"Pretty slim," he murmurs with a sigh.

Okay, even carefully cuddling might be a bit too difficult right now but Huaisang does manage to reach over to curl his fingers around Jiang Cheng's at least. His body hurts all over but he's willing to bear it. Now that getting physical isn't an option at the moment, he's focusing more on his feelings, how fiercely his heart is beating from just being in close proximity to his friend now.

But is this still only a friendship after all they've experienced since that first kiss outside? It's not, is it? Things have changed between them after all of that and honestly, even now, this... whatever it is makes him feel happy and content in a way that's different from how he's felt when spending time with Wei Wuxian in the past. It feels deeper somehow, more intense.

But maybe he doesn't need to understand everything between them right now. They still have time to figure all of this out, right? Lessons here don't end for several more months, at least.

"I'll ask Xichen-ge tomorrow if we can use the cold spring. It'll be uncomfortable but it should help us recover faster."