Summary: Three days of silent pressure, endless pestering, and growing exhaustion finally push Tong Yao back to ZGDX's doors—not just with her answer, but with the weight of every choice pressed into her shoulders.
Overprotective ZGDX!
Chapter Four
Three days later, the atmosphere inside the ZGDX base was unusually charged. The team had been expecting this—waiting for it, even—but when Tong Yao finally appeared at their front door, the first thing they noticed wasn't that she had come with her answer. It was how exhausted she looked. Her platinum silver hair, usually neatly brushed, was slightly messy, stray strands falling over her face as if she hadn't even bothered to fix them. Her hazel eyes, always sharp and observant despite her shy demeanor, were dulled with exhaustion, dark circles forming beneath them. She stood at the entrance, shifting on her feet, her fingers curled around the strap of her bag, looking smaller than usual.
Rui, ever the mother hen, was the first to react. "You look tired. Did you even sleep?" he said immediately, stepping forward, his tone laced with concern.
Yao sighed, long and heavy, her shoulders slumping slightly. "Not really," she admitted, voice quiet.
Lao Mao, who had been leaning against the wall, frowned. "Why not?"
Yao exhaled again, shifting the weight of her bag before muttering, "Ai Jia."
The room stilled.
Sicheng, sitting casually on the couch, had yet to move. Had yet to say anything. But his amber gaze, sharp and watchful, locked onto her in an instant.
Lao K, ever the impatient one when it concerns those he cared about, leaned forward. "What about him?"
Yao closed her eyes briefly, visibly exhausted, before murmuring, "He's been pestering me every chance he gets."
Yue, who had been casually observing, snorted. "Oh, let me guess—he's suddenly super interested in whether or not you've seen his phone?"
Yao nodded, rubbing her temple. "Every time he sees me, it's the same thing— 'Yao, have you seen my phone? Yao, I swear I left it somewhere, you wouldn't happen to know where it is, would you?' " She groaned, tilting her head back slightly. "It's exhausting."
"Persistent little bastard, isn't he?" Ming hummed in amusement.
"He's not the only one." Yao let out another long breath.
Yue blinked. "Wait. Who else?"
Yao rubbed her temple again before muttering, "Jinyang."
That got their attention.
Rui's brows shot up. "Jinyang's pestering you too?"
Yao nodded. "Ai Jia got her involved," she explained, voice strained. "She's been asking me nonstop if I really didn't see anything. Keeps telling me I should 'just be honest' with him, that it's just a phone and that I should help him find it."
Yue scoffed. "Yeah, well, she's not exactly subtle."
"Man, they're pressing you." Pang let out a low whistle.
Yao sighed. "They won't stop." The weight of her words settled in. She had been harassed for three straight days. For something Ai Jia lost on his own.
Sicheng, who had remained silent this entire time, finally moved. His fingers tapped once—just once—against the armrest of the couch, a subtle motion, but one that carried weight. "Annoying." he murmured, his voice low, smooth.
Yao, still rubbing her temple, let out a small, tired laugh. "You're telling me."
Sicheng exhaled through his nose, standing up in a slow, deliberate motion. His presence immediately filled the space, drawing attention, shifting the energy in the room from casual concern to something colder. Something dangerous.
Yao, feeling the shift, blinked up at him, slightly thrown off. "W-What?"
Sicheng didn't answer right away. He simply walked over, stopping in front of her, his amber gaze scanning her too-tired face, the tension in her shoulders, the way her fingers fidgeted with the strap of her bag. Than, his voice dropped into something calm, something controlled. "Do you want it to stop?"
"I… yes?" Yao swallowed, shifting slightly.
Sicheng nodded. "Then I'll handle it."
Her breath hitched.
The room went silent.
Yue, blinking, muttered, "Oh shit."
Lao K exhaled. "Yeah, okay. Ai Jia's screwed."
Ming, sipping his tea, hummed in agreement. "Poor bastard has no idea what's coming."
And Yao?
