The less formal addendum only confuses him further.  At first he thinks it's normal enough, but at 'I'll talk to him' Jiang Cheng realizes Wei Wuxian isn't simply speaking in third person but referring to someone else.  Who- Local Wei Wuxian, presumably.  There's no one else here who can be told anything.  Why is Jiang Cheng being expected to also apologize to local Wei Wuxian?  It's not like he and Wei Wuxian had ever had an agreement that they could only ever attempt to initiate cushion fights with each other.  And Wei Wuxian was always going off and giving friendly nudges to other people, so he'd hardly be able to complain even before he left!

In the quiet tone of a private aside back:  "You would know better than I how a Wei Wuxian would react.  I'd expect him to be confused as to why he's being apologized to over this more than anything, but then again Wei Wuxian has never been easy to predict."

"Anyway, sorry." 

He averts his eyes in embarrassment, looking at the wall and wanting this to be over with.  Apologies are terrible because they're a long drawn out process of going over everything he did wrong, and his own mind does this more than enough on its own.  Hopefully alien etiquette isn't going to involve any extravagant rituals.  He'll just have to wait and see whether Wei Wuxian demands anything or switches to some new topic.

Wei Wuxian also didn’t study for alien etiquette (and does not really want to; one etiquette was enough for him, thanks!) (Will doms who think he should learn more etiquette care about that in any world, he is guessing not!)

But that definitely sounds to him like it finishes off the etiquette conversation, all the doms can be very happy about it! Which is great because long etiquette conversations are terrible. 

(Except for how other Jiang Cheng is probably not happy, because his Jiang Cheng hates apologizing and he isn’t guessing other Jiang Cheng likes it any better. But he also isn’t guessing other Jiang Cheng will like it any better if he draws more attention to it, so he is going to not.)

He bows again.

?

What is other him reacting to? And why is he supposed to know better about it? Sure he can play a lot of ‘what would I do if’ but if he wants to get right answer out of that for this other him he’s going to need way more on all the ifs. He hasn’t even met other him! Anyway they just had some nurture effects evidence here, see, furniture. (…ok other Jiang Cheng doesn’t actually know his world is different on that.) (…Speaking of furniture, he notices that the table lying upside down on the floor - wasn’t in the room before? Did other Jiang Cheng just… bring a table?)

Wait, why is he supposed to apologize to other him. Is he supposed to apologize for being so annoying other him’s dom threw furniture around him.

”-I’m sorry, Sect Leader Jiang, I think we have different etiquette here. I’ll apologize to other me if I’m supposed to! But someone’s going to have to tell me - sorry Sandu Shengshou - this one will need instruction about why he’s supposed to. Ah, this one means, about what is proper and correct for him to do.”

???

"I'm apologizing to you.  You were the one who brought up local Wei Wuxian and told me to apologize to him.  Or that you were going to pass on my apology to him?  I have no idea why you think he needs to be told about it at all." 

Jiang Cheng can't quite remember Wei Wuxian's exact words, and is now wondering if he'd misheard.  'I'll talk to him,' had definitely been part of it.  That had been phrased too sincerely to be like his Wei Wuxian's old childhood teasing.  Something like 'Ha! Jiang Cheng, I finally got you to admit how much of a troublemaker you are. The other me will totally want to hear about this,' and Jiang Cheng would expect it to be just a joke.  Maybe it had still been a joke, and Jiang Cheng was making everything awkward by thinking too much, as usual.

(Not drawing more attention to other Jiang Cheng apologizing: he is not doing great on that.)

“I didn’t, Sect Leader Jiang!” Why does other Jiang Cheng think he said that. He tries to remember what he said. It can’t have been the etiquette part, he was definitely talking about House Jiang and there is no way other Jiang Cheng would think other him is in House Jiang somehow. …Other Jiang Cheng thought he was talking about other him when he was talking about his Jiang Cheng?? He… has no idea how that could have happened, but he can’t think of any other options. (Note to self Wei Ying, when in other worlds always say who you’re talking about with words!) (Also whatever is going on with other Jiang Cheng and other him is really weird but he already knew that.)

