Mei's Pov

Our eyes snapped wide—all at once.

The holo wall wavered slightly as Rui stirred behind it.

We jumped—scrambling to the side as Jia killed the projection, and the hidden figure finally bled back into view.

“Are you okay?” Fen instantly knelt beside him, shoving a steel water bottle into his shaking hands.

He took it, drained a mouthful, then exhaled with a faint hiss through his teeth. “Thank you… for all of your help.”

He sat upright with a grunt, folding his weight onto my shoulder as I helped steady him. Slowly, painfully, he bowed his head slightly, then raised it again—and those hawk eyes finally met ours.

“But we don’t have a medic bot…”

“We don’t,” Fen nodded grimly, “but Old Man Lao does.”

Jia blinked. “The janitor?”

“What are we supposed to say if he asks why?”

“We can’t let another ear hear about this. And worse—the old man…” I squinted one eye, leaning forward. “I’m sure you know old people love to gossip. Especially when they sit around nut cakes.”

I twirled my finger in lazy circles, pulling my lips into a half-smirk. “The intensity of that gossip, Fen… oh my. Just pray your very name isn’t the flavor of the day. They’ll carve you up and serve you with tea before you even know you’ve been roasted.”

I leaned back with exaggerated weight, curling my lips downward into a mock frown.

Fen snorted, brushing a hand through the air. “Naah. The old man isn’t like that…” She paused mid-motion, flicking her eyes toward the ceiling. “Okay… maybe he is like that. But still. Let’s both go and we’ll—” she dragged the words out “—try figuring out the best way to get it from him.”

Her gaze snapped towards me, leaning her shoulders in. “And Mei… why don’t you try looking around the nurse’s office? She should have locked up by now…”

Her hand went under her chin, fitting it with her jaw. “But the problem is… how will you get in?”

I rubbed my palms together, trying to summon courage. “It’s okay. I’ll figure it out.”

“Let me.”

Xinyi’s voice suddenly cut the air in two.

She continued to stand with both hands clenched so tightly that her knuckles turned white. However, something sharper now burned in those gentle, terrified eyes I'd seen almost break under Duan's stare.

“I can easily bypass her security lock.”

Fen’s brows shot upward. “Xinyi? You—of all people?”

Xinyi’s throat worked, swallowing down nerves, but her chin lifted anyway. “The thing is… the sooner we help him, the sooner he gets to leave. And the sooner we go back to living life like actual students.” She rubbed her wrists. “Honestly, helping a supposed fugitive is… um…” She shot a glance at Rui—half-conscious, groaning faintly, with almost dry blood streaking his temple. “…Sorry. No offense. But it’s nerve-wracking.”

“I can’t stand the thought of going to jail. My father’s reputation—” she drew a shaky breath, pressing her fists into her thighs “—is at stake here.”

She steadied herself and flicked her gaze at me. “And besides… Mei should stay here and help dress that cut before we get back.”

Fen crossed her arms, tightening her shoulders. “Then let’s all make sure we’re the only ones who know about this. Because if we screw up—” she pointed at Rui, then at all of us in turn “—we won’t just be overthinking how to survive finals. We’ll be figuring out how to live the rest of our lives in a Sky Bastion jail cell.”

Honestly, she wasn’t wrong.

I used to think I could handle pressure—training with my brother had toughened me up, or so I thought. But now? With a bleeding fugitive stashed behind a fake wall while soldiers prowled the hallways? My pulse was on overdrive, and the thought of another round of boots crashing through that door was enough to make my chest feel like it was splintering apart. If they came back, I knew I’d crack. No amount of bravado could glue me together.

“I owe you roomies…Thank you.”

Xinyi and Jia exchanged a quick nod, pushing toward the door with urgency. Fen, of course, couldn’t resist one last jab.

She hooked her arm around my shoulders, leaning in so close her chin grazed mine, her breath warm and smug. “You’d better get his info and set me up on a date with him. Then—” she gave a mock-salute with two fingers and a wicked grin “—I’ll consider us even.”

I shoved her back, rolling my eyes so hard. “You’re unbelievable.”

All she did was laugh and bounce on her heels before slipping out the door. The sound was sharper than it should have been in the dense silence that followed as she made sure the lock clicked into place behind her.

And just like that—it was only me and Rui.

The air felt heavier without their chatter. His silence pressed down harder than their noise ever could. He wasn’t even looking at me, just glaring down hard at the floor.

“You knew my name,” He lifted his lashes, finally revealing those dark and strange eyes. “How?”

Goosebumps pricked in sharp lines as a chill went down my arms. I wanted to laugh it off and write it off to stress, but his tone, the way it brushed against reality instead of justification, prevented me from doing so.

“I don’t know… I really can’t explain it. It just… came to me the moment I saw your face.”

“Your chest,” he murmured. “Did you feel it? Beating louder than normal, like it was trying to tear its way out? And your head—did it hurt? Just for a second?”

My eyes snapped wide. Heat slammed through me as I jerked my gaze to his. “How—how could you know that?”

Rui’s jaw tightened, his hand trembling as he lifted it to his forehead, pushing away damp strands of hair that clung there. His breath rattled shallow but steady. “I don’t know. I felt it too. The pounding in my chest. The ache in my skull. And… your name also came to me.”

My throat dried out instantly. “My… my name?” I jabbed a finger toward my chest.

His gaze locked on mine, steady even through the shake in his limbs. “Mei Zhang.”

My eyes went wider, the room tilted and my knees threatened to give out.