Honorable Sacrifice - FIYS

Who knew Ming could be so evil?

Tong Yao stood in the kitchen, stirring a pot of instant noodles with her phone wedged between her shoulder and ear, a familiar mix of exhaustion and mild irritation written on her face.

"Jinyang, seriously, I'm fine," she muttered, voice laced with a sarcastic edge that was reminiscent of her usual dry humor. "I've got noodles going, I'm handling it. It's not like I've been living off air and sunlight."

On the other end, Jinyang wasn't having any of it. "You skipped meals again. Don't pretend this isn't a thing, Tong Yao. You always do this! Skipping food and muting the group chat—how many times do I have to remind you?"

Tong Yao rolled her eyes, biting back a sarcastic comment as she stirred the pot. "Yes, mom, I muted the group chat because my phone was blowing up. And I know I skipped lunch, but I'm not on the verge of death. I'm cooking now, okay?"

As she was talking, she didn't notice Ming standing in the doorway, quietly observing her. He had noticed her growing paler during their earlier games and had followed her to the kitchen out of concern, trying to gauge if she was alright without being too invasive.

Lu Sicheng, on the other hand, was in the middle of packing up to head home for a day, his father having called him about some family matters. As he passed through the kitchen, distracted by his phone, he caught sight of the container of soy sauce precariously balanced on the edge of the counter. Without thinking, he reached out and grabbed it before it could fall.

Tong Yao jumped slightly, startled by the sudden movement and presence she hadn't noticed.

"Careful," Lu Sicheng muttered, putting the container back in its place as if it were the most natural thing in the world. His voice was as calm and unbothered as always, like he hadn't just saved her from a soy sauce disaster.

Tong Yao blinked, momentarily thrown off, before regaining her usual sarcastic composure. "Oh, yeah, thanks for saving the soy sauce. I don't think I could've handled the emotional trauma of losing it."

Ming, still standing in the doorway, chuckled softly at her usual brand of humor, though his eyes remained worried. He stepped forward, glancing between her and the noodles on the stove. "Tong Yao, are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine, I just—" she hesitated, then shot an irritated look at the phone as Jinyang continued her lecture in her ear. "Jinyang, I'm fine! I don't have some secret food disorder that I haven't told you guys about. I just forget sometimes, okay?"

She ended the call with a dramatic sigh, pulling the phone from her ear and tossing it onto the counter with a careless flick of her wrist. "Everyone's acting like I'm about to collapse any second."

Ming's brow furrowed. "You didn't look great earlier when we were playing. You were pale and your hands were trembling."

Tong Yao's defences lowered just a fraction as she stirred the pot absentmindedly, her voice softer. "I just lose track of time, that's all. I know it's not great, but it's not like I'm doing it on purpose."

Lu Sicheng, who had been quietly listening while finishing up a text, gave her a brief glance. "Forgetting to eat isn't exactly a badge of honour, you know."

Tong Yao scoffed, though there was a slight smile tugging at her lips. "Thanks, Captain Obvious. I'll try to remember that next time my brain decides to skip meals. Maybe I'll set an alarm."

Despite her usual sass, there was an underlying tension in her tone that both Ming and Lu Sicheng caught onto. Ming leaned against the counter, watching her more closely.

"Well, next time, just... let us know if you need something," Ming said, his voice laced with genuine concern.

Tong Yao, ever the one to brush off serious conversations, waved her hand in the air dismissively. "Yeah, yeah. I'm not gonna make a habit of this. Relax."