“Gift-Giving As Love Language”

[by: andrea] Lan Zhan and A-Yuan in The Untamed, Episode 28

The following post will, perhaps absurdly, focus for a very long time on a very brief scene of The Untamed, Episode 28---Lan Zhan’s first introduction to A-Yuan.

Near the end of Episode 28, Lan Zhan runs unexpectedly into Wei Ying while nighthunting in Yiling (well, I should say “unexpectedly”---Lan Zhan definitely went to the area hoping to find him). Lan Zhan loses his composure the second he hears Wei Ying’s voice, and it’s clear through the magic of Wang Yibo’s subtle facial expressions how overwhelmed Lan Zhan is at seeing him again. The slow-motion camera shot of Wei Ying coming towards him not only highlights the strong emotion of the moment---their last interaction had been that rainy night at Qiongqi Path---but also has the effect of making Wei Ying look . . . well, beautiful. Just as filmmakers and fans alike use slow-motion editing to code the overtly “romantic” gaze, the slow, languid shot of Wei Ying walking towards Lan Zhan feels pretty obvious in its intent. We are, after all, “seeing” from Lan Zhan’s perspective here----and this perspective makes no secret of either Wei Ying’s beauty or the nature of Lan Zhan’s feelings for him.

While this is all going on, A-Yuan has been clinging to Lan Zhan and wailing---which, it bears mentioning, is objectively funny. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, but if SHINee’s “Hello Baby” has taught us anything, it’s that when you put loveable male idols (or, in this case, characters) together with very young children, you will always get good, heartwarming entertainment. But, as much as I appreciated it, this post isn’t about Lan Zhan having to deal with a crying toddler. It’s to unpack the way he responds to the toddler as soon as he understands that it “belongs” to Wei Ying.

What’s clear---in fact, the only thing that’s clear---is that this child belongs in some way to Wei Ying.

Wei Wuxian, in true Wei Wuxian style, does not make it easy for Lan Zhan to grasp what this belonging actually means. In response to his question about the toddler (“This child….?”), Wei Ying literally says, “Oh, I birthed him!” and that’s it. Poor Lan Zhan blinks in a way that makes it clear he’s totally baffled but, significantly, doesn’t press the issue. What’s clear---in fact, the only thing that’s clear---is that this child belongs in some way to Wei Ying. The possibility that this is actually his biological son, perhaps not literally birthed by him but by an unseen lover or wife, is subtextually on the table. In a broad sense, this possibility comes to stand in for the way Wei Ying has demonstrably moved onto a new life---one that exists away and apart from the one he used to lead alongside Lan Zhan (and Jiang Cheng, Shijie, and everybody else). In a more Lan Zhan-specific sense, it means Wei Ying might be involved romantically, or has even married and started a family, with another person. To my mind, there’s no way Lan Zhan isn’t considering this possibility, even if it’s on some level unlikely and even if he has no clue how it might have happened. After all, what does he know? He parted ways with Wei Ying some time ago and hasn’t seen him since.

Yet Lan Zhan doesn’t question further or demand answers---instead, incredibly, he buys not one but several toys for the child. I want to unpack this act of gift-giving not only because it’s my favorite moment of the episode but because it says a lot about the nature of his approach to (and evolving love for) Wei Ying. At first, Lan Zhan simply watches as Wei Ying teases the child with toys before dragging the kid off without buying him anything. While on the one hand, this is a hilarious example of Wei Ying-style parenting, on the other, it reveals to a careful observer that Wei Ying can’t actually afford to buy A-Yuan a toy. Wei Ying, of course, would never, ever admit this---in fact, it’s very in-character of him to deflect his poverty into a joke, a performance, or a clever lesson (“Asking is asking. Buying is buying. Why does asking mean you have to buy?”). But Lan Zhan intuits the unspoken fact that Wei Ying doesn’t have the money to get the child what he wants. So he turns to A-Yuan and asks what toy he would like.

If it’s Wei Ying’s child, and Wei Ying cares about him, then Lan Zhan does too.

To put this moment in perspective: Lan Zhan has no idea where this child has come from, no idea whether it’s truly Wei Ying’s son or if Wei Ying was only joking earlier. But even in the face of the possibility that Wei Ying has taken a lover or partner who is not him---and curtailed his chances of loving Wei Ying in a way that could ever be reciprocated---Lan Zhan takes care of Wei Ying’s child. Actually, he more than takes care of him: he quite literally spoils A-Yuan, buying him many more toys than the one he initially pointed towards. There’s a tiny (and such a well-done) sequence of moments in this scene that makes Lan Zhan’s motivation behind his act clear to the audience---after A-Yuan points to the toy he wants, Lan Zhan looks over at the toy stand and then looks straight into Wei Ying’s eyes. Even as he eventually turns to make the purchase, Lan Zhan’s eyes remain fixed on Wei Ying’s face for a meaningful, drawn-out second longer before he leaves. The formal inclusion of this gaze in the scene underscores for the audience that Lan Zhan’s act of kindness for A-Yuan is implicitly motivated by making Wei Ying happy and obliquely providing for him rather than just the child. And, as if to confirm it, another brief camera shot shows us the reaction on Wei Ying’s face: a mixture of disbelief and a subtle kind of smile. Xiao Zhan’s acting comes through in full force in this moment, as the smile isn’t Wei Ying’s performative, public-facing grin but something softer and more sincere---a genuine and caught-off-guard expression.

The inclusion of this shot of Wei Ying’s face and Lan Zhan’s corresponding fixation on it makes it clear that he spoils the child for Wei Ying’s sake. For Lan Zhan, it doesn’t matter that the child could represent his lost chances with Wei Ying: if it’s Wei Ying’s child and Wei Ying cares about him, then Lan Zhan does too. His act reflects not only on the way he and the other men of the Untamed so frequently embody an ethic of care (see Lilly’s post for more on this topic), but on the slow evolution of his approach to Wei Ying from one of worried control to that of trusting support. Critically, Lan Zhan’s caretaking also sets up future plot points along these lines (the most important of which is, of course, Lan Zhan adopting A-Yuan and bringing him to be raised in Gusu after Wei Ying’s death). For Lan Zhan, it was never about gaining favors with Wei Ying or increasing his own reputation with him---he would take care of Wei Ying’s son, and loved ones, regardless of his own personal stake in the matter, if only for Wei Ying’s well-being, happiness, and (after he dies) the spirit of his memory.

In a fundamental sense, this moment marks one of the many critical stepping stones in building Lan Zhan’s particular brand of loving Wei Ying. Instead of attempting to cajole or convince Wei Ying into certain decisions (coming back with him to Gusu) or demanding an explanation (for why he has abandoned proper cultivation, for why he has this child in the first place), Lan Zhan, for perhaps the very first time in the series, simply accepts Wei Ying’s situation as it stands. He elects not to stand in his way (as he did on Qiongqi Path) but to provide for him and support him. It’s a brief moment, and the two definitely have a long way to go before this support solidifies into the version of love they eventually share, but it’s significant, I think, for the way it foreshadows that future.