“I’m sorry, Sandu Shengshou, this one apologizes, Sandu Shengshou. I meant my brother, that he would accept the apology. This one should have been clear when he spoke, I’m sorry, Sect Leader Jiang.” He lowers his head. Why does he just come up with new ways to get versions of his brother this fed up with him when he’s not even trying to do anything like that. (Other things he is not guessing other Jiang Cheng likes any better than his does, feeling embarrassed in conversations.)

He did not tell other Jiang Cheng to do anything though! He definitely didn’t tell him to do that! “I’m sorry for my insolence and presumption, Sandu Shengshou.”

Ah.  That makes more sense.  Jiang Cheng imagines what he would feel if his Wei Wuxian had wound up in alternate universe Lotus Pier (or whatever House Jiang calls their residence, if it even has a name) and other Jiang Cheng was being familiar with his Wei Wuxian.  He'd be very unhappy about it!  Not that Jiang Cheng is the sort of person who would be jealous.  Why would he be jealous?  Just... unhappy for some other reason that is definitely not that.

"I don't see why you keep apologizing.  You've been so good at being proper and formal," he says, the words coming out bitter.  Is other Wei Wuxian trying to show him up, like his Wei Wuxian was always doing?  How does Wei Wuxian manage to be better than Jiang Cheng at everything. 

"In any case, I hadn't meant it for anyone else."  So you should just drop it now.  And then they can move along to Jiang Cheng being awkward about some other topic. 

He winces a little. Nooot very hard to tell he’s not really being praised, here. There should be a multiuniverse dom rule that doms are not supposed to tell you off sounding kind of like they’re saying you’re being good. (Apparently he has not been appreciating the doms in his life enough for how straightforward they are! Maybe he should write them nice letters. Except for how he’d probably just sound insolent some more. Maybe Lan Zhan can help him.) (Or maybe doms in his life would make just as little sense to subs from other worlds! Ah, he’ll figure it out once he can talk to other him.)

But he’s probably not supposed to apologize about it, if other Jiang Cheng just said ‘I don’t see why you keep apologizing’ two sentences ago?? Even though he’s probably just being told off for being terrible at apologizing. Is he supposed to say thank you?? 

“Yes, Sect Leader Jiang.”

He’s gonna go for strategy: say less things. And - kneel here and see if other Jiang Cheng is going say more things or do something else or thinks they’re done with this topic now. At least until Cleansing Day or whatever it is. Or wants to start talking about whatever he wanted to talk about, when he came back.

It looks like they're finally finished with that confusing mess.

Jiang Cheng distracts himself from it by setting up lunch.  He's almost tempted to give Wei Wuxian a random half of the dishes and flee to go eat the other half alone but he might as well go through with his plans.  The table is unflipped and set down properly and gently this time.  He goes to the cabinet and brings out the tea set to put on the table, adding water and a container of fresh tea to it.  It gets joined by Jiang Cheng's set of plates and the food from his qiankun pouch.  Some have cooled a bit and he re-heats them with the same wave of his hand that he uses to get the water for the tea up to proper temperature. 

It's hard to think of any conversation topics that aren't going to lead to yet more awkwardness.  The lives of random Yunmeng Jiang cultivators doesn't even interest local Wei Wuxian any more, so why would other Wei Wuxian want to hear about some stranger getting married or forming their golden core or giving birth to a daughter?  Jiang Cheng hasn't been on any night hunts recently. 

"The weather's finally starting to warm back up," he mumbles into the table as he fishes two sets of chopsticks out of his bag.

It doesn’t take long to realize that first, other Jiang Cheng brought him food, and second - other Jiang Cheng brought them both food and is planning to eat with him.

That’s - 

Maybe that’s a dom duty thing here.

“Thank you, Sandu Shengshou,” he says quietly. And - jumps over to help set the table. This only questionably makes anything go faster, given that other Jiang Cheng is the one who has everything that needs to be put on the table. (…And if he was supposed to get permission he didn’t get it.) And he doesn’t actually know local table setting. But he can try to figure it out!

Why is other Jiang Cheng remarking on the weather. Does that mean ‘we’re having an informal conversation now’ here? Does that mean something else here?

