Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Realizing the time was getting late, the man walked to the kitchen to make dinner.
As he passed the dining table, he was surprised to see a bowl of noodles on the table…
Turning to the robot behind him, he asked, “Did you make this?”
She gave a shy reply: Yes.
He gave her a stunned look before walking to the table. He picked up the chopsticks and aimed for the food inside the bowl… only to pull up a large clump of noodles.
As the noodles had been left inside the bowl of broth for a while, the noodle strands had turned gooey and sticky.
“…”
“?!”
What happened? The noodles were fine when she took these out of the pot after cooking!
“Is this edible?” Asked Chen Yuheng.
She looked at him with bewilderment. Why did he ask that? Of course it is edible…
He used the pair of chopsticks to pick at the disgusting looking noodles with disdain. Although the food put him off, he felt that he should encourage this proactive behavior where she had purposely prepared food for him when he was sick. Hence, he simply retorted, “No worries, this is your first try. You’ll get better with practice.”
I’ve already tried several times… She thought in her heart.
He took the chopsticks, carried the bowl of noodles, and strode into the kitchen with a few quick steps to discard the noodles. When he opened the rubbish bin he saw half a pail of gooey noodles…
There was a long silence——
He turned to ask the girl standing behind him. “How many packs of noodles have you cooked?”
Looking at the bowl of noodles that he had just thrown away, she answered disheartened, “Seven… erm… about seven to eight bowls, I think…”
You can’t possibly succeed in your first try when it comes to cooking… She thought to herself. She had followed the recipe a couple of times and, after many tries, had finally managed to cook a somewhat decent bowl of noodles… only to have him thrown it away…
He threw it out… without taking a try… at all…
The man opened the cabinet to find his two big bags of noodles gone, the salt bottle inside the condiment basket was half empty by now as well. When he opened the fridge… oh… the ginger and garlic were gone too, and so were the eggs…
He could understand that cooking might use much of the garlic and eggs, but what about the ginger? He had a big piece of ginger earlier and now it was gone?
How much ginger did she put in her cooking?
Oh, well, since there’s no ingredients left for cooking, I’ll have to order takeout now.
He reset his phone to arrange for food delivery. During this time, Gu Anbao could only look at him with great forlorn. By the time he had finished with his order, he saw her looking dejected at the floor with her pursed lips.
This was the first time the girl had tried cooking in her 18 years, and her output was lying piteously and unappreciated inside the rubbish bin.
Looking at the despondent robot, the man held mixed feelings inside him.
As the CEO of an independent inventor, producer, and retailer of AI products, he had never realized that getting along with a robot could be so enigmatic.
The doorbell rang suddenly, startling both of them.
Can a takeout be this fast?
The man opened the door and a look of shock flashed across his face.
Standing outside the door was a young lady dressed in lemony-yellow sports attire. Her shiny raven hair was especially eye-catching. Her baseball cap, shades, and mask covered her face almost entirely but her attractive profile could not hide the fact that she was a pretty girl.
The woman was especially excited when she saw him. Removing her mask and shades, she cried out happily, “Brother!”
Gu Anbao found her familiar when she recognized the face almost immediately. It’s Shen Xinran!
She was currently one of the four highly sought-after starlets. Besides TV drama series, she had appeared in commercials, variety shows, and even released singles.
She is a star…
So… the caller by the name “Shen Xinran” is actually this woman standing in front of me?
She did not expect a famous actress to know him, and had come looking for him personally at his place…
But, what did she call him just now? Brother? Is she his younger sister? But her last name is “Shen” whereas his last name is “Chen”…
It was obvious that the man did not welcome this sister of his. Throwing a glance behind her back, he asked, “Have you been followed by any paparazzi?”
She stomped her foot petulantly, “I was very careful when I set off! Hey, brother, let me in now! What if someone recognizes me…”
Frowning, he leaned back to let her into his house. He really did not want to see his name appearing alongside his sister in tomorrow’s headlines.
She swiftly stepped into his apartment and was taken aback when she caught sight of Gu Anbao in the living room.
Before the robot could flash her a suitable smile and greeting, the lady’s face froze. Pointing a finger accusingly at the machine, she interrogated furiously, “Who are you? Why are you inside my brother’s apartment?!”
The speed at which she changed her disposition was so fast that it startled the little girl. She stumbled a few steps backward as she tried to reply, “I’m…”
… a robot.
These words were stuck in her throat, she was actually unable to verbalize them.
“Why aren’t you talking?! Can’t you speak? Get out! You better get lost now!”
While the robot was merely expressing slight hesitation, the other lady was getting more and more demanding.
“… I’m… I’m…”
Subconsciously, a sense of humiliation rose within her. It was as if she was admitting her identity as a dog by declaring herself to be a robot. It was as if… she was just a commodity or a tool that everyone could discriminate against without reason. They could interrogate, coerce, scream, blame or even chase her away without due consideration.
And all this, simply because she was just a robot.
She was in a stupified state when she was questioned by the security the last time around. At that time, she was still in a state of confusion, having found out that she had been turned into a robot not too long before. However, she could clearly sense the humiliation this time as she faced the verbal bashing.
She refused to answer, and was at a loss, not knowing how to deal with the raging woman before her. She turned to look at her master, hoping that he would help to explain on her behalf.
Her gaze only incensed Shen Xinran further! The woman recalled the numerous calls she made that had gone unanswered, and then how her brother was alone in the house, wearing only his bathrobe, with this woman now… What were they doing?! Why didn’t he answer my calls?!
Her fury went beyond the tipping point!
Taking huge strides, she walked up to the robot and was about to boot the girl out of the house when her brother barked at her impatiently from behind, “Are you out of your mind?!”
Startled, she froze and spun around to look at him with her red eyes.
“Bro…”
“She’s my personal robot. Why are you getting mad?!” He lashed out at her mercilessly.
She glanced at Gu Anbao before looking at him again grudgingly. “Then why didn’t you answer my calls…”
“That’s because I was sick and taking a shower after perspiring the whole night from the medication! Is this answer good enough to satisfy Miss Shen?!”
The lady was not at all bothered by his poor attitude toward her. Instead, she was stunned and anxious to hear that he was unwell. “Sick? Brother… how are you feeling now? Do you want me to accompany you to the hospital?”
He did not have the slightest desire to continue this conversation and told her sullenly, “I want to rest now.”
“Brother, it wasn’t easy for me to sneak out of the production set… Can we at least have a meal together?” she pleaded.
By then, he had already opened the apartment door for her. “I’m tired now, I need to rest.”
Biting her lower lip with great reluctance and grievance, she dragged herself past him and tried to beg one more time; stammering, “Bro…”
He merely told her without any expression on his face, “Don’t come here again. If you need to look for me, contact Cheryl directly.”
Resigned, the woman put on her shades and mask unwillingly before slowly walking away.
He shut the door swiftly, turned around to look at Gu Anbao and told her quietly, “If someone is to question you like this again, you have to behave in the same manner. Don’t ever admit that you are a robot, just pretend to look grieved and wronged.”
“?!” I was not pretending earlier… I really felt grieved and wronged…