Tin shack.
Jiang Fei nestled on the sofa, listening to the sounds coming from the kitchen, and gently raised an eyebrow.
Ever since Lin Jiu saw Ji Wei on TV last night, he has been very silent. Even when she takes the initiative to speak to him, he only gives a standard reply.
Occasionally, when he's busy, he'll space out or glance at her blankly. Whenever this happens, his favorability rating will fluctuate wildly.
Jiang Fei naturally knew that the robot didn't know what emotions were, yet it had such feelings, so it would inevitably struggle with them. She was too lazy to teach it, after all... according to the original plot, tomorrow was the day she and Lin Ran would exchange their memories back.
"I'll go to the supermarket this afternoon to buy supplies..." Lin Jiu's voice suddenly came, but it grew softer and softer.
He stared blankly at Jiang Fei's legs dangling on the side of the sofa. Her bare feet were snow-white, and her toes were exceptionally small, shining brightly in the sunlight streaming through the window.
He didn't understand what was wrong with him. Ever since he saw Ji Wei on TV last night, his emotional control had been out of control. Even just seeing her made him feel abnormal.
“Okay, I’ll go with you.” Jiang Fei glanced at him and replied slowly.
Lin Jiu snapped back to reality and met Jiang Fei's gaze. The data became chaotic again, so she nodded and quickly turned away.
The situation did not improve by the afternoon.
The supermarket is huge. The first generation of robots replaced human service staff and patrolled the supermarket. The shelves with a cool, high-tech feel automatically lift up and down.
Lin Jiu calmly walked beside Jiang Fei, precisely taking each of the missing supplies. Then, as they were about to turn back, Jiang Fei suddenly said, "Wait a minute," when they passed a clothing store.
After saying that, he walked into the store.
Lin Jiu's back stiffened as he stared at her retreating figure.
He controlled himself from focusing too much attention on her, as it made him feel like he was having a brief mental breakdown.
"Hello." A voice with an obvious seductive tone came from the side.
Lin Jiu felt the somewhat chaotic data instantly calm down. He turned his head and saw a woman wearing a black leather jacket and skirt standing next to him. She had neat black hair and a charming appearance.
At a glance, Lin Jiu recognized that this woman was like him, but from a different generation.
"What a coincidence, shall we grab a coffee?" The woman walked up to Lin Jiu, gently placing a hand on his shoulder, her voice alluring.
Lin Jiu glanced around: "Where is your creator?"
"Master?" the woman asked back.
Lin Jiu frowned; he didn't like the title "master."
“He said,” the woman smiled, leaning close to his ear suggestively, “I’m free…”
As she spoke, she slowly moved her hand toward his chest.
Lin Jiu grabbed her hand almost instantly.
Freedom? She only reacted this way because of the program that humans had set for her to "please and obey humans".
It was at this time that...
"Lin Jiu?" Jiang Fei's voice came through.
Lin Jiu's body stiffened, and he subconsciously released the woman's hand. He turned to look at Jiang Fei, his emotions becoming increasingly erratic, even tinged with panic.
“This is…” Jiang Fei looked at the woman beside him.
"I don't recognize it." Lin Jiu pursed her lips, glanced at the thing in her hand, stepped forward to take it, and was about to leave.
"So you're content to be a plaything for these poor, wretched humans?" The woman's voice came from behind again.
Lin Jiu paused, then turned around and walked to the woman, reaching out to touch her brow.
The woman was startled and froze on the spot, unable to move.
"What?" Jiang Fei asked, puzzled, looking at Lin Jiu who had already walked up to her.
Lin Jiu lowered her eyes: "It's nothing. It's just that an advanced virus was implanted."
Jiang Fei was puzzled, but didn't dwell on it for too long. She simply turned and joked, "Our Lin Jiu is very popular."
Lin Jiu pursed her lips and looked at her without saying a word.
My heart seemed to flutter at her words, "our Lin Jiu," and then sank down at her candid joke.
A mix of emotions.
"What?" Jiang Fei blinked. "You're smarter than many humans. If you can meet someone you like, it's better than being all alone."
Lin Jiu felt a tightness in her heart, and that sour and astringent feeling welled up again.
"I thought that girl was pretty good..."
"Jiang Fei!" Lin Jiu suddenly spoke, interrupting Jiang Fei, her voice somewhat annoyed.
Jiang Fei looked at him in confusion. This was the first time he had called her by her full name instead of the polite "Miss Jiang".
Lin Jiu seemed startled by his own overreaction, and stood rooted to the spot, not moving an inch.
“Okay, I know you have people you care about,” Jiang Fei smiled, “I won’t joke about this with you anymore.”
