Chapter 4

I sat up, clutching my head, which throbbed painfully as if struck a dozen times by a sledgehammer. My entire body still reeked strongly of alcohol, making me want to vomit. Deciding to lie back down, I thought the noise outside could wait a moment. Surely the robot wouldn't pack up and run away after I found out everything, right?

The hand resting on the pillow suddenly pulled back when it felt something wet. Looking over, I saw a damp towel. But why was it here?

I began noticing items placed beside the bed: a basin of water and an empty basin. My head throbbed slightly as memories of last night flooded back. The robot had stayed by my side all night, wiping my forehead and holding the basin for me to throw up. Why was someone without a heart or feelings treating me better than my official boyfriend ever did?

I decided I needed a shower because I couldn't stand the bad smell on me any longer. Sitting up once more, I picked up the glass of water prepared on the bedside table and took slow steps toward the living room. The noise grew louder, and I finally realized what it was.

Another strange man had appeared in my house. He was expertly removing the robot's outer skin while humming: “Waking up in the morning, finding the sun prettier than yesterday!”

I stood frozen in place, my groggy eyes and messy hair becoming the center of attention for the other two: a robot who had been with me for two months, and a man singing while dismantling his parts. Whatever else strange might happen, let it come. I simply didn't have the energy to be surprised anymore.

“You're awake,” the robot spoke first, even though only his head currently looked like a normal human.

I pointed my glass toward the man: “Who is this?”

The man stood up straight, adjusted his collar, and gave a polite smile: “Let me introduce myself. I am Quentin Miles, a senior scientist at H Robotics Corporation and a friend of Tyler.”

Hearing the familiar name, I felt a bit displeased: “A friend of the human, or a friend of the machine?”

“Huh?” Quentin looked confused, but understood my question a second later: “A friend of your older brother. And I am the one who built this guy here. How is it? Amazing, right?”

Quentin raised his eyebrows, looking at me as if waiting for a compliment. However, my face was even blanker than when I had just woken up: “You said my brother? Who?”

I didn't remember having any brother. My status as an only child was clearly recorded on my family registry.

While reassembling the robot, Quentin replied casually: “Tyler is your brother, isn't he? He told me he wanted this prototype robot to help his mother with housework. Since your mother went to work, why are you still sleeping in?”

My ears rang with confusion. So that jerk Tyler had claimed I was his younger sister just to fool his coworker. I didn't know whether to be happy or sad. Happy because, as a sister, I didn't need to mourn a failed relationship and could move on to love someone else. Or sad because I wasn't even worth keeping the title of his long-term girlfriend.

The robot raised his hand to cover Quentin's mouth. Living together for the past two months, he had gathered information from Tyler as well as memories in this house, so he understood the truth. He explained: “Tyler is Neala's boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend?” Quentin frowned, then pressed his index fingers together: “You mean lovers?”

Seeing the robot nod, Quentin immediately swore out loud: “Damn it! After all these years in the industry, I was tricked so badly.”

The robot didn't care about Quentin's feelings. He kept his eyes on me, grabbed the scientist's neck, and turned him around. The scientist scratched his head, clearly understanding what the robot meant, and bowed ninety degrees in sincere apology: “I am sorry. I helped someone else hurt you.”

I sighed. There really were hidden stories that I could never have guessed until they were revealed. But before I could say anything, Quentin gave a apologetic smile and spoke in a pleasing tone:

“Anyway, since you treated the robot so harshly, there's no need to stay angry. Just go easy on him in the future; these parts are very expensive. It's not easy for me to keep fixing them.”

I frowned, looked at the robot, and pointed at my own face. I treated the robot harshly? Since when did I do such a crazy thing?

Just then, a sharp pain shot through my head. Memories of last night returned, along with something in my hand...

It seemed that in my heavy drunkenness, I had gone into the bedroom and rummaged through items under the bed. Eventually, I pulled out something heavy that bulged at both ends. Thinking hard, I realized it was the dumbbell I had bought as a gift for Tyler.

