The morning was cold and still.
Lin Xie stood by the hotel window, hair slightly tousled from Shen Rui's constant fidgeting with it the night before. She wasn't annoyed. She didn't feel. But if she did, she suspected she'd have thrown him off the bed around 2:17 a.m. when he accidentally elbowed her in the ribs while dreaming.
They were leaving today.
Back to the capital.
Back to the buzzing chaos they'd put on pause.
"Are you bringing the thermal scanner?" she asked, not turning from the glass.
Shen Rui-dressed in all black again because apparently that was his brand now-zipped up the last of their luggage. "No one gets a fever around you. They know better."
She blinked. "I do not emit disease. That's biologically inaccurate."
He just grinned.
Their driver was waiting. The airport was already under heavy watch. Shen Rui had arranged a security perimeter not because they were in danger-no, not this time-but because he hated being followed by press at terminals.
Especially with her.
The moment they stepped into the VIP entrance of the private wing, Lin Xie noticed it again-the sideways glances, the hushed whispers from flight crew, the subtle pull of camera phones pretending to be on standby.
Shen Rui didn't care. He never did.
But she noticed.
And her steps shifted automatically half a pace closer to him, one subtle adjustment to shield his left side where the most cameras were stationed.
She didn't do it consciously.
It was simply... her directive.
Protect him.
Always.
Once inside the waiting lounge, Shen Rui passed her a bottle of water and gestured toward the seats by the corner window. "Private enough for your anti-social circuits?"
"I do not reject social interaction," she said calmly, sitting down. "I reject poorly coded people."
Shen Rui choked on his water, laughing.
Half an hour later, their boarding was announced.
The private airline had upgraded them to business class, even though Shen Rui technically owned one of the holding companies under a fake name. But they didn't know that. And Lin Xie didn't mention it. She just observed-quiet, curious, like always.
Once on board, the chaos began.
It started with a stewardess.
Young, leggy, and blinking too much.
"Good morning, Mr. Shen," she said with a smile so wide it looked physically painful. "Would you like champagne before takeoff?"
He looked up briefly from unwrapping Lin Xie's noise-cancelling headphones. "No, thank you."
The stewardess didn't move. "We also have a warm towel selection-lavender, eucalyptus, peppermint-"
Lin Xie was watching.
Expression blank. But spine... very straight.
Shen Rui tilted his head and gestured toward Lin Xie. "She'll pick for me."
The stewardess blinked at Lin Xie.
Lin Xie blinked back.
No smile. No expression. Just a mechanical calm that felt like a system scan.
"Lavender," she said flatly. "So he sleeps faster. He's annoying when awake."
The stewardess stuttered. "O-of course. Right away."
She fled.
Shen Rui leaned back in his seat, grinning. "Did you just call me annoying?"
Lin Xie adjusted her seatbelt. "You requested honesty. Feedback noted."
He laughed again and reached for her hand under the armrest, squeezing it gently. She let him. No protest. No flinch.
Just... allowed it.
And when the stewardess came back, she handed the lavender towel only to Lin Xie, didn't even look at Shen Rui anymore.
Success.
As the flight reached cruising altitude, Shen Rui scrolled through his tablet while Lin Xie stared at the seat map in front of her.
"You're still scanning for threats," he said.
"No," she replied. "I am making sure that woman doesn't 'accidentally' spill wine on your lap."
He blinked.
"...Are you jealous?"
"No. I do not feel. I only assess and respond."
He smirked. "So if I leaned toward her-just hypothetically-"
"I would redirect your head into the tray table at controlled force."
"...That's hot."
She didn't answer.
But when he reached over and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, she didn't move away.
Not even a blink.
She just watched him.
His hand lingered.
Then slowly slid down and settled over hers again.
And stayed there.
They didn't speak for a while.
But her fingers curled very slightly around his.
Just slightly.
Enough to make him smile the whole flight.
---
Two hours into the flight, the hum of the engines was a constant background noise, but the real chaos was happening right there in the business class cabin. Lin Xie sat rigidly beside Shen Rui, who was desperately trying to focus on his tablet. He squinted at the screen, but the distraction was relentless.
Lin Xie had decided that the best way to "monitor" him was to rest her elbow right smack in his personal space, about 1.7 centimeters too close for comfort. Not that he minded too much. But the way she was watching his eyes move across the document like a hawk waiting to swoop was enough to make him twitch.
"You're staring," he muttered without looking away from the screen.
