Only his brother could prompt a simultaneous feeling of alarm at the very idea and exasperated fondness at the stubbornness. There is no arguing with Wangji in this, he knows - both because he knows his brother, and because he knows that there would be no arguing with Lan Xichen himself, if their situations were reversed.

There had been no arguing with him, when he had watched the pain Wangji was in and wanted nothing more than to do everything in his power to ease it. Even now, he knows he hadn't done enough. It's easy for him to be calm, he supposes, when he believes that Wangji has more need of both of his arms than he himself does. When he would prefer it to be him, rather than his brother, who made the sacrifice.

"Then I would be here holding Xuehua for you, wishing it had taken my arm instead."

It isn't intended to be dismissive of Wangji's feelings, just acknowledgement. They will likely always wish to take some of the burden away from the other, and Lan Xichen will not tell him that he shouldn't. It's only that the circumstances here are - different.

"It was not my life at risk in that moment. It was Meng Yao's. I could not - I will not try to convince you not to sacrifice for me the way that I would for you, but I could not ask you do to the same for him."