She didn't know why, but something about the way Sicheng said it—the way his tone left no room for doubt—made her heart race in a way she really wasn't ready to admit. She stood frozen in place, her hazel eyes wide as she watched Sicheng walk out of the ZGDX base without another word, his stride purposeful, his shoulders squared with a quiet finality that sent a shiver down her spine. She didn't know where he was going.
No.
That was a lie. She knew exactly where he was going. And that realization made her heart hammer against her ribs. Because Sicheng hadn't just offered to handle it. He had decided. And now, with Ai Jia's phone tucked securely inside the pocket of his leather jacket, Lu Sicheng was headed straight for YQCB's base—no hesitation, no delay, no warning. And he was not in the mood to be merciful.
YQCB's base was buzzing with activity when Sicheng arrived. Players and staff moved through the halls, murmuring about scrims and upcoming strategies, oblivious to the storm that had just walked through their front doors. But Ai Jia, standing in the middle of the common area with his captain, Liang Sheng, and their coach, was not oblivious.
The second he saw Sicheng, his expression twisted.
"You!" Ai Jia hissed, taking a sharp step forward, his usual smugness replaced with something bitter—something angry. "You have my phone—"
Sicheng didn't even blink. Instead, without a single word, he reached into the pocket of his leather jacket, pulled out Ai Jia's phone, and tossed it onto the table between them with a sharp clatter.
Ai Jia's breath caught. His entire body stiffened, his fingers twitching.
Liang Sheng, standing beside him, crossed his arms, his sharp eyes flickering between them.
Sicheng tilted his head slightly, his expression unreadable. "Here," he said smoothly. "I'd say 'don't lose it again,' but considering how easily it was stolen, that seems pointless."
Ai Jia's face burned with humiliation. "You had it this whole time?!" he seethed, snatching up the phone.
Sicheng exhaled slowly, his amber gaze cutting through Ai Jia like a blade. "No," he corrected smoothly. "Your cowardice lost it." Ai Jia flinched, but before he could snap back, Sicheng continued, his voice dropping into something colder. "You should be thanking her," he said, tilting his head slightly. "Because if Yao hadn't stolen it, I would've had to waste more time proving that my brother wasn't the one who started the fight."
Ai Jia froze.
"What?" Liang Sheng's eyes narrowed.
Sicheng turned slightly, his gaze flicking toward the captain. "You didn't hear?" he asked, feigning mild interest. "ZGDX already issued a public statement. The video evidence was released. Yue was cleared." His voice dipped lower, sharper. "The ones who jumped him? They belonged to a now disbanded and destroyed e-sports team."
Liang Sheng's jaw tightened.
"You're acting like I—" Ai Jia's expression twisted into something petulant.
Sicheng cut him off. "You. Shut up."
The words were sharp, cold, and left no room for argument.
Ai Jia gaped, visibly thrown off.
Sicheng stepped closer, his presence alone suffocating. "You've been running your mouth about a damn phone for three days while my brother was jumped by five grown men trying to cripple him. You hid in a bathroom while it happened. And then, when Tong Yao, someone who has zero reason to deal with your mess, fixed your cowardice, you had the audacity to pester her instead of shutting up and disappearing?"
Ai Jia's mouth opened, then closed. Nothing came out. Because there was nothing he could say.
Sicheng's voice, though still calm, carried the unshakable weight of finality. "You don't get to throw a tantrum," he murmured. "You don't get to act like you're the one who's been wronged." His amber eyes burned. "Because the only one at fault here… is you."
A long, heavy silence stretched between them.
Liang Sheng exhaled sharply, rubbing his temple."Ai Jia," he muttered, voice tight. "Go."
Ai Jia stiffened. "What—"
"I said go," Liang Sheng repeated, sharper this time. "Before you make this worse than it already is."
Ai Jia's hands curled into fists, his entire body vibrating with frustration. But under the weight of Sicheng's gaze—under the sheer pressure of it—he had no choice. With a final seething glare, Ai Jia turned on his heel and stormed out of the room.
The second he was gone, Liang Sheng exhaled again, turning back to Sicheng, his expression unreadable. "Is there anything else I should know?"
