-1-
"Although I really don't want to disturb you and your so-called 'secret room', you haven't given me permission to enter here..."
Central control room, in the boundless ocean of data.
Above the coordinate point that was finally found after careful searching several times, the main system struggled to push away the light spots floating deep in the control room, floating up and down in front of the invisible and tightly closed door.
It couldn't see the entrance to that room, which could only be opened by M's sickle. Without permission, it only knew roughly where the place was.
-2-
The main system jumped impatiently, like the progress bar in a web game. "But honestly, M, hurry up and get out. While you were in there, not knowing what to do, your subordinates sent you five emergency communications on the public channel... Each one was forwarded to me. I just received the last one. If you don't respond, he'll come to the central control room himself to find you."
"Little P is an angel, and today is his first working day after vacation. You can't dump all the accumulated work on an angel who just returned from vacation, M. You can't be a boss who is rushed into work by your subordinates, understand?"
——There was no fluctuation in the room, and the guy inside didn't react at all.
Main System: "...Okay, stop pretending you didn't hear anything. I know you're in there. You kicked me out this morning just to go in and look for something. I don't care how long it takes you to find something... M, this is work time, and your subordinates are looking..."
-3-
"Shut up. You're making so much noise out there, and your data is garbage."
——With a loud "bang", Miss M kicked open the two tightly closed doors, and the latter quickly disappeared into the depths of the boundless ocean of data, becoming invisible.
The main system without access rights can never get a glimpse into the secret room; it can't even see the crack in the door, even though it stays in the central control room almost 24 hours a day to handle affairs.
...Of course, the main system is not interested either.
M does not give it access rights; M himself does not go there often and obviously has no interest in the place.
-4-
In all the time the autonomous system had known M—it hadn't seen her enter or leave that room more than a few times. After completing the sixth-generation data update, M had even urged it to use its abundant energy to set up a "trash channel"—so that she could pack up her unwanted memories and throw them into that room at any time, without even having to enter or exit.
What does it mean to throw away garbage with takeout?
Moreover, even when going in and out, M usually goes in with a bored expression and comes out with a bored expression, without any ripples at all.
To describe it specifically, it's probably the expression of "I knew this was a boring popcorn movie" before entering the movie and "I knew this was a boring, crappy movie, but the popcorn was delicious" after the movie.
She was almost holding popcorn.
-5-
This time, well, it's obviously the same.
She emerged from the secret room, but her expression was not secret at all.
He kicked the door open with a loud bang, but then came out with his hands in his pockets as if taking a walk.
It was as if kicking over its control room, its sea of data, and its mysterious invisible door were all boring junk to her.
...If you find it so boring, why bother kicking it?
"You woke me, data-junk."
Miss M said listlessly, "I was just watching a cheesy, boring, and disgusting movie in there. I fell asleep while watching it. You disturbed my nap."
Main System: "...Lunch break is over. If you want to take a nap, don't go to my central control room to sleep."
"yawn……"
"Also, your subordinates have been looking for you. Do you want me to connect you to the communication immediately?"
-6-
Miss M paused in her yawning, blinked, put down her hands, shook the pockets on both sides of her coat, and then put them back in.
Her movements were slow, like an animal emerging from hibernation.
"No need... I'll go back to him now."
Miss M said slowly, "Actually, I have something important to discuss with him."
-7-
——So, five minutes later, Mr. P, who had just returned from the Observation Department and was washing his hands in the employee locker room, was slapped on the shoulder.
"Snap." Clean and straightforward.
It instantly reminded him of his ex-boyfriend Mr. T recommending fitness and protein powder to him at the entrance of the office building.
"Hey, friend? Brother? My best subordinate?"
...and came with such a straightforward and strange greeting, which reminded him again of that colleague who laughed awkwardly and forced him to buy protein powder.
Mr. P shook the water droplets off his fingertips and turned back.
"What can I do for you?"
-8-
Miss M arched her eyebrows at him.
This is not an overly sweet smile with murderous intent hidden in the dimples. This smile is more like a flattering smile, with some subtle flattery.
Miss M rarely smiled at him like this. As a boss and a lunatic, she was the most justified and had no guilt in waking him up in the middle of the night.
Even when she made tons of complaints to him, maxed out one of his credit cards, and damaged his new car... she never smiled at him like that.
However, although it is rare, it does exist.
Every time Mr. P saw Miss M smiling at him like this, he would face a terrifying scene next.
——Because, when Miss M showed such an attitude, she must have felt that she had done something extremely bad, so she came to tell him with a "hehehe" smile to clean up the mess.
For example, the endless hell of overtime work that seems to have no end and cannot be escaped even by death.
...Yes, Miss M would only smile at him like this when informing him of this.
The reason why he had to endure a series of overtime hells was definitely because she was crazy and did it.
-9-
"Nothing." She said with a smile today, "It's just, hey, I came to consult you about a small matter."
Mr. P couldn't figure out how she could create a series of overtime hells for him in just one morning.
And, to be honest, he was in no mood to deal with the new problems she had created.
"What do you want to ask?"
"Ahem...that's it..."
Miss M looked into his blue eyes, and the deliberate flattery in her words could hardly cover up the true guilt in her heart.
"This morning, well, I went somewhere and reviewed some useless stuff. I realized I've been in a relationship before. ...Although it was many, many years ago, it was also a serious relationship with a different attitude."
oh.
