Jin Ling blushed at the reassurance, feeling vastly better with the sweetness offered. They were still friends. He hadn't shamed himself beyond forgiveness.

Part of his mind couldn't stop thinking about what he'd done, even though some of the guilt had eased.

He'd wanted to kiss Sizhui. The emotions hadn't been tied into it, there had been no friendship or pride involved. Only desire. And now he had to live with knowing that he felt some amount of desire for Sizhui, even though it was improper and something that he couldn't act upon. That made him feel all the more guilty, knowing that the way he'd come on to Sizhui couldn't entirely be blamed on being without emotions at the time. "You'd better not. Because I'm not giving you up, either. You're stuck with me."