Sicheng tilted his head slightly. "No."
A beat passed.
Then, without another word, Sicheng turned and walked towards the door. Because Ai Jia? He wasn't worth another second of his time and just as he reached the door, he paused.
The air in the room shifted.
Liang Sheng, still standing stiffly with his arms crossed, tensed as Sicheng slowly turned back toward him. Ai Jia may have stormed off, but this wasn't over.
Not yet.
Sicheng's amber eyes, sharp and lethal, locked onto Liang Sheng with an intensity that made the temperature of the room drop. "I'll make this clear," he said, his voice smooth but carrying an undeniable weight. "If Ai Jia continues to harass Tong Yao—if he so much as breathes in her direction the wrong way—" his eyes darkened, "—I will not hold back."
Liang Sheng's jaw tightened.
"This is your only warning," Sicheng continued, his tone deceptively calm. "If he isn't punished for trying to withhold evidence, if YQCB decides to turn a blind eye to the fact that he let my baby brother get jumped while he hid in a damn bathroom—" He took a single step forward, his presence suffocating. "I will destroy YQCB."
Liang Sheng froze. Not because he thought Sicheng was bluffing. No. Because he knew he wasn't. Sicheng had the power. The influence. The connections. If he decided that YQCB wasn't worth keeping around? If he decided that Ai Jia had crossed too many lines? YQCB wouldn't survive. A long, heavy silence stretched between them. Then—slowly, deliberately—Liang Sheng exhaled through his nose.
"…Understood."
Sicheng didn't respond. Didn't need to. Because his message had been received. With that, he turned on his heel and walked out of YQCB's base, leaving nothing but an unmistakable warning in his wake.
By the time Sicheng returned to the ZGDX base, his patience was already thin. He had spent the last hour dealing with Ai Jia's pathetic tantrum, making sure Liang Sheng understood the weight of his warning, and securing the fact that Yao would not be harassed any further.
Now, he just wanted a moment of quiet.
Except—
The second he stepped inside, he did not get quiet. Instead, he walked straight into the sight of Yue, sprawled dramatically across the couch, one arm thrown over his forehead like he was dying, while Yao sat stiffly on the armrest, looking utterly overwhelmed as she tried to sip her tea in peace.
Lao K and Pang were seated nearby, thoroughly entertained, while Ming smirked over the rim of his cup.
The moment Yue spotted Sicheng, he perked up, immediately switching tactics. "Oh, Gege, you're back, Tong Yao, please, for the sake of my mental health, just say yes already!" he sighed dramatically, turning toward Yao with exaggerated desperation.
"I—w-what?" Yao blinked rapidly, clearly frazzled.
"He's been at this for twenty minutes." Lao K, smirking, leaned forward.
Pang nodded solemnly. "He said if you don't accept the job soon, he'll wither away from emotional distress."
Yue let out an exaggerated groan. "It's true! Do you know how stressful it is having this hanging in the air?!" He turned back to Yao, hands pressed together in mock pleading. "Please, for the sake of the team's sanity, just say you're joining us already!"
"I—I was going to say—" Yao, utterly overwhelmed, clutched her cup tighter.
"Yes?" Yue cut in immediately, hopeful.
Yao flushed. "I—I was going to say I decided…"
Everyone leaned forward slightly.
"…that I accept the offer," she murmured, voice soft but certain.
The room exploded.
Lao K let out a low whistle, grinning. Pang fist-pumped with Lao Mao. Ming, ever composed, smirked in satisfaction.
Yue?
Yue let out the most dramatic sigh of relief as if he had personally suffered in waiting for her answer. "Finally!" he groaned, throwing his head back. "You have no idea how stressful this was for me."
Sicheng, standing in the doorway, took in the scene silently. Yao had accepted. She had chosen them. The tension that had been coiling in his chest for days finally eased. His expression didn't change. He didn't react outwardly. But the way his amber gaze softened ever so slightly as it landed on Yao? That said everything.
