Shen Yuan gives Lan Xichen an apologetic look and bows back, though he doesn't move from his place by Jin Guangyao's side or stopper the gentle flow of qi he'd been feeding into his wrist while he explained the circumstances under which he'd been hurt. Shen Yuan will be having words with Nie Huaisang later, if the situation seems warranted. Right now he has another relationship to shore up.
"Lan-gongzi is very kind," he says, "But this one must still offer his apologies for not greeting him properly just now. I'm afraid my only thoughts were for Jin-gongzi, just then the rest of the world might not have existed." He gives Jin Guangyao a soft, anxious smile, still worried over him in an entirely platonic, heterosexual way. "I've only known Jin-gongzi a short time, but his welfare is dear to me."
He looks up again when Lan Xichen changes the subject, following his gaze to the window. "Some of the locals say that the city itself is the body of the Pthumerian called Tower. But they refuse to speak on it any further." He turns back to Jin Guangyao, softly stroking his knuckles. "Perhaps his sleep is troubled? I'm afraid I know nothing more than that. But what I do know," he adds with an awkward, trying-too-hard laugh. "Is that cultivators seem to have especially bad luck here. First I had a qi deviation in my second month here, and now Jin-ge -- Jin-gongzi?" (You heard nothing, Lan Xichen.) "We'll have to keep a careful eye on Lan-gongzi and Nie-gongzi when December comes. Perhaps wrap them both in cotton wool and lock them into a closet?"
Yes, this is definitely a funny and gentle way to present a potential future problem to his dear friend, with no unpleasant or traumatic triggers whatsoever.
no subject
"Lan-gongzi is very kind," he says, "But this one must still offer his apologies for not greeting him properly just now. I'm afraid my only thoughts were for Jin-gongzi, just then the rest of the world might not have existed." He gives Jin Guangyao a soft, anxious smile, still worried over him in an entirely platonic, heterosexual way. "I've only known Jin-gongzi a short time, but his welfare is dear to me."
He looks up again when Lan Xichen changes the subject, following his gaze to the window. "Some of the locals say that the city itself is the body of the Pthumerian called Tower. But they refuse to speak on it any further." He turns back to Jin Guangyao, softly stroking his knuckles. "Perhaps his sleep is troubled? I'm afraid I know nothing more than that. But what I do know," he adds with an awkward, trying-too-hard laugh. "Is that cultivators seem to have especially bad luck here. First I had a qi deviation in my second month here, and now Jin-ge -- Jin-gongzi?" (You heard nothing, Lan Xichen.) "We'll have to keep a careful eye on Lan-gongzi and Nie-gongzi when December comes. Perhaps wrap them both in cotton wool and lock them into a closet?"
Yes, this is definitely a funny and gentle way to present a potential future problem to his dear friend, with no unpleasant or traumatic triggers whatsoever.