-9-
Mr. P said calmly, "I just found out about this, and this is why I'm in a bad mood right now."
Ms. M: “…Are you in a bad mood?”
Mr. P: "I discovered that my boss, who always claimed to be emotionally neutral and truly heartless, had happily jumped into a bubble of love for an entire year. I can't find any reason to be happy."
Ms. M: “…Oh. You’re mad at me.”
Mr. P: "Not really. I'm not mad at you. I'm just a little mad at myself. Your inconsistent words and actions indirectly demonstrate my lack of personal charm, far inferior to your 'first love'. So, out of a male's pride, I'm upset. But this has nothing to do with you. You're still my most respected boss, and I'm still willing to be your tool and maintain a superficial sexual relationship with you."
Ms. M: “…”
-10-
This long and extremely honest confession contained a lot of information, and the tone in which he said it was a little too cold, without any warmth at all.
Miss M was stunned for a moment. After a while, she couldn't help but stretch out her fingers and compare them between him and herself, as if she was trying to draw a formula in mid-air to sort out what her subordinate wanted to express and the current relationship between her and him.
-11-
"So, what exactly are you asking? As your subordinate, I'm happy to answer any questions you may have."
...Forget it, she has no idea about this guy at all, and the most urgent task now is not to find out his inner thoughts.
Miss M suppressed her doubts—it was easy because, for some reason, the feeling of "guilty" became more and more obvious when she looked at him.
"Well, it's like this. After I discovered I was once in a serious relationship, I carefully reviewed every detail of that relationship... but in the end, I fell asleep for no apparent reason, and when I woke up, it was because of the main system."
Mr. P folded the towel for drying his hands and nodded to indicate that he was listening.
Ms. M: "So, uh... I discovered... that so-called 'love'... my interest in it was less than that of a cheesy popcorn movie."
-12-
"I thought that relationship was boring. I thought that person was completely boring. I can't even figure out how I made the decision to fall in love and stay with that guy for a whole year—"
Miss M twisted her fingers together, shook herself and sighed, and rested her forehead on her subordinate's elbow.
"I found that I had no 'feelings' at all towards that black-haired, black-eyed first love."
“I can’t figure out who I used to be.”
-13-
oh.
Mr. P looked down at her banging her forehead against his arm, as if she had found a suitable cat to butt her head against.
"The black-haired, black-eyed first love?"
"Yes... In my memory, he was that kind of guy... Such a boring guy..."
"You feel that you have no interest in your first love and no feelings for her?"
"...It's like this... He's so boring... annoying... even a little greasy."
Miss M muttered, "I got sleepy when I saw the second date in the flashback. I fell asleep on the floor and slept through my entire lunch break. I'm still a little sleepy now."
so.
Mr. P: "So, you came to me to ask me..."
Miss M paused in hitting her forehead and tilted her face upwards.
-14-
"Xiao P, do you think I'm really a scumbag? Even if I try to recall my first love, whom I dated for a whole year, I have no feelings for him at all. I just find him annoying, boring, and greasy. ... Is it my problem?"
Mr. P thought about it carefully.
"No emotion? Are you sure?"
"There's no emotion. That 'first love' was less fun than trying a new flavor of ice cream."
"In that case, why did you decide to jump into the pit of 'love' with that kind of person?"
"I don't know... maybe I just want to play with him? Uh... but..."
Miss M couldn't help but pull at her bangs in agony. "That guy's body type isn't what I like! He's too tall and muscular! His skin is too dark and rough! His hands aren't pretty! His muscles are bulging! How could I possibly desire a body like that? I wouldn't even want to play with someone with that body type! So I'm asking Xiao P for help—at least you're the type I'd want to have sex with. That guy absolutely, absolutely, can't possibly be that!"
……oh.
-15-
"In this case, the answer is obvious."
Mr. P reached out his hand seriously, took away her claws that were pulling at her bangs, and combed and straightened her bangs again.
"That person might not be your true 'first love'. There's something seriously wrong with your 'first love memory'."
-16-
Ms. M: “…Ah? Something’s wrong?”
"That's right. You've always had good taste—you've always pursued fun—and you're a very confident girl. Even in your past, I don't think you would compromise and date someone who's boring, uninteresting, and someone you have absolutely no desire for."
After Mr. P combed her bangs, he patted Miss M's head.
"Furthermore, as my most respected superior, there's no way you could have a problem, no matter which timeline you're in. So, let's draw a conclusion..."
-17-
"There's something wrong with the other person. Or, the 'first love' you saw in your memory was deliberately replaced with another person, and your entire memory was taken away and tampered with—"
Mr. P smiled and said, "Or, your so-called 'first love' didn't exist at all."
"After all, how could you possibly be 'in love' and be interested in someone of the opposite sex other than me?"
-18-
Ms. M: “…”
Miss M was shocked.
Miss M was so shocked that she ignored her subordinate who had combed her bangs and kept combing her hair naturally.
"So, let's assume that this so-called 'relationship' never existed..."
"Ah, no. Let's consider the first possibility. My 'first love' was deliberately replaced in my memory, or someone else."
Miss M said dryly, "I actually had a serious relationship. That whole year couldn't have been fabricated."
“Tsk.”
"...Did you just say 'tsk'? Are you trying to assume that I've never been in a serious relationship..."
"Your hair is so nice to touch, Miss M. It smells so good too."
"...Don't change the subject... And it's about your new shampoo. You know you washed my hair last night."
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