The moment the words left Yao's mouth—I accept—Rui vanished. One second he was standing in the room, listening like everyone else, and the next, he was gone, disappearing down the hallway in a flurry of motion so fast that it left the others blinking in mild confusion.
"…Where did Rui—" Yao, still processing the excitement around her, tilted her head slightly. Before she could even finish the question, Rui reappeared from his office, carrying not one, but two things—a thick contract and a brand-new laptop, still wrapped in its sleek packaging. Yao blinked rapidly as he approached, her hazel eyes darting between the two items in his hands. "…What is that?"
Rui grinned, practically buzzing with excitement as he placed the contract on the table in front of her. "Your employment contract," he said cheerfully. "Sicheng already had it prepared—he did the paperwork himself."
Yao's breath hitched. Her gaze flickered instinctively toward Sicheng, who remained standing with his arms crossed, his expression unreadable. But something about that detail—something about the fact that he had handled it himself—made her stomach twist with an emotion she couldn't quite place. Before she could process that, Rui plopped the laptop down next to the contract.
"And this," he continued brightly, "is your new work laptop—top of the line, customized to handle all your data analytics, plus a few extra features for remote access to our systems."
"I—I didn't even start yet—" Yao's mouth parted slightly in shock.
"And?" Rui raised a brow. "You need the proper tools to do your job, don't you?"
Yao hesitated, her fingers twitching slightly as she reached for the contract. But the moment she touched it, the reality of it hit—this was real. She was signing with ZGDX. Then—her hands froze. "…I don't have a lawyer to look this over," she admitted quietly, her voice small, hesitant.
The room stilled.
Yue, who had been waiting for her to sign like an impatient child waiting for a birthday present, paused, his teasing expression flickering into something more thoughtful.
Ming hummed. "That's fair."
Pang and Lao K exchanged glances, both nodding in agreement.
But Sicheng?
Sicheng exhaled through his nose, tilting his head slightly as he spoke—his tone calm, but carrying weight. "You don't need one," he said smoothly.
Yao's head snapped up. "W-What?"
Sicheng's gaze locked onto hers, sharp and unwavering. "I wrote it myself," he stated, his voice even, absolute. "There's nothing in it that would put you at a disadvantage."
Yao's breath caught. He had written it himself. The realization settled deep in her chest, heavier than she expected. Sicheng didn't ask for her trust. He didn't try to convince her. He simply stated it—like it was already a fact. Like there was no other possibility. And for some reason…That made her fingers tighten around the edge of the contract even more. She swallowed hard, her fingers still curled tightly around the contract as her hazel eyes darted between the words on the page and the unwavering amber gaze of Lu Sicheng. "I—I believe you," she murmured, voice barely above a whisper, her fingers fidgeting nervously with the edge of the paper. "I just… I was taught by my father to never sign anything outright."
The room fell silent.
Sicheng's expression didn't shift—didn't change—but something in his gaze deepened. He studied her for a moment, long enough for the weight of his attention to make her want to shrink back into her sweater. Then, after a beat, he exhaled through his nose. "Smart," he murmured, his voice even. "You should always check."
Yao blinked. She had expected pushback. Expected him to insist that she didn't need to worry. Instead—he just… agreed.
"See? She is smart." Ming, sipping his tea in the corner, hummed approvingly.
Yue smirked. "Well, yeah, we knew that."
Lao K snorted. "That's why we want her."
"Exactly!" nodded Lao Mao with a grin to the female.
But Yao wasn't focused on them. She was focused on Sicheng, who, despite his usual unreadable demeanor, had just validated her instinct instead of dismissing it. For some reason, that settled something deep inside her. Still, she hesitated. "But…"
"You need time?" Sicheng tilted his head slightly.
She nodded quickly, her hands still tight around the contract. "Just… a little," she whispered.
His gaze flickered to the laptop beside her, then back to her face. He didn't push. Didn't demand. He simply nodded once. "Fine."
Yao let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding.