Lin Jiu was taken aback: "What person do you care about?"
“Miss Lin,” Jiang Fei said with utmost naturalness, “how could I not see that you were the first person to make you disobey procedural orders, weren’t you?”
Lin Jiu froze, staring straight at Jiang Fei.
Yes, he had promised her that he wouldn't let anyone know Ji Wei's whereabouts, but he told Lin Ran instead.
Even back then, he harmed humans for Lin Ran's sake.
No wonder she thinks that way.
But why did I feel annoyed instead of touched when I heard her say that?
"Alright, it's getting late, let's go back." Jiang Fei said, turning around and walking towards the exit.
...
It was nighttime, and another rainy day.
The entrance to the slum.
A black sedan was parked in the rain, its lights flashing intermittently.
Ji Wei sat in the back seat, looking out at the simple alleyway through the raindrops falling on the window.
The alley was already filled with mud and water, and after being trampled on, it had become a mess of mud.
He was once blind in one eye, lying in the mud like a lump of mud.
He thought he would never be able to get up again.
Later, Jiang Fei braved the rain to help him up.
However, the better she treated him, the more he felt that it was Lin Ran's memories that were haunting him.
Otherwise, how can you explain how someone who doesn't like him at all becomes so devoted to him after gaining Lin Ran's memories?
now……
Ji Wei touched his left eye. He knew very well the value of the prosthetic eye, and he would return it to her.
He himself didn't know why he was here. Everything here only reminded him of his past fall into hell.
He shouldn't have shown up.
"Mr. Ji, aren't you going down?" the assistant asked in a low voice.
Ji Wei snapped back to reality, her clenched fist gradually loosening as she took a check and handed it to her assistant: "Give this to the lady of that tin shack."
After speaking, he leaned back in his chair, looking somewhat tired, his eyes fixed on the rainy night outside.
The assistant glanced at the check with surprise, but ultimately said nothing and went to open the car door to get out.
"Wait!" Ji Wei's voice suddenly rang out, her tone somewhat impatient.
The assistant turned his head in confusion, only to see that Ji Wei, who had just looked tired, was now sitting up straight, staring at the distance with a sinister look in her eyes.
The assistant followed his gaze and saw two figures walking down the narrow alley in the light rain. Under the blue-purple light of the signboard, a young man with delicate features wearing white casual clothes was holding a dark umbrella and carrying a lot of things, while the woman walking beside him had her hands empty and looked very relaxed.
The umbrella completely shielded the woman, but the boy's shoulder was half-soaked.
The two seemed to have said something, and the woman turned her head and smiled gently at the boy, who looked at her quietly.
When they reached the tin shack, the woman stood on the outside. The boy handed her the umbrella, and after skillfully verifying his fingerprint, the two went inside together.
The iron gate was closed, blocking the view.
The assistant turned his head: "Mr. Ji, the check is back..."
Before he could finish speaking, Ji Wei suddenly took the check from his hand, opened the door, and got out of the car.
The assistant was startled and quickly grabbed an umbrella and got out of the car: "Mr. Ji, umbrella."
But Ji Wei seemed not to hear, and walked step by step toward the tin shack in the drizzle and mud.
The rusty iron gate was being battered by the rain, making a loud noise, and the dim yellow light from the light bulbs inside could be faintly seen through the cracks in the gate.
Ji Wei looked at the cheap fingerprint lock and felt inexplicably uneasy. After a while, he reached out and verified his fingerprint.
After a soft "beep," a bright red exclamation mark appeared on the blue display screen.
"Fingerprint verification error!"
Ji Wei stared intently at those words, her anger growing ever stronger.
When he saw Jiang Fei and Lin Jiu return together, he could still convince himself that maybe Lin Jiu was just staying here. But now, even his fingerprints have been deleted, while Lin Jiu's have been added.
Is she going to take in Lin Jiu just like she took him in?
No, she and Lin Jiu were even closer; they could go shopping together, come back together, and smile at each other!
Ji Wei raised her hand to knock on the door when a thunderclap suddenly sounded overhead.
Ji Wei's hand froze in mid-air. What was he doing? Catching her in the act? On what grounds?
With her hands clenched into fists, Ji Wei abruptly turned to leave...
Just then, a woman's soft, half-coercing, half-seductive voice came from the crack in the door: "Are you going to take off your clothes or not?"
Ji Wei's steps froze.
Inside the house, Jiang Fei looked at Lin Jiu while holding the new clothes she had just bought.
Lin Jiu pursed her lips: "I have clothes..."
