sid_guardian | Focus on Professor Zhou: If only Shen Wei were here!

Professor Zhou is Shen Wei's academic mentor who joined Professor Ouyang's serum project, then quit after Sha Ya's raid. He's shown taking Shen Wei out for drinks and has great trust in Shen Wei's scientific abilities.

Professor Zhou going "If only Shen Wei were here!" and in other ways treating him as a panacea for research, despite Professor Ouyang's annoyance.

Professor Zhou telling Shen Wei he really should take up boozing for politeness.

1. Do you think Professor Zhou ever thought there was something odd or off about Shen Wei? How would he have reacted if he found out Shen Wei was from Dixing? Did anyone tell him post-canon?

2. What do you think his relationship with Li Qian was post-canon? Li Qian was originally his student's student, and now she's the director of the Institute.

3. How do you think his opinion of Professor Ouyang evolved over the course of the show?

4. What do you think he thinks of Dixingians, and would that change should he find out Shen Wei was one?

Professor Zhou does have a canonical character tag on AO3! It has five fics in it. Two of them are by people other than me: (Do you know of any other untagged ones, or art/picspams/vids etc?)
Peer Review and Purple Smoke by

draconicsockpuppet – Shen Wei, Li Qian, and Professor Zhou rewrite a scientific article.
Orange Colored Sky by

demitas – pre-canon fic where Shen Wei gets called to assist Professor Zhou in a science thing.

So – come and talk about Professor Zhou! Share links to meta, picspams, and related fanworks, new or old! Self-recs whole-heartedly encouraged. Basically, this is the place for anything you want to say or link to about Professor Zhou.

Professor Zhou is a drama-only character.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Great post! :-)

Focus on Professor Zhou: If only Shen Wei were here!

Hee! Perfect tagline. I feel like Professor Zhou could benefit from a double-blind test where one research lab employs Shen Wei and one doesn't. The fact that Shen Wei is always mysteriously heading out for "coffee" or otherwise absent from his desk might cool his optimism. *g*

Do you think Professor Zhou ever thought there was something odd or off about Shen Wei?

I think Shen Wei's behaviour probably falls within an expected range of science weirdness... though perhaps he's unusually uninterested in computers.

How would he have reacted if he found out Shen Wei was from Dixing? Did anyone tell him post-canon?

I think he'd have been fascinated and immediately asked for blood, hair and tissue samples. /o\

2. What do you think his relationship with Li Qian was post-canon? Li Qian was originally his student's student, and now she's the director of the Institute.

Oh, excellent question. Maybe Professor Zhou decides to retire, to save his dignity (and in some disgrace after having been involved in the serum project)? Or maybe he just accepts that the older you get, the younger your manager will seem, and the difference between a twenty-something and a forty-something isn't that great, really. Maybe he even takes her under his wing a little, in Shen Wei's absence.

I can't answer the other questions, since I haven't rewatched the back half of the show in so long. /fail

Two of them are by people other than me

Hee!

ETA: Professor Zhou telling Shen Wei he really should take up boozing for politeness.

Oh, thank you for that! For some reason, I've always assumed that was the university chancellor, not Professor Zhou.

Edited 2020-08-21 23:24 (UTC)

I feel like Professor Zhou could benefit from a double-blind test where one research lab employs Shen Wei and one doesn't. The fact that Shen Wei is always mysteriously heading out for "coffee" or otherwise absent from his desk might cool his optimism. *g*
LOL! Sounds hilarious. Or perhaps Professor Zhou would go all relationship advice on his prize cabbage and tell him to break up with the buy who's such a distraction? :P

I think he'd have been fascinated and immediately asked for blood, hair and tissue samples. /o\
I am imagining him wheedling Shen Wei with the magic words "For Science!" and Shen Wei crumbling under the pressure. *g*

Maybe Professor Zhou decides to retire, to save his dignity (and in some disgrace after having been involved in the serum project)? Or maybe he just accepts that the older you get, the younger your manager will seem, and the difference between a twenty-something and a forty-something isn't that great, really. Maybe he even takes her under his wing a little, in Shen Wei's absence.
Both very plausible! I suppose he might go to some other projects back at the University or something, or take his student's student under his wing and then cheer her on as the director.

Nice post! Just a couple of things...

While I've forgotten a lot of the details, I feel like Professor Zhou is sort of the non-evil version of Professor Ouyang, with the same interests and concerns but stopping before he becomes a supervillain? I wonder if he and Li Qian would have formed an alliance post-canon based more or less on both missing Shen Wei and wanting to carry on well in his absence; since Professor Zhou can't see Shen Wei in the Institute post, he can at least have his 孫弟子 Li Qian instead.

Professor Zhou telling Shen Wei he really should take up boozing for politeness.
I refer anyone who feels that Guardian does not have sufficient realism to this scene, sigh.

I feel like Professor Zhou is sort of the non-evil version of Professor Ouyang, with the same interests and concerns but stopping before he becomes a supervillain?
That's a very good POV! Hm. Yeah, he's the less irrational and impulsive version.

I wonder if he and Li Qian would have formed an alliance post-canon based more or less on both missing Shen Wei and wanting to carry on well in his absence; since Professor Zhou can't see Shen Wei in the Institute post, he can at least have his 孫弟子 Li Qian instead.
Very plausible! (And now I want Professor Zhou to actually refer to Li Qian as his 孫弟子 due to Reasons. Ideally in hearing of Li Qian and Shen Wei...)

Focus on Professor Zhou: If only Shen Wei were here!

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject