[ He should still be in seclusion. Some days he actually recalls that and wants nothing more than to hide away with his shame and failures, turning over what went wrong to try to find some sense in any of it. But Aefenglom has deemed that Lan Xichen should not have that fate, so he tries to embrace the world and face his own shortcomings and sins, which means venturing out even if it means facing the past.
If he is a little too kind for what transpired in the temple of Guanyin, Lan Xichen cannot truly hold any resentment against his brothers, including Huaisang. Even as one part of him tries to acknowledge how he was used, another part argues its justification and how all three of the so-called heroes failed Huaisang each in some way, making the sin partly his own. In the end he only spins in circles with confusion and guilt, as torn about Nie Huaisang as he was with Jin Guangyao who had been kind and generous to him for years. Holding a grudge is too difficult, and Lan Xichen just looks relieved to see the young man unharmed before him, bowing politely only to raise his head and check Huaisang over for any injuries. ]
A pond? Are you still wet? You shouldn't wander around too much. You could get lost in some back street like this.
[ Or run into Jin Guangyao, and he really isn't sure how that would go. Didn't Jin Guangyao promise to put the past behind him? He wants to believe in that promise, but all the same, he can't completely settle. ]
You aren't alone. Wangji and Wei Wuxian are here. And... my sworn brothers as well.
[ If Huaisang was wondering just how much Lan Xichen knew, the soft hesitation in his words gives that away. He knows the weight behind what he's saying and yet can't completely believe that hostility will come from it--or rather, he still hopes that they can live beyond the battles they have locked into. ]
always because huaisang is the favorite
If he is a little too kind for what transpired in the temple of Guanyin, Lan Xichen cannot truly hold any resentment against his brothers, including Huaisang. Even as one part of him tries to acknowledge how he was used, another part argues its justification and how all three of the so-called heroes failed Huaisang each in some way, making the sin partly his own. In the end he only spins in circles with confusion and guilt, as torn about Nie Huaisang as he was with Jin Guangyao who had been kind and generous to him for years. Holding a grudge is too difficult, and Lan Xichen just looks relieved to see the young man unharmed before him, bowing politely only to raise his head and check Huaisang over for any injuries. ]
A pond? Are you still wet? You shouldn't wander around too much. You could get lost in some back street like this.
[ Or run into Jin Guangyao, and he really isn't sure how that would go. Didn't Jin Guangyao promise to put the past behind him? He wants to believe in that promise, but all the same, he can't completely settle. ]
You aren't alone. Wangji and Wei Wuxian are here. And... my sworn brothers as well.
[ If Huaisang was wondering just how much Lan Xichen knew, the soft hesitation in his words gives that away. He knows the weight behind what he's saying and yet can't completely believe that hostility will come from it--or rather, he still hopes that they can live beyond the battles they have locked into. ]