Against the Algorithm

Chapter 53: Keys to the Quiet

"Do you plan to explain this, or shall I guess?"

Sicheng simply gestured toward Yao, who muttered something under her breath and offered a helpless shrug.

Lan hummed once under her breath. "Of course."

But then—

A second set of steps echoed from the doorway.

He entered slower than the others, his hands tucked behind his back, posture as straight as ever, the dark gray coat falling over his broad shoulders like something out of a recruitment poster. Lu Sheng walked a few steps into the space, his expression unmoved.

At first.

He stopped.

He stared.

And then—

It happened.

His entire body stilled. His eyes locked on the sleek, low frame of the deep blue coupe parked beneath the glass skylight.

Sicheng leaned closer to Yao and whispered like a man announcing the second sunrise, "Watch this."

Yao glanced up—just in time to see Lu Sheng take one full step forward.

Then another.

His brow furrowed. He turned slowly, taking in the full span of the garage—and the three matching prototypes spaced evenly like precision blades laid on velvet. He blinked once. Then again. And then his mouth opened.

Yue watched it happen in real time, his eyes darting between his father and the blue coupe with all the glee of someone front row at a stage play. "Holy shit," he whispered. "He's going to beg."

Lan's arms crossed delicately. "He's calculating how fast he can offer her his soul without looking desperate."

Sicheng, arms folded with absolute serenity, just smirked. "That's the exact face he made when I got top of my class in third year."

Yao, caught somewhere between disbelief and rising panic, turned toward him. "You told me you just wanted to see him pout—"

"I lied."

"Cheng!"

But Sheng hadn't moved again. He just stood there, staring at the holy trinity of automotive history like it had personally risen from the dead just to mock him. And then he spoke. "...These are yours?" he asked, voice low.

Yao blinked. "Uh. Yes?"

"All three?"

She looked at Sicheng, who nodded cheerfully. "Confirmed. Verified. Polished weekly."

Sheng took a deep breath and exhaled like a man trying not to crumble in front of witnesses.

Yue took out his phone.

Sicheng didn't stop him.

Yao buried her face in her hands. "I hate you." she whispered to Sicheng.

His arm slid casually around her waist, voice warm with satisfaction. "That's okay. I'm having a great day."

Lu Sheng hadn't said another word. He was still standing perfectly still, the hard lines of his military-honed posture beginning to falter—not from weakness, but from sheer, stunned longing. His gaze hadn't left the line of the three Azure Frost BMS 97s, the rare prototypes gleaming under the skylight like artifacts pulled from time itself. He was one breath away from bargaining.

Yue was already opening his camera app.

Sicheng was waiting for the glorious spectacle of his father begging.