Honorable Sacrifice - FIYS

The Girl on Fire

Tong Yao was already seated in the conference room, cradling an oversized mug of coffee that looked way too big for someone who had been "limited" to just one cup. She had found a clever loophole after Ming's intervention to keep her from overindulging—sure, it was one cup, but she didn't recall any restrictions on how big that cup had to be.

Ming walked into the room with the rest of the team, his sharp eyes immediately landing on the abnormally large mug she held. His brows furrowed in disapproval.

"What... is that?" he asked, already knowing the answer but clearly hoping for something else.

Tong Yao, ever the picture of innocence, blinked up at him with wide eyes. "Coffee," she replied nonchalantly, taking a slow, deliberate sip.

"That's not a cup. That's a cauldron," Ming deadpanned, crossing his arms.

"It's still technically one cup," Tong Yao defended with a cheeky grin. She hugged the mug a little tighter, as if shielding it from his judgment.

Ming's eyes narrowed further. "We agreed. One cup. After what happened last time, do you really want to go through that again?"

"Oh, relax!" she waved him off, "It's not like I'm chugging an entire espresso machine. I can handle it."

Lu Sicheng, who had just sat down beside her, watched the exchange with a faint smirk on his face. "You didn't 'handle it' last time, though. You worked yourself into the ground, remember?"

Tong Yao turned to him, now roping her captain into the argument. "That was... totally different. I was just... passionate about training."

"Passionate?" Ming's voice was laced with disbelief. "You didn't sleep for two days, Yao-er! You trained until you collapsed."

"Okay, that was one time," Tong Yao huffed, though her voice softened slightly under Ming's concerned stare.

"One time that nearly gave all of us a heart attack," Lao K chimed in with a chuckle from across the table.

"I'm fine," she said, holding up her giant mug like it was a badge of honor. "Besides, this is my first cup of the day. Totally within the rules."

"That's not a cup, that's a weapon," Xiao Pang teased, laughing as he motioned to the enormous mug. "Are you planning to take over the world with that?"

"If I am," Tong Yao said giving him a mock glare, "you'll be the first to fall."

Ming sighed, clearly exasperated but unwilling to back down. "Yao Yao, you can't keep doing this. You're already hyper enough without all that caffeine."

"Pfft, hyper? Please," she scoffed, waving her hand dismissively. "I'm not hyper, I'm focused. There's a difference."

"Sure, sure," Lao K muttered, smirking as he leaned back in his chair.

"Focus?" Ming echoed, his tone filled with skepticism. "You do realize that caffeine isn't a replacement for actual rest, right?"

Tong Yao met his gaze, completely unruffled. "Rest is for the weak."

That comment earned a burst of laughter from Xiao Pang and Lao K, and even Lu Sicheng's lips twitched with amusement. Tong Yao had a knack for riling up their normally unflappable strategist.

Ming looked like he was seconds away from pulling his hair out. "You're impossible."

Tong Yao grinned, sensing victory. "I know. It's part of my charm."

Just as Ming opened his mouth to retort, Tong Yao quickly picked up her oversized cup and scooted her chair a little further away from him, cradling her mug like a mother protecting her child. "You stay over there with your judgments, Ming. This coffee and I have a special bond you wouldn't understand."