[ He suspects that telling Mingjue he was not worth that trust will only make Mingjue sigh at him, or perhaps feel like he has to remind him again that he does nothing think Lan Xichen is a fool. At this point, it is only his own distrust in himself that he is feeling, and he will not put that on his friend.

So instead he lets himself feel the little flash of warmth that brings, a small, pleased smile tugging at his lips as he nods. ]

I would not have believed it possible to treasure that more than I did before, but I do.

[ His gaze shifts to the wall behind them, brows furrowing a little. ]

Perhaps we can start by working together to get out of this maze.