But it doesn’t take a genius (hi, Wei Ying at your service!) or a high etiquette expert (not Wei Ying) to figure out what he’s supposed to do here. He’s supposed to answer the question - he doesn't know anything about the weather but that's not really a problem - and sit at the table and eat the food that other Jiang Cheng was (- really nice, seriously) and brought him. And then - he can notice a pattern - other Jiang Cheng will probably leave again, and leave him here. And not tell him anything. 

…Hey, other Jiang Cheng did just demonstrate there’s no need to worry about the food getting cold. Ah, they’ll have a better lunch afterwards, anyway.

Other Jiang Cheng seems to be out of table setting. He gets up. He kneels down, eyes where they should be, proper distance.

“Can you just whip me already,” sir “Sect Leader Jiang?” …That is not how Lan Zhan would have said it at all. Well, he is very literally asking for a whipping, may as well do it figuratively. (He catches sight of the ring by accident, and kind of wishes he’d picked any other word, but he doesn’t really think whichever version of his brother is going to make the decision like that.)

Wei Wuxian's attempts to set the table really aren't helping, no.  Jiang Cheng will indulge this and hand him the plates to set on the table anyway.  Maybe this is an other-world cultural thing, where guests are expected to set the table?  Or maybe Wei Wuxian just wants to make sure the best looking dishes are closer to his own side.  Jiang Cheng will pay attention to this perceived preference but points out that they should each get half of each dish no matter where Wei Wuxian puts them.

And Wei Wuxian is back to kneeling again.  Jiang Cheng rolls his eyes even though Wei Wuxian not looking at him makes this pointless.  He is pretty sure by this point that everyone in the other world is just constantly kneeling whenever they aren't walking.  Or maybe they have little wheeled boards they propel themselves around on so they never have to stop.  It's probably less annoying if everyone is doing it and no one is standing and having to look at the top of the other's head.  Jiang Cheng sits at the table to be at eye level with him, and also because sitting at the table is the thing that normal people do when they have just set the table and are preparing to eat, Wei Wuxian.

?

"What?  Why would I whip you?" 

He catches Wei Wuxian glance at Zidian.  This doesn't answer any questions, other than perhaps why Wei Wuxian expects him to have a whip on him.

Actually if anything Wei Wuxian looks to be putting the best looking dishes closer to Jiang Cheng’s side. “Yes, Sandu Shengshou,” he says to the local rule (which he will definitely try to remember!)

(Wei Wuxian’s brain has partially wandered off wondering if they beat people with sheathed swords here. He definitely read something with everyone having swords where that was a thing, but he can’t remember if that was a real thing or something whoever wrote it made up because if sounded cool.

...If both subs and doms get swords here, would that be a ‘the dom uses theirs’ or a ‘the sub hands over their own’? Other Jiang Cheng did say other him should carry a sword.)

He is pretty sure that was not meant as a form of telling him to recite why he deserves what he’s getting. And aha, they do sometimes do immediate punishment here! How long would it have been before he stumbled into one of those. 

“I’m sorry, Sandu Shengshou.” He thinks where he’s from is different in how they do discipline. (Other Jiang Cheng likes it when he elaborates right away.) They do more punishment immediately, or just at the end of what was happening, or someone says when it’ll be. (Hopefully immediate discipline outside of whatever they do with it isn’t one of those things the locals here find extremely appalling. There’s going to be something like that, he’s read enough intercultural contact, but it would be very convenient for him personally if what the locals find appalling is like, doms and subs wearing the same underwear, and not something he needs to deal with!) “Ah, this one asks to be told and to better understand what is done here.

Please?”

"We also do punishments that way."  Jiang Cheng isn't sure why Wei Wuxian seems to think they don't.  Does Wei Wuxian think he's broken any rules?  ...He did impersonate his local counterpart for however many minutes Wei Wuxian had between him figuring out he was in another world and Jiang Cheng leaving him for the night.  'Do not impersonate alternate universe versions of yourself' isn't even on Cloud Recesses' Wall of Discipline as far as Jiang Cheng knows, but it's reasonable enough as a rule that any authority figure could be expected to enforce it.