"I am monitoring your fatigue levels," she answered in that monotone voice that made it sound like she was announcing the weather on Mars.
He sighed. "I'm fine."
"You blinked twelve times in the last two minutes," she said, head tilted like she was about to present scientific evidence or a PowerPoint slide.
"That's because someone's watching me like I'm a malfunctioning robot," he deadpanned.
Her eyes narrowed just a fraction, though it was hard to tell if that was curiosity or if her processor was overheating. She made a low, buzzing sound that he'd learned was her version of a hum-a mechanical "interesting" noise without any actual emotion behind it.
A stewardess walked by, glancing curiously at their corner. Lin Xie had lined up five mini liquor bottles on her tray table-neatly arranged like tiny soldiers-but hadn't opened a single one.
"Miss, can I get you anything else?" the stewardess asked, arching an eyebrow.
"No," Lin Xie said plainly.
"You're not going to drink those?"
"I am observing them," she replied, voice flat as a spreadsheet cell.
The stewardess blinked, clearly debating whether to call a doctor or the authorities.
Shen Rui chuckled. "Don't worry. She's not dangerous."
Lin Xie shot him a look. "I once crashed a drone with a banana."
Shen Rui grinned. "Yeah, that was impressive. You were testing its reflex algorithms."
"You threw a banana at it."
"Data is data," he shrugged.
She then proceeded to reorganize his seat pocket, pulling out the airline magazine and carefully alphabetizing the articles inside.
"You alphabetized the magazines," Shen Rui said in disbelief.
"There were only three. It was inefficient storage."
He watched as she carefully straightened the torn safety card and fussed over the crease in the napkin. She then tested the window shade's temperature like she was guarding a secret portal.
He didn't understand where she came from, what made her tick. She told him once she didn't feel emotions, yet sometimes, when she looked at him, it seemed like there was something behind those unreadable eyes.
She suddenly tapped his nose-soft but deliberate.
"Your focus drifted," she said calmly.
"Maybe I'm tired," he muttered.
"You should rest."
"I will, if you stop hovering like an AI in bodyguard mode."
Her expression didn't change. "You are warm-blooded and fragile. You must be protected."
"I'm not a hamster," he said, trying not to laugh.
"That's what a hamster would say."
He chuckled and reached for her hand, expecting the usual stiff, mechanical grip. Instead, she slowly entwined her fingers with his. The fit was perfect, like two puzzle pieces clicking together-but still, no emotion.
The flight attendants dimmed the cabin lights, and while everyone else slumped into sleep, Lin Xie stayed upright beside him, eyes half-closed but ever vigilant.
Silent guardian. Not quite human. Not quite machine. Definitely his.
And when he finally drifted to sleep, her fingers tightened around his hand ever so slightly.
The kind of tight that made his heart stutter
---
The plane jolted with a sudden dip.
Barely a flicker of reaction from Shen Rui, who didn't even blink as his coffee slid precariously close to the edge of his tray. He casually caught the cup with two fingers before it tipped, setting it down with perfect precision.
Lin Xie, already mid-turn toward him, narrowed her eyes.
"Stabilizer response time: 0.4 seconds," she muttered. "Adequate."
"I'm not a drone," he said without looking at her, still scrolling through his tablet.
"You have similarities."
He arched a brow. "Because I caught the cup?"
"Because you haven't blinked in 46 seconds."
"I don't need to blink to survive turbulence."
"I know. But you are still... unnecessarily stoic."
"I don't flinch for minor inconveniences."
Another subtle shift in altitude.
Lin Xie looked around. People were gasping, tightening belts, clutching armrests. A child screamed. A soda can rolled down the aisle.
Shen Rui yawned.
The other stewardess came over. She was wearing too much perfume and holding a tray of drinks she clearly didn't care about. Her eyes drifted immediately toward Shen Rui with a bright, too-practiced smile.
"Would you like something else to drink, sir?"
"No."
One word. Flat. Cold.
Still, she lingered.
"We have imported blends," she tried. "And warm towels-"
"No," he said again, not even looking at her.
Lin Xie's gaze slid slowly up from her tray to her face. "He declined."
The stewardess hesitated.
"Please move," Lin Xie added, voice calm but void of any warmth. "You are blocking my line of sight."
The stewardess blinked. "I was just-"
"He is not interested. And I do not share."
The tray wobbled slightly in the stewardess's grip. "Of course. Enjoy the rest of your flight." She turned on her heel.
Shen Rui remained silent, setting his tablet down.
"She was wasting her time," he said dryly.
