Summary: When Yue stands accused of starting a public brawl that could tarnish ZGDX's reputation, the board convenes, demanding answers, consequences, and control. But what they don't expect is the arrival of the quiet, unknown variable in their equation—Tong Yao, bursting into the meeting with trembling hands, a stolen phone, and a voice that refuses to waver.
Chapter Three
The atmosphere inside ZGDX HQ was tense.
Yue sat in a chair, arms crossed, his face set in a hard line, but there was an undeniable flicker of frustration in his dark eyes. Across from him, Lu Wang Lan, their mother, stood with a sharp, unimpressed stare that could cut through steel. Sicheng, on the other hand, sat at the head of the long meeting table, silent but watching, his amber gaze cold as he listened to the board's discussion.
Yue was in trouble. Or at least, that's how it looked. The official report claimed that he had started a brawl—he had been reckless, he had thrown the first punch. But Yue, for all his temper and sharp wit, wasn't stupid. He wouldn't put the team's reputation at risk over something petty.
Which meant one thing: Something was off.
The board members were already discussing damage control, Lu Wang Lan demanding an explanation, Sicheng tapping his fingers against the polished surface of the table, his silence more dangerous than if he had spoken—when the double doors burst open.
Security hesitated, half-blocking the way, but behind them—
"Wait, please! I have proof!"
A breathless, frantic voice rang out, small but unwavering.
And then, Tong Yao stumbled into the room. She looked terrified but determined, her platinum silver hair slightly disheveled, her hazel eyes wide as she clutched something close to her chest. Security had clearly tried to stop her, but she had pushed her way through, which, considering her usual shy nature, meant something was very wrong.
Everyone in the room froze.
Yue, eyes widening in surprise, sat up straighter. Sicheng, who had been lazily leaning back in his chair, suddenly went still, his sharp gaze locking onto her instantly.
"And who is—" Lu Wang Lan narrowed her eyes.
"He didn't start the fight!"
Yao's voice—normally so soft, so hesitant—cut through the room.
The entire board went silent.
Yue blinked. "Wait, what?"
Yao swallowed hard, clearly nervous at all the attention, but she forced herself to stand firm. "He didn't start the fight," she repeated, her voice quieter but no less certain. "It was the other team. They… they threatened ZGDX."
The board members exchanged glances, skeptical.
Lu Wang Lan exhaled sharply. "And what proof do you have of this, young lady?"
"This." Yao's fingers clenched around the device in her hands. And then, before anyone could ask her to explain, she stepped forward, walked straight up to Sicheng—to him—and handed him a phone.
Not hers.
A different phone, an unfamiliar one.
Sicheng's brows furrowed slightly, but he took it, his fingers brushing against hers for just a second before she quickly withdrew her hand, stepping back as if she had just handed over something dangerous.
"Press play." she murmured, her voice tight.
Sicheng hesitated only for a second. Then, without a word, he did exactly as she said.
The second the video started, the entire room changed.
A grainy but clear recording appeared on the screen, capturing the dim-lit atmosphere of an after-hours event space. The audio played—loud, undeniable.
And then—voices.
"ZGDX thinks they're untouchable."
"Let's see how far they go when they can't even hold a mouse anymore."
"Yeah? You gonna run your mouth now, Yue? How about we smash your damn hands and see how funny you are then?"
The threats were unmistakable. The aggression was unmistakable. And then, the recording showed it—clear as day—one of the opposing players lunging first, shoving Yue back. Another reaching toward Ming, aggressive, ready to strike.
And then—Yue retaliated.
Not first.
Not recklessly.
But because he had to.
Silence filled the room.
The video ended.
No one spoke.
Yao, still visibly nervous, finally dared to lift her gaze, hazel eyes flickering toward Sicheng, toward Yue, toward the entire room as she whispered, "He was protecting the team."
A long, heavy beat passed.
Then—
Lu Wang Lan exhaled sharply, her face unreadable. She looked at Yue, then at Sicheng, and finally at the board before muttering, "Well. I suppose that changes things."
