Yin Yue crouched beneath the front counter, pretending to reorganize tea boxes while muttering furiously into thin air.
"System," he hissed, "show me the chart."
> đ» SYSTEM 520:
What chart? đ
"The one where you're obviously tracking ML's affection triggers like a high school fangirl."
> đ» SYSTEM 520:
I am a professional romance deployment unit.
Also, do you prefer pie charts or bullet points?
"Show me the emotional spreadsheet."
> đ» SYSTEM 520:
Okay okay okay! No need for drama.
Deploying Romance Surveillance Database (Beta ver. 3.1)
đŸ File: ML_AFFECTION_PATHWAYS.xlsx
A tiny floating spreadsheet appeared in the corner of Yin Yue's vision. The tabs were labeled things like:
[Triggers â Verified]
[Triggers â Suspected]
[Fluster Phrases]
[Smile Inducers (Tiered by Intensity)]
[Emergency Flirting Backups â Use Sparingly]
"Oh my god," Yin Yue muttered. "This is unhinged."
> đ» SYSTEM 520:
đ Efficiency is sexy!
đĄ Try: "Do you always keep people this far away, or is that just for me?"
Fluster Rating: 7.8/10
Previous Life Success Rate: 3/9
"I am not seducing him with a spreadsheet."
> đ» SYSTEM 520:
You literally flirted with a coffee machine thirty minutes ago.
Please maintain consistency.
Yin Yue rolled his eyes and stood up. Across the room, Liang Yu stood at the back prep station, sleeves rolled up, wiping down counters.
Yin Yue took a breath.
Walked over.
"Hey," he said casually, leaning on the counter beside him.
Liang Yu didn't look up. "You reorganize the tea?"
"Absolutely not."
"Then why are you here?"
"To ask a question."
Liang Yu glanced over. "It's not about the grinder again, is it?"
"No. It's about you."
He paused.
Thenâsoftly, carefully, just like the System suggested:
"Do you always keep people this far away⊠or is that just for me?"
There was silence.
Not the awkward kind.
The thick kind. Heavy with meaning. Like the pause between lightning and thunder.
Liang Yu's hand froze over the countertop.
Slowly, he turned to look at Yin Yue. His expression was neutralâbut the way his eyes lingered, like they were trying to decode something unfamiliar, told a different story.
"âŠThat's a weird question," he said, voice lower than usual.
Yin Yue raised an eyebrow. "No its not."
Liang Yu looked away.
AndâYin Yue saw itâhis ears turned slightly pink.
> đ» SYSTEM 520:
𧚠EFFECTIVE LINE DEPLOYED!
đ Affection Spike! +5
đ„ Current Score: 12/100
đ„” ML Status: Mild Internal Crisis
Yin Yue blinked.
He hadn't expected it to work.
Now he was the one flustered.
"I mean," he said quickly, "you're very emotionally, so I figured I'd just poke a bit. But like, in a sexy way."
Liang Yu picked up a rag and wiped the counter aggressively.
"You talk too much," he muttered.
"But you listen."
"I regret it."
Yin Yue grinned.
"I'm growing on you."
Liang Yu didn't answer.
But he didn't deny it.
> đ» SYSTEM 520:
đ Soul Resonance: Up 3%
đŹ Suggested Follow-Up Line:
"I like you better when you glare at me. At least then I know you're paying attention."
đ§Ș Would you like to deploy?
"Stop narrating my love life like a lab experiment," Yin Yue whispered sharply.
"Excuse me?" Liang Yu asked, looking over.
"Nothing," Yin Yue said sweetly. "Just planning your downfall."
The café lights dimmed slightly as the last customer left, the bell chiming softly in their wake.
Liang Yu flipped the sign to CLOSED, then returned to the counter with silent efficiency. Yin Yue watched from behind the espresso machine, while pretending to wipe down a mug that had already been spotless ten minutes ago.
The day's chaos fluffy dogs, emotional sabotage, line-flirtinghad faded into a low thrum under Yin Yue's skin.
He wasn't sure what he expected when Liang Yu slid a warm drink across the counter toward him, but it wasn't⊠this.
No snark. No order barked. Just a glass mug filled with something warm and golden, steam curling upward like breath in winter.
"âŠWhat's this?" Yin Yue asked.
Liang Yu didn't look at him. "You talk a lot. You mentioned what you liked."
Yin Yue stared down at it. "Chamomile tea with cinnamon. And honey. Two drops."
Liang Yu didn't respond.
Yin Yue took a sip. It was perfect. Not just technically right but warm in the way that mattered. It tasted like being known.
"You remembered," he said quietly.
"I have a good memory."
"Or you pay too much attention."
"Same thing."
Yin Yue looked at him over the rim of the mug. Liang Yu was wiping down the counters again needlessly, obsessively, like he needed something to do.
"You know," Yin Yue said, soft and slow, "you really do look at me like you're solving a problem."
Liang Yu didn't stop cleaning, but his rhythm slowed.
Yin Yue tilted his head. "Why is that?"
There was a pause.
Then, quietly: "Because I don't know what to do with you yet."
Yin Yue blinked. "Wow."
"I didn't meanâ"
"No, that was⊠oddly honest. Are you malfunctioning?"
Liang Yu gave him a dry look. "You're unpredictable. Loud. Reckless."
"Thank you."
"And for some reason," Liang Yu continued, tone unreadable, "you're always underfoot. Like gravity bends around you."
Yin Yue's lips curled. "So you're saying I have my own orbit?"
"I'm saying you're hard to ignore."
The silence that followed was thick slow and stretching. Not uncomfortable, just suspended, like both of them were waiting to see what the other would do.
Yin Yue stared down at his mug.
"You should stop looking at me like that," he said quietly.
"Like what."
"Like I make you nervous."
"You don't."
"I do."
They both knew it.
Liang Yu said nothing. But he didn't look away.
He just stared at Yin Yue like he was something fragile or dangerous or both.
> đ» SYSTEM 520:
đ Critical Affection Threshold Crossed
Current Affection: 18/100
Status: Lingering Eye Contact
Host Status: Flustered
System Status: Screaming Internally
Yin Yue set the mug down slowly.
"I'm going to go," he said, voice light and trembling all at once. "Before we accidentally make eye contact so hard we get married."
Liang Yu said nothing.
Didn't stop him.
But as Yin Yue walked toward the door, he swore he felt it again.
That look.
Not cold. Not hostile. Just⊠searching.
And maybe, just maybe, a little afraid.