Shi Mu's alarm rang at 6:30 a.m.
She didn't need it.
She'd been awake for an hour already, lying in bed, watching the light creep across the ceiling, listening to the distant thump of someone jogging on the track below.
The room was colder than she remembered.
Or maybe it was her.
She made her tea slower than usual. Measured the water. Steeped the leaves. Watched the steam rise.
It tasted bitter.
Stronger than usual.
Like the kind of bitterness that came not from bad leaves, but from distraction.
From silence that had stretched too long.
In Room 415, Fu Yunshen was similarly restless.
He sat on the edge of his bed, flipping his phone over in his hands. Not reading. Not texting. Just… holding it.
Zhou Zhi finally noticed.
"You two haven't spoken since she left," he said.
Fu Yunshen didn't reply.
"She's only one building over."
"I know."
"So?"
Fu Yunshen said nothing.
Zhou Zhi shook his head. "You're both acting like the other one doesn't care."
Later that day, they crossed paths.
Outside the cafeteria.
Shi Mu had just grabbed her meal and turned around—only to come face-to-face with him.
They both stopped.
"Hey," he said.
"Hey," she echoed.
A beat passed.
Then he asked, "How's the new room?"
"Same as before."
"You eating okay?"
She nodded. "You?"
"Yeah."
Another pause.
Then Shi Mu said, "I should go."
And just like that—she did.
Back in her dorm, she set her tray down and stared at the food she didn't want.
The system chimed quietly:
[Connection Status: Strained]
[Recommendation: Initiate Dialogue]
[Risk: Emotional Exposure]
She ignored it.
Fu Yunshen returned to Room 415 and finally made his own tea.
It was bitter.
He didn't add sugar.
He didn't deserve it.
[System Notification]
Brotherhood Value +25 (Surface Interaction – Emotional Suppression Detected)
Current Total: 2,145 / 1,000,000
Shi Mu sipped her tea slowly.
One thought echoed through her mind, clear and sharp.
We're talking like strangers again.
And she hated how normal it felt.