Chapter 151 Why can't that person be me?
How do people become special?
Just because you glanced at someone in the crowd?
Or perhaps it's just on a breezy afternoon, on a tree-lined path where the shadows of the trees sway gently, that you suddenly notice someone's smile and the unexpectedly beautiful curve of their eyes at the corners.
So I couldn't help but look at it again and again.
Things are valued for their rarity.
Especially for someone like Shen Yun who doesn't smile often, how could a genuine smile from her be anything but memorable?
Throughout the entire ordeal, all Yu Qingzhou could think about was how to pay for the mistake she had made.
But from the moment he accepted Shen Yun's explanation, he had already unconsciously begun to think from her perspective.
In other words, Yu Qingzhou regarded Shen Yun as one of his own kind.
Both were passively drawn into the situation against their will, but in Yu Qingzhou's view, the other party was even more unlucky than him, a truly undeserved disaster.
Therefore, Yu Qingzhou's gaze towards Shen Yun always carried a hint of sympathy.
Moderate sympathy is always accompanied by just the right amount of empathy, which in turn gives rise to understanding, care, and even love.
Something that even Shen Yun herself couldn't understand.
But Shen Yun knew when to retreat, retreating again and again, gradually revealing the softness beneath the thorns. She lured her prey into the trap, making them believe they had discovered a buried treasure.
It's as if Shen Yun wouldn't directly grasp the hand that Yu Qingzhou extended.
Instead, they would wait, watching the other person waver in their resolve amidst doubt, and then, just a second before the boy hesitated and wanted to withdraw his good intentions, they would take the initiative to step forward and grasp that hand, while simultaneously grasping the other person's wavering heart.
He added a genuine smile that he unintentionally revealed while speaking.
When Shen Yun caught the fleeting look of amazement in Yu Qingzhou's eyes, she knew she had made the right choice.
No wonder Yu Qingzhou fell for this.
Because Shen Yun's plan was entirely based on the other party's preferences.
Shen Yun knew that Yu Qingzhou hated being restrained, hated being deliberately approached with obvious intentions, had a high degree of moral sensitivity, which was mainly reflected in feelings of guilt and remorse.
I would like to request higher observation privileges.
That day, when asked for her opinion on the contents of her report, Shen Yun gave this answer.
"[Higher observation privileges...]" The old man pondered Shen Yun's suggestion, then turned the question back to the other person, "[Why?]"
He needs a clearer reason.
[Because an interfering item appeared next to E025.]
Shen Yun carefully considered her answer: "The appearance of this distractor disrupted the consistent social attitude we've maintained until now, prior to E025. And it became the sole exception."
E025 is not prohibited from socializing; otherwise, they would not have been specifically arranged to enter the school environment for further learning.
The problem is that it can't be that one and only.
Treating all humans in the world equally was the most fundamental design principle from the very beginning of the experimental subjects' creation.
Now, E025's tolerance for interference far exceeds that of other similar products.
Based on this, Shen Yun proposed an upgrade to the observation privileges, allowing her to take the initiative to conduct soft interventions.
If it can be demonstrated that the unique effect of the interference term on E025 is reproducible, or that this unique effect naturally diminishes in subsequent observations, then E025 is worth further investigation.
After speaking calmly, she looked directly at the old man opposite her.
After a moment, the old man sighed slightly and agreed to the other party's request.
Upon hearing the result, Shen Yun showed no additional emotion. She seemed to always be so clear-headed and rational.
—A boy who is more like an experimental subject than an experimental subject himself.
Chang Li couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
This is also why Shen Yun was able to join the project team at such a young age.
Before leaving, he couldn't help but call out to the other person.
Shen Yun stopped in her tracks, waiting for the old man's next instructions with her usual calm and composed demeanor.
I was surprised to hear the old man say, "I don't think I've ever heard you call E025 by name. Why is that?"
Shen Yun paused only slightly before replying, "Because there's no need."
In Shen Yun's eyes, a name is just another form of code.
Upon closer inspection, it seemed that he had never once addressed the other party by the name Yu Qingzhou.
When they meet, they only use the seemingly vague title of "senior."
But isn't that enough?
