Against the Algorithm

Chapter 47: More Than Enough

"Yeah," Yao said dryly, turning back to her best friend. "That look right there."

Ai Jia, still standing off to the side, gave an exaggerated wince. "You brought a corset into his territory. That's on you."

Jinyang sighed with theatrical defeat, tossing her hair over one shoulder. "Fine. No corset. No skirt. But I'm keeping the receipt for when he's out of town."

"You'll lose it," Yao said, folding the corset neatly and tucking it back in the box.

"I won't."

"You always do."

"I won't this time."

Da Bing let out a low, judgmental huff from the couch.

Xiao Cong batted the corset box with his paw.

And Sicheng?

He said absolutely nothing. But his eyes met Yao's from across the room, that look of simmering pride and something darker in his gaze that spoke volumes more than his silence.

And Yao?

She swallowed hard, shoved the corset deeper into the box, and muttered under her breath, "You're not subtle, Cheng-ge."

His mouth twitched, almost smiling. "No," he said smoothly. "I never claimed to be."

Jinyang let out a long, dramatic sigh, the kind that came from the depths of a woman who had clearly accepted defeat—but not gracefully. "Damn it," she muttered, yanking her phone from her back pocket and tapping the screen with the bitterness of someone who knew the exact moment her money was gone. "I owe that smug ass 100 yuan now."

Yao blinked, brows furrowed. "Wait—what?"

Sicheng's eyes narrowed slightly from across the room, arms crossed over his chest again as he leaned one shoulder into the wall with the casual menace of a man waiting to pounce on any detail that suggested this wasn't a one-woman scheme.

Jinyang groaned and turned toward Yao, tossing a hand in the air. "Okay, okay—technically, the corset and skirt were never yours."

Yao stared. "...Excuse me?"

"They're mine," Jinyang confessed, motioning toward the box with a resigned huff. "I just slipped them into your gift pile because Kun Hyeok—that arrogant, smug, pain-in-the-ass ADC—bet me they wouldn't last twenty-four hours in this base."

Yao blinked again.

Mouth opened.

Closed.

Jinyang didn't stop. "And I said, 'Of course it'll last, you underestimate my Bunny.' But nooo," she gestured toward the corset box as if it had betrayed her. "You barely touched it and Cheng looked like he was about to file a restraining order against it."

From the couch, Da Bing let out a low, almost condescending huff of agreement.

Ai Jia winced. "I told you not to make that bet."

"Yeah, well you were right. And now I'm sending your ADC 100 yuan and a gif of me glaring."

Yue, from his usual lurking spot, suddenly perked up. "Kun Hyeok knew this was gonna happen? Can we get him on commentary? That kind of foresight deserves a raise."

"Absolutely not," Jinyang said flatly. "He'll never let me live it down."

Sicheng, still silent, smirked faintly at last, just a shift of his mouth, subtle and smug.