kay

Modern bingqiu art 💖

Oh he knows Shaoyou is gonna be dead meat after that meeting

I cannot. I wonder what's going inside bro's brain here. Is he like, "RIP to this poor idiot's ass tonight", or is he like, "I wonder when he's gonna get pregnant and spare me from this circus of unhinged boss".

Very bold indeed of Sheng Shaoyou to bring anyone other than Hua Yong. The implications of this scene are very funny now that I know the whole context.

Hello, everyone! This is a very LONG and random post, but it’s been sitting on my noggin ever since the final episode of ABO Desire came out. The LangTu restaurant scene was done particularly well in terms of pacing and storytelling in comparison to the quick cuts of the rest of the episode.

I’m going to analyze this particular moment (and the suit that he wears) because of how genuinely startled I was by the very subtle details that made this scene pop. I’ll primarily be taking a look at the differences from the novel and from the drama to further emphasize the qualities that made this scene great—specifically, Drama! Shen Wenlang’s acceptance of his masculinity, manhood-as-connected-to-fatherhood, and responsibility. (Jiang Heng and Li Pei En’s fantastic acting certainly helped!)

This meta ended up being all over the place and way too drawn out because I was way too excited to coherently write my thoughts down, but let me know what y’all think!

To begin: there is a very specific pinstriped suit Shen Wenlang wears in his first introduction scene. The color is dark, bordering on black-and-blue, and lends him sharp angles and a ‘virile’ vibe that clearly both he and Hua Yong had planned for. Though later we know Shen Wenlang’s personality is abrasive and brash, the initial image we have of him is a stereotypical rich man, cold and arrogant, with a sleazebag demeanor. As Sheng Shaoyou, Gao Tu, and Chen Pinming catch him fooling around his new secretary (that we recognize as Hua Yong), his smile is cold and smug, and he fixes his tie in a show of complete masculine expression. He even adopts the air of, “Ah, well, I’ve been caught, but can you blame me?”

This is, obviously, a facade. Not only because Hua Yong is roping Shen Wenlang along with his schemes, but because we later figure out that Shen Wenlang dislikes the violent, hegemonic behaviors of S-Class Alphas. Notably, in the novel, he says to Sheng Shaoyou in reference to Hua Yong when Sheng Shaoyou storms into his office and demands to know where Hua Yong is:

“The rage you so earnestly displayed today, President Sheng—I'll add that to his debt as well. A dog that bites the hand that feeds it, even if it cries and begs for mercy, will never be forgiven. Because... it made me hurt.” (Ch. 20)

His disapproval of Sheng Shaoyou stems from his utter disdain for S-Class Alphas’ wild and attitudes; he refers to him several times, as seen above, as a dog and a mutt, wild and untamed. In the drama, however, he states more bluntly something along the lines of to Sheng Shaoyou,

“You’re coming into my territory and pulling your dominant pheromones? Some powerful S-Class Alpha you are, making an Omega steal secrets for you! And yet now you show concern? It’s too late.”

There is an underlying hint of disdain for Sheng Shaoyou’s lack of responsibility—even to Shen Wenlang, an Omegaphobic S-Class Alpha, Sheng Shaoyou failed his duty to his Omega. Does Shen Wenlang particularly mean this, however? Not particularly—his ‘scumbag’ era is hard to analyze because it’s a false role he’s playing. But what does this have to do with his pinstriped suit?

The particular reason I wished to bring it up was because Shen Wenlang wears the same pinstriped suit in the restaurant scene. On my first watch, I didn’t notice it—what I did notice was the drab colors he wore up until that meeting. When he’s calling Gao Ming and setting up the appointment, he wears black, like mourning colors. His voice is cool and composed and icy—even before he meets up with Gao Tu! Hua Yong notes after Gao Tu flees from the restaurant:

Shen Wenlang had always been like this—the bigger the matter, the colder his attitude… today, Shen Wenlang's voice mirrored how it had sounded at that funeral—like it had frozen over, his speech noticeably slower than usual. Even over the phone, Hua Yong could feel the chill radiating from Shen Wenlang—icy, bone-deep. (Ch. 75)

Shen Wenlang’s primary reaction to “bigger matters” isn’t with rage or contempt as his main personality is, but with a coolheadedness, which reflects in his wardrobe choices and is a large diversion of the stereotypical Alpha anger. In the drama, however, we don’t get to see a phone call of that similar nature, since they switched up the plot—Hua Yong reveals to Shen Wenlang that Gao Tu was the Omega from that night before anything actually occurs at the restaurant. This is the key difference to Shen Wenlang arriving at the restaurant in the novel and Shen Wenlang arriving at the restaurant in the drama.

