Against the Algorithm

Chapter 38: Meant for One

Summary: Wrapped in the comfort of shared silence and soft light, the night unfolds not with fanfare, but with purpose. Every detail speaks of care, of memory, of something built slowly between two people who no longer pretend this is temporary. And when a small box is offered with no strings, only meaning, what lingers isn't expectation—it's the quiet, steady certainty of someone choosing her.

Notes:

Author's Note: Next steps and progress being made. Chessman is determined to do right by his Tiny Boss Bunny

Chapter Thirty-Eight

By the time the sun had long dipped below the skyline and the soft ambient glow of her apartment lit the room in warm, golden hues, the scent of garlic, scallion, and gently steamed cod lingered in the air, subtle but comforting, with the trailing notes of ginger syrup just beginning to simmer on the stove.

Tong Yao, dressed in one of her softest peasant skirts and a loose, flowy top that shifted easily with every movement, moved with the quiet precision of someone who had rehearsed every step, every placement, every detail, multiple times in her head. Her platinum hair, freshly brushed and trailing in soft waves just past her waist, shimmered faintly beneath the lights as she carefully spooned a ladle of ginger syrup over the black sesame rice balls in a delicate porcelain bowl. The jasmine rice was fluffed to perfection, the steamed cod plated with crisp scallions glistening in the light sheen of garlic oil, everything placed just so on the small two-person table she had cleared just for tonight.

She glanced at the clock, still a bit early, but she was too restless to wait much longer. Wiping her hands on the soft towel hooked near the stove, she picked up her phone, biting her lip lightly before thumbing open her messages and tapping on his contact.

ZGDX_TinyBossBunny: Dinner's ready. And I picked out the movies for tonight... so you get to choose.

She hesitated for half a second before sending it, then quickly placed the phone face down as if that might lessen the weight of her nerves. She hadn't told him what she was making. She wanted it to be a surprise. Wanted to see if the soft flush of pride and maybe something gentler crossed his face when he realized she had remembered. Or more truthfully, that she had asked. Because she hadn't known what his favorite meal or dessert was until Lan had told her—not just in passing, but with a fond smile, recounting how Sicheng had loved black sesame glutinous rice balls since he was five and that whenever she made steamed cod with garlic scallion oil, he always asked for extra ginger syrup, even if the dishes didn't traditionally go together. And that was exactly what she had made. Not to impress him. Not to prove anything. But because she wanted to.

Because Monday nights were theirs. And for the first time in a long time, she wanted him to sit down to something that reminded him not just of home—but of someone who cared enough to make it for him . Now all that was left was to see his face when he walked through her door. And quietly, shyly, she hoped it would be worth it.

The screen of his phone lit up with the soft chime he'd come to recognize instantly— ZGDX_TinyBossBunny . The name alone was enough to draw his attention even if the world around him had been on fire, which, thankfully, it wasn't. Not tonight. He swiped the screen open without hesitation.

Dinner's ready. And I picked out the movies for tonight... so you get to choose.

A small breath huffed from his nose—half a laugh, half something softer—as his thumb hovered briefly over the glowing text before locking the screen again and pushing to his feet. His leather jacket was already in hand. He'd meant to grab something from the convenience store before heading up, but that thought had long since evaporated. She'd made dinner. Which meant she'd been thinking of him. By the time he reached the door to her apartment—the private space that had become a quiet kind of haven for both of them—he didn't bother knocking. He'd long since stopped pretending he was a guest in this space.