Against the Algorithm

Chapter 4: Declarations and Distinctions

Ai Jia's face burned with humiliation. "You had it this whole time?!" he seethed, snatching up the phone.

Sicheng exhaled slowly, his amber gaze cutting through Ai Jia like a blade. "No," he corrected smoothly. "Your cowardice lost it." Ai Jia flinched, but before he could snap back, Sicheng continued, his voice dropping into something colder. "You should be thanking her," he said, tilting his head slightly. "Because if Yao hadn't stolen it, I would've had to waste more time proving that my brother wasn't the one who started the fight."

Ai Jia froze.

"What?" Liang Sheng's eyes narrowed.

Sicheng turned slightly, his gaze flicking toward the captain. "You didn't hear?" he asked, feigning mild interest. "ZGDX already issued a public statement. The video evidence was released. Yue was cleared." His voice dipped lower, sharper. "The ones who jumped him? They belonged to a now disbanded and destroyed e-sports team."

Liang Sheng's jaw tightened.

"You're acting like I—" Ai Jia's expression twisted into something petulant.

Sicheng cut him off. "You. Shut up."

The words were sharp, cold, and left no room for argument.

Ai Jia gaped, visibly thrown off.

Sicheng stepped closer, his presence alone suffocating. "You've been running your mouth about a damn phone for three days while my brother was jumped by five grown men trying to cripple him. You hid in a bathroom while it happened. And then, when Tong Yao, someone who has zero reason to deal with your mess, fixed your cowardice, you had the audacity to pester her instead of shutting up and disappearing?"

Ai Jia's mouth opened, then closed. Nothing came out. Because there was nothing he could say.

Sicheng's voice, though still calm, carried the unshakable weight of finality. "You don't get to throw a tantrum," he murmured. "You don't get to act like you're the one who's been wronged." His amber eyes burned. "Because the only one at fault here... is you."

A long, heavy silence stretched between them.

Liang Sheng exhaled sharply, rubbing his temple."Ai Jia," he muttered, voice tight. "Go."

Ai Jia stiffened. "What—"

"I said go," Liang Sheng repeated, sharper this time. "Before you make this worse than it already is."

Ai Jia's hands curled into fists, his entire body vibrating with frustration. But under the weight of Sicheng's gaze—under the sheer pressure of it—he had no choice. With a final seething glare, Ai Jia turned on his heel and stormed out of the room.

The second he was gone, Liang Sheng exhaled again, turning back to Sicheng, his expression unreadable. "Is there anything else I should know?"

Sicheng tilted his head slightly. "No."

A beat passed.

Then, without another word, Sicheng turned and walked towards the door. Because Ai Jia? He wasn't worth another second of his time and just as he reached the door, he paused.

The air in the room shifted.

Liang Sheng, still standing stiffly with his arms crossed, tensed as Sicheng slowly turned back toward him. Ai Jia may have stormed off, but this wasn't over.

Not yet.

Sicheng's amber eyes, sharp and lethal, locked onto Liang Sheng with an intensity that made the temperature of the room drop. "I'll make this clear," he said, his voice smooth but carrying an undeniable weight. "If Ai Jia continues to harass Tong Yao—if he so much as breathes in her direction the wrong way—" his eyes darkened, "—I will not hold back."