"Well," Yunlan says, very dryly -- he can see he's treading on some sensitive ground, here, with the way Jedao has suddenly gone extra performative -- "I don't mind you being a jackass."

On nearly all topics, he can stand getting his fingers nipped. He takes another sip of tea: just about right, now, and so he takes another, because drinking it all too fast is easier than having to fish the teabag out and carry it all the way over to the trash.

"Thank you," he adds, dropping the dry tone in favor of going quiet and serious. "Does this mean if I do catch a lie, it means I should back off?"