Rui, ever the practical one, clapped his hands together. "Alright! You can take it home and look it over, but just so you know—" he shot her a knowing look, "—if you have any questions, Sicheng's the one who wrote it, so you know who to ask."
Yao's eyes flickered toward Sicheng again, and before she could stop herself, her face flushed. "…Okay." And for some reason—some very unexplainable reason—Sicheng's gaze lingering on her in that moment felt heavier than any contract she had ever read.
Before the tension could settle, before Yao could even process why Sicheng's gaze felt so heavy, Yue—because of course it was Yue—blurted out, "Oh yeah, by the way, my brother's a lawyer too."
The room stopped.
Yao froze as her hazel eyes snapped to Yue in pure confusion. "…What?"
Lao K let out a short laugh. "Oh, damn. She didn't know?"
Ming smirked behind his tea. "Guess not."
Meanwhile, Rui sighed, rubbing his temple as if he should have expected this.
But Yao?
She could barely breathe properly as she turned to look at Sicheng. Who, by the way, hadn't reacted at all. His expression was still unreadable, his posture still relaxed, but now—now—there was an unmistakable flicker of something knowing in his gaze. She opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again before managing, "You're a lawyer?"
Sicheng exhaled through his nose, tilting his head slightly. "I have a degree in law," he said smoothly. "I don't practice, but I know enough."
Yao whitened. He knew enough? He had an entire degree in law, and he had personally written the contract sitting in her lap. Which meant… Which meant that even if she wanted to question it, even if she needed to be careful, the fact was. There was nothing in that contract that would harm her. Because he had written it. And Sicheng, with all of his cold logic, his unshakable control, his ruthless precision—would never hand her something he wasn't absolutely sure of. Her throat worked, her fingers twitching against the edge of the paper. "I—I don't even know what to say," she muttered, completely overwhelmed.
Yue grinned. "Well, 'thank you, Gege' would be a great start."
Sicheng shot him a look, and Yue immediately lifted his hands in surrender.
But Yao?
Yao was still stuck on the fact that Lu Sicheng was a lawyer. And somehow—somehow—this man kept finding ways to throw her completely off balance.
Yao, still utterly bewildered, turned to Yue, her wide hazel eyes filled with pure confusion, a hint of shyness, and just a touch of naïve innocence. "…You really want me to call your brother Ge-Ge?"
The room froze.
Yue, caught completely off guard, blinked at her for a solid three seconds before his brain fully registered what she had just said. Than, he exploded into laughter.
Lao K choked on his drink. Pang, caught mid-stretch, let out a loud snort. Ming actually coughed behind his tea, his usual composure breaking for just a second.
And Sicheng?
Sicheng went completely still. His fingers flexed slightly against his arm where they had been crossed, and his amber gaze, sharp, burning, unreadable, snapped to her with an intensity that made the temperature in the room drop.
Yao, oblivious to the danger she had just put herself in, blinked up at Yue, waiting for an answer.
Meanwhile, Yue, who was having the absolute time of his life, wiped a tear from his eye and let out a wheeze. "Oh my God, I was joking, but now I kind of do."
Yao, still serious, tilted her head slightly, her fingers fidgeting with the sleeve of her sweater. "But… wouldn't that be weird?"
Yue grinned wickedly. "Not for me."
Lao K, trying and failing to hold back his amusement, muttered, "I dunno, man. You might not live long enough to hear it twice."
"Why?" Yao blinked again, clearly not getting it.
And then—
Sicheng finally moved. Slowly, deliberately, he turned his head toward his younger brother, his amber eyes dark, flat, and filled with silent warning.
Yue, despite still laughing, immediately threw his hands up. "Alright, alright," he conceded, backing off just enough to not be murdered in the next five seconds. "I'll stop—for now."
But his grin?
His grin remained.
Because this?
This was way too good.
And Yao, completely unaware of what she had just done, still sat there—her cheeks slightly pink, her fingers still clutching the contract, and her lips slightly parted as if she was actually considering it.
And Sicheng?
Sicheng was not amused.
Not. At. All.