-Is Jiang Cheng being treated like an authority figure here?  Even though he is currently an accomplice to the "hide other Wei Wuxian and sneak him to Yiling" plan.  Except that Wei Wuxian doesn't usually listen to anyone who tries to tell him what to do, so no matter what other Wei Wuxian has decided to think of Jiang Cheng as that's still confusing.  Is he trying so hard to keep Jiang Cheng and his other universe version separate that he's over-compensating? 

In either case, it is in fact far too awkward to punish him for that after so many hours, even if Jiang Cheng wanted to.  Which makes it inconvenient that Wei Wuxian brought it up.  Jiang Cheng would rather not be talked into the utterly useless act of hitting Wei Wuxian and its not like he can set Wei Wuxian to scrub pots in the kitchens in this circumstance.  He looks around.

"Fine.  Your punishment can be cleaning.  Not right now because it's time for lunch, but I do expect this room to be clean before we leave so it isn't obvious you've been here.  I'm already having to handle supplies, laundry and garbage disposal.  I'm not your maid to tidy up your papers and make the bed too when you can do those yourself."

???

He is so confused. It is giving him a headache to try to branch through what other Jiang Cheng might mean and what he is in that case confused about! But it all comes down to: he is so confused. 

He winces a bit at the maid part. It’s not his fault other Jiang Cheng just walks into his room whenever! Given that other Jiang Cheng just walks into his room whenever, this is very unreasonable, what if he was just in the bed or looking at the papers. “Sorry, Sect Leader Jiang, yes, Sect Leader Jiang.”

Cleaning as part of his punishment, now that’s very familiar. But what does that mean his punishment can be cleaning?? And it’s really obviously not a punishment (for which thing? Did he just do another thing? Ok he just did several things but which one of them is other Jiang Cheng thinking of) to tell him he is supposed to do something that other Jiang Cheng thinks he should do in general and is mad about him not doing, which will take five minutes, and, if he takes other Jiang Cheng literally, he’d need to do in two days! Did other Jiang Cheng just get reminded of it when he mentioned cleaning??

(…If he cleans the room as punishment won’t that make it more obvious he’d been there? Unless other Jiang Cheng’s been sending in someone to do it regularly (does he remember how clean the room looked when he came in? no he doesn’t). Disguising that he’s been here for the safety of this Jiang sect: also not punishment!)

“If you did everything like we do, you’d have whipped me about five times already, Sandu Shengshou.” - Yep, figuratively as well as literally, he is hitting that one out of the park.

"You haven't hit me since you arrived here either!" Jiang Cheng accuses him before he has the chance to think it through. 

He is certain that he is missing something.

"You asked for a punishment and I suggested one.  Now you're complaining that it isn't good enough.  What do you want from me?  Why do you want to get whipped?"

Wei Wuxian flinches at the first sentence.

Alright, he has gotten other Jiang Cheng phenomenally mad at him. What did he do. It was questioning his ~mastery about punishment wasn’t it. 

(He wasn’t complaining! -He is totally complaining ideally to Lan Zhan about alternate universe punishment rules which are very unreasonable and doms which are also unreasonable. But he didn’t say anything complaining. Now Lan Zhan is who would complain about a punishment not being good enough.)

“Sorry Sect Leader Jiang, sorry Sect Leader Jiang. This one is grateful for Sect Leader Jiang’s authority and” nope he is not betting on other Jiang Cheng wanting to hear ‘merciful correction’ at the moment “deserved correction. This one apologizes for his presumption and disrespect and insolence. This one accepts the punishment Sect Leader Jiang sees fit to give him.” He got the message, discipline happens on the doms’ schedule over here. He’ll - just find out when it happens, if that’s in the next few days. Or he’ll ask other him. Won’t kill him. 

Jiang Cheng scoots away from the table to sit in front of Wei Wuxian, since apparently they are not going to be getting to lunch yet.  "What are you talking about.  Hey, look at me.  Stop looking at the floor."  Wei Wuxian (the local one, anyway) was so good at reading expressions and picking up on body language that Jiang Cheng often didn't need to say anything.  Wei Wuxian could even get information off of Lan Wangji somehow.  Taking away that advantage doesn't sound like it's helping with whatever is confusing them. 

His tone is harsh - as always - but his expression is worried. 

