branchandroot | Actually quite good people skills

Brief Guardian meta, because I keep tripping over mentions, here and there, interpreting Shen Wei as having bad people skills, sometimes phrased as “how do human?”. And it’s just so opposite my own reading of the character that it trips me up in the middle of writing, and then I sit there for a few minutes staring into space and blinking in befuddlement.

I mean. Shen Wei is a teacher. And while it’s quite possible to get a job teaching with bad people skills (especially, alas, at university level), you do not get to be a popular professor with bad people skills. All the professional interactions we see are him being welcoming and encouraging to his students and sympathetic to people Having Emotions (eg Li Qian and Zhang Ruonan). And then there’s his reaction to being brought in for questioning, early on, which is to play every questioner like a violin—and he only has unfair prior knowledge of one. He also has that effortless non-verbal communication with Zhao Yunlan even when they’re fighting. And while it’s romantic to say that’s because they love each other, True Love does not automatically make a person able to pick up non-verbal cues. (Be nice if it did, but alas, no.)

The only moment I can see that truly demonstrates interpersonal awkwardness is when Zhao Yunlan prompts him to comfort a distraught woman, at which point Shen Wei takes a hasty step back and shoves Zhao Yunlan himself into the breach. And, really, that read far more strongly to me of “You want me to do what with a woman?”. Considering how fast Zhao Yunlan beats a parallel retreat on being confronted with a woman trying to confess her love, I really hesitate to take such behavior as a general indicator of low people skills.

Shen Wei is habitually autocratic, when he’s in Official Mode. He’s intensely reserved about personal things, unless of course he’s talking to Zhao Yunlan. He’s easily flustered when presented with hope where he thought there was none. But bad at people, or even at silly humans and their rules? I just don’t see it.

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Hee! Looks like we're not actually disagreeing, then. :)

My main point was just that this isn't only risk of exposure he deliberately takes (because as you say, if he really wanted no risk he'd keep his distance), so the risk-taking here isn't inconsistent with his behaviour otherwise.

I think why in this particular case the "it could blow up in his face" part stands out to me - why I went 'oh!' at ExtraPenguin's comment - is that in this particular case, I'm not sure what he thought he would gain, and why he preferred this over a 'safer' meek professor approach. (With the other risks he takes, I generally see the benefit, though I don't have a list handy of whether there are other cases that might map onto this one more.) And I basically don't assume he's always, 100% failsafe calculating correctly when he's trying to achieve A by doing B, so to me "he miscalculated, but no harm done in the end" or "he had a wobble and had indignation interfere with the smoothest strategy" are possible interpretations.

And I basically don't assume he's always, 100% failsafe calculating correctly when he's trying to achieve A by doing B

No, of course not! And sometimes he gets it very wrong, like with the wedding disaster. But I don't think we can call his choices during the interrogation scene a miscalculation, since it doesn't actually go wrong?

What he'd have to gain ... I think part of it is testing the SID, and part of it is showing off to the audience (because he has to know ZYL is watching). Beyond that, I need to think about this more! There's a lot to unpack in that scene. But, hm, I'm not 100% sure that, having turned up in the middle of a crime scene like that, playing too innocent would actually be much safer/less suspicious ...

(On the third hand, that reminds me of something else - his behaviour during the mugging. He's perfectly willing to play along, at least until they go for his pendant, but he doesn't for a moment pretend he's scared. He draws some weird lines sometimes!)

I'm bringing more hands! *g*

But I don't think we can call his choices during the interrogation scene a miscalculation, since it doesn't actually go wrong?

I'm not calling it a definitive miscalculation, no. But what this discussion has made a bit clearer to me - that oh! moment - is that it looks to me at this point (caveatcakes below) like he's taking something of an unnecessary risk. No, it does not go wrong, because Zhao Yunlan has already decided to trust him. Yes, he knew Zhao Yunlan was watching, and not some hypothetical chief who is as smart as Zhao Yunlan but maybe not as trusting of him. But still, at this point in their relationship, I don't think Shen Wei can count on the fact that Zhao Yunlan will look at him playing a villain for half an hour and then be convinced by an earnest declaration. It's at the very least a big gamble, for no real gain I can see. (I realise putting these two things - playing a villain for half an hour, then asking Zhao Yunlan to trust him - in close proximity might make someone go, 'he's testing Zhao Yunlan', but I don't think that's how he rolls towards Zhao Yunlan.) It's clear to me in that scene that he wants Zhao Yunlan to trust him, so making himself look more suspicious at length seems like a strange tactical choice.

Which is what makes me wonder if there was something else going on that isn't "the most rational approach I can take to achieve my aim", and something like ego or indignation played a part in the way he chose to approach that pre-Zhao Yunlan interrogation. (Which is how I got to "a potential miscalculation that ended up not having a negative impact".)

Beyond that, I need to think about this more! There's a lot to unpack in that scene.

These are my caveatcakes: it really is a 'strange' scene to me (not bad, not OOC, but 'takes more work to slot in') and I was serious in my first comment on this; I regularly still find it worth chewing over, and I also need to think about it more!

He's perfectly willing to play along, at least until they go for his pendant, but he doesn't for a moment pretend he's scared. He draws some weird lines sometimes!

That's a really good observation! FWIW and at the risk of opening another can of worms and hijacking

branchandroot's post even more - hi,

branchandroot ^_^), he always read as a little 'scared' to me, but not for a second towards the muggers or visible to the muggers. I think he's worried this could go wrong, basically, not for him but for these guys, and that could be very unfortunate for where he currently is with Zhao Yunlan. BUT this aside, he is totally not playing along making himself look scared to the muggers / of the actual mugging. This fits in with some other stuff I was recently discussing with someone but now for the life of me I can't remember what the canon issue was...

Edited 2019-07-13 15:46 (UTC)

(Please, feel free! This is all great fun to read.)

Just to make sure - how literally do you mean "playing the villain"? Do you read him as actively making himself look like a villain? Because I wouldn't describe it that way ...

and something like ego or indignation played a part in the way he chose to approach that pre-Zhao Yunlan interrogation

Ego and trollish instincts? *g*

This fits in with some other stuff I was recently discussing with someone but now for the life of me I can't remember what the canon issue was...

So curious about this now! Let me know if you remember. :)

No, sorry, shorthand. *g* I should know better by now! I meant that he acts in a way not designed to make him look less suspicious, and very likely to make him look more suspicious. If you're found at the scene of a crime, especially after being found loosely associated with a bunch of other previous crimes, actively and blatantly fucking with the heads of two police officers and looking like you're enjoying that you're good at that is... like ExtraPenguin says, he makes himself look like a suspect - as a byproduct rather than an active aim, though.

So curious about this now! Let me know if you remember. :)

Will do! I think it had something to do with ego in general but I can't puzzle it out until I remember what ep / canon moment it was about.

as a byproduct rather than an active aim

Oh, good, then we're not actually reading him wildly differently. I'm relieved! *g*

Actually quite good people skills

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