Against the Algorithm

Chapter 54: Given, Not Owed

Jinyang had flopped herself halfway over the beanbag she'd claimed earlier, Ai Jia now seated beside her on the floor, back against the base of the couch. Kun Hyeok was still sulking nearby, though noticeably perkier since the mention of a potential custom delivery.

Yao glanced down at her tea again, then slowly lifted her head. "...Jinyang?" she said quietly.

Her best friend blinked up at her, hair a bit mussed, mascara smudged slightly from earlier joyful sobbing over the Corvette. "Yeah, beautiful?"

Yao's fingers tightened around the mug slightly. "Do you... do you think Kazemi-ge and Kaya-jie will be okay with what I sent them?"

Jinyang sat up straighter. "Wait. What did you send them?"

Yao hesitated.

Then whispered, "I sent Kaya-jie the Dodge Viper Concept VM-02. The 8-liter V10 RWD... from 1989."

The room went still.

Jinyang blinked, then slowly, very slowly, turned to stare at her. "You mean the prototype? The one they only made two of?"

Yao nodded, swallowing. "She's always loved it. I remembered once she mentioned it when I asked what her favorite shape was—she said it looked like power that didn't have to explain itself."

Sicheng, already watching her carefully, went still before he sighed heavily resigned to the fact that his Xiǎo tùzǐ was too damn kind for her own good....and was very much deciding to hand out those cars to people that love on them and take care of them with their lives, to show her love and generosity to her precious ones.

Ai Jia turned toward her with growing disbelief.

"And Kazemi-Ge?" Jinyang asked, almost breathless.

Yao hesitated again, then murmured, "The Rolls-Royce Boat Tail."

Silence.

Not stunned silence.

Staggered.

The kind that pulled every breath out of the room at once.

Yue's head whipped toward her like he'd misheard.

Pang, sitting at the edge of the training room doorway, straightened abruptly. "Wait, wait—wait." He stared at her, wide-eyed. "The Boat Tail? The one with the butterfly deck and inlaid crystal panels? That Boat Tail?" Yao gave a tiny nod as she was flushing, turning red as she was fidgeting. "You're talking about the car that only three exist in the entire world?" he said, his voice almost a squeak.

Yao looked down into her tea. "They were just sitting there. Locked away. Unseen. Untouched. They weren't bought recently, they were part of my grandfather and father's collection. They've been sealed for over a decade."

"Yao..." Lao K's voice cracked slightly. "Where did you even—?"

"When we went to Shanghai," she said softly, her voice growing steadier now despite the heat rising in her cheeks, "it wasn't just about clearing the vault and paperwork. I found records. Garages." She looked up at them then, hazel eyes shining but quiet. "They belonged to my family. And I know they would've wanted them to be seen. To be driven. Not left locked behind walls. My grandfather... he never collected for status. He collected because he believed beautiful things should be used."

Jinyang stared at her, lips parted. Ai Jia had gone completely still. Even Kun Hyeok's pout had vanished, replaced by the blankness of someone trying to process a piece of history being casually handed out like a wrapped gift. Sicheng didn't say anything. He didn't need to. His hand pressed gently to the curve of her spine.