"My friend, thou mayst not count the favors between us, but our grievances we can fairly exchange." He is, of course, teasing, but also quite sincere. "I learned of this play long ago. It plunged me into a mortified choler, then I turned careless, and took to asking newcomers what they knew of my life from the stage. Yet it matters to me that I told thee willing and unforced, before discovering how broadly known my secrets were." He offers an apologetic smile, because Lan Wangji's own unburdening may have been willing, but not exactly unforced. "This revelation is fresh to thee, and the injury it represents. I will tell thee how I fared, an thou dost wish, but it costs me nothing to hear thee first."