Against the Algorithm

Chapter 54: Given, Not Owed

There was a pause on the other end.

Then Sheng replied, voice low and sure, "You gave us more than that, darling girl. You have given us a piece of your family. You have solidified your decision to make us your family like we have done with you."

Yue whispered, "She's going to cry."

"I'm not." Yao mumbled, though her eyes shimmered, and her cheeks were glowing.

Lan's voice returned, calm and certain. "We'll talk soon. But for tonight? Let yourself feel what it means to be held. You are not alone in anything that comes next, we will always stand beside you. Not to mention that Sheng has been bragging to all his associates and such on the gifts his beloved future daughter in law has given to him without even wanting anything in return."

"They are jealous!" crowed Sheng with great glee and pleasure

The call ended.

Yao let out a small breath.

Sicheng set the phone gently back on the table, then leaned down and kissed the top of her head without a word. And even though Da Bing was still lying across Yue's chest like a judgmental pancake, and Yue was mumbling something about emotional whiplash... Yao just closed her eyes. And finally—finally—let herself be still.

The room had gone quiet after the call ended.

Yao sat there, nestled between the armrest and Yue's warm weight, her fingers curled in her sleeve, eyes soft but no longer overwhelmed. Sicheng hadn't moved far, still crouched beside the couch, one hand resting loosely on her knee, the other draped over the back cushion behind her.

Da Bing stretched with a slow, rumbling purr from Yue's stomach and re-positioned like he owned the world, which, as far as anyone in the room was concerned, he absolutely did. It was the kind of peace she never really allowed herself, warm, unguarded, quiet. Until, Yao suddenly stilled. Her spine straightened a fraction. Her eyes, still wide, shifted slightly, first downward, then off to the side, as if looking at something only she could see. And then the color drained from her face.

Sicheng noticed it immediately.

So did Yue.

"Xiǎo tùzǐ," Sicheng said quietly, his thumb brushing against her knee, "what just happened."

Yue lifted his head from beneath Da Bing's weight and squinted. "You look like you remembered where you left a burning stove."

Yao swallowed, her voice caught somewhere between mortified and squeaky. "...I just remembered something else I did."

Both Lu brothers froze.

Sicheng's eyes narrowed slightly. "What kind of something, Xiǎo tùzǐ?"

Yue added, "Was it dangerous? Expensive? Does it involve explosives or shipping containers?"

Yao flinched, then tried to melt further into the couch cushion. "...I might have sent out two more cars."

"To who?" they said in near unison, eyes locked on her now like twin lasers of suspicion and judgment.

Yao squirmed, her face going crimson. "To Ai Jia and Jinyang..."

"What did you send them?" Sicheng's brows rose slightly, but his voice stayed level because of course she would send something to her best friends that have been at her side since she had come to China when she was barely 18.

Yao opened her mouth, closed it again, then muttered just loud enough to be heard, "I told the delivery firm to send the black and silver Audi to Ai Jia... The Audi PB18 E-Tron..."