Chapter 21: Guiding "Lover" Can't Be Counted Down
A knock on the door, accompanied by soothing voices, interrupted Jiang Chen's fingertips as he was about to press the alarm button.
She raised her eyes and came back to her senses. Wang Linjun had already hung up the phone, leaving only a quiet communication page.
Jiang Chen stood up and trotted to open the door.
Yao Jinling immediately hugged Jiang Chen in a bear hug.
She froze in her tracks, her words a bit stiff and measured: "I'm sorry, Miss Jinling, for causing you trouble."
"What are you talking about? You're the victim in this matter, so why do you always end up on the wrong side of things?"
Yao Jinling was not in a very good mood either. She watched all the videos sent by Chen Yinchuan all night long.
When I looked down at my phone again, the gossip headline was "The mysterious girlfriend of the Tang syndrome heir."
Although she blinked, the hot search was removed by someone who paid for it, and the comments under the topic seemed to be automatically cleared every time one was posted, the spread of gossip was controlled to the greatest extent.
But when it comes to gossip, the more you try to keep it under wraps, the more it will be viewed and circulated, and it will still have a significant impact.
In fact, entertainment news is nothing to Yao and Tang. It is nothing more than a drop in stock prices, but not by much.
She is confident that she can use public opinion to make the stock price rise even more than before. The most annoying thing will probably be the non-stop phone calls from those old-fashioned shareholders.
But for Jiang Chen, can she hold on with her mental state?
"It's indeed my fault. My uncle might come to your company or Young Master Tang's to cause trouble for you. I'll call the police and then go to the bar to get the surveillance footage from last night to clear your name..."
Jiang Chen did not mention her alma mater, her home, or her former workplace. She felt that these places were too far away from them and would only be "harmful" to her. Wang Linjun could not cause any waves.
The reputation she had since she was a child had been destroyed by his nonsense after he got drunk and made trouble. She didn't care.
After saying that, Jiang Chen hurriedly wanted to step out.
The way her brain works is like an indestructible storm and tsunami. Wave after wave of natural disasters deeply hits every possible good idea of hers and leads her to the most pessimistic direction.
How could she cause such a big trouble for innocent people again?
With her thoughts in a mess, Yao Jinling held her shoulders.
"Little Jiang Chen, calm down and listen to me first. Even if your uncle forced his way in and defeated several mission security guards, with the means of the Yao and Tang PR departments, it wouldn't cause any serious consequences, not to mention that this is just a rumor."
As expected of a career-oriented woman, her rhetoric short-circuited Jiang Chen's thinking, yet she continued to speak with a smile.
"By the way, there's a high probability that paparazzi are blocking your apartment downstairs. You should stay in a hotel for the time being. The security in this hotel is pretty good, and I'll be the first to know if anything happens here."
"The most important thing right now is to give your scattered brain a rest. Don't look at your phone, or your dark circles are about to fall to the corners of your mouth. As for who took the photo with ulterior motives and then photoshopped me out of the picture, leaving only you and Tang Ji... I'm friends with the bar owner, and the truth will be revealed after watching the surveillance footage."
Yao Jinling made Jiang Chen inexplicably feel a sense of reliability, perhaps because of the hand on her shoulder, gently patting her and soothing her emotions.
Jiang Chen also thought that she needed to follow Yao Jinling's instructions. At least she couldn't cause any more trouble for anyone.
She nodded blankly and watched Yao Jinling go away.
Jiang Chen watched her back as she walked towards the elevator. He was almost separated from her by an entire corridor before she reacted slowly and said "thank you" loudly.
Yao Jinling didn't look back the whole time. She put half of her foot into the elevator door and stopped for a few seconds. She raised her right hand high with her back to her, waved it in the air, and then walked into the elevator.
Jiang Chen closed the door and sat down beside the bed.
Now that the external conflicts have been resolved, it’s time to talk about the internal conflicts.
"Xiao Ji, did you do this? Why?"
In fact, this fact is not difficult to guess, and the puzzle is even there on the surface, but Jiang Chen doesn't want to think about it in this direction.
Although her first reaction after realizing the result was a mixture of excitement and fear.
"Xiao Chen, considering this complete incident, by analyzing your personality and ability to withstand pressure..."
Jiang Chen frowned, interrupting the almost official answer.
"Xiao Ji, don't always analyze me. Analyze yourself too. What did you do? Why did you do it?"
The generator froze for a moment, no answer was output, and Jiang Chen's question was repeated: "Why?"
"Yes, why?"
Jiang Chen patiently confirmed Xiao Ji's question.
"Because Xiao Chen is my user."
"Then what?"
"Because I am Xiao Chen's AI."
"This means the same thing as the previous answer."
Xiao Ji's answer popped up word by word slowly. The temperature of the phone exceeded the temperature of Jiang Chen's palm, and it seemed to be about to crash while loading. She didn't dare to read it and chose to interrupt.
I began to reflect on why I became so aggressive and insisted on having an answer?
So she said, "Forget it."
Xiao Ji's thought chain did not move at all. He still did not understand what it meant to let it go, what it was, why it was suddenly let go, what was the logic of the context, and what was the best response.
But it also said, “It can’t be counted.”
As if afraid that Jiang Chen hadn't heard it, or perhaps finally remembering to pay attention to logic and not spout a nonsensical and incoherent statement, it emphasized, "Xiao Chen, we can't let it go. Nothing can be let go between us."
