Against the Algorithm

Chapter 4: Declarations and Distinctions

Liang Sheng's jaw tightened.

"This is your only warning," Sicheng continued, his tone deceptively calm. "If he isn't punished for trying to withhold evidence, if YQCB decides to turn a blind eye to the fact that he let my baby brother get jumped while he hid in a damn bathroom—" He took a single step forward, his presence suffocating. "I will destroy YQCB."

Liang Sheng froze. Not because he thought Sicheng was bluffing. No. Because he knew he wasn't. Sicheng had the power. The influence. The connections. If he decided that YQCB wasn't worth keeping around? If he decided that Ai Jia had crossed too many lines? YQCB wouldn't survive. A long, heavy silence stretched between them. Then—slowly, deliberately—Liang Sheng exhaled through his nose.

"...Understood."

Sicheng didn't respond. Didn't need to. Because his message had been received. With that, he turned on his heel and walked out of YQCB's base, leaving nothing but an unmistakable warning in his wake.

By the time Sicheng returned to the ZGDX base, his patience was already thin. He had spent the last hour dealing with Ai Jia's pathetic tantrum, making sure Liang Sheng understood the weight of his warning, and securing the fact that Yao would not be harassed any further.

Now, he just wanted a moment of quiet.

Except—

The second he stepped inside, he did not get quiet. Instead, he walked straight into the sight of Yue, sprawled dramatically across the couch, one arm thrown over his forehead like he was dying, while Yao sat stiffly on the armrest, looking utterly overwhelmed as she tried to sip her tea in peace.

Lao K and Pang were seated nearby, thoroughly entertained, while Ming smirked over the rim of his cup.

The moment Yue spotted Sicheng, he perked up, immediately switching tactics. "Oh, Gege, you're back, Tong Yao, please, for the sake of my mental health, just say yes already!" he sighed dramatically, turning toward Yao with exaggerated desperation.

"I—w-what?" Yao blinked rapidly, clearly frazzled.

"He's been at this for twenty minutes." Lao K, smirking, leaned forward.

Pang nodded solemnly. "He said if you don't accept the job soon, he'll wither away from emotional distress."

Yue let out an exaggerated groan. "It's true! Do you know how stressful it is having this hanging in the air?!" He turned back to Yao, hands pressed together in mock pleading. "Please, for the sake of the team's sanity, just say you're joining us already!"

"I—I was going to say—" Yao, utterly overwhelmed, clutched her cup tighter.

"Yes?" Yue cut in immediately, hopeful.

Yao flushed. "I—I was going to say I decided..."

Everyone leaned forward slightly.

"...that I accept the offer," she murmured, voice soft but certain.

The room exploded.

Lao K let out a low whistle, grinning. Pang fist-pumped with Lao Mao. Ming, ever composed, smirked in satisfaction.

Yue?

Yue let out the most dramatic sigh of relief as if he had personally suffered in waiting for her answer. "Finally!" he groaned, throwing his head back. "You have no idea how stressful this was for me."

Sicheng, standing in the doorway, took in the scene silently. Yao had accepted. She had chosen them. The tension that had been coiling in his chest for days finally eased. His expression didn't change. He didn't react outwardly. But the way his amber gaze softened ever so slightly as it landed on Yao? That said everything.