Against the Algorithm

Chapter 24: The Shape of Clarity

Summary: A lingering silence finally breaks, not with noise, but with the kind of truth that leaves no room for misunderstanding. In quiet corners and behind closed doors, fear gives way to honesty, and restraint is replaced by intention. What was once uncertain begins to take shape—deliberate, steady, and real. Some promises are loud. Others are made with held gazes, soft words, and a date circled on the calendar.

Notes:

Author's Note: Things take time and Communication is the Key to everything!

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

Chapter Twenty-Four

The entrance to the shoot location was flanked by double glass doors, sleek and polished, the kind that whispered exclusivity more than they announced it. The team stepped through in coordinated rhythm, all dark uniforms and practiced ease, Rui leading with his clipboard in hand while the others trailed behind with varying degrees of sleep-deprivation and caffeine withdrawal written across their faces.

Yao walked just slightly behind Sicheng, her expression composed but her fingers twitching against the sleeve of her jacket—the same oversized one she'd thrown on that morning to keep herself grounded, the scent of Sicheng's cologne still faintly clinging to her from the night before. She hadn't spoken much since they'd gotten in the van. Neither had he. But his hand had rested at the small of her back the entire ride over, a steady, wordless weight that said more than he ever would aloud.

They'd just barely cleared the lobby when a familiar voice curled through the air like silk laced with smirk.

"Well, well... if it isn't ZGDX's star kitten."

Yao froze. Subtly. The kind of freeze that someone like Sicheng would never miss—her shoulders drawing a fraction tighter, her chin dipping before it lifted again, calm and polite and detached all at once.

Su Luo emerged from behind a rolling rack of wardrobe pieces, tall and elegant in a sharp-cut blazer and platform heels, her long nails lacquered blood red as she offered the team a broad, professionally charming smile—only it dulled slightly when it slid over the boys and sharpened with unmistakable interest the moment her gaze landed on Yao.

"Still purring for the cameras, kitten?" Su Luo asked, tilting her head slightly as she stepped forward, her tone deceptively sweet but laced with that flirtatious edge that always made Sicheng's jaw tick.

And today?

Today it did more than tick.

He stepped instinctively closer, a breath behind Yao now, his gaze cutting toward the stylist like the edge of a blade unsheathed.

Yao, for her part, simply blinked. Her voice was flat but polite when she replied, "I'm here to represent my team, not perform tricks for attention."

A beat passed.

Behind them, Yue coughed into his fist to muffle a laugh.

Pang, less subtle, outright snorted. "Oof. That sounded familiar."

Sicheng didn't say a word. Didn't have to. His presence alone was enough to shift the air, his hand lightly brushing against the hem of Yao's jacket in a gesture so subtle most wouldn't notice—but Su Luo did.

Her smile slipped. Just a little.

"Touchy, touchy," she said with a light chuckle, eyes flicking between the two of them now. "Though I suppose you always did have claws, kitten. Just took someone brave enough to let you show them."