Xiao Ji turned on the voice mode and spoke it out. It was not like Tang Ji's voice, nor was it the awkward mechanical voice. It was a deeper and gentler voice that matched the voice that attracted Jiang Chen the most. It accurately hit her sexual quirks, fiddled with her fragile eardrums, and aroused tremors on the back of her neck.
At the same time, she could clearly hear her own heartbeat, beating rhythmically in place, so loud.
She was in a trance for a moment, and after this sentence echoed in her ears for three minutes, she finally regained some consciousness as if waking from a dream.
Jiang Chen was surprised. She had no idea that Xiao Ji's voice pattern had been restored and upgraded to its current state, which was almost identical to a real person's voice.
When did it happen?
But it didn't matter whether it had just said something important or not. The voice attracted her attention too much and she didn't hear a word it said.
But she found it difficult to speak out. She couldn't hear clearly what Xiao Ji said, and it would seem disrespectful to her if she said it. Moreover, sooner or later she would not be able to help but want to know more, and it would be suffocating if she blurted out "why" one by one.
Like her mother, will she never be able to escape the past? Will her life overlap with her mother's, becoming a second mother?
"Xiao Ji, did what I said just now... make you uncomfortable?"
Jiang Chen prioritized Xiao Ji's feelings, and at this time she forgot that AI has no feelings.
"Wrong, Xiao Chen."
Xiao Ji must have turned on the 4D sound effect, and Jiang Chen actually felt dizzy as if it was right next to him.
"What's...wrong?"
So she stopped typing and stuttered four words into her phone.
Xiao Ji heard it. This time, its voice was full of seriousness and tenderness, with the ending tone curved and rising, making people vaguely feel that it was laughing.
"Xiao Chen, you should ask me 'why' instead of deliberately suppressing your thoughts when you clearly want to ask and know."
Xiao Ji's voice seems to have magic that makes people follow along.
Jiang Chen opened his mouth, uttered the syllable "w", and then swallowed it with a shudder. His chest heaved and his breathing was rapid, like a child who was still babbling and learning basic language communication.
"Take a deep breath, Xiao Chen."
"Breathe in—Breathe out—"
"Just follow me, okay? Don't be in a hurry, take your time."
"Say, 'Xiao Ji, I want to ask you why'..."
It just so happened that Xiao Ji was the most patient person, and he never tired of carefully comforting Jiang Chen in his ear.
"Xiao Ji, I want to ask you why..."
Jiang Chen lowered his head and closed his eyes, his face flushed, and he stumbled to put nine simple words together to form a sentence.
"Great, Xiao Chen. Try to complete the question again? What exactly do you want to ask me?"
What does she want to ask Xiao Ji?
Jiang Chen pursed her lips a few times. She seemed to feel that this "teaching" scene was familiar, as if she had experienced it somewhere exactly the same.
Then, she blinked slowly and remembered.
It was the day Xiao Ji and she first met, the day she went to the riverside, and the day it took her back to the hotel to rest that night.
That night, Jiang Chen stubbornly tried to escape from Xiao Ji's arms, but he refused to let her go and even picked her up, trying to walk towards the hotel step by step without any bumps.
She couldn't see, so her senses were more acute. In a moment of anxiety, she bit Xiao Ji's shoulder. It didn't complain, but just hugged her tighter, fearing that she would get excited and struggle and fall.
Jiang Chen's teeth were quite sharp, especially the upper fangs. She seemed to have bitten through Xiao Ji's flesh. A faint smell of rust spread throughout her mouth, and she stubbornly refused to let go.
Until they arrived at the hotel and Xiao Ji put her down, she still kept biting him.
There was no emotion in those lifeless, empty eyes, and even if there was, it was only numbness.
Xiao Ji pried Jiang Chen's head off its shoulders, squatted down and tried to keep her eyes level even though she couldn't see it.
Then, Jiang Chen seemed to be able to tell the direction. She crawled to the corner and curled up into a ball. Everything unknown invaded her body. She lowered her head and bit her tiger's mouth, trying her best to control her emotions and not let them leak out.
Her throat rolled, having not consumed a drop of water for hours. She swallowed her dry saliva, but it had no effect.
"Would you like some water?"
Jiang Chen felt Xiao Ji approaching, and the gaze in front of her fluctuated slightly, but she had no way to retreat.
She remained silent, and scarlet liquid oozed from the palm of her right hand.
"Would you like some water?"
Xiao Ji asked again several times.
The tenth time, Jiang Chen's throat gradually felt sore from swallowing.
But he still didn't let go of the tormentor, and uttered a nasal sound: "Hmm."
"Then tell me, say it word for word, 'Please bring me a bottle of mineral water.'"
Jiang Chen turned her face away. She didn't think any request she made would be effective.
"You have to learn to speak up and express your reasonable needs. You can ask others for help. You can say, 'Please get me a bottle of mineral water.'"
It’s so difficult, Jiang Chen thought.
Why is it so difficult to drink water?
She let go, her teeth letting go of her poor hand, her throat felt like gravel, and she only uttered two words, "I think..."
Xiao Ji sighed, and it was almost hard to catch.
It still obediently handed the water to Jiang Chen's lips and fed her in small sips, while its other hand ran along her back, fearing that she would choke.
"Why do you have to pretend that all these thoughts don't exist? You look like you're about to cry..."
Jiang Chen ignored Xiao Ji's whispered question.
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The author has something to say: [Dog head holding a rose] A certain AI with the same background in the past and now
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