I don't like you out there alone. You're cut off. Or— Or we are, whichever. The point is, if something happens to you— No help can reach you. Do you understand?

Are you so accustomed to having your back to a wall you no longer know any other way to act?

[ There's a hiss of breath as Jiang Cheng regrets those words just as soon as they leave his lips. They're unkind, and they do not serve them.

He doesn't know why his love always hurts the people who love him.

Maybe he learned it from his mother.

He takes a sharp breath, then tries again. ]

Keep me appraised of your location. I'll make sure our defenses are in place here, then find a way to join you.