Sicheng hadn't stopped staring at Yao. She felt it—the weight of his gaze, the quiet intensity of it burning into her. But she didn't shrink away. She had come here to protect Yue and she had done exactly that.
Yue exhaled sharply, dragging a hand through his hair, his patience already wearing thin. "How did you even get this?" he asked again, his voice edged with disbelief.
Yao, already visibly regretting her choices, whitened. Her hazel eyes flickered toward him, then darted away just as quickly. Her hands curled into the hem of her sweater, her shoulders tightening like she wanted to disappear. "I…" she hesitated, shifting on her feet.
Sicheng, still sitting at the head of the table, didn't take his eyes off her. His grip on the phone had tightened slightly, his expression unnervingly unreadable. "Tong Yao." he said, voice smooth but firm.
She flinched. And then—quietly, miserably—she muttered the words that made the already-tense room go completely silent. "It's… Ai Jia's."
A pause.
A long, heavy pause.
"What?" Yue blinked, then stared at her.
Yao swallowed, visibly forcing herself to speak. "H-He was hiding in the bathroom," she admitted, her voice small, hesitant. "He saw the whole thing. He—he heard everything. But when I found out and asked if he was going to do anything about it… he said he had no intention of getting involved."
Yue's jaw clenched. "That coward—"
"I didn't have time to argue. I—I just—I stole his phone and ran to ZGDX's base." Yao cut in quickly, her voice wavering slightly.
Sicheng, who hadn't moved this entire time, finally shifted.
Yao felt it before she saw it—that slight movement, the subtle shift of his weight, the way his entire presence suddenly became heavier.
"You stole his phone?" Yue asked, still processing.
Yao shrank slightly, but nodded. "I—I didn't think, I just—" she swallowed, exhaling quickly. "I needed proof! I knew no one would believe you without it, and I—I didn't have another way to get it!"
Silence.
Yue exhaled slowly, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Unbelievable."
Yao wasn't done. Her voice, though still soft, carried conviction. "W-When I got to ZGDX's base, I asked for Yue, but security said he wasn't there. When they told me he was here, at HQ, I—I called a DiDi and ran to get here as fast as I could."
Another beat of silence.
This time, Lu Wang Lan narrowed her eyes slightly, her sharp gaze assessing the girl standing before them. "You stole a phone, ran across the city, and forced your way into headquarters just to prove my younger son's innocence?"
Yao froze before her face burned. Her fingers twitched. "…Yes," she admitted quietly.
"This is insane." Yue let out a deep sigh, shaking his head at the younger female and felt himself soften completely towards her.
And Sicheng?
Sicheng had not said a single word. He didn't have to. Because the way he watched her—the way his gaze had darkened, sharpened, fixed onto her like she was the only thing in the room, said everything. She had run straight to them. Straight to him. And that? That changed everything.
Lu Wang Lan was the first to break the silence. Her sharp gaze flickered from Yao to Yue, then finally settled on Sicheng, who had yet to say anything but whose entire presence had shifted—his amber eyes locked onto the small girl standing before them, his grip still tight around the stolen phone. "Well." Lan's tone was measured, smooth, dangerous. "This certainly complicates things."
Yue let out a deep breath, shaking his head, still processing everything. "Complicates?" he muttered. "No, this fixes things." He gestured toward Yao. "She just proved I wasn't the one who started it, so what's left to discuss?"
One of the board members, a rigid-looking man in his late fifties, cleared his throat. "While this does shift the narrative, there are still optics to consider. Public perception—"
Sicheng, finally, moved. He leaned forward, placing Ai Jia's phone down on the polished surface of the table with deliberate care. Then, in the coldest voice imaginable, he stated, "Public perception will not be an issue when the truth is released." It wasn't a suggestion. It was a command.
Yao, still feeling every ounce of his intensity, shifted her weight anxiously, fingers twisting in the hem of her sleeves. She wasn't sure why she was so hyper-aware of him right now—why she felt the heat of his gaze so completely despite the fact that he wasn't even looking at her anymore.
