the Guardian was indeed busy being reincarnated while that happened.

"Slowly, Shen Wei released his hand."

Unless I'm missing some sentence somewhere, this seems to say that he was holding Zhao Yunlan's hand the entire time the SID people were being gremlins, and even while he was giving Daqing the key, which is honestly some impressive dedication. xD

"After a while, he poked Shen Wei. “Hey, it’s practically sunset. The night shift’s about to come out. Won’t that be embarrassing for you, Lord Emissary?”"

The poking is kinda funny here, and also this is like the kneeling in the drama - he would absolutely be embarrassed BUT he has more important things to care about at the moment.

"I guess everything related to you would’ve vanished too, right? And there I’d be, just wondering who had cleaned up my kitchen."

This is one of my top favorite lines from this book, but at the same time...?? Everyone else who was there remembered Shen Wei? Like, yes, Zhao Yunlan wouldn't remember him, but someone/everyone would have told him everything they knew about SW sooner or later.

"The scrap of fury lingering in Zhao Yunlan’s heart guttered and died. Nothing of it remained, not even ash. His heart just felt a little sore.
Still wrapped in Shen Wei’s arms, Zhao Yunlan helped him up."

So messed up, SO SOFT. ♡♡♡

“Besides,” Zhao Yunlan finished, “I didn’t say you couldn’t come with me.”

There need to be fics about this but I haven't seen any so far. xD

I'm loving the parallel of ZYL erasing SW's memories in volume 1 and how it obviously didn't work because SW was too powerful - and now it doesn't work the other way round because Kunlun is too powerful. xD

Right?? It’s so good! They’re always doing these transgressive things to each other.

So much soft holding and touching and kissing in this scene, ahhh. ♡♡♡

❤❤❤

That explains so little, lol

Right? Give us nothing lol. This whole thing with the gui disappearing makes me wonder of it’s meant to be this unclear, or if it’s just us not getting it XD

I just love that this is what a god does in his not free time. :D :D

When you have infinite time, you can waste it all you like :P

"Right?? It’s so good! They’re always doing these transgressive things to each other."

Yesss! ♡♡♡ Thanks for originally pointing out that they made each other into unnatural hybrids - I never caught that, and now it's also a lot easier to notice just how much this is a pattern. :D

"This whole thing with the gui disappearing makes me wonder of it’s meant to be this unclear, or if it’s just us not getting it XD"

I think it's meant to be this unclear, lol, because the lampshading is always like 'eh, no one else understands it either, don't worry about it'. xD :D There's even more of that in the next extras. :D

"When you have infinite time, you can waste it all you like :P"

Hahah, good for him tbh, and now that they reconciled he can hopefully do much more fun things with his time. xD :D

There's even more of that in the next extras. :D

Haha, really? Good to know! :D

There's even more of that in the next extras. :D

Oh no. /o\

Because he only cares about Shen Wei's coat, not about his own. :D

I think he only cares about SW's coat when it's standing in for SW himself. ;D

Also, since Shen Wei didn't disappear with the other gui, I guess Ghost Face wouldn't have either?

It could be a result of SW's essentially having cultivated himself, which GF didn't do. But who knows?

Which means the life he wants is being annoyed by dumbasses after all, as long as the dumbasses are his friends, which is really sweet. :D

Yesss! (Now he just needs to start treating them better, lol.)

So yeah, Zhao Yunlan is just saying random things because he's pissed off, but where did this come from exactly?

I have no idea!! (priest, never change!) Your theory that it's a flow-on from his convo with ZH is the best I can think of.

Justtttt, Zhao Yunlan in glasses, YES PLEASE. ♡♡♡

Riiiiiiiiiight??!! :DDD

I think his job really, really, REALLY matters to him if that's what he did instead of coming to see Zhao Yunlan right away, and after a week of being in a coma!

They promised to live together as mortals, so I guess he has to re-establish his "mortal" life now. :D

Is this a reference to Kunlun's actual spine that is in Shen Wei's body, or is it just a lucky coincidence in English? :D

I'm curious about that, too! I thought maybe it was like "even if he had two whole spines." But it could be a reference to his actual godly spine, good point.

This is all really touching, but also I'm impressed that Daqing can heat up his own food. :D

Haha, right? Maybe DQ gets someone else to do it, and that's just taken as read.

Unless I'm missing some sentence somewhere, this seems to say that he was holding Zhao Yunlan's hand the entire time the SID people were being gremlins, and even while he was giving Daqing the key, which is honestly some impressive dedication. xD

LOLOL, I totally missed that, but I think you're right. (He actually grabs his wrist, but then releases his hand.) I wonder if this somehow turned into the prolonged handshake in ep 1, or if that's too much of a stretch. (Or did we already have a prolonged handshake?)

and also this is like the kneeling in the drama - he would absolutely be embarrassed BUT he has more important things to care about at the moment.

That's not how I see the drama kneeling. I think SW does it stubbornly and with matter-of-fact dignity; he's decided it's worth it, so he's not embarrassed about it at all. But that's just my reading. :-)

This is one of my top favorite lines from this book, but at the same time...?? Everyone else who was there remembered Shen Wei?

