"If you tell the truth, there will be no misunderstanding." Guangyao purses his lips, not entirely convinced. It feels too similar to when mothers tell their children 'if you tell the truth, I won't be mad.'

He curls his fingers around Xichen's hand, clinging for a moment before he lets Xichen go and returns his hand to Xichen's own lap. "My thoughts for you are not... wholly pure. I want to touch you more. I want to be touched. You are kinder to me than I deserve," and crueler than Xichen might think he is, at least to Guangyao, "and I can't demand such a thing from you. But being this close, I..."

He looks up then, his expression openly ashamed and uncertain, waiting for the rejection. "Perhaps you should go before I feel moved to beg."