He doesn't respond to the first comment, merely lowers his eyes. His brother is absolutely correct, and he doesn't need to speak to confirm it. He's already going mad, in this place. His brother, he thinks, would cope better than him. Lan Xichen had always seemed to have an easier time figuring out other people's expectations, their needs, and coming up with a way to satisfy them. He has the diplomat's edge that Wangji lacks. He is the cold river stream to Wangji's jagged ice - sprung from the same source but one adaptable and the other not.

He hasn't exactly always envied it - he thinks it causes his brother a great burden, to be forced to twist and bend and satisfy others - but he admires it. It is a skill he lacks.

"Uncertain future. Named 'imPorts', foreigners, fleeting and ephemeral. Deified or disdained. Some remain a moth's heart beat, others never leave. Impossible to fully prepare."