"Battling myself," he says, pulling a face, "Apparently I fight dirty."

Which he knows, but it's an attempt at humour, his greedy gaze skipping over every inch of Zhou Zishu it can. The second one, the snarling one, is still behind him. Wen Kexing keeps one eye on it too, just in case it goes for what he thinks ( what he hopes ) is the real one.

"Don't listen to what it says, it's trying to get under your skin. And it's wrong, anyway. You're not a coward."

He swallows, reflexive.

"Is it really you?"