He twitches where he stands, though he visibly relaxes when Fairy trots away; he's been growing some familiarity with trusting the dog, that particular dog, but he still doesn't handle it being close well at all.

He makes himself smile, strained or otherwise, and steps forward, swallowing and laughing a little too high, a little too breathy.

"We take smiles, Jin Ling. The skewers on the right are less spicy than my congee..."

He's not sure if this version of his shijie's son has had that encounter as well, but he's. Slowly returning to sit by Shen Qingqiu again.