After entrusting the dining room cleanup to Jason, Xie Chengnan went upstairs alone to work. He needed to further analyze the new data he had just downloaded from Jason to see exactly where the variable lay.
The autonomous learning program in Jason had been running for a long time, but there had never been a significant breakthrough in simulating human emotions. Xie Chengnan had once suspected that the algorithm he initially wrote was flawed, never expecting such a delightful change to occur only two days after returning to the country.
By the time he finished a complete diagnostic, it was already six in the evening. Xie Chengnan took off his glasses and leaned back against his chair, closing his eyes to rest. His body was exhausted, but his mind remained active; unfortunately, he had found nothing.
He decided to make dinner first to feed the "brat" downstairs before continuing his work.
As he opened the door, the sound of an intense gunfight drifted up from the living room.
Jiang Yuan’s cool voice rose in pitch, sounding unexpectedly lively.
"Get down, get down! Someone’s ahead!"
"Eleven o'clock direction, focus fire on the target!"
Xie Chengnan originally thought Jiang Yuan was on voice chat, but upon heading downstairs, he found him sitting on the carpet side-by-side with Jason. Man and robot were each clutching a controller, playing Xbox together. On the television, two game characters were shooting their way through a siege. Jason’s display screen was changing rapidly: 0.0, >.<, T.T...
Xie Chengnan leaned against the stairs and smiled. It seemed that from the moment he encountered Jiang Yuan, his once stagnant and dull life had suddenly changed. He no longer spent every waking moment immersed in work, and even the rigid Jason had become much more interesting. Jiang Yuan was likely the variable he had been unable to find.
As a programmer, he was used to attributing Jason’s mechanical stiffness to his own imperfect coding. He hadn't expected that in just half a day, Jiang Yuan would make him realize that Jason’s failure to learn joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness was simply because his master lived too much like a machine.
Xie Chengnan himself was a person without much emotional fluctuation. His life was disciplined and boring; aside from eating, sleeping, and exercising, most of his twenty-four hours were spent on work.
He didn't have many friends and had little contact with his family. Most of the time, he remained silent, focused on lines of complex code and various components in his workshop.
Jason, with his autonomous learning capabilities, didn't learn emotional expression through the internet as Xie Chengnan had predicted. Instead, he was more like a human child, learning emotions by observing the words, deeds, and emotional fluctuations of those around him. Jiang Yuan had undoubtedly become a new role model—vivid and unique.
Shen Qinian had originally intended to call Xie Chengnan for dinner to welcome him back. After thinking it over, he felt uneasy and decided to come over to see if his friend, who was being "kept" by the young master of the Jiang family, was living in dire straits.
In the circle of second-generation elites, Jiang Yuan was notoriously difficult to serve and truly temperamental. He could be smiling one second and throwing a fit the next, showing no regard for anyone's reputation.
Regardless of what people said about Jiang Yuan behind his back, no one dared to confront him head-on. Of the four major financial groups in Nancheng—Jiang, Zhang, Shen, and Qiao—one was his own family, one was his maternal grandfather’s, and then there was Qiao Song of the Qiao family, who pampered and indulged him every day. He was essentially a "Great Demon King" that no one could afford to offend.
Shen Qinian didn't understand what kind of madness had gripped Xie Chengnan. He had been worried about his buddy since last night, but when the door to Jiang Yuan’s house opened, his heart nearly skipped a beat.
Xie Chengnan—the workaholic who used to demand Shen Qinian bring takeout to his door just to share a meal—was currently wearing an apron and cooking in the kitchen. The once-rigid little robot, Jason, was walking with a bit of a bounce in his step. Jiang Yuan was even more out of character; he waved a game controller at Shen Qinian and asked if he wanted to play a round. He didn't have his usual polite and distant air; instead, he smiled with a hint of boyishness. When Shen Qinian shook his head in refusal, Jiang Yuan didn't lose his temper, simply pulling Jason back into the game.
When Shen Qinian had left Country Y, Jason was just an unremarkable domestic robot. He hadn't expected that after two years, the robot would be able to play games with a controller...
Dazed, he drifted to the kitchen door. Xie Chengnan turned back and asked, "Have you eaten?"
"No..." Shen Qinian felt as though his soul hadn't quite returned to his body yet.
"Then stay and eat with us. I'll add another dish." Xie Chengnan tossed him a can of Coke. "Sit in the living room for a bit. I'll call you when it's ready."
"Jiang Yuan." Xie Chengnan glanced into the fridge and said, "Fine, we happen to have shrimp today." He turned back and saw Shen Qinian’s expression. "Why do you look like you've seen a ghost?"
