He feels restless, awkward, and drained just sitting there on the bed with Meng Yao. Huaisang's still at a total loss of what to do in this situation. Simply hating him and wanting to see him ruined and dead had been easier to deal with and maybe on some level, it's why Huaisang had never confronted him directly about anything he'd known. If he'd allowed himself to feel anything else or opened that door, he wouldn't have been able to complete his task. If he'd seen Jin Guangyao as anything but a cold-hearted villain, he'd never found the strength inside himself to strike him down and avenge Nie Mingjue.

But now, that door was forever closed and the villain he'd slain so ruthlessly dead. Now it's just Meng Yao and Nie Huaisang sitting alone in the room of an inn trying to figure out where and how to move forward from here.

Permitting Meng Yao to take care of him while he readjusts to not being alone again seems as good of a place to start as any.

"...You're right. I should probably eat more. I'm just not hungry much anymore. I haven't had much of an appetite in years. Sometimes I forget meals entirely so the servants follow a strict schedule to make sure I eat something every day."