Rain poured relentlessly by the time Wenzhi woke up.

He dragged a hand through his hair, again and again, irritation clinging to him like a second skin as he sat in the cafeteria with a cup of black coffee.

He swallowed a slow mouthful, feeling the warmth spread and sink deep into his chest.

Honestly, it was the second solid thing he’d felt all day.

Wenzhi exhaled sharply through his nose. Xinyuan was a liar.

He had actually believed him. Believed that the damn Esper would break the restraint.

"Now that you feel better, will you break the restraint?" Wenzhi had asked.

Xinyuan just flashed that annoying, dimpled smile and dropped a single, final word. "No."

Wenzhi’s grip tightened around the cup. "...I should have seen that one coming."

He leaned back in his chair and paused. "Duan Ze?"

Wenzhi spotted him passing by the cafeteria entrance and immediately pushed to his feet, closing the distance quickly.

Duan Ze looked up, startled. "Wenzhi?"

Wenzhi stepped directly into his path. "We need to talk." 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Duan Ze hesitated for a second, then nodded.

They moved to a quieter corner near the stairwell, the same spot where Wenzhi had recently escaped to smoke in peace.

Wenzhi didn’t bother with small talk. He went straight for the throat. "Why did you think I was dead?"

Duan Ze blinked. Then frowned, as if he was recalling something unpleasant.

"The director," he said. "Well... Ru Yi mentioned you were submitting a resignation letter. That alone shocked everyone. But later that night, the director announced that you were dead."

He looked at Wenzhi, who was very much alive. "...And now you’re here. Are you Shao Xinyuan’s guide?"

Wenzhi’s eyes twitched faintly.

Wei Kang.

It seemed selling him out wasn’t enough. He had to erase him too.

Wenzhi exhaled slowly, forcing the irritation down.

"Yes," he said. "I’m Shao Xinyuan’s guide but...."

He lifted the fabric at his ankle just enough to reveal the restraint.

Duan Ze’s eyes rounded. "...They sold you to the government?"

Wenzhi didn’t answer directly.

"Why are you here?" he asked, standing upright. "Did you leave Halo?"

Duan Ze sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "...Yeah."

He glanced away briefly before continuing. "The Esper I’m paired with thought it would be easier if I transferred here. We extended our contract."

Wenzhi tilted his head. Interest flickering through his irritation. "You are in Team One. Which means he’s a high-rank esper?"

Duan Ze nodded. "Yeah. We’ve got strong espers here. Even the commander—"

"Who’s the commander?" Wenzhi cut in, curiosity slipping through cleanly now.

Duan Ze blinked in surprise. "You haven’t met the commander yet?"

Wenzhi just shrugged. His watch beeped.

He glanced down, tapped it.

Sleeping Beauty: [Can we go home together?]

Wenzhi scoffed under his breath at the sheer audacity and typed back immediately.

[No.]

Now he will know how that feels.

He lifted his gaze back to Duan Ze. "I’m glad you found yourself a great Esper," he said flatly, "but I need your help. I need this restraint off."

Duan Ze’s expression tightened. He glanced around instinctively, checking for anyone listening, before lowering his voice.

"That’s not a good idea," he said. "If you try anything, they might kill you."

"I know how to disappear," Wenzhi replied without hesitation. "I just need this off. That’s it. I won’t drag you into anything else. Maybe your Esper can help."

Duan Ze studied him carefully. "Is that why you’ve been acting strange?" he asked. "Did the government do something to you?"

Wenzhi didn’t bother unpacking that. "...Yes."

Duan Ze exhaled slowly. "Pei Luo might be able to break something like this. But he’s still at Halo. And no one outside the Corps is allowed in right now, so..."

He shrugged faintly. "We’d have to go to him."

Wenzhi’s jaw tightened. "I can’t..."

His watch beeped again.

He frowned, already annoyed, and tapped it.

Sleeping Beauty: [I think we should go home together. The rain is really heavy.]

Wenzhi’s teeth clenched.

He typed, fingers sharp against the screen.

[You came to the Corps without me. You can go back without me.]

The reply came instantly. [I brought a car.]

Wenzhi blinked. "...A car?"

Right. Of course he did.

Shao Xinyuan was a government-funded, top-tier Esper. He was a dangerous asset which meant he was generously maintained.

He typed again.

[Not interested. I have a bike.]

Sleeping Beauty: [But it’s raining.]

Wenzhi glowered at the message. Without a second thought, he punched in, [Go fuck yourself] and closed the chat.

Wenzhi looked up at Duan Ze who was staring at him like he was trying to recognise his face.

"The restraint limits my movement," Wenzhi said flatly. "I can’t leave the city. If I push past its boundary, it’ll kill me. So wherever we meet has to be within its accepted range."

His gaze sharpened. "And it’s definitely tracking me. Probably not audio, but I wouldn’t bet on it."

"...Alright. We’ll make it work." Duan Ze nodded slowly. "I’m sorry this is happening to you, Wenzhi."

A cold knot of dread began to tighten in Wenzhi’s chest. Something was off.

"The government treats anything linked to Shao Xinyuan like a threat," Duan Ze continued. "People are on edge. Curious... but cautious."

His eyes lingered for a moment. "...The only reason he’s even allowed outside now is probably because of you."

That... snapped something.

Wenzhi’s face went stone-cold. He hummed a short, noncommittal sound and turned on his heel, leaving the silence of the stairwell behind him without a backward glance.

Duan Ze stayed behind. He kept his eyes on Wenzhi’s back until he vanished from sight. Only then did he lift his watch, bringing it close to his mouth to speak.

"I’ve got him," he said quietly. "I’ll bring him to the research facility soon."

Expressionless, he turned and walked in the opposite direction.

The silence was heavy until a sharp scoff cut through it. Wenzhi emerged from his hiding spot under the stairs.

He ran through the encounter again. The distance was the giveaway; that man didn’t even look at him like he recognised him. It was as though he was reading a script.

"Idiots," he hissed. "You think I’m that easy?"

If that were actually Duan Ze, Wenzhi wouldn’t have had room to breathe. He would have been caught in a grip meant to confirm he was still alive.

Whoever that was, and whoever was on the other end of that watch, had gone dangerously far. They had gone through the trouble of stealing someone’s identity just to get close to him.