For a moment, Xichen's hand comes to rest on Jiang Wanyin's shoulder. He does it before he thinks, hopes to provide steadiness and comfort when he sees the man is in pain. It makes him hurt, his insides twist to know that there is nothing he can do.
That it is not his place to do anything to help him, not in the way he wishes that he could.
"It is what you have achieved, Wanyin," he says soft but firm, meaning it. He will not back down on that, even if it something that the younger man will fight him on. He is learning, slowly, that Jiang Wanyin sees his accomplishments as not his own -- not as accomplishments but expectations. It hurts to see it, but it also awes Xichen in a way. This is a man who has overcome so much, who has accomplished it and has not lost himself to pride and hubris. There is much to be admired in that.
His throat burns when the younger looks up, when his voice sounds so torn and raw. "We will find the answer. I will not let anything happen," he says with the same firmness, speaking the words before he realizes he's let them slip out but knowing that they are true.
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That it is not his place to do anything to help him, not in the way he wishes that he could.
"It is what you have achieved, Wanyin," he says soft but firm, meaning it. He will not back down on that, even if it something that the younger man will fight him on. He is learning, slowly, that Jiang Wanyin sees his accomplishments as not his own -- not as accomplishments but expectations. It hurts to see it, but it also awes Xichen in a way. This is a man who has overcome so much, who has accomplished it and has not lost himself to pride and hubris. There is much to be admired in that.
His throat burns when the younger looks up, when his voice sounds so torn and raw. "We will find the answer. I will not let anything happen," he says with the same firmness, speaking the words before he realizes he's let them slip out but knowing that they are true.