Against the Algorithm

Chapter 51: When the World Went Quiet

Yue opened his mouth, but she stepped forward, stabbing her finger through the air again, cheeks flushed and voice rising with every syllable.

"I mean it! No jokes. No teasing. No offhand comments. No dramatic reveals during scrims or while you're beating someone on stream! I don't care how funny it sounds! You say nothing, do you hear me?"

Yue, stunned, nodded slowly, both hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay—no need to go full Dragon Queen on me."

Yao narrowed her eyes. "I own the company that runs everything. Do you know what kind of madness that could start?! The leaks? The media? The fan theories? The legal chaos?!"

"I said okay!" Yue yelped, looking to Sicheng for backup. "She's scarier than you."

"She's always been scarier than me," Sicheng said without missing a beat, arms folded, expression mostly calm—except for the corner of his mouth, which was twitching as he fought back a smirk.

Yao just stared at the fifth box like it had betrayed her on a molecular level.

And Sheng, breaking into a slow grin, leaned back in his chair. "Roulan really left a dragon in rabbit's clothing," he murmured.

Yao stood there with her hand still half-raised from pointing at Yue, her chest rising and falling in uneven breaths, her thoughts spinning far too fast for her to catch. The folder she'd been holding now rested on the table, forgotten, and the last box—the one that had just upended every reality she thought she knew—sat gaping open beside it, its quiet contents carrying the weight of an empire. She stared at it for another long second, then muttered under her breath, voice sharp and breathless with disbelief. "I don't even drink," she said, almost accusingly to no one in particular. "I don't like alcohol... but right now? I want a drink."

Yue, still perched half-on the edge of a nearby seat, lifted his hands like he was trying to hold back laughter, then looked at her with wide-eyed wonder. "I mean... you sure you want to keep it secret?"

That did it.

Yao slowly turned her head toward him with the weight and deliberation of a predator zeroing in on prey. Her expression said everything before she even opened her mouth—a sharp, withering look that communicated judgment, disappointment, and a very clear warning that he was already on thin ice.

Sicheng didn't say anything. He didn't have to. He just crossed his arms over his chest and turned his gaze onto his younger brother—a slow, dark, unimpressed stare that would have frozen most living things in place.

Yue shrank back an inch. "I was just asking—"

Yao closed her eyes for a long moment, exhaled through her nose, and when she opened them again, the fight had drained from her voice. What was left was something raw. Quiet. Honest. "I hate the spotlight," she said softly. "I hate being watched. I hate when people try to spin me into something I'm not. I've worked hard just to be seen as me—not anyone's symbol, not anyone's project." Her eyes lifted to Yue's, steady now, though her tone remained low and pained. "If you open your mouth," she said clearly, "because you want bragging rights that your brother's Intended owns Riot Games... I won't just be upset." She paused, her voice slipping to something sharper. "I will never speak to you again."

Yue's mouth opened slightly.

Yao lifted her hand and pointed again—this time directly at Sicheng. "And I'll leave your fate to him."

Yue's eyes darted to his brother, whose look had only darkened further.

Sicheng arched a brow slowly, his voice cold and flat. "Do you really want to test how creative I can be when I'm disappointed in someone?"