When Lu Yao found the robot, he discovered it was in a sort of face-the-wall-and-reflect state, its display screen facing the side wall of the passage.
What was going on?
Just as Lu Yao was wondering, an auntie from the cleaning staff passed by with a cleaning cart and said, "Broken again. This robot's been having problems lately. It should be sent back to the factory for repairs. It keeps getting lost."
Lu Yao asked her about it and learned that this shopping guide robot had been here for two years.
Starting a month ago, the machine had begun having minor glitches from time to time. Occasionally, it would have trouble finding its way and suddenly stop. But since it was nothing major, no one had dealt with it. The mall manager had said they would have someone from the manufacturer come over to repair it.
"They said the battery's the problem." The auntie leaned on her mop, her face showing that particular disdain people had when sharing gossip. "It's using more power too. Anyway, there's nothing else wrong with it. It won't hurt anyone, it's just really stupid. You're interested in this? Is this what you do for work?"
"Something related."
"No wonder."
The auntie asked, "What do you think the problem is?"
Lu Yao said, "Hard to say. I'd probably have to check it carefully to know."
The auntie gave an "oh" and walked away, somewhat disappointed.
A dozen minutes later, Song Shiyi came running over from the escalator, panting all the way.
She was wearing a thin yellow sweater today, with a baseball cap pressing down her hair. Rarely, Song Shiyi had no makeup on. Her eyebrows and lips were both a little lighter in color, making her look even younger than usual. She had clearly left