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In this episode, Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan have a run-in with muggers and deepen their connection, while the SID investigates a web novelist who's able to predict murders with his stories.
Hero Saves the Beauty
It's the middle of the night, and Shen Wei is stopped by two men who attempt to rob him.
Here's his calm, neutral "I'm a harmless bunny" expression as he hands over his money and watch.
Now watch Shen Wei's murder-face come out when they try to touch his special Pendant of Pining.
Before Shen Wei has a chance to kick their asses, however, Zhao Yunlan swaggers in to the rescue. Look at his cocky "I got this" expression as he pats Shen Wei on the shoulder and gestures for him to enjoy the show. Zhao Yunlan is strutting around like a peacock, showing off for Shen Wei.
And Shen Wei is more than happy to oblige. Look at his proper little posture as he stands obediently by the wall. He's right back to his innocent bunny mode.
Zhao Yunlan is very pleased to show off his combat prowess. I half-expected him to literally flex right in front of Shen Wei (it would at least justify the show's decision add padding to Bai Yu's arms in that scene).
Zhao Yunlan returns Shen Wei's watch, and they share a moment.
Shen Wei remarks on the coincidence of Zhao Yunlan being here so late at night. There's some banter here as they resume the flirt-terrogating each other.
Their conversation is interrupted by one of the muggers launching a counter-attack. Look at Shen Wei immediately stepping closer to Zhao Yunlan, concerned about whether he's hurt.
Look at Shen Wei's face when Zhao Yunlan flippantly talks about how he could have died.
Beauty Massages Hero's Arm
In what will soon become a wonderful domestic hurt/comfort trend, Shen Wei takes Zhao Yunlan back to his apartment to patch him up.
If we take away the context of this entrance, it looks so much like Shen Wei inviting his boyfriend Zhao Yunlan back to his place for the first time after they've been dating awhile. And Zhao Yunlan is peeking in, checking things out, making polite comments.
We know of course that Zhao Yunlan has been here before, but I kind of love this moment when he's first officially invited in. Everything about this scene just screams "why don't you come up to my apartment for a cup of coffee."
Zhao Yunlan actually first attempts to just go home, since he's right across the hall. But Shen Wei stops him with a "Wait!"
So here they are, sitting together. Zhao Yunlan is waiting expectantly for Shen Wei, and Shen Wei settles himself down while offering Zhao Yunlan a chance to question him.
Leaning in, Zhao Yunlan asks Shen Wei to join the SID as a consultant. He is brutally shot down. Love that little eyebrow raise at Shen Wei's "No."
Zhao Yunlan may have been shot down professionally, but that's not going to stop him from flirting his way to a house-warming date with Shen Wei. Here's Shen Wei looking all baffled and then immediately smiling that pleased little smile of his when he thinks about spending more time with Zhao Yunlan. And of course, Zhao Yunlan looking very smug about his success here.
There's words being said in this scene but I wonder how much of it actually registers to Shen Wei, who is looking very very flustered while touching Zhao Yunlan. His expression when Zhao Yunlan complimented him on being good with his hands... AND HIS EARS ARE SO RED.
Zhao Yunlan gets a bit carried away with flirting and gives away that he's been to Shen Wei's bedroom. Shen Wei calls him out on it.
Zhao Yunlan once again tries to go, and for the second time, Shen Wei calls out for him to wait. Sure, he had valid excuses every time (this time he hands medicine to Zhao Yunlan), but it's so clear to me that Shen Wei is just reluctant to see Zhao Yunlan leave.
But eventually Shen Wei runs out of ways to keep Zhao Yunlan there, so instead, he stands there staring at the place where Zhao Yunlan used to be, all while touching his Pendant of Pining.
This whole massage / banter / pining sequence is a lot, and I'm not sure I'll ever get over how this was the first scene they filmed for the show. Talk about getting the right tone straight from the start!
The Morning After
Zhao Yunlan is in a very good mood the next day. Let's pretend it's because the SID's workload has been lighter recently.
This good mood doesn't last for long though, because they are given a new case - coincidentally involving the muggers from last night being murdered.
For completely innocent and practical reasons, Zhao Yunlan doesn't want them to rewind the surveillance tapes too far. This might have been more convincing if he didn't look shady as hell.
They ignore Zhao Yunlan and rewind the tape, seeing him together with Shen Wei. This is Zhao Yunlan's completely casual reaction to being caught on tape in the middle of the night with Shen Wei.
Lao Chu's reaction is everyone watching this tbh.
Skype Flirting
As the case progresses, Zhao Yunlan decides to video chat with Shen Wei to ask for his expert opinion. Poor Zhu Hong is stuck bringing the laptop to Shen Wei so they can connect with each other.
Shen Wei is startled to see Zhao Yunlan's face in the laptop screen. He tells Zhao Yunlan that easily frightened ordinary citizens like him rely on people like Zhao Yunlan to protect them. Zhao Yunlan looks pretty happy about this line, though not as happy about Da Qing trying to horn in on the "protector of people like Shen Wei" title.
When asked about the case, Shen Wei brings out his best trolling game, showing them various pictures of bears. Zhao Yunlan is 200% done with Shen Wei's bullshit.
Shen Wei then moves onto the excuse that he can't possibly have material on everything, but Zhao Yunlan isn't quite buying it.
Getting serious for a moment, Shen Wei says that he'll never withhold information that could impact their safety. Zhao Yunlan impatiently says "So tell me already!"
Da Qing ends up being the one to come up with an idea, and Shen Wei immediately brings up the relevant information. Does he just keep random sketches everywhere with him?!
Shen Wei's A+ undercover skills are on display again, as he gives away once again that he has some secret knowledge/ability to detect Dixing people. Zhao Yunlan tries to get the info out of him but doesn't succeed.
Here we have Zhao Yunlan reassuring Shen Wei that even though he mostly encounters the criminal elements of Dixing, he's not going to tar them all with the same brush.
Debriefing
After the case is solved, Zhao Yunlan visits Shen Wei to talk about its aftermath.
This opening shot of them speculating about what could have been and how the monster is actually one and the same with the author is a lot of fun, because we have:
1) Zhao Yunlan playing with Shen Wei's calligraphy brush
2) Shen Wei looking very intently at Zhao Yunlan, hanging onto his every word.
Here we get a bit of meta, with Zhao Yunlan giving us his take on "All the world's a stage." Then he grins cheekily and jokes that maybe the two of them are characters in a book right now! This brings a smile to Shen Wei's face as well.
Turning the conversation back to a more earnest direction, Shen Wei tells Zhao Yunlan he never thought he'd hear those words from him and see him sympathize with Dixing's helplessness.
He looks so incredibly touched, and Zhao Yunlan is getting emotional too. This is such an honest moment of them connecting with each other.
And then they break into happy grins and smiles.
Extra Thoughts
Re-watching these earlier episodes, and seeing those two scenes I just gif'ed back to back - it really struck me how much Shen Wei (despite pretending to be human) influences Zhao Yunlan's opinions on Dixingren. We find out through Da Qing that Zhao Yunlan's attitude used to be closer to his dad's, but he develops a much more nuanced view of them the more he interacts with Shen Wei.
Similarly, Shen Wei as the Black-Cloaked Envoy becomes more merciful and empathetic around Zhao Yunlan.
These two make each better and I love it a lot.
[ Episode Six ] [ Masterpost ] [ Episode Eight ]
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