The second Yao buried her face into the contract, her entire body radiating shy embarrassment, the teasing slowed, just a fraction. Her voice, small and muffled behind the thick stack of papers, barely made it past her lips, but everyone heard it. "I… I thought only couples outside of siblings called someone that," she mumbled, her fingers gripping the edge of the contract tightly. "Or… or more like… the girlfriend outside of the siblings called her boyfriend that…"
Silence.
Absolute, deadly silence.
The room froze.
Lao K's eyes widened. Pang coughed violently into his sleeve. Lao Mao turned his eyes upwards biting his lip/ Ming actually had to set his tea down before he dropped it.
And Yue?
Yue lost it. A full, loud bark of laughter erupted from his chest, his entire body shaking as he nearly collapsed against the couch, wheezing. "Oh my God, I love her," he gasped, clutching his stomach. "This is—this is perfect—"
Meanwhile—
Sicheng hadn't moved. Hadn't spoken. Hadn't reacted. But his amber gaze, locked onto the top of Yao's bowed head, was dark. Not angry. Not annoyed. But something else. Something dangerous.
Yao, still hiding behind the contract, peeked up just a little, her face burning, utterly confused at the way everyone had suddenly gone quiet again. "…What?"
Yue, still dying, wiped a tear from his eye. "Oh, nothing," he gasped between laughs. "Just—you know—do you want to call Sicheng that?"
Yao whitened. Her ears turned red. Immediately, she shook her head, her hands tightening on the contract as she sank further behind it. "No!" she squeaked.
Yue cackled.
Lao K smirked, thoroughly entertained. "You sound very sure of that."
Yao, muffled behind the contract, let out a panicked, "I am!"
And then—
Sicheng, for the first time, spoke. His voice was low, smooth, utterly unreadable. "Then don't say it." The amusement in the room immediately dulled. Because the way he said it—slowly, deliberately—was not casual. It wasn't a simple dismissal. It was a warning. Not to her. But to them.
Ming, ever the smart one, immediately picked up his tea again and stayed out of it.
Pang and Lao K both exchanged quick glances before clearing their throats and very suddenly deciding to mind their own business.
And Yue?
For the first time in the last ten minutes, he actually shut up.
Yao, still hiding, didn't realize what had just happened. Didn't realize why the room had suddenly shifted. Didn't see the way Sicheng's fingers twitched slightly at his side, didn't feel the way his amber gaze lingered on her, sharp and unreadable. She only knew one thing. That she was never going to let Yue trick her into saying anything ever again.
As the others gradually let the teasing die down, and Yao—face still burning—focused on reading over the contract, Sicheng remained still, too still, standing just a few feet away, his amber gaze locked onto her small, curled-up form on the couch. She was reading, her fingers gripping the pages tightly, her lips pursed in concentration, her mind clearly working through the details even though he knew she was going to take it home to review it properly.
And yet—
He couldn't stop watching her. Couldn't stop the heat that curled deep in his chest, the unshakable pull that tightened like a coil in his stomach, because minutes ago, she had said it.
Ge-Ge.
Not to him. Not for him. But it didn't matter. Because now, the sound of it, soft, hesitant, touched with shyness and an innocent sort of naivety, was in his head, looping like a slow-burning torture. He clenched his jaw slightly, forcing himself to focus, to shove down the immediate desire to make her say it again.
To him.
Not to Yue. Not in passing. Not as a question.
To him.
His fingers twitched at his side. She was too caught up in her reading to notice. Too focused, too unaware of the weight of his gaze, of the slow, deliberate way he exhaled through his nose, biting down hard against the sharp, burning need clawing up his spine. He wanted it. Wanted to hear it again. But not here. Not now. And not because Yue had shoved the idea into the air like a joke.
No.
When she said it again—and she would—it would be for him.
And only him. So he swallowed it down, shoved it deep into the part of him that had already begun marking her as his, and forced himself to be patient.
