#luo wenzhou Wants to prove he can protect what he loves. wants to prove what he loves can be good (that one seniors saughter working for the

[mejomonster]

Fei Du and Luo Wenzhou's relationship is so layered and complicated and lovely and just a fucking joy to see each layer of, to see shift. No wonder this book is my favorite.

[mejomonster]

Silent Reading, chapter 23. I really liked this whole part. How Tao Ran suspected Fei Du and didn't say it, how without hesitation Luo Wenzhou decided it couldn't be Fei Du (which he'd attribute to logic but realistically Fei Du could lie about being lost so its partially emotional trust he knows Fei Du well enough to say he didn't kill the guy). I love Tao Ran acting cagey cause like... he helped Fei Du too for 7 years but really Luo Wenzhou was driving that boat, and exposed to Fei Du's worse traits (and more honest self), so when it comes down to Fei Du being a suspect Tao Ran is less certain of Fei Du's true personality. It really does remind me in a lot of ways of Flower of Evil in terms of wife/husband and luo/fei trusting. I also love how Fei Du gradually picks up on the suspecting him, how he gets angry but doesn't manage to hide it while still trying to, how he helps them solve it right after this. I think luo/feis most high Click tension is when they're partners practically on rhe same wavelength like in these kinds of scenes.

Also Tao Ran being pissed he's got no idea about what luo and fei did earlier that day during Tao Rans date (a car chase lmao). And Fei Du talking about sex and partying in front of Tao and Luo was just fairly funny. That's his surrogate parents!

And around here in the novel, Luo Wenzhous pov mentions he's been fighting with Fei Du 7 years and only now maybe is seeing a potential ceasefire. It makes me wonder. If they fought the Wholeee 7 years? Well then. For one, Luo Wenzhou must care an awful lot about Fei Du, because that truth means he's the one that purposely chose to invest in Fei Du's life (and drag Tao Ran into it too) and consistently do it despite the fighting nonstop. When it would've been easier (at least around a year after fei dus moms case was settled) to just let it go and leave Fei Du alone if he was always fighting with Luo. But Luo didn't want to abandon him, apparently, even with rhe fights. A very parental caretaker decision to NOT stop a relationship due to fights, whereas if it was more a concerned citizen only/friend like capacity then constant fighting wouldve been a quite reasonable reason to cease contact. So Luo for some reason has maintained this contact. He felt very sorry about what fei du was going through, wanted to protect him, etc something. Also the obvious implications: it means it caused Luo and Tao Ran to be possibly the most stable healthy familial (or friend or otherwise) long term relationships he's got. It also means, despite the fights, Luo to some degree proved there's at least one person he can be his worst self around or even cruel to who won't abandon him. Not sure if Fei Du sees himself as his dad and Luo as his mom taking the damage in this parallel, or Luo as controlling like his dad (but ultimately a safer healthier version), or it's a sounding board of someone who can confirm or deny he's a monster (Luo tends to do both but it can certainly feed into fei dus own self hate or self love if he wants to interpret it his own way as desired). Curious. I am Really interested as we get more info.

The passage:

He stood in silence for a while, the smiling expression that seemed to have grown along with the corners of his eyes and the tips of his brows cooling. Then he slowly spoke. “Zhang Donglai can’t be the killer. If his fingerprints are the only ones on the tie, it clearly shows that when the killer took that tie, whether he stole it or just picked it up, he was already planning to use it to implicate him.”

His voice was leisurely, his tone no different from his usual one, but Tao Ran, bewildered, sensed his veiled temper.

Starting from the time Tao Ran had called him to ask for Zhang Donglai’s alibi, Fei Du had displayed the indifference of an outsider. Even afterwards, when he’d twice accompanied Zhang Ting to the City Bureau, he was purely accompanying her, purely going through the motions, a mere drinking buddy through and through.

He hadn’t gotten worked up trying to defend Zhang Donglai. He hadn’t even asked of his own initiative what their investigation had turned up, whether Zhang Donglai had been entirely cleared of suspicion.

