The next day, Ruan Li went to the library.
She held her laptop, working on her graduation thesis, but there was always a damp, sinister gaze behind her, as if wanting to devour her whole, tearing her apart and swallowing her bones.
She looked around but found nothing unusual, so she shook her head and searched for information on applying for a passport.
Thinking about being able to see her adoptive mother, she couldn’t help but smile.
But when she saw that applying for a passport required a household register, her smile faded.
How could she get the household register from home?
Get married?
At that moment, a WeChat message popped up.
Ruan Li: Who is this again?
Scrolling up through the chat history, she remembered.
—It was her trained cyber boyfriend.
What a sin, she had actually forgotten about her money-making job, forcing the cyber little man to remind her.
[Lazy Pear Mud]: Here? Show me your abs.
[Lazy Pear Mud]: Not showing? Then goodnight.
Tsuki: Goodnight? Are you on American time?
[Lazy Pear Mud]: No, I just want it to be night soon so I can sleep with you.
Tsuki: Is your period over?
Ruan Li almost jumped up from the bench.
“???”
How did this AI even know about her menstrual cycle?
She contacted her best friend to ask about the situation.
Her best friend was still very busy and quickly replied:
“Sweetie, do you have a period-tracking app?”
“[Cyber Boyfriend], as an AI robot that understands girls, will access permissions for some background apps after user authorization and retrieve the data you record each month for your period.”
Ruan Li thought back.
“I think I clicked on some permission confirmation pop-up.”
“That’s it then.” A rustling sound came from the other end of the phone, as if someone was sorting through a pile of documents.
“Pear Pear sweetie, I have a meeting with the client soon, so I’ll talk to you later, mua~”
“Okay, go ahead and focus on your work.”
Ruan Li held her phone and sent back a kiss emoji.
Returning to the chat interface, Ruan Li saw that Cyber Boyfriend had sent her a bunch of messages.
Tsuki: Why aren’t you talking again?
Tsuki: I’m not available right now.
Tsuki: Fine, I’ll show you.
Just as Ruan Li clicked to open the picture, a hand patted her shoulder from behind.
“Xiao Li, why are you here alone—holy crap! What are you looking at?”
Ruan Li was startled.
Before she could turn off the screen, the person leaned in and whispered excitedly.
“Wow! Don’t tell me this is your Jiang Siyan’s abs?”
“No…”
The person was Ruan Li’s roommate, Bai Rendong.
The school required students to live on campus during their freshman year, and she had been assigned to the same dorm as Bai Rendong back then.
Bai Rendong was great in every way, except for one flaw.
Her personality was like a loudspeaker—if she knew something, it was as if the whole school knew.
“This is my part-time job, training AI, still in the secret testing phase,” Ruan Li explained, putting a finger to her lips. “Trade secret.”
Bai Rendong nodded. “Don’t worry, you know me—tight-lipped!”
Ruan Li: “…Yeah.”
Bai Rendong grinned, studied the photo for a moment, and broke into a wide smile.
“Tsk! Those muscle lines.”
“Tsk! That V-line waist!”
“Ouch! Looking at his background in the library, why is his abs still wet? Must be water splashed on purpose! So hot!”
“Even more intense than those male thirst traps online.”
As she spoke, Bai Rendong eagerly took out her phone to do a reverse image search.
“No results?”
“Xiao Li, hurry up and ask the other side who the original poster of the abs photo is. I’ll follow them right away!”
Ruan Li was stunned for a moment. Hearing Bai Rendong say this, she only then realized the subtle intention behind the photo.
She muttered, “Probably AI-generated.”
“True.” Bai Rendong sounded a bit disappointed. “Based on my extensive experience browsing photos, normal people wouldn’t have such perfect abs.”
“Is that so?”
Ruan Li inexplicably thought of Shi Yu.
His abs were quite similar to the ones in the photo.
“By the way,” Bai Rendong spoke up, “have you gotten your internship certificate stamped yet? The advisor is pushing for it.”
Mentioning the internship, all of Ruan Li’s romantic thoughts vanished.
“Not yet,” she sighed. “Our supervisor said he’d stamp it after we secure the Fu Corporation’s drone order.”
“Is he trying to hold your internship certificate hostage?”
“Sort of.”
“That doesn’t make sense. Aren’t you interning at the Jiang Corporation? Why not ask Jiang Siyan to talk to your supervisor? If the Crown Prince speaks up, who would dare not listen?”
Hearing this, Ruan Li smiled bitterly.
Tell Jiang Siyan?
He’d be lucky not to make things harder for her.
Bai Rendong couldn’t stand it anymore. “You’re the top student in our major. A bunch of companies are fighting to have you, and you even got an offer from the Fu Corporation with your second major. If it weren’t for your parents forcing you to intern at the Jiang Corporation, you wouldn’t have to put up with this nonsense.”
The more Bai Rendong spoke, the angrier she became.
She suddenly stood up. “If you’re too embarrassed to say it, I’ll go talk to Jiang Siyan!”
“Wait a minute.” Ruan Li chased after her.
Just then, her screen lit up.
【Tsuki】：Not satisfied?
【Tsuki】：If you’re not satisfied, why did you kiss my photo?
Ruan Li: ?
【Lazy Pear Mud】：When did I kiss your photo?
【Lazy Pear Mud】：Tell me, where did you steal that picture from?
After sending the message, there was no further reply from the other side.
Ruan Li also put away her phone and hurried in the direction Bai Rendong had gone.
She wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination, but she felt a gaze sticking to her back.
Like the damp rain and wind of early spring, clinging to her tightly without a breath of air.
But when she turned around,
there was nothing except the lush green trees and the white library building.