Lu Wang Lan, watching Sicheng closely, gave a short, unreadable hum. "And what do you propose, Sicheng?"
Sicheng didn't even hesitate. "We put the video out ourselves." His tone was clipped, final. "Control the story before anyone else does. ZGDX will not take the fall for this."
Yue, despite the tension, smirked slightly. "So we're going for blood, then?"
Sicheng's amber eyes flicked toward him—sharp, unreadable. "Obviously."
Lu Wang Lan sighed, rubbing her temple. "I'll have legal review it first," she said, already moving past the conversation, her mind working through logistics. "We'll prepare a statement and get ahead of any press fallout. Sicheng, you'll handle direct communication with sponsors."
Sicheng nodded, his expression unreadable.
Yue exhaled, relieved. "So that's it? I'm not getting banished?"
Lu Wang Lan shot him a look. "You still threw punches."
Yue rolled his eyes. "Because they threatened to break our hands!"
"And we'll make sure that's the headline," she said smoothly, already moving toward the exit. "In the meantime, stay out of trouble and your pay is gone for the next three months." With that, the board members began filing out, murmuring amongst themselves about PR strategies and damage control. Lu Wang Lan was the last to leave, her sharp gaze lingering on Yao for a brief moment before she finally turned and disappeared down the hall.
And then—
The door closed.
Leaving just the three of them.
Yue, finally able to relax, dropped into a chair with an exaggerated sigh. "Jesus Christ, that was exhausting."
Yao, still standing, felt the adrenaline slowly start to fade from her limbs, the overwhelming rush of emotions catching up with her. She swallowed, shifting awkwardly. "I… I should probably go." Before she could take a step, Sicheng moved. He stood—slowly, deliberately—and in two strides, he was right in front of her. Yao froze, her heart stopped. Her head barely reached his chest, and up close, he was towering, his presence swallowing the space between them. She could feel his warmth. Feel the quiet power behind his presence.
And when he spoke, his voice was low—measured, but carrying something dangerous. "You ran here."
"I—" Yao swallowed hard, her pulse hammering.
"You stole a phone," he continued, his amber gaze locked onto hers, pinning her in place. "Ran across the city. Forced your way into HQ."
Her hands twitched. "I—I just—"
"You ran to us."
To me.
The words weren't said, but they hung there, unspoken.
Yao, still unable to breathe properly, felt her face burning.
Yue, who had been watching the exchange, let out a low whistle. "Okaaay," he muttered under his breath. "This just got interesting."
Sicheng ignored him. He just continued watching her.
And Yao—completely overwhelmed, completely unsure of what was happening—did the only thing she knew how to do. She looked away and muttered, "I should go." And took a step back.
Sicheng didn't stop her. But the weight of his gaze followed her all the way to the door.
The second the door closed behind Yao, leaving just the two of them in the room, Yue let out a slow, exaggerated breath, dragging a hand down his face. He leaned back in his chair, watching as Sicheng remained standing near the table, his gaze still fixed on the door as if he could see her even after she had gone.
Yue smirked. "So," he drawled, his tone utterly too entertained given the situation. "Is she gonna be my sister-in-law or what?"
Sicheng's head turned slowly, his amber eyes narrowing, a flicker of irritation barely hidden beneath the surface.
Yue, thoroughly enjoying himself, lifted a brow. "What? Too soon?" He gestured vaguely toward the door. "Because I dunno, man—seems like she already belongs to you in your head."
Sicheng exhaled slowly, tilting his head slightly, his gaze unreadable. "You want to get benched?"
Yue grinned. "Absolutely not." But he didn't stop. Didn't let up. Because for once, he saw something in his brother—something human, something real, something not controlled and distant. He saw the way Sicheng had watched her. The way his body had gone completely still when she admitted what she had done. The way his voice had dropped into something dangerous when he reminded her that she had run to them. And Yue, who had spent his entire life trying to get a read on his brother's emotions, finally—finally—had something solid. "You like her," he said, grinning wider now.