"You've been unusually well behaved.  For a Wei Wuxian, and for someone who hasn't learned our rules and etiquette.  Delaying telling me that you were from another world for less than an hour isn't the sort of thing we whip someone over.  Not when no one got hurt."

(Unfortunately, reading expressions and body language turns out to be way harder when you’ve been transported to another universe!) Even with another universe he can read body language well enough that he doesn’t really brace when other Jiang Cheng starts coming closer. He stops looking at the floor and looks at other Jiang Cheng.

Other Jiang Cheng is being nice to him again. “Thank you, Sect Leader Jiang,” he says, quiet again. (It’s the same kind of quiet way he’d thanked him for the food; Jiang Cheng can probably notice, not very much like the ‘yes thank you sir’ sort.)

He has the urge to pitch into other Jiang Cheng and hug him like he was Lan Zhan or Shijie (or Jiang Cheng who did just beat him). …Oh, he’s dipped into subspace.

His eyes flick down for a moment at ‘for a Wei Wuxian’ but he puts them back. 

He is not buying at all that either this world or other Jiang Cheng actually tolerate submissives deceiving dominants in authority over them as long as it’s for less than an hour. He can see the argument for why a dom wouldn't punish someone who confesses and admits everything, but he didn’t even do that. If he lied to his Jiang Cheng for five minutes and then his Jiang Cheng figured it out his Jiang Cheng would not take that as much mitigating circumstances; why should he get credit for that. Also it wasn’t less than an hour (…when does other Jiang Cheng think he figured it out?), also he did like three other things. But he’s not in a state right now for really figuring out why other Jiang Cheng might be saying that. Maybe it’s like a movie and other Jiang Cheng thinks he was too hard on other him and that’s why other him did a prison break, and now he thinks he should be nicer to Wei Wuxians.

“Figured it out when you jumped on the roof,” he says (admits). “-Sandu Shengshou.” (Other Jiang Cheng can count out how much time that means it was; there are lots of math questions where he is definitely the person to ask but keeping track of time is not one of them at all.)

"I figured it would be either that or one of the times I used talismans." 

He is only counting time when Wei Wuxian could have told him, meaning the metaphorical timer had stopped when Jiang Cheng was out of the room.  Not that he is bothering about accuracy the way he would if judging wrongdoing in his official duties as Sect Leader - Jiang Cheng is still thinking of this as them working together as accomplices.  He isn't going to explain this; the idle comment has already left his mind.

"Why do you want to be hit so much, anyway?  Don't think I haven't noticed how you didn't give any real answers.  Apologies and thanks are a nice change of pace from my Wei Wuxian's constant excuses, but you've gone too far in the other direction.  You don't have to treat me exactly like you treated your own Jiang Cheng; you also don't have to do the complete opposite and not give me any reason at all."  Even if it is helping Jiang Cheng keep them separate.  Had he conflated the two of them too far and wound up insulting other Wei Wuxian?

This is not Wei Wuxian's expectation of the metaphorical timer. If he could argue super convincingly that he'd absolutely been going to tell Jiang Cheng everything as soon as Jiang Cheng showed up in the morning, he might be able to get the time overnight to count against him less. (Which he can't, because that's false.) But the time where Jiang Cheng left and then came back again would definitely count against him. It's not going to occur to him to say this outloud either though.

Since Wei Wuxian is continuing to mostly follow instructions on looking at Jiang Cheng and not looking at the floor, Jiang Cheng can probably notice Wei Wuxian draw in on himself a little at ‘you’ve gone too far in the other direction’ and then just look confused at the last sentence. 

Yeah he is not understanding what other Jiang Cheng is trying to say in that last part at all. He does tuck away the new bit of 'other Jiang Cheng and other him' information. And - his Jiang Cheng would not like it either if he tried to use being etiquette-y to avoid actually answering questions. In his defense, he had not realized there was a real question! It's kind of a weird question. And does not sound at all like other Jiang Cheng is just going for the version of 'tell me why you're about to get it' where it's supposed to go 'I want it' and not just 'I deserve it' and 'this one accepts his punishment'. Well, not answering questions is what he was doing yesterday and is not what he's doing today, and this is not the kind of question that will get him to change his mind about that.

