Against the Algorithm

Chapter 25: Spotlight

Summary: The morning doesn't start—it erupts. As the world finally sees her, the internet's attention descends with chaotic speed, and the team scrambles to keep up. But beneath the noise, something sharper stirs—boundaries are tested, roles shift, and for the first time, she stands at the center. Not as a mystery. Not as a fantasy. But as someone who has already claimed her place, without even trying.

Notes:

Author's Note: Plushies and Best Friends!

Chapter Twenty-Five

The next morning hadn't so much begun as it had detonated—no slow shuffle into consciousness, no quiet descent down the stairs for coffee or idle teasing in the kitchen, just the sudden, overwhelming eruption of phones vibrating across every surface of the ZGDX base, buzzing with alerts, pings, flashes, and notifications that cascaded like dominos into chaos before anyone had even managed to finish their first sip of caffeine. It was Rui who noticed it first, his brow furrowing as he tapped open a news app mid-yawn, and then—two seconds later—cursed under his breath.

Because the photo shoot had gone live.

Not just the clean, curated version ZGDX's media team had prepared, but everything—the behind-the-scenes photos, the press-exclusive frames, the fan reposts, the threads already snowballing across every major platform from Weibo to Instagram to Twitter, moving so fast it was less like a release and more like a digital wildfire.

And it wasn't just about the team.

It wasn't about the latest roster update, the sleek shots of Sicheng's lethal focus, the sharp symmetry of the team in uniform, or even the rare smile they'd managed to catch on Yue's face.

It was about her.

Tong Yao.

Not a player.

Not a streamer.

Not a brand ambassador or a scripted PR figure.

But ZGDX's newly introduced, quietly dazzling, and unexpectedly captivating Data Analyst—the girl who had mostly existed in the background until now, who had moved through their halls like a soft presence, not unnoticed but never intentionally visible, now thrust into the eye of a digital storm she hadn't asked for and wasn't prepared to meet head-on.

She was the girl in the jacket—the red, black, and white ZGDX colors draped over her slight frame, her silver-platinum hair cascading in soft, effortless waves as she sat behind a laptop mid-calculation or glanced sideways at something off-camera, caught in that perfect second of stillness that had somehow captured everything about her—curiosity, calm, and an unshakable depth that made people want to know more.

The comments hit the internet like thunder.

"Who is she?"

"Since when does ZGDX have a girl on staff?"

"She looks like she belongs in a fantasy novel."

"She doesn't look like an analyst. She looks like a painting."

"Why haven't we seen her before?"

"She's beautiful—I want to protect her."

"Can we talk about how ethereal she looks in that hoodie?"

Some called her a fairy, others a doll, and more than a few threads were filled with unsolicited fantasies and speculations, shifting rapidly from admiration to something possessive, invasive, and unsettling.