Lan Xichen's words were hard enough to hear, so clearly well-meant and even more clearly misplaced. Shen Yuan could not hold back a small, nearly-unnoticeable shake of his head in instinctive denial, wondering where on earth Lan Xichen had gotten all this -- admirable? Reliable? Him? Reliable to be a petty bitch on the network, maybe, that's the only time Shen Yuan can think of that he met expectations on his own merits, rather than just scrambling to measure up to Shen Qingqiu --
(And now he wonders if maybe the System knew what it was doing putting him in the scum villain's role after all, because how lowly is he, really, that he able to trick someone as noble as Lan Xichen into thinking they're even remotely the same?)
But even worse than listening to Lan Xichen try to comfort him is hearing Jin Guangyao's voice, and realizing his dear friend overheard them. Which is terrible, because never, not ever in ten thousand years, would Shen Yuan have ever wished to make Jin Guangyao feel inadequate for having a weak core.
The blood actually drains from his face, and Shen Yuan cuts off the qi transfer from Lan Xichen as gently as he can without sacrificing speed. He staggers to his feet, nearly tripping and falling from the headrush, and hurries over to pull the partition aside his own damn self.
"Jin-ge," he says, stricken. "I'm so sorry, I didn't --" Didn't what? Didn't mean him to hear that? Didn't mean to denigrate him? Didn't what, Shen Yuan?
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(And now he wonders if maybe the System knew what it was doing putting him in the scum villain's role after all, because how lowly is he, really, that he able to trick someone as noble as Lan Xichen into thinking they're even remotely the same?)
But even worse than listening to Lan Xichen try to comfort him is hearing Jin Guangyao's voice, and realizing his dear friend overheard them. Which is terrible, because never, not ever in ten thousand years, would Shen Yuan have ever wished to make Jin Guangyao feel inadequate for having a weak core.
The blood actually drains from his face, and Shen Yuan cuts off the qi transfer from Lan Xichen as gently as he can without sacrificing speed. He staggers to his feet, nearly tripping and falling from the headrush, and hurries over to pull the partition aside his own damn self.
"Jin-ge," he says, stricken. "I'm so sorry, I didn't --" Didn't what? Didn't mean him to hear that? Didn't mean to denigrate him? Didn't what, Shen Yuan?