"That's good. I don't entirely get why people do it, anyway?"

"I think mostly because they're scared. And sometimes because they don't know better. Or because they're licking the boots of fascist assholes."

"I think some people... Like it? Or they like it more than they are scared."

"Why would you like it? That's a dumb thing to like."

"I don't really know-- it just seems like some people do."

"I bet they're scared really and they're just hiding it because they're too scared to tell anyone they're scared."

"Maybe..." She doubts it, though.

"Anyway. You were going to tell me about your history class."

"It takes the worst possible interpretation of things, at every opportunity?"

"Like what?" He puts his head on her shoulder.

"It's-- very upset that people get arrested?"

"Well, yeah. The government arrests people for dumb reasons. The old Shanghai enclave got arrested for looking rich."

Is this a thing you should make sympathy noises about? She's guessing it is. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"We're better at mind control magic now."

"--Okay!"

"So your class is bothered by the arbitrary and unjust detentions of the Chinese government?" (Wei Wuxian read that phrase in an article once and was very impressed by it.) 

"I would really prefer not to be mind controlled unless its very necessary, if that is not too much of a bother... They're not unjust."

"Oh, don't worry, Lan Xichen and Meng Yao don't mind control people without their consent unless it's really important."

"That's good." She maybe should have predicted mind control as a possibility here, but...

"What are you learning about now? Tell me! I bet you'll tell me the most interesting facts."

"It's a shame we can't do science classes-- other than lab, I guess. I'm going to run out of facts. Uhh, did you know statistics is a thing?"

"Yeah! I learned a bunch of it already. --I want to learn about modern Chinese history, I don't know anything about modern Chinese history. I think someone called Chiang Kai-shek was involved somehow."

"He was a--" Wei Wuxian is not going to care if she swears, actually. It's kind of thrilling. "--a dick who was more focused on fighting a civil war than the invasion happening at the same time."

"Oh, well, fuck him then."

"Eff him, yeah."