This was another reason why I got confused about whether the SID had been mindwiped along with the rest of humanity. Maybe they just don't know about Shen Wei's housework tendencies?

There need to be fics about this but I haven't seen any so far. xD

Seriously? I thought there'd be a whole genre! (And oh, this makes me realise -- ZYL has a legitimate grievance here, with the whole memory wiping / last-minute plan change, but he's not trying to use it as leverage to top. Does that mean he's finally got over grumbling about that?! ;-p)

"I think he only cares about SW's coat when it's standing in for SW himself. ;D"

Hee, I feel like he would always care about SW's coat, but that may be because it would always stand in for SW. :D

"It could be a result of SW's essentially having cultivated himself, which GF didn't do. But who knows?"

Oh, good point! It could definitely be either, and I feel like SW not disappearing because he's a god is probably even more likely than SW not disappearing because he's special among the gui, yeah.

"Now he just needs to start treating them better, lol."

Hee, he will, but also they are so totally unbothered by being treated like that (otherwise they wouldn't keep coming in and bickering with him for fun). :D :D

> >Justtttt, Zhao Yunlan in glasses, YES PLEASE. ♡♡♡

Riiiiiiiiiight??!! :DDD"

There's also nothing in this scene about him taking the glasses off, so I choose to believe that he's wearing them the entire time. :D :D

"LOLOL, I totally missed that, but I think you're right. (He actually grabs his wrist, but then releases his hand.) I wonder if this somehow turned into the prolonged handshake in ep 1, or if that's too much of a stretch. (Or did we already have a prolonged handshake?)"

It would be really fun if this was the case, because the handshake during their first meeting is the opposite in the novel: "He seemed to instinctively avoid Zhao Yunlan’s hand but quickly recovered. Clearing his throat, he touched his hand to Zhao Yunlan’s for the merest fleeting instant before letting go."

"That's not how I see the drama kneeling. I think SW does it stubbornly and with matter-of-fact dignity; he's decided it's worth it, so he's not embarrassed about it at all. But that's just my reading. :-)"

I feel like that's more or less the same reading because I totally agree. :D The line in the novel specifically says that he would be embarassed if the rest of the SID saw him (and not in general/in any other circumstance), and I feel like he wouldn't have particularly like that in the drama either? But he definitely wouldn't have stopped kneeling, in both cases, because it is worth it.

"This was another reason why I got confused about whether the SID had been mindwiped along with the rest of humanity. Maybe they just don't know about Shen Wei's housework tendencies?"

No one at the SID is a mortal (only mortals got mindwiped), but even if they were, they would probably have to get some special exemption due to their work duties, lol - you can't work with the supernatural very well if you don't remember it. :D But otherwise yeah, this confuses me a lot too. And I would totally adopt this explanation that no one knows much if anything about Weilan home life, if it weren't for Daqing who kinda has to know more or less everything.

"Seriously? I thought there'd be a whole genre!"

Right?? xD (I went looking for it on purpose and found exactly one fic: Embracing shadows by

Skeptical_Lynx ♡ I just found it a minute ago so I haven't read it yet, but after I skimmed it, it's exactly what I pictured. :D Sounds really soft and sweet. :))

"And oh, this makes me realise -- ZYL has a legitimate grievance here, with the whole memory wiping / last-minute plan change, but he's not trying to use it as leverage to top. Does that mean he's finally got over grumbling about that?! ;-p"

Lol damn, that would be nice, but - incredibly predictable spoiler for the extras - no. xD xD xD

Hee, I feel like he would always care about SW's coat, but that may be because it would always stand in for SW. :D

Unless they'd dropped it on the floor on the way to bed? ;D

There's also nothing in this scene about him taking the glasses off, so I choose to believe that he's wearing them the entire time. :D :D

:D :D :D

It would be really fun if this was the case, because the handshake during their first meeting is the opposite in the novel

Oh, true! Great point. :D

The line in the novel specifically says that he would be embarassed if the rest of the SID saw him (and not in general/in any other circumstance), and I feel like he wouldn't have particularly like that in the drama either?

The line in the novel is ZYL presuming, and also, SW is kind of grovelling for forgiveness there. It is embarrassing! They were already having their domestic squabbles in front of everyone! In the drama, I think SW wouldn't want to be seen (or for it to be known) by the SID and ZYL mostly because ZYL would have feelings about it and be burdened. But the actual kneeling isn't grovelling so much as a trade: some portion of SW's pride in exchange for Dr Feng excusing the TOS violation and trusting him enough to do business with him.

No one at the SID is a mortal (only mortals got mindwiped)

Is Lin Jing not mortal? And Guo Changcheng, technically? I guess Yao aren't (though I feel like in the drama Yashou are mortals ;-p).

but even if they were, they would probably have to get some special exemption due to their work duties, lol - you can't work with the supernatural very well if you don't remember it. :D

What if it was just resetting them back to what they knew at the start of canon, though. They could know that the Emissary exists without knowing it's Shen Wei. (Not that this is what's happened, going by DQ; just that it could have worked okay.)

