Against the Algorithm

Chapter 10: Boundaries and Bloodlines

Yao's lips pressed together, her hands lowering slightly as she muttered, "I am not overthinking this."

Sicheng didn't say anything. Just tilted his head slightly, waiting.

Yao scowled. "I'm not."

Still nothing.

Her scowl deepened. "...I—"

"You're ridiculous." Sicheng let out a soft exhale, shaking his head.

"You're annoying." Yao pouted, crossing her arms.

His lips twitched. "You still lost."

"I won!" Yao gasped riled up with an affronted look on her face.

Sicheng leaned in slightly, his voice dipping lower, smoother. "And now you're running from me. So did you really win?"

Yao's entire brain short-circuited. Her face burned, fully red now, and she took a sharp step back, escaping his space before she completely collapsed from sheer mortification. "I—I HAVE WORK TO DO—" she squeaked, spinning on her heel and fleeing down the hallway as fast as humanly possible.

Sicheng watched her go, not stopping her this time, just exhaling deeply before shaking his head. His amusement was clear. Because now? Now that he knew she was this flustered? He wasn't going to let her run for long.

Sicheng had already decided. Since Lao Mao had already taken every possible variation of cat or kitten as a nickname, he wasn't about to start calling Yao something that would cause unnecessary confusion. And besides, she wasn't a cat. No, she was something else entirely. Something smaller, more skittish, but just as stubborn. The way she bolted every time he got too close, the way her nose scrunched when she got frustrated, the way she puffed up when trying to assert authority...it was obvious. She was a rabbit.

A tiny, flustered, easily startled rabbit.

And so, the next time Yao was forced to interact with him—this time, while reviewing match data—he tested it.

"Xiǎo Tùzǐ, scroll back to the last five minutes."

Yao froze as her fingers halted over the keyboard, her head snapping up so fast she nearly gave herself whiplash. "...What did you just call me?"

Sicheng, perfectly calm, didn't even look away from the screen. "Scroll back. Last five minutes."

Yao stared at him.

Then at the screen.

Then back at him.

"...No, no, no. Before that."

Sicheng finally glanced at her, utterly unfazed. "What?"

She narrowed her eyes. "You called me something."

A pause.

Then—

He smirked, tilting his head slightly. "Xiǎo Tùzǐ."

"Little Bunny?" Yao blinked rapidly, as if the words hadn't fully registered yet.

"Fits, doesn't it?" Sicheng hummed, completely casual.

Yao's brain short-circuited.

Pang, who had been listening in, immediately slapped a hand over his mouth to keep from howling with laughter.

Lao K nearly fell off his chair as Lao Mao was choking.

Ming, arms crossed, exhaled sharply and muttered, "That tracks."