This man and - he does not know the name, but suspects Colum must be Octakiseron's cavalier - had attended a dinner party and still he is considered not social? Lan Wangji despairs of himself for an instant, and in the next is blindsided by her question.

He hastily sets the little cake down on his own plate and stares helplessly at her. "I - I was only thinking, that what you say of him does not sound unfamiliar."