[ Wangji's seriousness, the pain he can see in him even now - this, more than anything else, cuts through the fog that has hovered at the edge of his mind since leaving the temple. Who is he to think of his own pain, of how deep he feels Jin Guangyao's betrayal in his bones, when what he feels is only the beginning of what Wangji had to endure for sixteen years?

Seclusion was the appropriate choice back home, to cut himself away from outside influence and search within himself to determine if there was anything left that was worth trusting, but he no longer has the luxury of such isolated self reflection. If he doubts himself so deeply, if he allows himself to think on the fact that he was never truly enough - he will fail before he has even started. He can't allow himself to fail any of them again.

His focus sharpens even more, and the somewhat distant quality to his voice when he spoke of Meng Yao earlier fades. ]

It will be a start. Meng Yao uses honeyed words like a weapon, when he needs to. They cannot always be trusted, coming from him, and so he doesn't always trust the words that come from others, no matter how sweet they may sound. It's whether your actions match up to them when you're tested that he will remember, and that's where my focus will be.

[ He has always understood why Jin Guangyao continued to bow to him, despite that Lan Xichen told him many times it wasn't necessary - it was a comforting ritual between the two of them, certainly, but it was also Jin Guangyao's way of testing that Lan Xichen meant what he said. This time, he will be less subtle than always catching his bows.

...but not quite as unsubtle as staging a rescue, please don't break Meng Yao's legs Wangji. ]