Against the Algorithm

Chapter 13: Fault Lines

Summary: A phone call unearths more than just missed messages—it shifts something quiet and foundational. While Yao begins to understand the difference between silence and absence, between friendship and awareness, she's also faced with choices that are hers alone to make. But even in the stillness, the weight of being seen—for who she is and what she brings—settles in unexpected places. And not everyone handles that clarity the same way.

Notes:

Author's Note: The Muse is not being kind to a certain Captain towards the end when he finds out something his Xiǎo Tùzǐ does without even realizing it because she is utterly and completely innocent.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Thirteen

Two days later, Yao sat in her new apartment, curled up on the couch, Da Bing sprawled across her lap as she absently stroked his thick fur, her fingers moving with a slow, rhythmic absentmindedness while her attention remained focused on her laptop screen. The space around her still felt new, unfamiliar in a way that hadn't quite settled yet, but at the same time, it was comfortable, warm, undeniably hers in a way that nothing else had ever been before.

It had taken some getting used to.

The idea of waking up in a place where she wasn't alone but still had space for herself, of living somewhere that had been deliberately designed for her comfort, of stepping into a routine that no longer required her to carry everything on her own.

It was... different.

And yet, as she sat there, her fingers absently tracing over the track-pad, her phone suddenly rang beside her, the name flashing across the screen in bright letters.

Jinyang.

For a moment, Yao simply stared at it, blinking at the unexpected interruption, before finally exhaling and pressing accept.

The second the call connected, Jinyang's voice came through, casual, light, but carrying something underneath it that made Yao pause.

"Yao, when did you move?"

Yao's fingers twitched slightly.

Something in her chest tightened.

Move.

It was such a simple word.

And yet—

Why did it suddenly feel like something else?

She hesitated, her lips parting slightly as her brain began processing what she hadn't realized until just now. Jinyang was only asking now. Nearly four days later. It had been four days since she had left that apartment. Four days since her world had shifted completely. Four days since her home had become something entirely new.

And Jinyang...

Jinyang was only just now realizing it.

Yao swallowed hard, an odd weight settling in her stomach as she opened her mouth, trying to come up with an answer, trying to understand why this felt so strange, but for the first time—

She couldn't. She had always thought of Jinyang as her best friend, as someone who knew her better than anyone else, as someone who had always been part of her world in a way that no one else had. But now? Now she was sitting here, gripping the phone a little tighter, realizing that Jinyang—the woman who had declared herself as her best friend—had gone days without speaking to her. Hadn't noticed she was gone. Hadn't known she had moved. Hadn't even checked in until now. And for the first time, that realization stung. Not in a dramatic, heartbreaking way. Not in a way that made her feel betrayed or angry. But in a way that was... quiet. Heavy. Disappointing in a way she hadn't expected.