Against the Algorithm

Chapter 16: Countermeasures

From inside, Yao's curious steps approached. "Da Bing, who's there?"

Sicheng lifted his head slightly, his tone utterly unimpressed. "Your bodyguard is preventing my entry."

There was a pause.

Then—Yao peeked her head around the doorframe, blinking rapidly before her gaze flickered downward, and she let out a soft laugh. "Oh."

"Oh?" Sicheng's eyes narrowed slightly.

Yao, still trying to suppress her amusement, covered her mouth. "I think he's mad at you."

"You think?" Sicheng drawled, glancing down at the giant fluff ball still blocking his way.

Da Bing blinked up at him, slow and deliberate, as if to say 'Try me.'

Yao hummed, leaning against the doorframe, her earlier flustered frustration replaced with quiet amusement. "Well, you did mess with me today."

Sicheng arched a brow. "And you threw a pillow at my face."

"You deserved it." Yao shrugged, completely unrepentant.

"Alright, fine. What's it going to take?" Sicheng exhaled slowly, shaking his head before glancing down at the massive cat once more.

Yao tilted her head. "Take?"

Sicheng gestured vaguely at Da Bing. "To get past your overgrown watchdog."

"Hmm... well, he likes tuna." Yao pursed her lips, pretending to think.

Sicheng lifted a brow. "I'm not bribing a cat."

Yao shrugged. "Then I guess you're not getting in."

Another standoff.

Another battle of wills.

Sicheng sighed, shaking his head before stepping back slightly, knowing when to retreat. For now. But next time? Next time, he was going to be ready. And he was not going to be outplayed by a goddamn cat.

The next day, Sicheng decided he was going to push his luck. After his humiliating defeat at the hands of Da Bing the night before, he had spent a good portion of the morning plotting his revenge, nothing serious, nothing drastic. Just a small, casual act of retaliation. Something to remind his stubborn Xiǎo Tùzǐ that he wasn't going to let her get away with flustering him so easily.

So, as she sat at her desk near the training computers, fully immersed in her work, Sicheng approached.

Quietly.

Stealthily.

With the kind of controlled, measured steps that made it clear he had done this before.

The rest of the team, who had been gathered in the common area, immediately noticed.

"He's going for it." Pang nudged Yue, smirking.

"Oh, this is going to be good." Lao Mao, arms crossed, chuckled.

"It won't end well." Ming, barely looking up from his screen, hummed.

Lao K, watching carefully, muttered, "He deserves whatever happens next."

And yet, Sicheng didn't stop. Didn't slow. Didn't hesitate. He had a plan. A simple one. Get close enough to ruffle her hair again, just to prove he could. Just to make her sputter and throw another pillow at him. Just to remind her that if she thought she could outmaneuver him, she was sorely mistaken.