Why is this important? Because of the suit.

Shen Wenlang shows up in heavy bleak colors: there is a sternness to his face that throws it into sharp relief. Below is their first look: Drama! Shen Wenlang walks up to them instead of Gao Tu seeing Shen Wenlang “sitting there in the restaurant Gao Tu had once loved most, [looking] completely out of place, like a radiant pearl hidden among fish eyes.” (Ch. 74)

This is a specific drama detail that makes Shen Wenlang’s presence in that scene a stepping stone towards his acceptance of his manhood and maturity. It’s almost a bookend: from the moment the plan with HuaSheng begins, to the unraveling of the LangTu arc. Be forewarned, I’ll be spamming gifs from here on to highlight my point on the drama entirely, because we don’t get description on Novel! Shen Wenlang’s face and actions throughout the reveal. Gao Tu only notices that Shen Wenlang kept on staring at his face, and when Gao Ming reveals his pregnancy:

The look on the other party's face remained just as indifferent as before—as if hearing that a former subordinate was pregnant with his child was the most ordinary thing in the world. Shen Wenlang might have a bad temper and a sharp tongue, but when it came to serious matters, he had always possessed exceptional composure. He was the type to remain unmoved even if Mount Tai collapsed in front of him. (Ch. 74)

Again, that serious maturity. Novel! Shen Wenlang, who has a “bad temper and a sharp tongue” and has no clue of Gao Tu being an Omega, is immovable at the thought of his secretary being pregnant? Because it’s through Gao Tu’s panicked lens, he might’ve been begging his baby momma and crying for all we know, but Gao Tu failed to register it as he prepared to flee.

However, in the drama, Shen Wenlang, who is aware of Gao Tu being the Omega, is startled. The sharpness of his face doesn’t melt away; in fact, it heightens. Combined with the stern expression and the pinstriped suit, both end up giving him a very intense, very somber, and very mature air. This isn’t the Shen Wenlang that we met in the first episode, despite the same costume—and it’s because Shen Wenlang dressed to meet the Omega whom he lost his virginity to head-on.

Shen Wenlang had always clearly rejected the social conditions of his S-Class Alpha status. This doesn’t mean he isn’t a douchebag: his Omegaphobia, his scathing manner, and his consistent temperamental tendencies all connect to an Alpha used to being at the top of the food chain.

This can be reflected in our world, if we look at this in terms of our gendered dynamics: Shen Wenlang is a Man hateful of men, and Gao Tu is a Woman smothering her femininity (or just disguising herself as a man, haha). Almost like a misogynistic and sexist man who doesn’t register his female friend as a ‘woman’, until she grows up and blossoms into the norms that our society has conditioned her to be, Shen Wenlang is also a immature man of twenty-eight years who doesn’t pick up on Gao Tu’s obvious secret, and treats Gao Tu in the same blind manner.

I bring up this metaphor because of the blatant patriarchal tones of his wardrobe (which I’ll get into). His eventual iciness aside, we can see over the course of the drama that he is definitely an immature adult used to the ways of the dominant social structure: he snaps at Gao Tu out of jealousy over his supposed “Omega”, calls Omegas discriminatory names to the point Gao Tu quotes the ABO Protection Act, and acts oblivious as to the reason why Sheng Shaoyou would want to beat his ass at every opportunity.

But, compared to Sheng Shaoyou, the typical Alphas of all Alphas, Shen Wenlang has one thing that separates him: his sexuality. As aforementioned, we know that Shen Wenlang is a virgin, and so is Gao Tu (referred to as “utterly inexperienced”), when they sleep together in the staff lounge. There is something interesting to note of Shen Wenlang’s narration when he recalls that night:

Early the next morning, Shen Wenlang woke up in the staff lounge of Royal Tian Di Hui…. one of the legs on the sofa bed in the corner had collapsed, and the whole thing was a mess. There even seemed to be blood. Scattered fragments of memory sent a wave of fury and humiliation through Shen Wenlang, who had always disliked Omegas. Faced with irrefutable evidence, he couldn't just pretend it had all been a dream. In the ensuing silence, he almost instinctively began blaming Gao Tu, who had vanished without a trace. (Ch. 38)

Shen Wenlang had no say in the biological needs of his body, and neither did Gao Tu: he clearly feels violated, and blames Gao Tu for leaving his side—if Gao Tu had been there, he wouldn’t have run off and end up “rolling into bed with an Omega in heat” (Ch. 38). In the drama, he’s more concise and angry, snapping the morning after when he visits Gao Tu’s apartment, “Do you even know what happened to me?”