"I'm not looking forward to it, Sect Leader Jiang!"

His eyes flick down for a second again, not far enough to be either not on Jiang Cheng or on the floor. "Ah, you know waiting's hard on a submissive.

And not knowing. Meaning no disrespect to your decisions, Sandu Shengshou! 'm just not used to it yet. And it'll be my first time here! You're not exactly like my brother, Sandu Shengshou. But it's only the first time once.

Aiy, and this room is very boring, Sect Leader Jiang. If I cry in the bed for a few hours, it'll give me something to do."

It takes a little while for him to put together first time for what to mean 'first time being disciplined in a new place.'  What kind of a thought is that?

Not that his Wei Wuxian didn't get hit in every place he's ever gone.  Jiang Cheng remembers getting beaten when he went along with Wei Wuxian's plans at Cloud Recesses and knows that Wei Wuxian was punished on his own at least twice as often.  And during the Wen Indoctrination when Wei Wuxian had come back covered in blood and shaking, not to mention the various other beatings for slouching or not paying attention when they were supposed to be reading the Wen's drivel.  Even in Lotus Pier it had not taken long for Jiang Cheng's mother to find reasons to punish him.  Because Wei Wuxian immediately breaks every rule he sees.

From the look on Jiang Cheng's face, the idea of Wei Wuxian crying makes him very sad. 

One of the terms Wei Wuxian used was strange.  Jiang Cheng focuses on it.  "Submissive?"  Someone who conforms to the authority or will of others?  Jiang Cheng's initial thought is - no, that's not Wei Wuxian.  On the other hand, other Wei Wuxian has been acting unusually meek and obedient.  "Is that what you're going for?"

A statement which he regrets as soon as he's said it.  From context it is likely just the polite euphemism the other world has for its lower classes, relating to Wei Wuxian being the son of a servant.  Which is probably still the same?  Jiang Cheng makes a mental note to start comparing who else is copied between universes.  It can't just be him, A-jie, and Wei Wuxian. 

Wei Wuxian is used to figuring out his Jiang Cheng's moods while he's not supposed to be looking up at him, and right now he is looking directly at other Jiang Cheng. He's not going to guess the reason at all, but being in another universe is not going to keep him from noticing that look on other Jiang Cheng's face. It feels like a rug being pulled out from under his solar plexus, again. What does he do, what does he - . Maybe other Jiang Cheng can just hit him already. It'll be the first time but he has all this experience, at least he can get that one part right.

(What did he do?! It has to have been something he said, literally nothing else has happened!) 

"Submissive? Is that what you're going for?" He cringes. Shrinks in on himself, drops his eyes again. Puts them back. He can obey a simple order (-ok demonstrably he can't. But he can at least try.)

And Jiang Cheng's preference that Wei Wuxian doesn't know about is about to be kind of inconvenient, because at this point he is apparently going to start crying. What the fuck, self. He tries to wipe his eyes with his sleeve.

(He wants Lan Zhan. He wants other Jiang Cheng to beat him already so he can have a hug.)

He still doesn't know why other Jiang Cheng looks sad, but his brain helpfully informs him that it is obviously because he is a terrible submissive.

Other Jiang Cheng is busy, being Sect Leader after a war, and then having to deal with execution level politics because other him did a prison break. And then he shows up, disobeying direct orders and refusing to answer questions and unable to behave himself for the length of one interrogation and hiding under beds so other Jiang Cheng must have thought he also ran off or something. And then - after other Jiang Cheng was nice enough to bring him food and everything - he has to go asking him for more things because he can't stay quietly in a room for less than 24 hours. And now here he is crying on other Jiang Cheng's floor when other Jiang Cheng hasn't even hit him or anything yet.

(He hasn't changed his mind about anything. He's still pretty totally sure that other him had very good reason for doing a prison break and was completely right about it, and other Jiang Cheng having to deal with it is the fault of whoever was the reason other him had to do that and whatever doms here are in charge of execution-level politics. And if doms want submissives to obey emergency orders, they should be more careful about when they give other kinds of orders. If he suddenly appeared in yet another world right now he would go right back to the same plan and wouldn't tell the more new Jiang Cheng everything either until he knew more. And he should definitely have asked other Jiang Cheng ahead of time how to know if it was him at the door and what to do if it wasn't, but given that he didn't do that, hiding under the bed was very reasonable! And everyone knows that waiting for punishment is worse.

