Chi Xiaoxue had been slacking off for a long while and had finally made up her mind to study seriously when the sound of fingerprint recognition came from the front door. She immediately lifted her head to look.
The door opened, and her aunt, wearing a lotus-root-colored dress, walked in. Seeing Xiao Bai wearing glasses and watching cartoons while the robot was studying, she didn’t come over to the living room but went straight into the kitchen.
After a while, her aunt came out again. As she walked toward the entranceway, she said, “I’m going to the supermarket to buy some groceries. Do you two want to stay home or come with me?”
As soon as the words were out, Chi Xiaoxue was already on her feet.
Her aunt was a bit surprised. “You want to go to the supermarket?”
“Yes.”Chi Xiaoxue walked over, opened the shoe cabinet, and pulled out her canvas shoes.
Just then, Xiao Bai finished the cartoon and took off her glasses, so her aunt called them both and headed out.
Whenever Xiao Bai went out, she would wear a little yellow vest with a safety leash attached. An adult would lead her by the leash while walking on the road.
It seemed like all the children in this world had to be leashed when going out. Chi Xiaoxue had seen several kids at the mall yesterday, all led by similar leashes.
The electronic dogs, however, followed their owners freely without any restraints.
The neighborhood fresh produce supermarket wasn’t far. They walked along a shady path with dense trees until the end, then turned a corner, and they were there.
While her aunt picked out meat and vegetables, Chi Xiaoxue followed behind, carrying the shopping basket in one hand and holding Xiao Bai’s leash in the other.
When they passed a promotional snack section piled up like a small mountain, Chi Xiaoxue suddenly stopped and made a “pici, pici” sound with her mouth.
Sure enough, Xiao Bai, who was walking ahead, was drawn to the noise. She turned her head, and Chi Xiaoxue immediately pointed to a specific spot in the snack area, whispering very softly:
“Cake.The one you like. Cake.”
It was a brown-packaged cream-filled cake—the exact one Xiao Bai had wanted to buy at the supermarket yesterday but wasn’t allowed to by Jiang Yanyi, who said it had too much sugar.
Xiao Bai looked at the cake, then at the excited robot, her expression a bit confused. “Dad doesn’t let me buy this.”
Chi Xiaoxue pointed at her aunt, who was not far away selecting tomatoes, and whispered again, “Dad… no buy. Grand… grandma… buy.”
She remembered some things from her childhood.Snacks her parents didn’t allow, her grandparents or maternal grandparents would buy for her.
Xiao Bai stood there motionless, her expression hesitant. She seemed to want the cake but lacked the courage.
Chi Xiaoxue simply took a box of the cake and put it in the basket. She winked at Xiao Bai, then walked over to her aunt as if nothing had happened. She took the cake out of the basket and showed it to her aunt: “Xiao Bai… likes… cake.”
Her aunt was bending down to pick up tomatoes.She glanced at the cake and said, “If Xiao Bai likes it, take it.”
“O…okay.”
Chi Xiaoxue put the cake back in the basket and winked at Xiao Bai again, looking quite pleased with herself.
After buying the groceries and returning home, her aunt asked Chi Xiaoxue to take the groceries inside first while she went to the yard to pick some scallions.
Once the basket was inside, Chi Xiaoxue took out the newly bought box of cake and handed it to Xiao Bai.
Holding the cake, Xiao Bai thought for a moment. She opened the box, took out two individually wrapped small cakes, and gave them to Chi Xiaoxue as a sort of reward for her help.
Just then, her aunt walked in holding a bunch of scallions with dirt still on them. Seeing Chi Xiaoxue stuffing the small cakes into her pocket, she quickly stopped her:
“Robots absolutely cannot eat human food.It’ll cause a system crash.”
Chi Xiaoxue had no choice but to take the small cakes out and return them to Xiao Bai. “You… you eat them.”
As she spoke,she casually reached out and touched Xiao Bai’s fluffy, curly hair. It felt nice, like a jiggly pudding cake—duang duang.
Her aunt didn’t rush Chi Xiaoxue to go study, so she naturally went back to slacking off.
Seeing Xiao Bai sitting on a small stool, nibbling on a small cake with a picture book open on the learning desk in front of her, Chi Xiaoxue scooted over and knelt on the floor to look at the picture book with her.
The picture book was all illustrations, no text, so the two illiterates didn’t have much pressure reading it.
After looking at the picture book for a while, watching Xiao Bai eat the cake made Chi Xiaoxue crave some too.
She went to the kitchen fridge, rummaged around, and found a jelly cup. She then huddled around the learning desk, eating the jelly in small bites while looking at the picture book.
There weren’t many of these artificial-flavored jelly cups, so she ate very sparingly. She’d take a tiny bite, hold it in her mouth for a long time, and only then reluctantly swallow it.
Some parts of the picture book were pop-ups. When they turned to a pop-up page, the folded-paper animals would suddenly stand up. Chi Xiaoxue, who had never seen such things before, would let out an amazed “Wow.”
Xiao Bai glanced at her sideways, then specifically flipped to the pop-up pages to show her.
Chi Xiaoxue, whose mental age was stuck at seven, and Jiang Zhibai (Xiao Bai), who looked like a university graduate but was actually only three years old, hit it off immediately and quickly started playing together.
After finishing the picture book, Xiao Bai even proactively took out building blocks and asked Chi Xiaoxue to build with her.
The toys children played with in this era were quite high-tech. The blocks were made of intricately designed metal sheets, different from the simple wooden blocks Chi Xiaoxue played with as a child.
