Against the Algorithm

Chapter 54: Given, Not Owed

Da Bing blinked, slow and with unimpressed disdain.

"They've never looked so betrayed." Yue clutched his chest, cackling.

"Xiao Cong slept in the laundry hamper," Lao Mao called from the doorway, grinning. "Refused to eat from anyone's hand unless it was Lao K's. Da Bing terrorized the downstairs roomba."

"Da Bing... we're back. You're fine. You were fed. You were loved." Yao groaned, reaching out carefully. Da Bing stepped back with a huff at her with a look that said he was indeed upset with her. She knew why as she had not ever since she had got him? Left him on his own or been gone for more than a few hours.

Yue snorted. "That's it. He's revoking your emotional support license."

"I'm filing a formal complaint with the Feline Union. The Board of Very Angry Cats says no cuddles for you." Lao K added, stepping out with a protein shake and a smirk.

Sicheng finally stepped forward, setting the bags down and crouching beside her. He said nothing. Just held out a hand. Da Bing stared. Then slowly—very slowly—stepped forward and shoved his massive forehead into Sicheng's palm with a dramatic, warbling gruhhhhrrr.

Yue shouted, "Traitor!"

Xiao Cong perked up at that and immediately climbed up Sicheng's thigh like a tree, pawing his shirt and chirping loudly. "I am not surprised," Sicheng muttered dryly, rubbing behind Da Bing's ears. "They're like you. Loud when upset. Stubborn when guilty."

"I am not loud."

"You just hissed 'I'm not loud.' "

Da Bing flopped against Sicheng's side with a thud.

"They're never letting me leave again, are they?" Yao sighed and dropped her head to his shoulder.

"No," Sicheng said calmly, rubbing Da Bing's back as Xiao Cong pounced lightly onto Yao's lap as he picked him up in her arms. "And honestly, I'm considering microchipping you."

"If you microchip me," Yao muttered as she adjusted Xiao Cong in her arms, "your privileges to my apartment are revoked." She didn't wait for a response. She didn't need one. The weight of her words was final—sharp-edged and quiet like the rest of her. Beside her, Da Bing gave a low chuff, brushing his massive white frame against her calf in silent agreement as if to say you tell him, Mama.

Sicheng just watched, a barely-there smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. She turned her back on all of them, chin slightly lifted, and made her way toward the base's front door. It was solid wood, heavy, with that familiar resistance that always required a little extra push. She shifted Xiao Cong to one arm, grabbed the handle, and shoved it open with the ease of muscle memory. She didn't look back. The door shut behind her with a soft click.

"She just dismissed you like a palace guard," Yue said behind him, sounding both offended and impressed. "Didn't even flinch."

"She dismissed you too," Sicheng said dryly, grabbing his own duffle and the sleek travel safe she hadn't even tried to carry. "You just didn't notice."

Yue muttered, "I notice everything."

"You didn't notice her stealing your soul last week during that mid-lane scrim as she called out your bad playing."

"She intimidated my mouse hand, Cheng. That's psychological warfare."

Sicheng ignored him. He stepped through the front door with one hand on the edge of the frame, his pace unhurried as the base's familiar scent hit him—a mix of floor polish, laundry detergent, energy drinks, and the faintest trace of Rui's industrial-strength air fresheners that tried (and failed) to hide the evidence of too many young men living under one roof. Ahead of him, Yao was already halfway down the hall, her pace calm, steady, familiar. Da Bing moved like a shadow at her heel, his wide body blocking most of the light coming from the lower stairwell, while Xiao Cong peered over her shoulder with wide gray eyes, ears twitching at every creak of the wood.