Against the Algorithm

Chapter 36: Crayfish and Favoritism

There were no divorces in the Lu line.

No second thoughts.

No giving back.

To give this medallion was to say you are mine, and you will be mine until breath no longer fills my lungs. It was ancient, iron-bound tradition, and yet, in the quiet of this moment, it felt deeply personal—because it had never been worn by anyone quite like her before.

Sicheng leaned back slowly in his chair, staring at the photo for a long time, his jaw tight, expression unreadable. Then, after a moment, his hand shifted to his phone, and he tapped out a single, precise message to the jeweler.

Have it delivered. Directly to me. Do not send it by courier. I will give it to her myself.

The afternoon had started out so simple. Grocery run with Jinyang, a handful of errands, a few whispered plans about Monday's upcoming dinner that had Yao's cheeks pink the entire drive—especially when she admitted Aunt Lan had personally sent her the recipe for Sicheng's favorite dish and dessert. Naturally, Jinyang had pouted for a full ten minutes, insisting her best friend was now lost to the Lu family forever, but that hadn't stopped her from spoiling Yao with stops into three different boutiques on the way out, claiming it was part of the "deal" for using her car.

Yao had just finished organizing her groceries neatly in the backseat—soup ingredients tucked beside a bag of fine flour and a carefully wrapped container of candied orange peels—when she heard it.

It was faint. Almost lost in the breeze.

A soft, strained mewl.

Her head lifted instantly.

Jinyang, laughing at some message Ai Jia had sent her, didn't notice until the car door slammed shut behind Yao.

"Yao?" she called, her voice a note higher. "What's wrong?"

But Yao didn't respond. She was already hurrying across the small strip of sidewalk, shoes tapping rapidly over the pavement as her gaze darted, scanning the alley between the market and an old flower stall just starting to close for the evening. And then she heard it again—this time louder. Broken. Frantic.

It was coming from a cardboard box wedged between two trash bins.

"Oh no!" Yao breathed.

By the time Jinyang caught up, the first light drops of rain were beginning to fall, dotting the concrete around them as the clouds overhead thickened. Her eyes widened the moment she saw her best friend crouched down in front of the soaked cardboard, her hands gently lifting a small, shivering mass of fur from the sagging edge of the box.

A tiny, gray-striped Maine Coon kitten. Its ears were flattened, body soaked, paws trembling as it let out another cry. Light gray eyes blinked up at her, wide and terrified.

"Someone just left him here." Yao whispered, her voice catching with emotion, her fingers already pulling the soft lining of her hoodie around the kitten's form to block out the wind.

"Okay. Well, you know what this means, right?" Jinyang exhaled slowly and crouched beside her.

Yao looked up, blinking.

"You just got adopted."

"I—what?"

Jinyang grinned. "Oh, don't act shocked. Look at you. You're already cuddling him like a protective mom. Da Bing is going to throw an actual fit."