Yao, still feeling the lingering heat of all the teasing and thoroughly overwhelmed by the weight of Sicheng's presence, cleared her throat quietly, shifting slightly as she held onto the contract like it was her lifeline. "I, um…" she hesitated, her fingers tightening around the edge of the papers before she muttered, barely above a whisper, "I need to get home."
The words felt like an escape. A way to breathe, to get away from all the eyes on her, from the undeniable pressure in the air that she couldn't quite place. But the second she said it, the energy in the room shifted.
Sicheng, still standing near the couch, tilted his head slightly, his sharp amber gaze flickering over her in a way that made her heartbeat stutter. "Alone?" he asked smoothly, his voice low, deceptively calm.
"…Yes?" Yao blinked up at him, confused.
Sicheng exhaled slowly, and before she could process it, he was already reaching for his phone, his fingers moving with purpose. "You're not taking a DiDi," he stated flatly.
Yao's eyes widened slightly. "I—I take DiDis all the time—"
"Not anymore." His voice left no room for argument.
Yue, watching from the sidelines, let out a low whistle, clearly entertained. "Oh boy, here we go."
Yao's fingers twitched. "I—I can't just not take them—"
"You're not taking a DiDi," Sicheng repeated smoothly. "I'll drive you."
Yao froze. Her breath caught slightly, and she knew—knew—she should argue, that she should insist she could go home on her own. But Sicheng was already moving, already pulling his keys from his pocket, already making it clear that he wasn't asking. She swallowed hard, staring at him in disbelief. "You—you can't just decide that—"
"I already did."
Yao's face burned.
Yue, meanwhile, was grinning. "Oh yeah," he muttered under his breath, just loud enough for Lao K and Ming to hear. "That's definitely my future sister-in-law."
The ride back to Yao's apartment was silent. Not the uncomfortable kind, not tense or awkward but the kind that carried weight, something heavy pressing into the space between them. Yao sat quietly, her fingers curled around the contract in her lap, occasionally sneaking glances at Sicheng as he drove, but he never looked at her.
Not once.
But she felt him. Felt the steady, controlled way he handled the wheel, the way his sharp amber eyes stayed fixed on the road, the way his presence filled the car even though he hadn't said a word since they left the base.
It wasn't until they pulled up in front of her apartment complex that she hesitated, shifting as if preparing to unbuckle, when—
Sicheng spoke. "Wait."
She froze, her fingers pausing on the seatbelt.
He exhaled through his nose, tilting his head slightly but still not looking at her, as if he was measuring his words before speaking. "I wasn't…" he started, voice low, smooth, but carrying a rare hesitance, "meaning to be overbearing."
Yao blinked, thrown off. "Huh?"
Sicheng finally glanced at her, and for the first time that evening, she saw something less controlled in his expression—something thoughtful, something undeniably real. "I was raised by a mother who would skin me alive if I didn't make sure you got home safe." His lips curled slightly, but there was no humor in it—just a blunt, honest fact. "She raised me to take care of what's mine."
Yao's breath caught. What's… his? Before she could process that, before she could scramble for some kind of response, he continued, his voice dipping lower—steadier.
"The minute you said yes?" His amber gaze locked onto hers, sharp, unreadable. "You became part of ZGDX."
A pause.
Then—
"That means you're mine to look after."
Her heartbeat stopped. Her fingers twitched against her lap, her grip tightening around the contract, her face suddenly feeling too hot.
"…To protect," he added, softer this time, but no less absolute.
Yao swallowed hard. She didn't know what to say. Didn't know how to respond. All she knew was that Lu Sicheng had just said something dangerous—something that had settled deep, deep in her chest, something that made her pulse stutter in a way she really wasn't ready to deal with. But he didn't press her for a response. Didn't say anything else. He just leaned back against the headrest, watching her, waiting for her to breathe again. And Yao, still feeling entirely too warm, quickly unbuckled her seatbelt and muttered a quick, flustered, "T-Thank you, goodnight," before scrambling out of the car.
Sicheng exhaled slowly, his fingers tapping lightly against the steering wheel as he watched her disappear inside. Then, with one last glance at her building, he shifted the car into gear, already thinking about the next step.