They didn't talk much on the way back.
The city had settled into a late-night calm, but Cai Lang's mind hadn't. Every shadow they passed reminded him of the figure on the rooftop the way it had lingered, watched, then disappeared too easily.
Too familiar.
Suo Ran walked between them, shoulders slightly tense, hands tucked into his sleeves.
Lian Zihao kept glancing around, alert in a way he usually wasn't.
Once they reached the building, Cai Lang stopped at the entrance.
"Stay inside tomorrow," he said to Suo Ran.
Suo Ran frowned. "I can't just"
"Yes, you can," Cai Lang cut in, voice firm.
Lian raised an eyebrow. "Wow. Bossy."
Cai Lang shot him a look. "Careless."
"Overprotective," Lian corrected.
Suo Ran sighed. "Both of you stop."
For a second, Cai Lang almost smiled.
Almost.
The next day proved Cai Lang right.
Suo Ran had gone out alone
just a short walk, just errands. Nothing unusual.
Until the feeling returned.
That crawling awareness.
He noticed footsteps behind him. Too steady. Too close.
He turned
And someone grabbed his wrist.
Suo Ran gasped, heart slamming painfully as he struggled. "Let go!"
The grip tightened.
Before panic could fully take over, a second hand slammed into the attacker's shoulder.
"Hey!" Lian ziho shouted, yanking the man back.
Cai Lang appeared a second later silent, precise, dangerous.
One look was enough.
The attacker stumbled away, muttering something unintelligible before vanishing into the crowd.
Suo Ran's legs gave out slightly.
Cai Lang caught him immediately. "I told you to stay inside."
"I was careful," Suo Ran protested weakly.
"That was not careful."
Lian crossed his arms. "Can we argue after he stops shaking?"
Cai Lang glanced down.
Only then did he notice Suo Ran's pale face, the way his fingers trembled slightly where they clutched Cai Lang's sleeve.
Cai Lang's grip softened.
"Are you hurt?" he asked quietly.
Suo Ran shook his head. "Just… scared."
Lian sighed. "Okay, hero duo, truce. Let's get him home."
Back at the building, the tension finally eased.
Suo Ran sat on the couch, wrapped in a blanket Lian had tossed at him. Cai Lang stood near the window, watching the street below like it might betray them again.
"You two are terrible at communication," Lian said casually. "One of you orders, the other disappears."
Cai Lang replied flatly, "You talk too much."
Lian grinned. "And yet you still showed up."
Silence fell.
Not awkward just heavy.
Lian leaned back, studying Cai Lang more seriously now. "So… can I ask something?"
Cai Lang didn't turn. "You're already asking."
Lian looked at Suo Ran first, then back at Cai Lang.
"That night," Lian said slowly, "when all this started… how did you meet him?"
Suo Ran's breath hitched.
Cai Lang finally turned around.
Lian continued, voice calm but curious. "I
didn't ask then. Felt wrong. But now?"
He smiled faintly. "I think I should know."
Cai Lang looked at Suo Ran.
Longer than necessary.
As if weighing whether the truth would protect him or pull him deeper into danger
.
Suo Ran met his gaze, uncertain but steady.
And for the first time, Cai Lang realized
This question had been waiting far longer than that rooftop night.
Cai Lang didn't answer immediately.
For a moment, the room felt too small. The city noise outside faded into something distant and unreal.
Suo Ran watched him waiting.
Cai Lang's face remained calm, controlled, as always. Too calm.
"We met by chance," Cai Lang said at last.
"At the station."
Lian tilted his head. "That's it?"
"He looked lost," Cai Lang continued evenly. "Someone was bothering him. I stepped in. That's all."
It sounded… reasonable, Simple, Clean,
Too clean.
Suo Ran's fingers tightened around the edge of the blanket.
That wasn't how it happened.
There was fear.
There was blood.
There was a choice Cai Lang had made that night one that couldn't be undone.
But Cai Lang didn't look at him.
"I didn't think it was important," Cai Lang added. "I still don't."
Lian studied him for a second longer, eyes sharp not suspicious, but thoughtful.
"…Okay," Lian said finally. "If you say so."
He didn't push.
But something in his expression said he had noticed the gap.
Suo Ran said nothing.
He told himself Cai Lang had a reason.
He told himself the lie was protection.
Still, a strange ache settled in his chest.
Cai Lang had chosen what to hide.
And for the first time, Suo Ran wondered
When the truth finally surfaced…
who would it hurt more?
Cai Lang caught Suo Ran's gaze then.
Just for a second.
There was something there apology, tension, warning.
Then it was gone.
And the lie stayed between them, quiet and dangerous.
They didn't argue.
Not this time.
The three of them stood under the dim streetlight, the earlier tension still hanging between them like smoke that refused to clear.
Suo Ran and Cai Lang looked at each other just for a moment.
No words.
But too much was said.
Why did you lie?
Why didn't you tell him?
Were you protecting me… or yourself?
Cai Lang's gaze was sharp, conflicted.
Suo Ran's was guarded, quiet, almost disappointed.
Lian Ziho stretched his arms, completely uninterested in the silent exchange.
"Well," he said lightly, "this has been emotionally exhausting.
I'm going home."
He glanced at Suo Ran. "You coming?"
Suo Ran hesitated for half a second.
Then nodded.
"Yeah."
Cai Lang didn't stop them.
He just watched as they turned and walked away together, their footsteps fading into the night.
Early morning came too fast.
Suo Ran's phone vibrated against the table.
A message encrypted, familiar, unwelcome.
Boss:
The scroll is active again.
You're assigned.
No mistakes.
Suo Ran closed his eyes.
So it hadn't ended.
Elsewhere, Cai Lang fastened his gloves, expression cold and focused.
Lian Ziho checked his equipment, unusually serious.
"Target confirmed," Lian said. "Evidence of Death."
"No casualties," Cai Lang replied. "We steal.
Nothing else."
"Orders are orders," Lian shrugged. "
Something about today felt wrong.
The operation was clean.
Too clean.
They slipped in, disabled security, and removed the artifact black casing, intricate markings, humming faintly with something unnatural.
"Got it," Lian muttered. "Let's move."
By nightfall, the job was done.
No blood.
No noise.
Yet Cai Lang couldn't shake the feeling that someone else had been there.
Suo Ran crouched behind a stack of crates near the old transit zone, breathing slow and controlled.
His task was finished.
Information delivered.
Evidence planted.
All he wanted now was to leave unseen.
Then..
Voices.
Familiar ones.
His heart dropped.
Cai Lang, Lian ziho.
He pulled his hood lower, stepping back
Too late.
"There," Lian said suddenly.
Suo Ran froze.
Cai Lang's eyes locked onto him instantly.
"So this is where you disappear to," Cai Lang said coldly.
Cai Lang snapped, stepping closer, "you keep putting yourself in the middle of everything."
"You don't get to scold me," Suo Ran replied quietly.
"Not after lying."
The words cut.
Lian raised his hands.
But stop...
He turned to Suo Ran.
"You're done here, right?"
Suo Ran nodded.
"Good. You're coming with me."
Before Cai Lang could say anything, Lian grabbed Suo Ran's sleeve and started walking.
"Rest," Lian added over his shoulder. "You look like hell."
Suo Ran didn't look back.
Cai Lang stood there, watching them leave again.
His jaw clenched.
He looked down at the artifact case in his hand.
At the shadows around him.
At the space Suo Ran had just been standing in.
"Damn it," he muttered.
Whatever game had started that first night
Suo Ran was deeper in it than anyone else.
And Cai Lang was running out of time to protect him.