Awww, thank you for the fic link! :D

but - incredibly predictable spoiler for the extras - no.

*siiiiigh* ;p :D

"Unless they'd dropped it on the floor on the way to bed? ;D"

Hahah, yeah, that's definitely a special situation. :D :D Just like when he was saying what kind of inappropriate things he'd do to the coat, and then they were pulling it over the bed until they started laughing. :D :D

"The line in the novel is ZYL presuming, and also, SW is kind of grovelling for forgiveness there. It is embarrassing! They were already having their domestic squabbles in front of everyone! In the drama, I think SW wouldn't want to be seen (or for it to be known) by the SID and ZYL mostly because ZYL would have feelings about it and be burdened. But the actual kneeling isn't grovelling so much as a trade: some portion of SW's pride in exchange for Dr Feng excusing the TOS violation and trusting him enough to do business with him."

I still agree with most of what you said, hee, but I see where the different view is now - I don't see the novel situation as any more inherently embarrassing/grovelling than the drama one. :) If anything, I see it as even more calculated - it was sprung on drama!SW, but novel!SW had the entire workday to think about it, and I'm sure 'if apologizing doesn't work, I'm going to kneel' has been the plan all along. And he's not doing anything to grovel, he's just kneeling silently; he even starts it when Zhao Yunlan's back is to him (I find it very impressive that ZYL was able to hear that, but I guess he has god-level hearing now ;D). But obviously ymmv, and if you don't see the novel scene his way, they are definitely very different. :) (And yep, very good point that it's ZYL presuming! Maybe SW just wouldn't be embarrassed no matter who saw him.)

"Is Lin Jing not mortal? And Guo Changcheng, technically? I guess Yao aren't (though I feel like in the drama Yashou are mortals ;-p)."

OHHH, you're right, I totally didn't think of Lin Jing! At this point GCC probably doesn't count as a mortal anymore. :D And imo the Yao definitely don't either. (The drama doesn't have immortals, does it? Just special 'frozen in time' circumstances, people aging very slowly, and energy beings? :P Which is kind of the same, but not. ;D) Now I'm wondering if Lin Jing had to get some special exemption from the mindwipe, or if everyone else just filled him in afterwards. :P

"What if it was just resetting them back to what they knew at the start of canon, though. They could know that the Emissary exists without knowing it's Shen Wei. (Not that this is what's happened, going by DQ; just that it could have worked okay.)"

True, it could have worked this way! (Otoh, it's two different mindwipes - this would have to happen during the original one, which was just for Zhao Yunlan. The second one, that mindwiped the entire world, was after everything got resolved and was presumably not even done by Shen Wei, who was unconscious at that point.)

Just like when he was saying what kind of inappropriate things he'd do to the coat, and then they were pulling it over the bed until they started laughing. :D :D

Aww, I'd forgotten that scene! *heart-eyes*

I don't see the novel situation as any more inherently embarrassing/grovelling than the drama one. :)

I had to think for a bit to figure out why I see them so differently. The drama one is a pragmatic choice, for Zhao Yunlan's benefit, and explicitly a trade for services. Dr Feng sets a high price in the hopes SW will give up and go away, but SW doesn't really cede any dignity by choosing to pay that price (though he does have to sacrifice some pride and exercise a lot of determination). His manner is very self-possessed. The novel one is either desperate or manipulative or both, within the confines of an intimate relationship, and he's not doing it with any certainty it will be welcome or effective. I want SW and ZYL to be meeting and arguing and getting on with their lives as equals (and I think so does ZYL). Idk, to me they're worlds apart (haha, literally). /probably says more about me than the novel; not trying to convince you -- it was just interesting to think about; also, I don't know enough about kneeling in Asian cultures to know how differently they're supposed to read, or what the exact meanings are in each case, but kneeling is definitely a big deal which is why Dr Feng proposes it in the drama, and why novel!ZYL reacts so strongly.

If anything, I see it as even more calculated - it was sprung on drama!SW, but novel!SW had the entire workday to think about it, and I'm sure 'if apologizing doesn't work, I'm going to kneel' has been the plan all along.

Oh noooo, I don't want him to still be calculating and planning and manipulating. /o\ /o\ /o\ (I know I should give in -- this is just who novel!SW is. But it feels so unhealthy for him. /dork) I thought SW had fallen to his knees out of genuine in-the-moment desperation, rather than having planned it. Surely if it were manipulation, he would have done it when ZYL was looking?

Re ZYL's hearing -- I think it's "silent" as in "mute", rather than "silent" as in "making no sound at all." It does say there was a noise behind [ZYL], so presumably there's rustling clothing and so on, and presumably the hall is quite quiet.

Now I'm wondering if Lin Jing had to get some special exemption from the mindwipe, or if everyone else just filled him in afterwards. :P

Maybe it's a combined effect of Kunlun's presence/power and the Soul-Guarding Order?

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