How do you write a revealing, glossy magazine cover story on a famously private subject who tends to shun all things glossy and revealing? The latest issue of GQ seeks to answer that question with writer Carrie Battan's new profile of the always mysterious Zayn — and the contents are unsurprisingly foggy, if punctuated by a few bursts of real, valuable insight into his mind.

Most notably, Zayn isn't crazy about the Met Gala, despite his famous 2016 appearance with then-girlfriend Gigi Hadid (and the fact that the red carpet is exactly where you'd expect someone of his celebrity to appear). "It's not something I would go to," he says in the interview. "I'd rather be sitting at my house, doing something productive, than dressing up in really expensive clothes and being photographed on a red carpet."

OK, fair. But what about, say, appearing on one of the most celebrated and culturally relevant television shows currently on the air? Would Zayn maybe be interested in a guest spot on Atlanta? "If the part's right, I'd be really into it," he says of a preliminary conversation he's had the show creators, proving once again that yes, he's a man who likes to weigh his options.

As for his time in One Direction (and his seismic decision to leave in early 2015), Zayn offers little more clarity than he's previously given: "My vision didn't necessarily always go with what was going on within the band."

However, the mere presence of a profile like this is encouraging because it shows that Zayn is likely gearing up for something bigger. He's already released two singles this year, "Let Me" and "Entertainer," and elsewhere in this piece, he says he's planning to tour on the next go-round, unlike after his 2016 debut, Mind of Mine.

That means #Z2 must be soon — but maybe not that soon — upon us. It depends on how much more time Zayn spends at his newly purchased Pennsylvania ranch hanging out with a horse named Cool.

You can read the full profile right here.