In Shen Yun's world, there will be no other person he calls "senior," just as there will be no other person E025.
Speaking of this, Shen Yun had actually known about E025 for a long time.
When E025 was still undergoing a long hibernation in the hull before awakening, Shen Yun was a few years younger than she is now.
The moment Shen Yun saw E025, she was deeply attracted to it.
Perhaps because E025 was the first experimental subject he had ever seen.
The jet-black pupils reflected the peaceful sleeping face with unparalleled clarity, showing the boy curled up like an infant in the dark red culture medium.
Shen Yun involuntarily held her breath.
As if possessed, I reached out and gently pressed my palm against the surface of the transparent curtain wall. To my surprise, the boy, who had been standing still, seemed to sense something and tilted his head toward me.
The movement was so subtle that it would have been impossible to notice if Shen Yun hadn't been watching it closely.
The profound emotions I felt at that moment cannot be fully described.
Reason told him that the boy in the capsule couldn't possibly have sensed any external sounds. It was more likely that the boy was acting unintentionally while asleep.
From then on, a new thought appeared in Chen Yun's life.
The only pleasure I have besides studying is meeting E025.
It was called a meeting, but it was really just a one-sided observation.
But Chen Yun never tires of it.
He greedily took in every subtle change in E025's expression and body movements.
I suspect that E025 underwent these changes because of a dream.
That's right, just like how fetuses dream frequently in the womb.
E025 was also observed to have the same brainwave and eye movement responses, indicating that E025 was not unconscious during sleep, but was dreaming continuously.
So what exactly is E025 dreaming about?
While pondering, Shen Yun diligently and meticulously wrote down her observations.
Due to her outstanding performance in the final assessment, Shen Yun finally received the formal appointment as an observer a month before E025 was officially awakened.
Unfortunately, he did not meet with E025 immediately.
I only glanced at it from afar through the observation window.
It wasn't until two weeks later that Shen Yun met E025, who had enrolled as a freshman. However, by then, the boy already had a new name.
Having finally had the opportunity to exercise her observer privileges, Shen Yun felt somewhat at a loss.
Because E025 has changed so much, both compared to its appearance when it was asleep and compared to its appearance when it first woke up...
Fortunately, after overcoming the initial discomfort, Shen Yun rediscovered that feeling she had before.
Despite the differences in their performance, the other party was essentially the same E025 he knew.
His preferences, temperament, and behavioral habits... all of these traits were within the normal range.
Besides that distractor—
It's that boy named Lan.
Only when facing this person will E025 change its predicted behavior trajectory and act in ways that violate the person's basic logic.
For example, E025 dislikes milk and abhors coercive behavior from others.
However, when faced with the milk offered by the distractor, although it initially showed some resistance, it eventually drank the milk.
For example, E025 dislikes physical contact and is extremely sensitive to approaching objects beyond social distance. However, it often fails to detect touches from distracting individuals or reacts in a timely manner.
There are countless examples like this.
Until Shen Yun heard those unbearable rumors.
What a joke, how could E025 possibly be... how could it possibly be...
Sensing her inner turmoil, Shen Yun splashed a handful of cold water on her face.
With eyes closed, one can still vaguely see a boy, as pure and flawless as a fetus, enveloped in dark red liquid.
But in the blink of an eye, that beautiful scene was shrouded in a dark shadow—a venomous snake disguised as a harmless vine coiled around the boy's neck.
Hiss—
Shen Yun suddenly opened her eyes.
Looking around, he could not hear the faint sound he had heard before.
Could it be a hallucination?
Shen Yun couldn't help but be secretly surprised; had it really gotten to this point?
He looked away from himself in the mirror and tried to make a smile, but it didn't look natural.
He tried several times, but all attempts ended in failure.
Until he recalled in his mind that hateful smiling face that had stolen E025's attention.
Strangely, what came to mind was not a specific face, but the smile itself.
What's even stranger is that as soon as I thought of that smile, the face in the mirror actually showed a very vivid smile.
A sinister voice suddenly echoed in Shen Yun's mind.
See? You can do it too.
If that's the case, why can't it be you?
--yes.
Shen Yun couldn't help but think, if someone has to be by E025's side... why can't that person be me?
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