Vigil opened his mouth, ready to snap back, but Yu Xi’s calm voice cut in smoothly. "He fell."
Vigil pushed himself up, silent, unwilling to say more.
Yu Xi turned his attention to his communicator, finally opening the message that had been waiting. It was from Jian Rui, asking him to come outside. The tone seemed urgent. Without hesitation, Yu Xi dressed in his uniform and left the locker room.
At the academy’s main entrance, the pick-up zone was quiet until suddenly a young woman rushed forward. She wore a white dress, a bow tied neatly in her hair. Yu Xi froze, confusion flashing across his face—until recognition struck. That face, one he could never forget, even if it turned to ashes.
His heart lurched. He ran forward and embraced her tightly.
He bent down and lifted Xiaobao from the ground, holding her tightly against his chest. Her small frame trembled, and he felt the dampness spreading across his shoulder as her tears soaked through his uniform. The sight was so raw, so vulnerable, that someone nearby couldn’t resist pulling out their communicator to record it. Yu Xi didn’t care. He lowered his voice, gentle but firm. "Don’t cry. Brother is here, okay?"
"Xi-ge..." Xiaobao sobbed, her voice breaking as she clung to him even harder, her tears flowing without restraint.
Yu Xi stroked her hair lightly, then asked, "Where is the hovercar?"
Still holding his hand, Xiaobao guided him toward the waiting vehicle. Yu Xi’s eyes widened slightly at the sleek, elite model parked at the entrance. He was surprised she had access to something so rare, but he didn’t ask. There were too many other questions pressing at his mind.
Once inside, the hovercar lifted smoothly into the air. Yu Xi turned to her. "Xiaobao..." His voice faltered; he didn’t even know where to begin.
She looked at him with tear-filled eyes. "Xi-ge, I missed you so much. I was scared I would never see you again."
Yu Xi reached into his pocket and handed her a handkerchief. "Of course not. I promised I would see you again."
"Thank you," she whispered, dabbing at her eyes. "We tried to find you, but we failed. I was so scared."
Her tears returned, spilling fresh down her cheeks. Yu Xi pulled her close once more, wrapping her in a protective embrace, his presence steady and warm as he comforted her.
***
Meanwhile, Jian Ci didn’t even realize that Yu Xi’s communicator had gone offline. He strode down the corridor, expecting Yu Xi to be waiting for him as always. But when he arrived at the usual spot, Yu Xi was nowhere to be seen. Jian Ci frowned, swiping up his communicator to call him. The line didn’t connect. He tried again, but the call failed.
Yu Xi wasn’t the type to just run off. Jian Ci’s mind immediately went to Jian Rui. Suspicion gnawed at him, and he quickly typed out a message. Unsurprisingly, the reply came back blocked—he was still blacklisted.
Grinding his teeth, Jian Ci switched tactics and called Jian Wei. The line clicked open. "What’s up?" Jian Wei asked casually.
"Did Rui-ge speak to Yu Xi?" Jian Ci demanded.
"How am I supposed to know that? Just ask him," Jian Wei replied.
"He blacklisted me," Jian Ci muttered bitterly.
Jian Wei paused, setting aside what he was working on. "What did you do this time?"
"Nothing," Jian Ci mumbled, though his tone betrayed his guilt.
Jian Wei sighed, already tired of the drama. "Fine. Let me ask him."
He typed out a quick message to Jian Rui: Did you ask Yu Xi to go somewhere?
Jian Rui, seated at his desk and reading through a stack of reports, glanced at the notification. His lips curled into a knowing smile. "Let me guess," he replied back, "Ah-Ci is asking."
Jian Wei leaned back in his chair, staring at the blinking cursor on his communicator. He typed quickly: What if it’s me?
Jian Rui’s reply came almost instantly: Of course it’s not you.
Jian Wei frowned: He’s bothering me. Hurry up and unblock him.
No, Jian Rui replied flatly: Ask him what he did.
Jian Wei sighed, rubbing his temples before switching chats: What did you do? he asked Jian Ci.
Ididnothing, Jian Ci shot back.
Jian Wei narrowed his eyes: You are lying.
Frustrated, Jian Wei toggled back to Jian Rui: What did he do?
Jian Rui’s answer was sharp: He said he will kill me.
Jian Wei stared at the screen, speechless. ...
Tell him to apologize and I will take him out of the dog house, Jian Rui added.
Grumbling, Jian Wei forwarded the message to Jian Ci.
I will not apologize. He went too far, Jian Ci replied stubbornly.
Jian Wei forwarded that back to Jian Rui, his patience thinning: Stop using me as a middle man, he complained.
But Jian Rui was unmoved: Tell him to apologize, and I will tell him where Yu Xi is.
Jian Wei groaned aloud, caught between two brothers who refused to bend, realizing he was trapped in their endless tug-of-war.
He sighed as he forwarded Jian Rui’s latest message to Jian Ci. The reply came back almost instantly: Not apologising. Jian Wei screamed internally. After five more rounds of stubborn back-and-forth, his patience snapped. "I quit," he muttered aloud, fingers flying across the screen as he blacklisted both of them.
Moments later, Jian Rui and Jian Ci, still eager to continue their argument, were met with unexpected notifications. They couldn’t send messages to the contact anymore.
Jian Rui: "..."
Jian Ci: "..."
Jian Ci clicked his tongue in irritation. He was about to storm off and check their rooms when another thought struck him. The forum. He quickly signed up and began scrolling. As expected, Yu Xi was trending at the top. But the headline stopped him cold: Yu Xi has a girlfriend.
Jian Ci chuckled at first. "That’s stupid. He would tell me." But when he opened the post, his laughter faded. The picture showed Yu Xi in an embrace, the hug so intimate, so close, it made Jian Ci’s chest tighten.
He wanted to ask when, how, why, but Yu Xi’s communicator was offline. Jian Ci knew he should be happy for him, yet he found himself sulking. Sulking because Yu Xi hadn’t told him. The way she had run into his arms was tender, almost cinematic, like the beginning of a sweet love story. And Jian Ci, for the first time, felt left out of Yu Xi’s world.