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In this episode, we get the conclusion of the Longevity Dial case, and Zhao Yunlan & Shen Wei continuing to circle each other.
Ouch! Falling off a Roof Hurts!
Shen Wei does his best impression of a hurt human who just fell off a roof, while Zhao Yunlan breaks out into a smile in the end, settling for being happy that he's unharmed, even if the circumstances are super weird.
Shen Wei Gets Overprotective
The two of them join forces on the roof to save Li Qian, where Zhao Yunlan hurts his arm pulling her up. Look at Shen Wei's reaction, that little pause and then dismay at seeing Zhao Yunlan bleeding. Shen Wei being overprotective and overinvested is going to be a theme for the rest of this episode!
Zhao Yunlan "Investigates" Shen Wei
Zhao Yunlan walks out of the hospital hallway with Shen Wei after checking Li Qian in. He takes this opportunity to closely "observe" the suspect, and by observe, I mean shamelessly check him out while doing a thing with his tongue.
Here is Zhao Yunlan "interrogating" Shen Wei some more. Obviously, the most important question you ask a person of interest in your case is whether they're married or seeing someone right now. Shen Wei blinks his eyes innocently at Zhao Yunlan.
Zhao Yunlan goes hard on the compliments for Shen Wei, talking about how much of a catch Shen Wei is, making him smile shyly.
This sounds a little silly, but I really enjoy all the scenes they have where they're walking together because of how in sync they are. It speaks to how aware they are of the other person when they're near each other, and how they try to match up together.
There is a whole conversation going on here, with Zhao Yunlan trying to convince Shen Wei to tell him the truth, while Shen Wei tries his best to help out Zhao Yunlan without revealing too many secrets. But I'm most impressed by the incredibly flirty way they're circling around each other and looking at each other.
The interaction ends with both Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei looking very pleased that they managed to ask the other person out on a date to dinner.
Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan Talk About Each Other
Shen Wei sees that Guo Changcheng is nervous around Zhao Yunlan, and gives him a lecture about all of Zhao Yunlan's hardships and how the people under Zhao Yunlan should work harder to share his burdens. Through this whole speech, you can see him go starry-eyed just thinking about Zhao Yunlan. Da Qing finds this suspicious enough to report to Zhao Yunlan that "This Shen Wei dude is way too interested in you."
Meanwhile, Zhao Yunlan is watching Shen Wei through surveillance, and he is really into how sensitive and caring and thoughtful Shen Wei is. When Zhu Hong reminds him that he's getting off-topic, he unconvincingly makes the case that he's only interested in observing a potential suspect.
Zhao Yunlan Gets Distracted (by Shen Wei's Butt)
And this here is my top shippy scene of this episode. Zhao Yunlan steadies a hurt Guo Changcheng, then runs off to chase after the suspect... only to be distracted by Shen Wei and his butt getting up inside the hospital room. He pauses, then chooses to check in on Shen Wei instead.
It's fine. The villain had a head start and has super powers he can use to help his escape. Zhao Yunlan probably couldn't have caught up--
-- Oh. Well. No rush.
Rooftop Foreshadowing
After Li Qian wakes up, Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan have a conversation with her on the rooftop about her grandmother's death and the Longevity dial. And here we get another huge wallop of foreshadowing. Li Qian asks Shen Wei, "If the person you cared most about was dying in front of you, what is the only thought in your mind?"
Shen Wei, with absolutely no hesitation: I would trade my life for his.
Li Qian, crying: Then you're lucky you don't have this Longevity Dial.
Oof.
The Big Showdown
Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan drive Li Qian home. In a short peaceful interlude, they talk about what happened, and Zhao Yunlan continues observing Shen Wei, before they're interrupted by an attack on Li Qian.
The Black-Cloaked Envoy arrives late yet again, but this time he actually makes eye contact with Zhao Yunlan. They politely exchange greetings before the Envoy takes the Dixingren away in his portal.
A few moments after the Envoy disappears, Shen Wei finally manages to make it out of his car. Zhao Yunlan smiles upon seeing him, and tells him to get back in before catching a cold.
Why Are the Dixingren Coming Up?
The team accompanies Li Qian to her grandmother's gravesite, where Shen Wei seeks out Zhao Yunlan to have another conversation. He continues to drop hints that the timing of the Dixingren all coming up at once is suspicious and must be linked to something significant.
What a perfect time for the Black-Cloaked Envoy to be invited to the SID for a consultation on the Longevity Dial and the unusual uptick in Dixingren activities!
Zhao Yunlan, who has perfected the art of reading people and boundary pushing, becomes more and more familiar with every new interaction with the Black-Cloaked Envoy. He seems to have realized that the Envoy has a decent level of tolerance for his shenanigans.
In a completely objective "I have no personal stakes in this at all" manner, the Black-Cloaked Envoy asks how they plan to handle Li Qian. He sneaks peeks at Zhao Yunlan but never makes eye contact.
Zhao Yunlan isn't too fussed about their discussion of Li Qian, but he does move in closer to the Envoy once they touch on the topic of the Hallows, something that he wants the truth about.
Now that they're talking shop, the two of them face each other and get a pretty good discussion going. The Envoy compliments Zhao Yunlan on his intelligence, and it's clear that these two have a good rapport and are on the same wavelength. They both reach the conclusion that something big is happening, with the Longevity Dial activating at this time and attracting Dixing attention.
And finally, we end their interactions in this episode with a shot of Zhao Yunlan saying goodbye to the Envoy, where we get HEIGHT DIFFERENCE!
[ Episode One ] [ Masterpost ] [ Episode Three ]
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