Now, when he sets up the appointment right after his call with Hua Yong, he does so calmly, compared to his nervousness, like he was going to a “job interview” in the novel. There is no beating around the bush, apart from him lying and saying he was a friend of Gao Tu’s. Shen Wenlang, having digested this information overnight, clearly has a goal in mind: to seek the truth from Gao Tu, about what happened that night and perhaps to lay down the facts. So, when he arrives in the pinstriped suit, he is meeting face-to-face, in his mind, the pinnacle of his sexuality. Again, it’s a bookend: First Episode Shen Wenlang in the same suit hadn’t gone through the emotional and sexual turmoil of that night.

Of course, his manner of dress becomes more stark when the concept of the child is thrown into the mix. As pictured below, he flips through the papers proving Gao Tu is an Omega with brisk, cold surprise and mounting anger, even though he has known of this since Hua Yong told him (very “father being served papers in paternity court” vibes).

He seems shocked at the news, but continues to stare at Gao Tu, as if waiting to hear him speak. Though it might seem a little silly that I’m saying that this is a patriarchal Shen Wenlang at work here, this is because he’s fully fledged into his role as the Father and as the Husband (Alpha), even without knowing it. In the past, he wouldn’t let Gao Tu speak—and now, he’s simply waiting for Gao Tu to say something.

And then, comes the “ten million” bargain. To abort his child, for ten million yen.

Notably, in the novel, whatever he says is drowned out by Gao Tu’s panic. We don’t know what he expressed to Gao Tu in that moment. The drama, however, decided to take their own twist, and considering that the NJ sisters directed this, this could be a direct affirmation that this is supposedly what Shen Wenlang said in the novel too.

“Gao Tu, you used my trust. You planned all of this just to get pregnant. So you demand ten million when it came time to abort the child. Gao Tu, it’s been ten years. You’ve been by my side for ten years. And this is what it was all for?” (Ep. 16)

This is perhaps my favorite line from this whole scene. Shen Wenlang grows cold and angry at the mere implication of aborting his child—a child he didn’t even know he had until ten seconds ago! He is the prime, sterile Patriarchal figure. His words are utterly harsh and undeserving towards Gao Tu, but rather illuminating on his feelings about his baby mama (haha): especially, “And this is what is was all for?”

Would the Shen Wenlang from sixteen episodes prior give a damn if an Omega was revealed to be carrying his child? He certainly would—but he wouldn’t have handled it in the same mature manner as he did here.

Of course, this isn’t to applaud on Shen Wenlang in this scene. He’s in the wrong, and he’s yet to realize it. It is only when Gao Tu flees does he feel the consequences of his actions—though his mate-seeking syndrome is an eruption of immaturity, it is also a biological condition beyond his understanding and control, just like that night.

In fact, beyond that, we see him reckon with the ghost of Gao Tu and the baby’s absence: he pleads with Hua Yong to not end it all, for the sake of his child. “Don’t you love your child at all?” is a shockingly mature and accurate question to lobby Hua Yong’s way. Even the way he asks, “Are you okay?” is an improvement. There is also the manner in which he handles Little Peanut; his desire to be an active father is so plain and obvious that it almost haunts the narrative.

And then, of course, the last time we see him is the LangTu reunion scene. Funnily enough, though his clothing is almost too childish for his age, his conduct isn’t.

When he runs to embrace Gao Tu, Shen Wenlang has clearly come out of the other side of the restaurant scene as a willing and wanting Family Man, Father, and Husband, and more than ready to take responsibility.

Congrats, Shen Wenlang! It took you (and your suit) three years but you got there!

Thanks for reading. This was WAY too long.

SWL IS (almost) LITERALLY GOOGLING “WHY IS HE LEAVING ME??”

Shen Wenlang calls

after the earthquake