Shen Qinian swallowed hard. "I feel like no one in this house, human or robot, is normal..."
Xie Chengnan smiled as he deveined the shrimp. "What's not normal?"
"Didn't you always say cooking was a waste of time?" Shen Qinian complained. "In the years I've known you, I've only eaten your cooking once."
Xie Chengnan replied as if it were a matter of course, "There's a child in the house. Ordering takeout all the time is unhealthy. It doesn't matter for a grown man like you."
"..." Shen Qinian was at a loss for words. He really wanted to ask if Xie Chengnan knew that the "child" he spoke of was more familiar with the nightclubs of Nancheng than he was, and had just recently sent several people to the hospital after a brawl... But Shen Qinian couldn't ask, because the Demon King Jiang currently playing games in the living room wasn't quite normal either...
Shen Qinian drank his Coke with a wooden expression, his feelings incredibly complex.
Once they sat down at the dining table, Shen Qinian became even more stunned.
Jiang Yuan held up his chopsticks. "I want shrimp."
Xie Chengnan rolled up his sleeves and peeled the shells for him.
Jiang Yuan bit his spoon. "I want soup."
Xie Chengnan picked up the ladle, skimmed off the oil and green onions, and scooped a bowl for him, adding a thoughtful reminder: "It's a bit hot, be careful."
Shen Qinian couldn't take it anymore and clamored, "I want soup too."
Xie Chengnan glanced at him. "Don't you have hands? Get it yourself."
Shen Qinian dropped his chopsticks in dissatisfaction. "Choosing a lover over a friend."
Jiang Yuan put down his soup bowl and flicked his eyes toward him.
Just as Shen Qinian thought he was about to blow up, the young master leaned back against his chair with his hands in his pockets and said to Xie Chengnan, "Feed me." His eyes looked at Shen Qinian provocatively.
Xie Chengnan gave a short, low laugh and said, "Stop messing around."
"Tsk." The young master was dissatisfied. "Hurry up, or I'll dock your pay."
Xie Chengnan could only offer the freshly peeled shrimp to his lips, coaxing, "Eat. Be good."
An abrupt mouthful of "dog food"...
Shen Qinian didn't dare make a scene anymore; he was afraid he would choke to death on the spot.
Two WeChat notification sounds rang out simultaneously.
Shen Qinian looked down. "Zhang Siyi is calling for drinks in the group chat. Amoy tonight. You going?"
"Sure." Jiang Yuan sipped his soup slowly. "I've got nothing better to do."
"What about you?" Shen Qinian looked up at Xie Chengnan.
"He's coming with me, obviously." Jiang Yuan tapped the table. "If he doesn't come play with me, what's he going to do at home? Play with himself?"
Shen Qinian gave a wicked grin. "He's not like us. He's a busy man. I doubt he even has time to play with himself."
"Really?" The young master’s mischievous streak returned. "Xie Chengnan, how often do you 'solve' it?"
Xie Chengnan pretended not to hear the two of them cracking dirty jokes and said calmly, "I'll go with him."
"Choosing a lover over a friend, Xie Chengnan!" Shen Qinian wouldn't stop nagging. "Back when I tried to drag you to a nightclub, how did you lecture me? You told me not to hinder the progress of human science and technology! Do you remember that?!"
"Ahem." Xie Chengnan looked away and denied it. "That never happened."
Jiang Yuan was already doubled over the table laughing, his eyes sparkling as he looked at Xie Chengnan. "Oh, Great Scientist Xie."
Xie Chengnan tried to remain composed, but his eyelashes fluttered. Jiang Yuan felt a surge of mischief and reached out to give Xie Chengnan’s earlobe a firm rub. Seeing Xie Chengnan’s face turn a visible shade of crimson, he burst into another fit of laughter.
Xie Chengnan turned to look at him, both annoyed and helpless. After a long moment, he managed to squeeze out: "Behave yourself."
"Heh." The young master was delighted. "You haven't even seen me when I'm not behaving." With that, he stood up to go upstairs. "I'm going to change. I'll show you how to cut loose tonight."
Xie Chengnan rubbed his brow, looking like he had a headache.
Shen Qinian looked from one to the other, feeling that the way these two interacted was completely different from what he had imagined. They were a bit too familiar. He asked tentatively, "Are you two... for real?"
Xie Chengnan knew he had misunderstood and briefly explained their past.
Shen Qinian stroked his chin. "I get it. You're not here to be a little lover; you're here to be his mother."
Xie Chengnan shrugged. There wasn't much difference between being a brother and being a mother; "brats" were hard to raise.
***
