His expression closes off and he draws back slightly, sitting up straighter. He meets Lan Wangji’s determined stare with ease, no color rising to his cheeks.

“This is exactly why I asked you for clarification,” he says in a clipped, much more formal tone.

“If I offended you with assumptions that I have attempted my best to clarify, I will ask for forgiveness, and I certainly won’t hound him further. But I will not - I will never - apologize for trying to help someone in the same ways others helped me.”