She couldn’t really figure out how to play with them, so she squatted on the floor, enthusiastically exclaiming “Wow!” from the sidelines.
Time always flies when you’re doing something you enjoy. It wasn’t until Jiang Yanyi returned from class that Chi Xiaoxue realized it was almost noon.
Hearing the door open, her back stiffened slightly. The artificial heart inside her thumped wildly—the feeling was just like when she was a kid secretly watching TV and almost getting caught by her parents suddenly coming home.
Chi Xiaoxue peeked stealthily towards the entranceway. Jiang Yanyi was placing his bag on the shoe cabinet, bending down to look for his slippers.
She immediately stood up, hunched over, and scurried back to the coffee table, sitting up perfectly straight in front of the tablet.
Xiao Bai finished building the bell tower of a European-style structure. Not hearing the robot’s enthusiastic cheers, she looked up and realized the robot had disappeared at some point.
“Not playing anymore?”Xiao Bai asked loudly.
Chi Xiaoxue immediately flusteredly made several “Shh!” sounds, signaling Xiao Bai not to speak.
Luckily, Jiang Yanyi didn’t seem to notice their situation either. He walked into the living room in his slippers, greeted them, and then went into the kitchen to help.
Once he left, Chi Xiaoxue slumped back in her chair and let out a huge sigh of relief.
When they had lunch, Chi Xiaoxue didn’t go near them. She was afraid Jiang Yanyi would ask about her studies.
While they were eating lunch over there, Chi Xiaoxue continued to sit upright in front of the computer, pretending to study diligently.
Obviously, she couldn’t concentrate. Instead, she pricked up her ears, listening to Jiang Yanyi and the others talk.
She heard Jiang Yanyi say, “This afternoon, I need to go to Zhi Bai’s maternal grandparents’ place. They heard Moji was brought back and want to see her.”
Hearing her name mentioned, Chi Xiaoxue unconsciously inched a bit closer to the dining area.
Then she heard her aunt say, “You and Xiao Bai go. I won’t go. This is a matter between you and the in-laws; I won’t get involved.”
Jiang Yanyi didn’t say anything more, just softly told Xiao Bai, “Eat some greens, don’t be picky.”
Chi Xiaoxue didn’t really understand the full meaning of their conversation. Why did Xiao Bai’s maternal grandparents want to see her? And why did her aunt’s tone also sound somewhat unhappy?
·
When they rang the doorbell of the villa, a humanoid robot with a metal exterior opened the door. The robot butler spoke in that voice laced with electric current:
“Mr.and Mrs. Bai are upstairs. Please wait a moment, I will inform them.”
Then the robot butler took the elevator upstairs.
A villa with an elevator inside—so high-end. Chi Xiaoxue had just processed this surprise when her gaze was immediately drawn to a photograph hanging on the living room wall.
It was a black-and-white photo of a very young woman. Her black hair cascaded down like a waterfall, her beautiful eyes sparkling, and a gentle smile played on her lips.
When she realized it was a funeral portrait, Chi Xiaoxue almost gasped out loud.
The woman in the photo looked exactly like her—or rather, exactly like the robot.
Chi Xiaoxue felt goosebumps rising on her arms.
The elevator that had left shortly before now returned to the first floor. The doors opened, and a man and woman in their sixties stepped out, followed by the robot butler.
The couple was dressed very meticulously. Even at home, they were dressed impeccably. The man wore a brown retro-style suit, and the woman wore a flowing, iridescent gown.
Chi Xiaoxue was still reeling from the shock of the portrait. When the couple looked at her, she stared back at them blankly.
For some reason, the woman dressed so splendidly suddenly became very emotional. She grabbed the man’s arm, her eyes fixed intently on Chi Xiaoxue, her eyes immediately reddening.
The man patted the woman’s hand and said softly, “Shilan, calm down. She’s not Xiao Dong. She’s just a robot.”
“I know,I know. It’s just that…” Before she could finish her sentence, the woman named Shi Lan had already begun to cry.
Chi Xiaoxue couldn’t understand what was happening, but the atmosphere was quite heavy now. She could only lower her head and stand there silently.
After this emotional moment passed, everyone moved to sit on the sofa. Chi Xiaoxue hurriedly followed behind Jiang Yanyi and sat down right next to Xiao Bai.
As soon as she sat down, Shi Lan said to Xiao Bai, “Zhi Bai, why don’t you and Max go play on the swing in the garden? Grandfather, grandmother, and Daddy need to talk about some grown-up matters.”
“Okay.”The little curly-top immediately jumped off the sofa, took the hand offered by the robot butler, and walked out.
The robot butler was very tall, estimated to be nearly two meters. The little short legs walking beside him made her look even smaller, like a little radish.
Once Xiao Bai left, Chi Xiaoxue immediately shifted closer to Jiang Yanyi again, sitting pressed right up against him.
In this unfamiliar environment, she felt a bit insecure and instinctively wanted to be close to someone familiar.
Jiang Yanyi felt the body pressing against him and glanced at her sideways. He didn’t say anything, tacitly allowing her to stay close.
After Xiao Bai left, the couple didn’t start talking immediately. They just remained silent, looking at Chi Xiaoxue from time to time. Their stares made her hair stand on end. She instinctively wanted to leave quickly, but she couldn’t run out alone. She could only press her lips together and lean even closer to Jiang Yanyi.
After gazing deeply at Chi Xiaoxue for a moment, Shi Lan finally spoke slowly, “Yanyi, we wanted to talk to you about Xiao Dong.”