At the moment this is helping about as much as, when he is actually being punished, telling himself that the dom is obviously not going to seriously injure him or anything, so really there's no reason for him to need to be in pain about it; which is to say not very much.)

He tries his best at a smile (he is very good at smiling while crying!) Wipes at his eyes again. "Sorry Sandu Shengshou. I don't usually start till he's at least partway through." Right no they had this problem already. "-My brother, I mean." His eyes flick down again - not not on other Jiang Cheng's face, not on the floor. "I'm sorry, Sect Leader Jiang. I'll" be good, behave, comes to his mind like it does at times like this - but he can't do it, so he's not going to say it. "I'll talk to other me. I'll ask him how to be better for you."

Which sounds like it could be kind of awkward, given, but he'd totally give another universe him tips on his Jiang Cheng even if he'd actually run off or something. ...Not that he doesn't get his Jiang Cheng fed up with him all the time even having known him most of his life.

He tries for another smile. "Ah, at least I'll stop making stupid mistakes?"

Oh no.  Wei Wuxian crying is the worst thing.  "Wei Wuxian!  Why are you crying?  Stop that."  Which obviously isn't going to help - even Jiang Cheng can figure that out - but he blurted it out in panic.  His Wei Wuxian hadn't done this in years, and never at him. 

This Wei Wuxian doesn't know how useless Jiang Cheng is for this.  The other one must know what to do.  How is he supposed to guess?

And Jiang Cheng's own eyes are trying to tear up in sympathy, which is one of many reasons that this is the worst thing. 

If Wei Wuxian is going to be crying, Jiang Cheng doesn't want to look at his face any more.  Slowly, to avoid startling him, he shifts position so they're next to each other.  He hesitates, then pulls Wei Wuxian into the same sort of side-hug that his Wei Wuxian always pulled him into.  This is probably fine; other Wei Wuxian hugged him yesterday.  It also is maybe the sort of thing that will help?

"What am I supposed to do about you?  I'm not A-jie.  Do you make your own Jiang Cheng deal with this?  Tch.  Make sure you hug him too once you figure out your way back.  I don't want to start things off poorly with him because he's jealous about missing out on hugs."

It can't be that other Jiang Cheng is normally soft with him.  Not when Wei Wuxian just said that other Jiang Cheng is always hitting him.  Jiang Cheng is confused.

"I don't think my Wei Wuxian cares how either of you can be better for me."

(It doesn't help, no.) He winces. "Sorry, Sect Leader Jiang." If he had control over whether or not he was crying right now, he wouldn't have been doing it! But that was also a direct order, and he's Wei Wuxian and the fact that it doesn't look like he can do something is not a good reason to not do it anyway, so he's just going to remember all the stopping-crying strategies he can think of and try harder. That does produce some results, but slowly enough that he's still crying some when other Jiang Cheng moves towards him more.

Oh. He's getting a hug. Other Jiang Cheng is so nice to him even though he's terrible. He goes kind of limp into the hug. ...He should maybe have asked first. (Should he have?) Part of him behind his thoughts is very aware that if other Jiang Cheng slaps or even reprimands him for it right now it's going to hit him hard. But he already did it, so.

He's already told other Jiang Cheng what he thinks other Jiang Cheng is supposed to do about him! And already told him what he does at home. But other Jiang Cheng has strong opinions about question answering. Eyes-not-to-the-floor. (He's not really looking at other Jiang Cheng anymore, but he's not worried about it. Jiang Cheng has always been good about not punishing him for disobedience when Jiang Cheng is the one who changed conditions.) "I make him deal with a lot, Sect Leader Jiang." ...Is that something his Jiang Cheng would get jealous about? Of course it is. That's funny. He wonders if his Jiang Cheng would also ever mention his feelings more if he got to say them about a different Jiang Cheng. (Part of him registers the implicit compliment(!) that other Jiang Cheng thinks he can figure out his way back.) "Yes Sandu Shengshou."