[The smile he offers back is impossibly tender, even if he can't fully keep out the melancholy that's been steeping his bones lately. How did I get so lucky? He's asked himself that so many times, and he asks it again as his fingers gently trace over the shell of Lan Wangji's ears. Leaning forward, he peppers a few feather-soft kisses from cheek to cheek across the bridge of his nose.]

My good, good Lan Zhan. You really know exactly what to say to set my heart at ease.

[He really is too lucky. Too, too lucky, even with all of the misfortune around them.

He seems to be considering the last question, though. Turns the thought over in his head, careful in his examination. Eventually:]

—Okuni told me a few weeks ago that she's decided to have faith in Xie Lian. Faith that he'll do what needs to be done, whatever that might be. [And he understands the concerns Lan Wangji has, because he's had those same concerns before, too. Xie Lian's kindness is boundless in ways, and it's a strength but it's also a weakness. How can you trust someone to dole out appropriate punishment when their heart still bleeds for the kidnappers who have done so much damage? It's hard - it's hard. But he's seen the stony determination in Xie Lian himself, seen the rigid set of his jaw and the steel in his spine as he promised to do whatever it took, and so:]

I'm going to have faith, too.