“I never expected you to get angry on Zhang Donglai’s behalf. I thought…” Tao Ran was somewhat taken aback. He considered his wording. “I didn’t think you were on such good terms with him? It looked at first like you weren’t taking this so much to heart.”

“I’m not angry. I just think that some people have been rather too thorough.” Fei Du tilted his head and smiled at him, seeming warm and calm, then made a slip of the tongue: “Give me some coffee-flavored sesame oil to help me focus.”

Tao Ran: “…”

The “not angry” President Fei’s expression was frank; he had entirely failed to notice he’d said anything wrong.

When Fei Du, frowning, had drained a cup of instant coffee with an expression of deepest suffering, he let out a breath and spoke. “When you released Zhang Donglai, saying that there was insufficient evidence, you actually already had evidence showing he wasn’t under suspicion. Is that right?”

Tao Ran froze.

But next to him Luo Wenzhou nodded. “Right.—The DNA on those cigarette ends you sent over really was He Zhongyi’s. We followed up on that lead and found that he’d gotten on a bus and left Chengguang Mansion to go somewhere else. He wasn’t killed at the club. Zhang Donglai was still making merry in Chengguang Mansion at the time. His alibi is fairly solid. We didn’t clarify this when we set him free because I had a feeling that the murderer was following this case closely. If we released Zhang Donglai so ambiguously, he would definitely have a next move. And sure enough, he delivered this tie to us.”

“If he’s someone who can closely follow the case and plant the murder weapon in Zhang Donglai’s car without being suspected, then the murderer must be among those of us who came to pick up Zhang Donglai when he got out of the ‘little dark room.’ Aside from Zhang Ting and Attorney Liu, all those people also just happened to be at Chengguang Mansion that night.” Fei Du stretched out his legs, half-leaning and half-sitting on Tao Ran’s desk. “Among us, the one most concerned with the case, the most implicated, must be me. Am I under a lot of suspicion?”

“Not much,” Luo Wenzhou answered without pausing to think. “Earlier you couldn’t find north in the West District’s heap of little alleys. The degree of difficulty involved in tossing a corpse there would be a little high for you.”

Fei Du: “…”

Luo Wenzhou said, “That’s enough, President Fei. I know you’re ‘both wealthy and virtuous’ and can afford to eat youtiao. The silk banner’s on its way. Stop throwing a tantrum and speak sensibly.”

Tao Ran looked from one to the next. He was slightly appalled. He had no idea what had happened while he’d been away from his post for the time it took to have dinner.

Fei Du stared at Luo Wenzhou expressionlessly for a while; perhaps he was internally cutting him to pieces. He managed to maintain his bearing and said seriously, “Aside from me, the one who most clearly understands the circumstances of the case must be Attorney Liu. The whole affair of the tie may have been staged by him. But he never had any contact with Zhang Donglai before, and it would have been very hard for him to get ahold of Lao Zhang’s tie to use as a murder weapon.—Attorney Liu reports directly to Zhang Ting, and Zhang Ting fits the above requirements better. Also, she came into close contact with the deceased He Zhongyi. You need to go investigate her alibi for that night.”

He paused for a moment. “There’s also a fourth person: Zhang Ting’s boyfriend, Zhao Haochang. He’s a fairly well-known legal advisor, specializing in mergers and acquisitions. He was the one who recommended Attorney Liu to Zhang Ting, and he came with her today. On the night of the murder, he was at Chengguang Mansion and left after the dinner party—”

“You’re sure he left after the dinner party,” said Luo Wenzhou.

The corners of Fei Du’s lips twitched ambiguously. “What do you think? Would you participate in the ‘midnight performances’ in front of your future brother-in-law?”

Luo Wenzhou: “…”

Little whelp!

Fei Du said, “Can you tell me approximately where He Zhongyi went after he left the Chengguang Mansion?”

Tao Ran looked at Luo Wenzhou, saw Luo Wenzhou nod slightly, then said, “He got off the bus at Wenchang Intersection. After that we lost track of him.”