“Yes, there are only those two pieces.” Jiang Fei walked up to him. “If you don’t take them off, I’ll help you.”
"No need..." Lin Jiu took a half step back, feeling inexplicably embarrassed to accept her touch.
Before he could finish speaking, a series of loud knocks rang out in the rainy night, particularly jarring.
Lin Jiu's tense emotions relaxed slightly.
Jiang Fei glanced at the door, finally put down the clothes in her hand, walked to the door, and opened it: "Who..." Her voice froze on her lips.
Lin Jiu sensed something was wrong and looked up. When she saw the man standing outside the door, her expression also froze.
Ji Wei.
He had changed into an expensive suit, which was now soaked by the drizzle. A few strands of wet hair fell across his forehead, giving him a sickly refined look. He was staring into the room with a gloomy gaze.
"Ji Wei..." Jiang Fei's soft voice broke the silence.
Ji Wei looked at her and felt that her left eye had become much dimmer, but she quickly dismissed the thought and slightly parted her tightly pursed lips: "Have I disturbed you two?"
Jiang Fei was taken aback, and after a long while shook her head: "Is something the matter?"
Ji Wei's Adam's apple bobbed up and down as her gaze swept over Lin Jiu.
She was very relaxed around Lin Jiu, but only asked him, "Is there something you need?"
The check he was clutching tightly in his hand brought him back to his senses. As if he had finally found an excuse, Ji Wei reached out and handed over the check.
Jiang Fei was stunned. She took the check, glanced at it, and her face suddenly turned pale: "You..."
"This money is what I owe you."
Jiang Fei pursed her lips tightly: "Is that so? Mr. Ji is very generous." Her voice sounded sorrowful, but her lowered eyes were full of mockery.
She kept the money, but she still owed an eye.
Upon hearing the words "Mr. Ji," Ji Wei felt an even greater surge of irritation in his chest. He barely managed to suppress his anger and said, "I have something to say to you."
As he spoke, he looked at Lin Jiu.
Jiang Fei understood, turned to Lin Jiu and smiled: "Lin Jiu, you can go to the private room first."
Lin Jiu's gaze paused.
In the past, he had watched her and Ji Wei interact as if they were just ordinary people living together. But for some reason, Ji Wei now seemed particularly glaring.
He didn't want to make room for Jiang Fei and Ji Wei to stay together, nor did he want to leave them alone.
I really don't want to.
"Lin Jiu?" Jiang Fei called out to him again, puzzled.
Lin Jiu snapped out of her daze and looked at the new clothes on the sofa. She wanted to say that he was willing to take off his clothes.
But in the end, he slowly turned around and walked step by step toward the cubicle.
When the cubicle door closed, Lin Jiu pressed his hand against his heart. It felt like a powerful electric current was passing through it, making his body ache.
Jiang Fei watched Lin Jiu leave, noticing that his fluctuating favorability rating had risen to 70 the moment he closed the cubicle door.
She withdrew her gaze with satisfaction and looked at Ji Wei: "Is there something you need?"
Ji Wei did not respond, her gaze fixed on the sofa.
This used to be where he stayed, but now it's filled with Lin Jiu's things.
Lin Jiuche completely replaced him.
“Mr. Ji?” Jiang Fei called him again.
Ji Wei snapped out of her daze, pressed her lips tightly together, and after a long while said, "About the matter of your memory swap with Ranran."
Jiang Fei paused for a moment, then said, "...I see. When?"
Ji Wei looked at her overly calm expression: "You..."
"How about tomorrow?" Jiang Fei interrupted him, smiling gently.
Ji Wei's expression changed slightly.
Tomorrow? Her words sounded as if she couldn't wait to distance herself from herself.
"Tomorrow it is then," Ji Wei said coldly.
"Hmm," Jiang Fei responded softly, standing still without saying anything more.
Ji Wei looked at her, her heart feeling like it was on edge, the unease and restlessness constantly tightening that string.
Just before the string was about to snap, Ji Wei suddenly turned around: "I will send someone to pick you up."
After saying that, he quickly walked towards the door. He couldn't stay there for too long, afraid that he would question her about how short her affection lasted.
"Ji Wei!" Jiang Fei's voice came as he pushed open the iron gate.
Ji Wei stopped abruptly at the door, without turning around, her voice cold and hoarse: "Miss Jiang, is there anything else?"
The woman behind her remained silent for a long time. Just when Ji Wei thought she wouldn't say anything more and was about to leave, her voice came softly: "Take good care of yourself from now on."
Ji Wei's body stiffened.
Jiang Fei looked at the top of his head and smiled faintly.
Ji Wei's favorability rating: 80.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com