Lin Xie folded her arms. "She was inefficient."
"She was irrelevant."
"Correct."
He reached for his seatbelt just as another tremor passed through the cabin.
Before his hand even touched it, Lin Xie had already clicked it into place.
"I had it."
"You were 2.3 seconds slower than average."
He gave her a look.
"I monitor everything," she said simply.
"I know."
A phone dropped in the back rows. Someone shrieked. A plastic food container exploded like it had a personal vendetta against economy-class packaging.
"I dislike flying," Lin Xie muttered, adjusting her posture.
Shen Rui leaned back in his seat. "You don't get sick."
"No."
"Then why?"
"Too many people. Too many variables. Too many annoying girls who look at you like you're a prize at the top of a vending machine."
His lips twitched. "Jealous?"
She turned to face him fully. "Territorial."
He didn't look away. "So am I."
She stared at him for a long beat, unreadable.
"I calculated the odds of this plane malfunctioning mid-air," she said.
"And?"
"0.003%. Not worth worrying about."
"Exactly."
"But if it crashes," she added, "I intend to shield you."
"Don't."
"You are softer than me. Physically."
"Emotionally, too, apparently," he muttered.
She tilted her head. "Is that a compliment or a concern?"
"Both."
She didn't let go of his hand. He didn't make her.
---
The moment the plane touched down, there was a collective exhale from the passengers. The wheels screeched against the tarmac, and the plane slowed with a jolt that made someone's neck pillow go flying three rows ahead.
Shen Rui didn't flinch. He was already unbuckled by the time the seatbelt sign blinked off.
Lin Xie, however, had not waited for the sign. She stood the moment the plane began taxiing and calmly opened the overhead bin.
The man behind them gasped. "Ma'am, you can't stand up yet-"
Lin Xie ignored him. She retrieved her bag with one smooth motion, slung it over her shoulder, and sat back down like nothing had happened.
Shen Rui looked at her sideways. "You're going to get us banned."
"Unlikely. I calculated the flight attendant's line of sight. Her field of vision was blocked by a beverage cart."
"You mapped her field of vision?"
"I do that for most threats."
"You considered the stewardess a threat?"
"She attempted low-grade flirting and leaned over you twice."
"That makes her a threat?"
"Yes."
The plane came to a full stop. Everyone leapt to their feet like they were being chased by fire. Shen Rui didn't move. Lin Xie stood again, this time legally, and adjusted the strap of her bag.
"Let's go."
"I'm waiting for the stampede to thin out."
"Herd impulse."
"It's called impatience."
"Herd impulse."
The crowd began shuffling forward. A child was singing off-key. Someone dropped a laptop bag on someone else's foot. The overhead compartment refused to close again and made a loud clack that echoed all the way to business class.
Shen Rui stepped off the plane first. Lin Xie followed exactly 0.6 seconds behind.
The gate corridor was filled with noise and chaos-signs, chatter, rolling bags, confused tourists standing in the middle of the path.
Shen Rui kept walking.
People noticed him. A woman by the window elbowed her friend and whispered something while staring.
Lin Xie shifted one step closer to him.
Shen Rui didn't react. Cold, unreadable.
When Lin Xie glanced at him sideways-he was already reaching for her hand.
No words.
They passed by a cluster of businessmen, two influencers filming a vlog, and a mascot costume shaped like a haunted watermelon.
Lin Xie paused. "It's... blinking."
"Don't engage with it."
"Why."
"It's just a guy in a fruit suit."
"Marketing."
"Wasteful."
"Correct."
The VIP pickup lane was calm, lined with black cars and drivers in matching uniforms. One of them held up a sleek sign with Shen Rui's name.
Shen Rui walked past him.
"You're not taking the car?"
"I'm not in the mood to be driven."
"So we walk?"
"No."
"Then?"
"I booked the quietest suite in the nearest hotel with surveillance blind spots."
"You're anticipating interference?"
"I'm anticipating Zhang Min might try something stupid again."
"Shall I prepare weapons?"
"No need."
They reached the private exit. Shen Rui flashed a pass. The guard stepped aside.
Lin Xie followed him into the elevator.
"You're going to interrogate someone today?"
"No."
"Are you sure?"
"Not unless someone gets in the way."
"You didn't blink during landing either."
"You timed my blinks again?"
"Yes."
"You're addicted to monitoring me."
"Not addicted. Just focused."
"On me."
"Yes."
The elevator dinged.
They stepped back into the capital.