After that, Mu Chen wasn't left alone for a second. Not to grab water, not to eat, not even to toss something in the trash. If Lin Lan wasn't right there with him, Zhou Xiao was. If Zhou Xiao couldn't make it, someone else would pop up with a reason that didn't sound like an excuse at all. It would have been pretty funny, honestly, if it wasn't so intense. Ye Fan had told them to keep an eye on him, and they were following orders.
So there Mu Chen sat, late afternoon, at the edge of the ready room. Headset on, he was fiddling with his tablet, pretending to go over standard guide notes. But the words were just swimming. He wasn't actually reading. He was listening. The sound of footsteps in the hall, a door opening, a faint beep, a voice that cut off the moment it saw him. The whole base seemed to be moving around him like a live organism.
Lin Lan walked in and sat down opposite him. She was silent for a minute, then slid a packet across the table.
"What's this?" Mu Chen asked.
Lin Lan's voice was flat. "Your assessment prep. Standard answers. Standard responses. What they're likely to ask, and what you should shut down."
Mu Chen picked up the packet. It was straightforward. Almost too straightforward. Stick to answering the question, nothing more. No extra details, no stories, no personal opinions. If they asked about his mental abilities, the answer was, "I manage through breathing and training." Asked about linking? "No linking without permission." And if they questioned his unusual calmness? "I'm good at staying steady."
Mu Chen nodded. "Thanks."
Lin Lan's eyes flicked up. "You get why this is important?"
Mu Chen answered quietly, "So I don't give them any openings."
Lin Lan's mouth tightened. "So you don't give them any proof."
Mu Chen didn't argue.
Lin Lan looked back down. "They've already got the footage."
Mu Chen's fingers tightened on the packet. "From the gate?"
Lin Lan gave a single nod. "The signal was solid, the data clean. They'll just keep replaying it until it becomes a weapon against you."
Mu Chen stared at the paper in his hands. Back in the orphanage, adults used words as weapons. Here, it was numbers.
Lin Lan stood up. "Go eat. You need the energy."
Mu Chen nodded and stood too. Zhou Xiao appeared from the hallway like he'd been waiting. "I'm coming with you."
Mu Chen didn't even flinch. "Okay."
They walked to the meal area. Ye Fan was there. He was sitting alone again, but he wasn't eating. His gaze was fixed on the wall screen displaying gate notices and mission logs. Mu Chen sat at a table and started eating. Zhou Xiao joined him, quiet. Mu Chen kept his eyes on his tray, but he could still feel Ye Fan's presence. It wasn't like a normal person in a room. It was like a pressure, like a storm trapped behind a door. Mu Chen forced himself to chew, to swallow.
Zhou Xiao spoke softly, as if he didn't want anyone to overhear. "He hasn't slept."
Mu Chen didn't respond.
Zhou Xiao pressed on, sounding almost frustrated. "He's not mad at you. He's mad at them."
Mu Chen kept his voice low. "I know."
Zhou Xiao looked at him. "Do you?"
Mu Chen paused for a beat, then said, "Yes." Because he really did. Ye Fan's anger wasn't personal. It was fear with sharp teeth.
After dinner, Mu Chen headed back to his unit floor. He stopped in the hallway near the divider and, without intending to, looked up. A camera on the ceiling shifted almost imperceptibly. The hairs on his arms prickled. He looked away immediately. Then he heard footsteps. Ye Fan.
Mu Chen turned his head. Ye Fan stopped directly in front of him, blocking the narrow hallway. No one else was close enough to overhear, but the cameras could see everything.
Ye Fan's voice was low. "You're going for the assessment tomorrow."
Mu Chen nodded. "Yes."
Ye Fan's eyes were sharp. "Lin Lan's escorting."
Mu Chen nodded again.
Ye Fan's jaw tightened. "If they try to take you somewhere else—"
Mu Chen cut him off softly. "They won't."
Ye Fan's gaze hardened. "You don't know that."
Mu Chen stayed calm. "Neither do you."
For a moment, Ye Fan looked like he might lose it. Then he forced his voice down. "If you feel them trying to get into your head, just shut down. Don't say anything. Don't give them what they want."
Mu Chen watched him. "Have you been through it?"
Ye Fan froze. His eyes flickered. Yes, Mu Chen realized. Ye Fan had been through it. Maybe not as a guide, but as a sentinel. As a weapon. As a child raised by the military.
Ye Fan's voice came out harsh. "Don't ask."
Mu Chen nodded. "Okay."
A quiet stretched between them. The hallway lights felt cold, and the air smelled of disinfectant.
Ye Fan spoke again, his voice even lower. "I shouldn't have called you that."
Mu Chen blinked. "Called me what?"
Ye Fan's jaw tightened, like the words pained him. "Orphan."
Mu Chen's chest felt tight for a second. He kept his voice simple. "It's true."
Ye Fan's eyes burned. "It shouldn't be a weapon."
Mu Chen didn't answer. He didn't know what to do with an apology from Ye Fan. It just didn't fit.
Ye Fan stepped half a step closer, then stopped, as if he remembered the rule he'd set for himself. No linking, no touching, no giving the institute anything more to use.
Ye Fan's voice turned rough. "When you first came in… I felt nothing from you."
Mu Chen's stomach tightened.
Ye Fan continued, his eyes fixed on Mu Chen's face. "That's not normal. Even weak guides have… something. A vibe. A pressure. You had nothing."
Mu Chen kept his face neutral. "Maybe I'm just boring."
Ye Fan's mouth twitched, not quite a smile. "No." He looked away for a brief moment, then back. "It made me angry."
Mu Chen remained still.
Ye Fan's voice dropped even lower. "Because it felt like you were already gone."
Mu Chen's throat tightened. That sentence hit him hard. Mu Chen had learned to just… disappear inside himself when things were safer.
Ye Fan looked at him with something sharp and confused in his eyes. Not kindness. Not desire. Something he didn't have a name for yet. A pull you can't quite describe.
Ye Fan's voice came out harsh again, like he hated the softness. "Don't disappear."
Mu Chen met his gaze. "I'm here."
Ye Fan stared at him for a long moment, then stepped back. "Sleep," Ye Fan said, like an order.
Mu Chen nodded. "Yes, Major."
Ye Fan turned and walked away. Mu Chen stayed still until Ye Fan's footsteps faded. Then he went behind his divider, sat on his bed, and stared at the desk lamp. Cold light. Clean walls. Eyes watching from above. Tomorrow, the institute would put him under brighter lights and expect him to prove how small he was. Mu Chen closed his eyes. And for the first time since he'd arrived, he wished he could reach out and take Ye Fan's storm away for good. Not because Ye Fan was gentle. Because Ye Fan was the only person here who looked at him like he actually mattered, even while he tried not to.