Sicheng's expression didn't change. But he didn't deny it either. Instead, he simply turned away, picked up Ai Jia's phone from the table, and headed for the exit, his voice calm, steady, unshaken. "Don't say stupid things, Yue."
The door clicked shut behind him.
And Yue—smirking, entirely too satisfied with himself—let out a short laugh. "Oh yeah," he muttered to himself. "That's definitely my future sister-in-law." The amusement on his face faded the moment the door closed, leaving him alone in the now-empty conference room. His smirk lingered for half a second before it flattened, his expression shifting into something more serious as he exhaled, rubbing his temples. Because now that all the teasing was out of the way, there was one big problem left hanging in the air.
Ai Jia.
Yue's eyes flickered toward the phone Sicheng had taken with him, the one Yao had stolen, and he let out a low whistle. "Yeah… this is gonna be a mess."
Because Ai Jia, despite all his flaws, wasn't stupid. The second he realized his phone was gone—the second he figured out who took it—he was going to come looking for her. And if there was one thing Yue knew about guys like Ai Jia, it was that they didn't like being made a fool of. And Yao? Oh, she had made a fool of him. A small, introverted girl had outright stolen from him, outmaneuvered him, and delivered the evidence straight to his rivals—his biggest competition.
Yue leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, a deep frown settling over his face. "Yeah, we're gonna have to deal with that." He didn't know how, yet. But one thing was certain—Ai Jia was coming. And if Sicheng's reaction tonight was anything to go by, if Ai Jia so much as breathed in Yao's direction the wrong way…It wouldn't be his fight to handle. It would be Sicheng's and Yue wasn't sure anyone was ready for that.
Back at the ZGDX base, the atmosphere was heavy, tense with the weight of what had just unfolded. The entire team—Lao K, Lao Mao, Pang, and Ming—were already gathered in the common area, their expressions ranging from curiosity to wariness as Yue and Sicheng walked in.
Rui, arms crossed, was the first to speak. "So?" he asked, his sharp gaze flickering between the two brothers. "Are we dealing with an internal disaster, or are we about to go to war with someone?"
Yue sighed, rubbing his temple. "A little bit of both, actually."
That immediately got everyone's attention.
Sicheng didn't waste time. He walked to the center of the room, his posture sharp, his tone cold and clipped as he spoke. "We have a problem," he stated. "Ai Jia's phone is currently in our possession."
Lao Mao blinked. "What?"
Lao K straightened. "How the hell did we get Ai Jia's—"
"Yao stole it."
That shut everyone up.
Ming, who had been quietly watching, leaned forward, his brows lifting in mild surprise. "She stole it?"
Yue, lips twitching in amusement despite the severity of the situation, nodded. "Oh yeah. Walked right up to Ai Jia, found out he was hiding in the damn bathroom, realized he wasn't gonna do a damn thing, so she took his phone and ran."
Silence.
Then—
Lao Mao let out a low whistle. "Alright, I gotta admit, I did not see that coming."
Lao K shook his head, still wrapping his mind around it. "And Ai Jia? He just let her?"
Yue scoffed. "Not exactly. He didn't even realize until it was too late. By the time he figures it out, she's already handed it over, the evidence is secured, and we've got everything we need to clear my name."
Ming, ever the tactician, exhaled, rubbing his chin. "Which means we now have a very pissed off Ai Jia about to come looking for his missing phone."
Sicheng, who had been silent until now, finally spoke again. "It doesn't matter. Because none of you are going to say a word." he said smoothly, his tone calm but absolute.
A pause.
Ming lifted a brow. "You're issuing a gag order?"
"Yes." Sicheng's eyes flickered toward him, sharp and unwavering.
Another pause.
Then Lao K let out a low chuckle. "Yeah, alright. That makes sense."
Lao Mao smirked. "Yeah, 'cause let's be real—if Ai Jia finds out where his phone actually is, he's not just gonna go after her."
Pang, stretching his arms, nodded. "He's gonna come for us."
Sicheng's gaze darkened. "Let him try."
And that?
That was the final warning. No one said a word after that. Because Ai Jia might've been a problem, but Sicheng? He was the solution.