Every student of House Mandrake is assigned a study partner, a counterpart from House Valerian. Lan Wangji suspects, with some outrage, that he's been given the troublemaker.

Wen Kexing is aware of the following things. One, Han Ying would die for Zhou Zishu - and Wen Kexing likes that in a man. Two, upon their first meeting Han Ying dropped to his knees before A-Xu the moment Wen Kexing let go of his throat - and that is simply just interesting. Three, Han Ying is A-Xu's in a way no one else is anymore. That last part, he could find an issue with. Or, he could use it for the best - he is not called Philanthropist Wen for nothing, after all.