Against the Algorithm

Chapter 53: Keys to the Quiet

But before it could happen, Yao moved. Quietly. No dramatics. No announcements. Just one step back. Then another. Her boots tapped softly across the concrete as she turned toward the far wall where, neatly mounted along a sleek matte-black panel, was a meticulously arranged row of key fobs, each one labeled in elegant silver script beneath the manufacturer crest. She stopped in front of them.

Everyone fell silent.

Yao scanned the labels with narrowed eyes, thankful for the clarity and order someone—probably her grandfather or father, she assumed absently—had made sure to preserve. Her gaze landed on the right one, and she reached out slowly, fingers brushing the glass panel as she lifted the key marked BMS-AZURE F97 // No. 2.

It was heavier than she expected. Solid. Beautiful. Ridiculous. She held it in her palm for a moment. Then turned. Her steps back across the floor were unhurried. Her expression unreadable. Her eyes flicked once toward Sicheng—who looked mildly alarmed now—and then toward Lan, who said nothing but watched with the faintest shift of curiosity in her eyes.

And then, Yao stopped in front of Lu Sheng. He looked down at her, his gaze sharp, his back impossibly straight. And Yao, cheeks warm, hands slightly unsteady, lifted the key between them. "...You can have one," she said softly.

The words were simple.

But the effect was nuclear.

Yue choked audibly. "Wait, what?!"

Even Sicheng straightened.

Lan raised an eyebrow.

But Yao didn't flinch.vShe kept her eyes on Sheng's face. Her voice was quiet, but certain, if a little shy. "I trust you to take care of it," she added, a bit more firmly. "So... if you want one, it's yours."

Sheng blinked.vThen again.vLike he couldn't quite believe what he was hearing.

Yao's hand didn't waver. She didn't retract the key. She didn't offer conditions or ask for anything in return. She just... offered.

And Lu Sheng, the man whose command had shaped elite soldiers, whose words carried weight in government halls and war rooms alike, blinked once more before very slowly—very carefully—taking the key from her fingers like it might dissolve if he moved too fast.

Silence stretched.

Then he cleared his throat once, visibly composing himself. "I'll detail it myself," he said, voice low. "Once a week. Top-grade ceramic coat. And it will never see rain."

"Okay." Yao nodded, looking down now, clearly flustered.

Sheng looked at the key like it was priceless.

Because to him, it was.

Sicheng, stunned out of his gloating, stared at her.

Yue was gaping. "You just gave away one of the three—"

"She gifted it to our father," Sicheng said, voice still catching up. "I'm honestly speechless."

Lan, sipping from a small metal flask she definitely hadn't entered the garage with, muttered dryly, "And here I thought I was the dangerous one."

Yao tucked her hands into her sleeves, face pink, eyes a little wide as she muttered, "I didn't want him to pout..."

Sheng coughed into his fist and turned sharply, but not before anyone missed the smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

And Sicheng, watching all of it—the flustered girl beside him, the man who once terrified half the league now staring at a car key like it was the Holy Grail—leaned closer and murmured, voice soft with something unshakably deep: "You realize you've just earned permanent Favored Child status, right?"