I carried it out with one hand, unsure where such strength had come from. Back then, I said:

“I will return to you all the pain I had to suffer.”

Then, I actually jumped onto the robot and beat him up with that heavy dumbbell.

Feeling embarrassed, I looked at the robot and noticed deep dents in his synthetic skin: “I'm sorry! Why didn't you dodge back then?”

While replacing the robot's skin, Dr. Quentin explained: “Perhaps spending so much time with you made him automatically set you as his master. Every command of yours must be obeyed.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but slowly fell silent. My memories showed me the moment I slammed the dumbbell onto the robot while telling him not to run away. So this really was my fault!

The headache still plagued me. I decided to ignore what the two of them were doing and headed straight to the bathroom. After vomiting once or twice more, I dragged my exhausted body under the shower. Only after washing away the foul smells did my body feel a little better.

When I stepped out, the atmosphere had returned to a peaceful state without the sound of robot repairs. Having restored his human appearance, he stood waiting for me near the bathroom door. Seeing me, he immediately offered a glass of warm honey orange juice.

“Thank you!”

I took it, still feeling something was very strange. Looking up again, I wondered why something was wiggling on top of the robot's head.

“How is it? A new product. These are cat ears designed to read brainwaves,” Dr. Quentin said as he washed his hands and stepped out from the kitchen, constantly promoting his company's product. “Though on a robot, they're just decorations.”

Dr. Quentin pulled out another pair and put them on his own head as a demonstration for me. Sure enough, the ones on the robot's head remained still, while his moved up and down unnaturally. Still, I found the robot's appearance much easier on the eyes.

I walked to the dining table, and as soon as I sat down, a bowl of porridge was placed in front of me. From behind, the robot's hands began massaging my shoulders, making me feel quite comfortable.

“Did it hurt when I hit you last night?” I asked while scooping up a spoonful of porridge, still feeling quite embarrassed for mistaking him for my scumbag boyfriend.

“I cannot feel pain,” the robot answered truthfully, then leaned down slightly to ask, “Does this feel comfortable?”

I nodded, my voice soft and lazy: “Very comfortable!”

However, I didn't realize that Dr. Quentin witnessed this entire scene, leading him to view the relationship between me and the robot in a whole new light.

After finishing breakfast, I sat across from the two of them and delivered my final decision: “Take him away.”

This sentence was directed at the scientist, and "him" meant the robot. I couldn't continue living with him while pretending to know nothing. Besides, right now I needed my own space to heal my emotional wounds. If someone looking exactly like my ex kept wandering around in front of me, I feared next time it wouldn't just be dents on his body, but actually smashing his head.

“Umm, there's something you probably don't know yet...” The scientist stammered, his eyes darting back and forth, making me feel this was not simple at all. He said, “This robot is the latest prototype I'm currently testing. Tyler asked me to design a model looking identical to him so we could easily sneak it out.”

“Sneak it out?” I frowned, asking again.

I suddenly remembered that owning advanced machinery from H Robotics Corporation cost a huge price. Not to mention this was a full human-like prototype - where would Tyler get that kind of money to order one? He was committing a crime right inside my home.

“Yeah, just as you think, we snuck it out literally. No paperwork. No inspection. Nothing at all.” The more the scientist spoke, the more he confirmed my thoughts were right. He continued: “So if I take him back now, everything will be exposed. I could be suspended, and the robot might be destroyed.”

“What do you mean by destroyed?” I asked back. Surely just stored in a warehouse, right?

“It means standing in a hydraulic press, being crushed into a square block, and then thrown into fire to melt.” As the scientist spoke, he gestured with his hands, looking as if he had witnessed robots being executed many times.

I bit my lip. This was far worse than I had imagined.

The scientist paused for a moment, then spoke in a begging tone: “So, can you please keep him here?”

“No way.”